Can You Hear the Difference? - Maple vs Rosewood Guitar Fretboards
Vložit
- čas přidán 20. 02. 2023
- Book your first complimentary 1-on-1 guitar lesson with Nate today!
www.guitarfam.com/private-gui...
-
If you are having trouble with any area of playing the guitar, book a private video lesson with me. The first one is complimentary, so there is no risk.
www.guitarfam.com/private-gui...
-
If you haven't signed up for the full complimentary Guitar Foundations course, do that here. It makes for a much more cohesive experience.
www.guitarfam.com/guitar-foun...
-
Purchase a copy of the Guitar Foundations EBook too. It's a perfect companion for the videos and it will help you progress faster.
www.guitarfam.com/product-pag...
*If you've purchased any lifetime courses from me in the past, you can just email me your receipt at nate@natesavage.com and I'll send you the Ebook for free!
-
Strings, Picks, and Accessories That We Use:
Acoustic Strings - D’Addario EJ16 Lights - amzn.to/3c8N6sw
Acoustic Coated Strings - D’Addario EXP11 Coated 80/20 - amzn.to/2X6FGBK
Electric Strings - D’Addario EXL110 10s Nickel Wound - amzn.to/2XFSwpG
Acoustic Picks - Fender Celluloid - amzn.to/36CgrdK
Electric Picks - Jim Dunlop Jazz III Picks - amzn.to/2X9KR4c
TC Electronic Polytune Clip - amzn.to/3dAv3Ni
-
AV Gear
Panasonic Lumix G85 - amzn.to/2Mb0txH
Lights - Neewer LED Panels - amzn.to/2M91eY4
Audio Interface - Universal Audio Apollo Twin X - amzn.to/3gvqrtW
Microphone - Warm Audio WA-87 - amzn.to/2ZG8P8J
Monitors - KRK Rokit - amzn.to/2TM4ZHl
Disclosure: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links I provide, I may receive a small commission. I only link to products that I actually buy, use, believe in, or think students will be interested in. **NateSavage.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Rest assured that if you click on a link, NO extra cost will be added to your final price!
I like this video… great job mate.
I closed my eyes while listening and noticed that the major change in tone i herd was easier to isolate and hear with clean and lightly distorted sounds.
As the gain and effects become more dominant, both necks sounded near identical.
I am curious to know if both necks have the same fret wire gauge and type of metal used because i can tell you that stainless steel frets produce a brighter tone than nickel plated mild steal.
I would also be curious to know if differences gauge fret-wire could also alter the tonal qualities
Great info. Thanks
I could really tell the difference on the single note clean blues. The maple sounded more crisp and had more pop/bite per note. But I think in making a choice between the two when purchasing it really just comes down to the Feel you prefer more than the sound difference. For me, I prefer the maple on a Strat. It just feels more glassy/slick when doing slide runs. The rosewood is after all an extra layer of wood, and for me a one-piece solid maple just feels more clean/smooth/natural. Plus once the maple gets a tan it just looks cool as hell. Of course no doubt I’m biased cause as a Hendrix nut I freaking love his main black/maple and white/maple strats.
I would agree with your assessment on the sounds based on an equalizer the maple sounded a little less bright but smoother and the rosewood sounded very bright but a bit more harsh...great video...
That's what I heard too.
It's interesting how wither there's any difference with the fingerboard tone how the equalizer or pedals can make a difference. That's why I always had the mentality as a strat fan to have one of each.
Definitely prefer the sound of the maple: more open, brighter, with a wider harmonic range.
It might be optical illusion due to the lighter colour of maple neck but seems like the frets of the maple board are wider. Thus can influence the sound in the way we hear, i. e. the rosewood board produced brighter tone to our surprise. Probably when the string is pushed to a smaller surface on narrow fret it can ring more free with more harmonics.
I refretted my maple Strat with jumbo frets to clear my fingers from the maple fretboard..
The difference in sound is almost certainly smaller than the difference in feel between the two. I personally love the feel of a maple fretboard!
Did I hear the middle strings get muddier and less articulated when the maple neck was strummed through with chords, especially clean?
ive been playing a long time and what it comes down to me, is who who listen to growing up, what kind of neck was on your first guitar and your brain fills in the rest of what should sound better to you from visual appeal. My fav guitar is an SG with rosewood or Indian laurel, but a strat in my mind should have a maple neck and playing one without seems weird, so no matter what I play, will not sound as good because my brain is doin it's brain things that I trained it to do
What’s the color called for the grey one?
