Two Fender American Standard Stratocasters with identical electronics and Hardware but with different necks. The rosewood one has more bite and the maple one sounds more transparent and with less mids
I am beside my self with confusion! It is so ridiculous that there are presently 30 dipshits in this world willing to give this vid a thumbs down!! This is an AMAZING video. No endless opinions, babbling, and time wasting mixed with incredibly tasteful playing, and hands on examples. Every "how to" and "vs" video should be modeled after this! FANTASTIC VIDEO THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
Thanks, great demo and the wood makes a big difference. I have swapped necks on guitars and installed dozens of pickups and it makes a big difference what wood it is.
Your video is the most fair comparison I've seen, u picked up the guitars and plugged in the same setting with no editing. I'm glad u made me confirmed my preference for maple :-).
Maple sounds thinner, less bass and less overall "fullness", is my impression. Great sound with the rosewood, I'm contemplating changing my maple neck for a rosewood one, and this is good news. I don't know how some people here say they don't hear a difference, it's quite obvious. Thanks!
kudos, dude! most people apparently think wood is magnetic... duh... scott grove has demonstrated this very effectively on his channel. This guy tested with 2 different guitars. if he used the same guitar and 2 necks there would be no difference. The only difference i noticed b/t these two guitars is the way the guy plays and a little bit of pickup and/or string differences.
Fretboard material affects tone as much or more than body wood. Especially on a Strat with a floating trem bridge. The strings vibrate against and in relation to frets embedded in wood. The tighter grain of maple makes the frets (and therefore the strings) vibrate with more high frequency overtones than the coarse grain of redwood. It's pretty obvious if you really listen.
I have the 1995 strat with matching painted headstock, it was a ltd edition 50th anniversary, its rosewood, I think rosewood warms teles up great as they are so bright anyway.
I never cease to be amazed that people actually think that the fingerboard affects the tone. The difference in tone that you hear from one guitar to another here could be any number of variables, but the fingerboard isn't one. You are certainly free to imagine whatever you like :)
I have used both at gigs through 70's, 80's and 90's and can testify that a fender with a maple neck is much sweeter than a rosewood. If you have a good ear you can spot one on recordings.A string is suspended under tension between 2 metal points which are embedded into wood at both ends,if you change the composition of the wood your string is going to resonate accordingly. A pickup doesn't simply translate vibrations, it picks up resonance, harmonics and all sorts of nuances that are created by by the composition of materials in your guitar.
Good video, I thought for sure that I would be able to tell the difference between the two but its very close. The maple may be slightly brighter and the rosewood slightly warmer but, they are very close.
+Al D. It's not close at all, even listening with some cheap apple earphones. To me, a rosewood board is a must tone wise even though I much prefer the lacquer feel of the maple fingerboards
It is not incorrect. Yes the woods have different densities but once you plug in a guitar, the pickup is taking the vibration from the string and creating an electric current. It is not picking up the acoustic sound of the instrument it is only picking up the strings vibration, which is unaffected by a piece of wood that is not in anyway touching the strings. The frets touch but the fingerboard is never in contact with the strings. The wood of the guitar doesn't matter either. It's physics.
Thank you so much!! I had a hard time deciding which strat deluxe to buy, maple or rosewood. I chose maple and loving it. Awesome playin bruv, take care!
great demonstration, it really clears the difference between the fretboards - I personally likes your roswood strat more. p.s you are a wonderful guitar player - you got the vibe!! thanks
On a very expensive speaker system or set of headphones combined with a trained ear, the differences are very clear. However, most people don't have those things and so it doesn't really matter if there is a difference in the wood, any alder body sounds almost the same. A walnut body will be way warmer than alder, even with the same electronics. However, with the right electronics, both guitars will sound the exact same.
