Maple or Rosewood?

[s4wgb]

Thank you Tony.That website looks good.
I have added to my fav sites.Not seen that one before.
Ref neck oiling.I am using Birchwood Casey gun stock oil thinned down with lighte fuel (naptha) It was highly recomened by some guitar builder/luthiers in USA.
Thanks

[martyn]

Interesting subject and cause of much discussion over the years, it would seem.

For me, I think I can detect a subtle difference in tone between maple and rosewood but it is so subtle it could just be my imagination. I sense the sound of my rosewood necked strats is very, very slightly softer and more rounded than a previously owned pair of maple necked ones but for me the advantage of rosewood over maple is purely physical in that when the fingers get sweaty on a warm day, it's easier for a string to slip beneath my finger tip when I'm finger bending whereas the rosewood neck is a tad more grippy and allows me to dig in more effectively. A bit like pressing down on a rougher surface than the highly varnished finish of a maple fingerboard so it has something to grip onto, if that makes sense. Less slippy - but again some might find that a nuisance according to their style of playing.

I honestly feel that's the only practical advantage of rosewood - if any. I personally like rosewood for its visual appeal hanging on the wall and my US62RI (similar to that in my avatar) is very similar in appearance to my first strat that I owned back in the sixties except it had a single ply plecplate rather than the later and current 3-ply - I bought it secondhand in 1965 and those in the know suggest it may have been made sometime between 1958 to 1961 because of the single ply plate used during that time. Alas long gone . . .

So it's nostalgia more than any physical or tonal reason that made me go for my current rosewood strats but I think someone here once said that in total (and certainly during their most popular earlier period) Hank recorded more material using a rosewood necked strat than he did using maple, so it should really be considered the classic Hank guitar rather than a maple one but that's another debate entirely, of course . . .

Cheers,
Martyn

[frankmarvin]

For goodness sake, is anyone honestly saying that they can walk into a club / pub/ venue, and without seeing the band say ** AHHH , I hear a lead guitar with a maple fret board ** absolute rubbish: Dont you feel that we are getting far too technical in an effort to sound knowledgeable and wise: You cant possibly compare two different guitars with different fret boards, there are too many other variances , apparently most cant tell whether the strings used are flat or wire wound never mind what the fret board is made of: Keep it real PLEASE:

Sorry to sound abrupt, but there are beginners who come on here for advice and these so called * finer points * are nothing but a contest in* who knows the most * : As Julian said way back, * the difference is insignificant*
Regards, Frank:

[Tone]

Hi Frank

I think you're being a bit harsh! Nobody posting on this thread has said that they can identify whether a guitar has a maple neck or rosewood board in the circumstances you describe. Indeed, the consensus seems to be that any difference is barely discernible and would normally be masked by other varaiables as you say.

Also, I don't think anyone deliberately posts something of a technical nature just to show off their knowledge or to sound superior to anyone else (OK, there may be the occasional exception) and it's usually done in answer to a question or comment. Yes, discussions can sometimes become a bit anal or bogged down in trivial fine detail but I think the vast majority of our discussions are interesting and are to the benefit of all members, beginners or old hands alike. I think most would agree that they have learned an awful lot from this site - I certainly have.

Cheers.

Tony

[frankmarvin]

OK Tony, Point taken, you are mostly correct in what you say, I was trying to keep the discussion * real* but now realise that I had got the wrong end of the stick, so to speak : You are right that the vast majority of discussions are both interesting and informative and a pleasure to read and take part in: I already apologised for being abrupt in my post so will not repeat myself, but I meant no harm to anyone, I will try to engage my brain in future

Regards, Frank:

[frankmarvin]

Alder or Ash ?? Sorry Steve I aint biting, one ar*e kicking a day is enough for me lol

All the best, Frank

[Tone]

No a**e kicking intended, Frank. I was just gently and politely (I hope) pointing out that I thought you were wrong (it sounded like you were suffering from a bit of post Christmas/New Year blues)!

Anyway, I respect you for immediately holding your hands up.

Cheers.