One of my first electrics was a maple neck Strat and I found it to be too chimey. So I went to a Les Paul and even though it sounded great I wanted something different. Then I played a Strat with a rosewood finger board and that was the sound I was hearing in my head, smooth with a bit of chime. Now I play a Rosewood Strat with a split coil humbucker in the bridge position and that is my musical home.
Oh man fender strat with a split coil humbucker is the dream for me.
If I watch, I think I can tell the difference but if I close my eyes, I can't guess which one is being played. Good demo. I have always preferred the rosewood and ebony fingerboards because I don't like the lacquer on the surface.
I prefer maple it feels like I'm playing with butter, less friction on the hands I get more of a smooth glide. My brain actually somehow registers the black dots on the fretboard a little better. I actually prefer the rosewood sound seems to have more trebel, I think the maple sound can get thick.
Love my Eric Johnson signature with maple neck ♥️
Yeah, that would be my #1 pick right now too.
Funny is that the maple fretboard seemed to sound louder…!?
What song is that being played at 2:44? I love the sound of it
It’s just a song of mine called “Buster”. A little tribute to Hendrix. czcams.com/video/rz7gwVcujbU/video.htmlsi=n4S07njBbz2YbK1z
The maple sounded better to me. It was crisp and snappy, as conventional wisdom claims. Rosewood is nice and I like it too. Currently, all my guitars are Rosewood or Ebony. I haven't owned a Maple neck strat or tele in about 15 years. I've been browsing around to get a cost-effective but good quality maple neck strat. Budget is limited. Considering trying one of the classic vibe series from Squier. I have both Fender US-made, Korean and Japan, and recent year Squiers. For my needs a lot of squiers I've bought through the years have met some need or desired I had. I am curious if you've played the Classic Vibe series Strats (from any decade)? That is a cost effective way for me to add a good-enough maple neck Strat. Currently I am Telecaster heavy and sometimes you need a strat. If you haven't already done a video on Squier Classic Vibe guitars would love to see the different decade-version Strats compared, same with Teles, and possible neck type, though I already know my next electric Solid Body Fender(ish) guitar will be maple.
Do you like Telecasters? Can you do a comparison between a Rosewood Neck and Maple on a Telecasters. Teles are my favorite guitars. I have LPs and SG, but I don't have a strat. I never really bonded with a Strat. 85% or 90% of the time I am always on the Bridge pickup, which is what I think the Teles are famous for. I haven't found the right strat yet! I play a lot of Classic rock, i.e., AC/DC, Beatles, Stones, Greenday, 38 Special, Zep., that kind of stuff. Cool video thank you for posting this.
I love telecasters, but I don't have one with a rosewood fretboard. I'd love to do a video like that if I ever get one.
Own Both of them. A MIJ Trad 60 Rosewood and an AM Pro II Maple. I don’t bother thinking that much about tone but feel of the thing. Almost every time I pick up the Rosewood strat I start a Frusciante Lick, an if I pick the maple I immediately go Hendrix Voodoo Style. I am amazed how people just come up with BS stuff like “that is better”.
I prefer maple necks, it's the feel and response in my fingers for some reason
My 0.2 cent opinioni: no difference in itself. All guitars sound different. I prefer maple 1) because a one-piece neck has no layers 2) because of the feel under my fingers 3) because I like it (pure aesthetics). This said, I've got both, and enjoy strats and teles the same.
I can notice a difference on certain occasions, but only when I'm actively hearing them in person. On a recording I wouldn't guess them apart with certainty. It's mostly just the feel behind your finger and the board colours. If you had the right tone and pedals and amp you wouldn't rule the fretboards being a deal breaker wither rosewood or maple. I like both since their the traditional boards though. I would only buy a guitar if they were rosewood or maple their just my favourites. I believe on the occasions when I believe to hear a difference that the rosewood seems softer and darker when distorted and the maple seems punchier, snappier and brighter but now I'm happy with whichever and I wouldn't be upset.