Yes, maple is more clear, with bright basses and smooth trteble. I heard it on other video's too. Rosewood seems more distorted in sound, more mid range, or something. I have a Tele and a Strat with maple necks and wondered if it was time for another Fender with a rosewood neck. But now, I don't think it is necessary. There is one thing with the rosewood neck that appeals to me though: there is more contrast in color between the fingers and the fretboard.
Weird, so many people are hearing the same meanwhile I hear quite a difference. At least with cleans (I normally only play cleans). Then again, maybe not everyone has a good sound system. Rosewood has more lower-mids (which are soft/spongier) and shimmery treble. Maple has less treble, bit smooth, but sounds more focus and brighter with the upper mids and greater attack. I love Rosewood or Ebony with acoustics for the shimmery treble but Maple fretboard just sounds right with a Strat. Plus, it seems to sit in the mix better. Tyvm for the demo!
Neil Pincus u probably meant maple fingerboards? Well i am not saying that this isnt true, its just that i personally dont believe that its that big of a difference. u can still mess around with setting on an amp to get the desired tone, so thats why i dont really give to much of an importance from which material its made.
Nejc rozic gorjup No, I was being a little sarcastic. Everybody says "it must be the electronics" but it's funny how the electronics always make the maple brighter, without fail :) You can surf these videos all day and the maple pickups are magically brighter. The difference is small but it is there. That's the whole point. People are saying there's none at all, which is bullshit. It's just subtle.
Rob Chapman does a great comparison of squire/fender strats with his buddy at Anderton's Music. The one's they guessed correctly with a blindfold were the ones they could FEEL with their hands and fingers.
First off very nice playing..and a great side by side comparison. I have always liked the Maple, the look, feel and sound (everyone has their own fav). Both clean settings sound great. I really liked the Rosewood overdriven sound ( that kind of surprised me because I have always gravitated to the Maple,,,must be the Clapton influence). Cool video.
I have a black fender strat with rosewood. I have also played a Telecaster with maplewood and I have to say that the maple wood feels more comfortable to me and sounds better IMO
Nicely done, helpful. For listeners who can't hear a difference, I think they probably would if they were in the room with the player. Through the average desktop speakers, the difference is very subtle - maple is a bit brighter, and with more "attack" - moving in the direction of a tele. In a true live performance, the band and crowd would wash out the differences. Incidentally, with a quality analog equalizer (MXR) you fine tune your clean tone to make up for these differences.
Many people believe this to be true. However, in an electric guitar where the sound produced is primarily derived from the metal strings interrupting a magnetic field which sends a signal to the amp and out the speaker. The relationship of the sound produced through this process can only be effected at the bridge contacts up the neck to the nut. So the influence of string vibration from tonal wood is so subtle as to lay the hype to rest. Acoustics are an entirely different sound source
@haden Thanks a lot!! Its not a song, originally was a demo of some overdrive pedal i heard once, I liked it and kept playing it ever since when I am recording samples
Maple seems to sound more defined in lows and highs. A little more mid-range tones with the rosewood fretboard. But I maybe couldn't tell without the video.
sounds good man keep up the good work, i believe the rosewood has a fuller sounds but the maple emphasizes the single coils better. thanks for the vid. ill be making a comparison video on the Jackson DXMG(rosewood) VS Jackson DK2M(maple). i will make various videos with these same guitars but each video will have different pickups(Dimarzio,Seymour Duncan) to see the true differences in pickups and fretboard.
THANKS FOR THE VIDEO. YOU RULE. AND YOU'VE MADE ME DECIDE TO BUY THE SQUIER CLASSIC VIBE 50'S STRAT (instead of the 60's one... the 50's has a maple fretboard and now im sold on it)
I'll give you some tips. get some graphite powder and gently put some in the grooves in the nut, the bridge saddels and under the string trees. I have an 88 american standard with dual trees. You'll be amazed at how good it stays in tune, even when you whammy hard. Also just use Fender Nickel Plated Strings to bring back the high end of the guitar, sounds like you have the treble almost off. And if you have a sealed back cabinet get a screwdriver and take it off. The amp will breath better.
