Rosewood vs Maple fretboard question-

[Telenator]

Maple is a closed grain, hard wood light in color. Often finished to prevent wear and discoloration. The sound is bright, more pronounced low and high range. Very clear notes. Fast playing feel.

Rosewood is a pourous,oily hard wood. Can vary from reddish hues to dark chocolate in color. The sound has more midrange, the tone is rounder, adds slight overtones to the end of a note, like a ride cymbal on a drum set. Slower playing feel, digs into the note more.

Ebony is an oily, closed pore, hard wood. Varies in color from black to tan, sometimes streaked together. The sound is warmer than maple, more balanced in the highs,mids,and lows. Clear notes and chords with a slight rounding off of the tone. Fastest playing feel of the three and my personal favorite.

I couldn't disagree more with the tonal properties you describe.
Maple is the softest wood among the 3, and therefore most often the mellowest sounding.
Ebony is by far the hardest wood of the group producing brighter tones.
There's a reason Gibson uses rosewood and ebony almost exclusively on just about everything they build. The shorter scale length has less string tension, and a much more slack tone than the 25 1/2" scale. Harder woods work great with humbuckers on shorter scales.

 

[Marc Morfei]

I can tell the difference but it doesn’t matter. There are so many different things that go into the sound and playability of a guitar. Fretboard material is the least important of all of them.

 

[Tricone]

I couldn't disagree more with the tonal properties you describe.
Maple is the softest wood among the 3, and therefore most often the mellowest sounding.
Ebony is by far the hardest wood of the group producing brighter tones.
There's a reason Gibson uses rosewood and ebony almost exclusively on just about everything they build. The shorter scale length has less string tension, and a much more slack tone than the 25 1/2" scale. Harder woods work great with humbuckers on shorter scales.

IThat is ok. Different opinions. We are all entitled. I couldnt disagree more with your logic. The ears and feel tell a whole different story.
Most twang kings prefer maple for its brightness, and immediacy. Great low twang, treble chicken picking.
Most folk,blues,jazz player's like rosewood for its warmth and rounding of the tone.
Ebony is used on quite a few acoustic instruments and higher end electrics. Warmer in tone compared to maple, but same immediacy, fast feel.

 

[Tommy Biggs]

It don’t make me no nevermind! Love ‘em all when they’re done well.

 

[boris bubbanov]

The wildest, far out freaky bright neck I have ever owned, was 100% East Indian Rosewood, straight out of the Warmoth box.

The color is dark, as for the sound, eventually after maybe 2 years' ownership and trying it on many different loaded bodies, sound is still bright but fun now. Paired with a massive one piece Honduran mahogany T body. Slimmed the Fatback shape down to more of a Boatneck. Chunky Callaham bridge assembly.

I've learned to anticipate that most experienced people still hear these boards with their eyes. I'm with Telenator. Hard wood makes bright sounds, less hard makes more balanced sounds.

 

[fender4life]

Only if it has a lacquer finish. Poly doesn't get sticky...

I've had the issue many times, and i only own poly guitars. Not somuch in recent times because i'm old and my skin is now so dry it doesnt happen unless theres a ton of humidity. I used to go thru fingerease like water. Not sure why you don't notice it but i do. Also depends on the formulation. Some poly guitars are worse than others.

 

[Telenator]

Lefty Fretz is pushing the old wives' tale.

 

[Tricone]

Lefty Fretz is pushing the old wives' tale.

No old wives in the club.

 

[Telenator]

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No old wives in the club.

Interesting.
Personal experience tells me different.
Throw a couple of pieces of maple, rosewood, and ebony on a lathe. Turn 3 pairs of claves, and listen to the tone from each set.
Build an acoustic guitar with a maple fingerboard and marvel at the lack of upper mids and highs.
I must admit guilt here in that, just because someone says it's so, doesn't necessarily mean it is. I'm just another guy.
I appreciate the supporting info you posted, but my actual life experience working with these woods suggests different results.
Always good to consider different points of view. Keeps us honest...

 

[Tricone]

Interesting.
Personal experience tells me different.
Throw a couple of pieces of maple, rosewood, and ebony on a lathe. Turn 3 pairs of claves, and listen to the tone from each set.
Build an acoustic guitar with a maple fingerboard and marvel at the lack of upper mids and highs.
I must admit guilt here in that, just because someone says it's so, doesn't necessarily mean it is. I'm just another guy.
I appreciate the supporting info you posted, but my actual life experience working with these woods suggests different results.
Always good to consider different points of view. Keeps us honest...

Excellent reply sir. I appreciate your view. Different views make the world go round. We guitar players are a hard headed lot, myself included. I agree that we disagree, with respect to your view. No matter, you get your guitar and I get mine, we could make music together. No matter the material used to build our instruments. That is what counts.

 

[Sgt Pepper]

I'll stick with rosewood, ebony, and the occasional pau ferro (not pictured).

I had one guitar, for 2 days, with pau ferro fretboard. To each his own but I prefer any other fretboard I ever played to that.