There is no question that they sound different. The maple seemed to accentuate the least pleasant frequencies - harsh upper mids and honky lows and lower mids. The rosewood is much more even and pleasing to me. I was a bit shocked at the difference on the neck and middle position.
thats what i thought too, im suprised also that the maple has more resistance, i thought that was the other way around
I don‘t like the feel of most Rosewood necks, because sometimes they feel kinda rough. There are some that feel good, but there also are a few issues with other guitar necks I tried in the past. I go with maple. It feels smooth and sounds better in my opinion. :)
If someone doesn’t listen a difference in sound between the 2 necks it’s because that person is deaf or is not listening with proper speakers or headphones. The biggest difference between the 2 necks it’s the Low Mids (body, fullness of the sound) and the low end, both of those frequencies regions are not well represented in crappy computer speakers or the crappy phone mini speaker, get a proper set of headphones to compare the 2. The Maple neck has a thinner sound due to less Low Mids and Low end, so that makes it sound brighter and thinner sounding. Rosewood has more Low Mids and bass which makes it sound fatter with more body. Liking one or the other is personal taste, but there’s definitely a difference in sound, that can be easily measured also, so it’s not true that it doesn’t make a difference
hotter pickups and effects might narrow any differences, vs low wind pickups and no effects.
The maple fretboard sounds a bit muffled? I prefer the feel of a rosewood fretboard, that's where the real difference is.
I don't know if I am imagining it, but I thought the maple neck sounded a little better for me, but it isn't easy to detect any difference. I like the blue one with the maple fretboard out of the two guitars. I never really noticed before, but out of all the guitars I have collected over the years, none of them have a maple fretboard. Maybe it is an excuse I could use to buy another.
i don't hear a difference. maybe because im on a laptop listening? I do know, that as far as I am concerned, I prefer rosewood. Whether they sound different, i dont know, but to me, they certainly feel different, and I have yet to connect with the feel of maple.
Got a Fender Strat with ebony neck... "from my cold dead hands" come to mind! 😉
So, it's fairly obvious that Maple is the clear winner here
Rosewood has more grit. But theres more variables to consider. Guitars are imperfect instruments. The wood shrink and shapes . Also i like rosewood if i were to buy a fender. Just because all the lacquer fender puts on it. If my hand gets moist on the lacquer i cant slide as easy and move. It restricts. Just as this guy said. That is a deal breaker
It’s been proven every guitar sounds different. See the video of the 3 brand new Blue Squiers, each is a tad different sounding
came here to consider a maple neck. rosewood has a more focused punchy bass attack, probably combing out some of the mids (pores absorb more low midrange). maple sounds a little out of control. id say rosewood lends to a compressed smooth sound, like a strat, bridge/mid blend picking choppy rhythms (dirty or clean). maple lends to a snarly tele sound, of either single coil pinned at 10. its certainly more articulate, but not as strumable with all the mids. i suppose fingerstyle would be better on a neck that feels this "lively". when i rake a pick through strings i dont want the guitar sending midrange to the amp out of the jack, i like to add midrange at the amps gain stage wear i can dial it into the swell, i dont want mids on the attack its a mess. itd be great for certain lead tones
After building several thousand guitars, I have found as much difference in finger board wood as differences in guitars with the same finger board identical builds. Some people can make every guitar sound the same. Too many variables to get a true test and make any real generalization. I find that maple CAN have a slight faster attack. But these videos are very fun.
Cool. Thanks for posting this. Yeah, seems the whole synergy/all of the parts being greater than the whole is really true with guitars.
Correct
Maple clarifies the chime of the Strat. It also facilitates a better feel for playing fast. The rosewood sounds muted and less like a Strat. It also feels kind of draggy when bending and going fast. IMHO maple is the true strat neck; better in every way.
I have 4 guitars, 1- slash Les Paul, feels great; Sounds great…. 1-Star EVH: sounds great action is high though, I need to get it ran through a Plek machine, an EVH circle Strat design, and a Frankie featuring a basswood Stratocaster®-style body paired to a graphite-reinforced quartersawn maple neck.
All of my guitars except the EVH Star/Explorer have been ran through the “PLEK PRO” . And what a difference that makes on the action Night and day Sweetwater does it on all new guitars for $299.99 and it is worth every penny!!
Saying all that the neck on the Frankie is like touching a naked female when she & I was 14, just beautiful and smooth and a wonderful thing to wrap my hands around!!! Other than a woman’s soft skin, it is the best feeling thing in the world!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Both sounded good, but I thought the rosewood fretboard sounded a little better balanced overall which you kind of pointed out in your closing comments as well.
Great video. I have a bunch of Rosewood except a Maple Tele. The 1967 Jazzmaster and a 1988 Japanese Strat. Both are amazing. I just ordered a Nile Rodgers Maple. I’ve been studying both sounds and have been trying to figure out reasons for each, especially based on the players.