Tony

[frankmarvin]

Yes Tony, you were gentle and polite and more importantly you were right:
Your comments are appreciated:

Regards, Frank:

[bor64]

As a owner of multiple "fretboards" maple,ebony,Brazilian-Indian rosewood etc I know they feel and sound different.
But there are also so many other influences on a guitar.
I have two slabboard strats just made a few weeks from each other....they sound different,one weight 100 gram more and has a slightly fatter neck.The bell like tone one is fiesta red and the slightly warmer sounding one is Daphne blue.....
Must be the color that made them sound different ;D

[Cruachan]

Well, somehow I knew I wouldn't hold out for very long

I arranged to try her out yesterday only to find that the 'soundproofed' room (essential - I wasn't about to make a fool of myself out in the main shop) was occupied all afternoon for tuition. So, back I went today and the staff were very apologetic and helpful - even got a cup of coffee! After a solid hour of messing about my mind was made up despite the fact that I was playing into a Blues Junior MkIII which couldn't hold a candle to my modded MkII and I didn't have the benefit of my pedal board and Magicstomp with Charlie's EFTP patches.

The strings are being changed from 9's to my favourite D'Addario 10's (EXL110)-(10,13,17,26,36,46). When they learned I was a Shadows/HBM fan they tried to persuade me to give the Fender Original 1550s a try - (11,15,22w,32,40,48), but I felt that was really a step too far at this early stage in my relationship with the new girl. I was given a set to take away in any case along with a Mini Hercules stand and a Dunlop Micro Fine Fret Polishing Cloth so I didn't do too badly.

The guitar is being prepped and setup/action checked/adjusted in house, although I gather Fender do a pretty good job before releasing their guitars to market. Also they tell me that Fender UK have a base somewhere in Sussex for warranty work and repairs and the service/turnaround offered is excellent. Hopefully their services won't be required.

Pick her up on Thursday (first day I could get back to the shop) and, guess what? I went with Rosewood! In the end I decided variety has to be the spice of life. The instrument is immaculate and she looks fantastic!! Should compliment my Maple necked, Alder bodied amber coloured Strat very nicely.

Once again, thank you all for your very interesting and informative contributions.

Regards,

Mike

[somebodyelseuk]

Great news, Mike(?).

A lesson to everyone there, by the way. Go try it out, it may save you money. I bought another toy just before Christmas, in store, for the same price as their 'net price PLUS about £50 worth of free goodies. You ask a few polite questions, you end up saving £130!

As for the worn out Maple/rosewood question. The ONLY true way to prove it is to switch necks on a guitar, record both completely dry and compare. Then, add all yer toys using exactly the same settings for both and against a full mix. Buried amongst all that, I defy anyone to know which is which on a blind test.
Ash v alder? Easy. Alder's a lot less work to paint. That's why Fender switched in the 50s.
Ash tends to be a little brighter than alder, alder tends to have an even frequency response in comparison. It's more obvious a difference with Telecasters. Alder is a 'jack of all trades' wood, whereas ash is a bit of a master of one, eg. you can make a Les Paul out of alder and it would do the job (Tokai do), but ash wouldn't work for that sound with the maple cap on top.
I have a Strat-a-like that's a walnut body/maple neck combo that sounds very much like ash (helluva lot heavier, though), which has a H/S/S p/up arrangement. That combination works really well with the humbucker - pure fluke, I had no idea whether it would when I had it built.
Weren't original Burns Marvins made out of tulip or Kenyan swamp mdf or some other unusual wood (from a guitar making point of view)? I vaguely remember reading something about it way back in the 80s in Tony Bacon's 'Burns Book'.
There's a tongue in cheek comment further up about the colour making the difference... That's not as daft as it seems. Fender do use different woods under different colours these days - where they may usually use alder, some colours (not exclusively sunbursts) use ash under them. This is a relatively recent thing - the last ten years or so. Previously, certainly in the 50s/60s/70s/80s aside from the rosewood and walnut specials they used to use the same wood for all production solids solely for reasons of cost.

Cheers, Julian