I compared Robert Cray vs Nile Rodgers. Nile who plays Maple does a lot more smooth rhythms with the thinnest pick available. Robert digs in with a fairly thick pick into Rosewood. I compared the two because both use Hardtail.
It feels obvious to me why Nile would use Maple and Robert would go with Rosewood. It’s what they play. Your maple on rhythm sounded like one sound (less separation of strings). Almost like a synth. Your rosewood came alive with more lead and it made the strings too prominent in rhythm (which is an individual choice but i prefer rhythm being one sound, more like the upper switch on a Jazzmaster).
I think a real player, live or studio, should try to have both, unless they have dug in so deep that they have a signature sound and are in demand because that. Again, great video!
Really interesting!
I think I heard the rosewood having a bit more of a crunchy sound. But both sounded terrific.
Have you ever thought about doing tutorials on mics? I find them to be pretty mysterious.
For me, maple for Telecaster... but's both are good...depends your need ..
In this particular test the guitar with the rosewood fretboard sounds brighter than the maple one, however the difference is coming from the pickups.
How? The pickups are the same.
for clean, the rosewood sounds warmer and more bluesy. for higher gain and more distortion the maple sounds clearer and a little less muddy. if you play higher gain than maple is better and if you play clean then rosewood may be the way to go. the difference is very subtle though.
The pickups are different?
Did you even watch the video and listen fro the beginning? SMH
@@martinaddison4880
I was trying to be polite. I was expecting the usual lack of a quasi-scientific experiment, but having different pickups is pointless.
I've seen two articles where people actually do tests and find there's no difference. And yet occasionally I think to myself there might be. And so, sometimes I watch these videos. They're all terrible. They don't use picking machines. They don't use f tests. But who knows, one might the future.
@@valueofnothing2487One of these days people will understand the physics involved, and realize that the type of body and neck wood simply can't have a pronounced effect on tone, if any effect, when it comes to an instrument that works the way an electric guitar does. Until then, they'll also believe that guitars have "mojo" and "vibe" and that they have to "bond" with it to truly play it well...
I prefer rosewood not just for the colour, it's the old traditional fingerboard and I just hear a minimal difference. I appreciate rosewood, it's more versatile to me and a tad softer or warmer. Sometimes maple seems brighter and I just believe rosewood is somehow richer with licks.
Just came over here from Uncle Larry's channel where we debated the difference fingerboards make to the sound. This was an excellent video with surprising results. I think the neck with rosewood gave a crisper more defined sound and found the maple to be slightly warmer but slightly mushier. That said, I'd like to see this test repeated with several pairs of necks. I prefer to play rosewood cause it feels better to me. By far this was the best head to head comparison as I've seen on the topic. Well done.
I think I have gone mad, my pre conceived notion would have said maple would be brighter but I preferred the Rosewood and found it clearer to my ears. I did eyes close first and had a shock as I got them the wrong way around when I ‘watch’!
The maple has a wider less controlled sound. The rosewood is a bit less warm but nice and punchy!
I agree with that. The maple did have a sound that was a little warmer and less bright. I have noticed that on my own guitars. In the end, there isn't enough difference to really matter to me. I like the way RW looks on certain guitars and how maple looks on others. Same for small and big headstocks.
The red with the maple is so beautiful forget the sound.
I agree!
Rosewood one is better in my ears. Maple one is more open, too open. Rosewood one is well balanced.
For me, rosewood has a more balanced, richer sound. I don’t like that “bright bite” what comes from the maple fretboard. It’s just my personal preference, both sound great.
Put it simply. The rosewood sounded brighter, the maple sounded muddy
I closed my eyes for the clean playing and thought the same thing. I thought is was going to be the opposite.
A little hard to tell in general because there's probably variations among different maples or rosewood necks that might be larger than changing species.
There is difference in pickups Vmod vs fat 50s
I prefer rosewood because it's easier to refret than maple or ebony.
You can say that again!
When he was playing the pink Floyd lick...maple was so much better.
The rosewood sound buzzy...not as clean and warm.
All my strats are maple....
Some are more bassier....and some are more tremble.
Depends on the pups.
Come down to me...I love a CBS strat with a maple neck...thus...
Hiway one with a maple neck and CS69S.
I like the look & tone of the Rosewood best. I didn’t know that the fretboard made any difference in tone but it does.
The flaw here is that it is not a blind sound test. I would love to see something like this where someone actually does it as a blind test with more than one Maple and More than one Rosewood neck and how well people can pick out the difference.
Yes. If EJ uses maple, I am also using maple. 😇
2nd!
Chords sounded exactly the same to me. But with just single notes, the rosewood sounded alot clearer to me.
Agree!
More difference than I thought! I prefer rosewood because I like the little bit more crisper sound.
People say maple sounds brighter......... I can't hear it.
Because it’s not. Rosewood has more sparkle and a round bottom.
Maple is more even across. That’s all.
Your ears hear correctly.
Tonewoods aren't real they can't hurt you
Put earphones on
@@gatsu8634XDDDD
Maple more 6k-8k Hz and
less 3-6k Hzthan rosewood to my ear
Super subtle…? Would never stand out in a mix. Go with feel and look, what ever flips your switch.
Definite difference. The maple sounded darker and louder which is antithetical to what it's supposed to sound like compared to rosewood, but that's what I heard.
Me too. I was surprised, but someone mentioned that the construction of a glued on rosewood board could do that.
Same here. I thought I was losing my mind as its the exact opposite of what I expected.
Glad I've got rosewood on all my guitars now.
Hm... I hear a slight difference, however, to me there really isn't a nickel's worth of difference.
frets - another obvious variable not discussed. the only way to truly compare rosewood v maple would be to use the same exact frets, wear, etc.
Rosewood is much warmer
Maple sounds better to my ear. Fatter, crisper and more open
I didn't notice any difference honestly
It's not the wood; it's the construction. Rosewood is harder than maple, but it's two pieces with the fretboard glued on. This reduces the snap and attack. A maple cap neck versus a one-piece rosewood neck would be good test, but I'm not sure I've seen one done. Truss rods matter, too. Dual-acting is heavier than single and this affects tone.
I think you are right, i watched videos with all rosewood having more treble than maple.
This changes everything I thought about rosewood
Nice topic. Just sharing an opinion, maple "projects" more.. prove of that, snare drums. The Slingerland Radio King shell..is made of solid maple.and so onThey put a top of maple on PRS, Les Pauls.. but it is a great thing the adventure of looking for the very own response to preferences, so valid, Cheers
Yeah, that's a really good point. Some of my favorite snare sounds over the years have been from maple snare drums.
There is perceivable difference, slightly more low end on the maple and a little extra mid range. I don't believe this is to do with the type of wood, rather action variation (truss rod) fretwork, neck construction.
Good point. I'm sure construction had at least something to do with the difference.
Wow .. I thought I was a rosewood guy. But …. The maple was slightly crisper for sure!
I've been engaged in this debate quite a bit recently. Personally I don't see how fretboard material produces any perceivable difference in tone on a solid body electric guitar's signal, and this test proves that. I think a lot of people get caught up in the debate but I'd be curious how many could correctly guess which is which in a blind test. Personally, I think there are many, many other factors that more directly affect tone that would render any difference between the two irrelevant. I do think the FEEL of the wood can cause someone to play differently, which may result in a perceived difference in tone.
At the end of the day, nobody is listening to a song on the radio and saying "That sounds just like a Fender Strat with a *Maple* fretboard!"
Great work on the demo though!
There was a difference, the maple neck sounds more crisp, but there's not that much difference. It's all down to what you prefer, and how it feels. I own 6 Fenders, and none of them have a maple fingerboard, but I would like one with a maple fingerboard.
I think a blind test of multiple necks with quantified set ups and run through a spectrum analyser because there's any Imperial evidence of sound differences. I still believe the feel is where all the differences are. How you feel the guitar affects how you play far more than the wood.
I've heard that Eric Clapton prefers maple because he doesn't like the feel of bending against the grain of rosewood. Personally, I prefer maple on a Strat because that's the original look and maple just doesn't look right on anything but a Fender. To me, rosewood is for Gibson's and acoustics. Maple is warmer and sunnier looking and there's not enough of a sonic difference to matter to me.
Red guitar sounds fatter
Very slight difference maple is a little crispier
I definitely hear a more pronounced low end with the maple board.
Good comparison Nate. As long as the pickups aren't microphonic the wood choices on an electric make no difference. Strings, pickups, picking position and position of pickups are the factors that will influence electric guitar tone since it is just an electrical signal. If the pickups are microphonic then there may be a difference in tone like an acoustic where wood makes a lot of difference.
People hear with thier eyes. Absolutely no difference other than picking strength of attack.
Maples brighter and snappier. Rosewood sounds better
Eyes closed, they sound basically the same. I think this videos shows that :)
Literally no diference.