I agree it would be better, but my idea was not to prove something, just to compare two guitars I got at the time. The guitars sound fairly different, at least for me(obviously not for everybody else), but its one thing to listen them on TH-cam, other to play them actually. Cheers!!
It sure would be nice to see the db output on a frequency scale....haha The maple seems to drown out some mid-range and sound more open which I like. Anyway you slice it this is fun, thank you for taking your time to post a FREE video :)
I hear very little if any difference. Both necks are maple and one has a rosewood fingerboard. The pickups, electronics, strings, body, fingers have a bigger impact on the tone than a guitar neck. This is an age old fallacy similar to what the guitar is painted with.
Hi, that´s cool. For me the maple neck sounds more like SRV, but he mostly plays his number one with a rosewoode neck :-) Cool playing! Regards from germany
the differences is so noticeable in this comparison. Maple is a little bit mid-concentrated so it seems to be a little louder. but rosewood is a little bit mid-scooped and when it comes to Drive, so smooth and sweet.
thanks for the video, always was wondering if there is a real difference. To be honest i couldnt feel this difference, maybe when the distortion was on. Would be great to analyse both wave files recorded and see the db spectrum differences :P cheers
Seems they would sound the same but how bout feel? you like the glossy maple or the dry rosewood better , Im buying one soon & am really not sure yet what I want lol.
I believe the maple vs rosewood issue pertains more to how the neck feels when being played and not so much the sound difference between the two, because there is no real noticeable difference.
In my opinion, maple is great for strats with humbuckers! I have American Standard with maple fingerboard and HH configuration (I replaced the pickups myself) and it sounds very much strat like, despite the Humbuckers. One of my favorite guitars!
Congratulations, amazing sound dude!!!! In my opinion the main difference between maple and rosewood are notorius when you use heavy distortions; Rosewood absolutely brings more sustain.
Thanks for the very good comparison without all the blah blah blah, but I had a difficult time detecting a major tone difference listening on my IPhone, but will try again with headphones. It could be my 56 year old ears. I'm on the fence between an American Standard Strat or Tele, but leaning toward the Strat for more of the warmer blues tones. Like many others, I don't know if the fingerboard makes as much difference as the pickups and amp, but I'm just learning how to play so what do I know.
Check out 1:50 Vs 2:31... difference is clear Maple is clear, more open and rings beautifully Rosewood is a little "flat", with some "cartboard" sound going on.
I love the argument that you can hear your strings acoustically as well and that clouds your perception. Believe me, when I crank up my Hiwatt stack, I can NOT hear the strings! My garage door rattles and my power tools fall off the shelves. What I hear is that different fretboards sound different.... amplified.
I played an American Standard Strat with a maple board for some time, but finally got back to rosewood. Sounds warmer, sweeter and more colourful in my opinion - has more bass and treble than maple.
@CandleOfGod I could see how one would prefer maple for clean settings. But there is some extra noise in there that the rosewood eliminates. Some might call it flat, but for distortion I think I would prefer rosewood. it is like a "De-esser" for guitars :D Keep in mind I'm using this video to make a decision for a neck on a rock oriented guitar either Charvel or Ibanez, so my tonal goals maybe different from yours.
@ealiagac SRV never played Pao Ferro. His Number 1 Strat was Rosewood. Lenny had maple neck, but most of his songs were recorded with a rosewood Strat. Fender SRV Signature is Pao Ferro but Stevie hadn't live long enough to see it finished. The point is that Pao Ferro fretboard is Fender's addition, Stevie mostly played rosewood and occasionally maple.
I like how everyone says that the fretboard makes a sound difference, when the strings don't even touch the fretboard. Sure there would be an infinitely minute differences from say the density of the wood on frets and other factors, but all of them are virtually impossible to detect.
+Nathanael Hutchison there's a lot of nonsense out there about what changes the sound and how, but fretboard wood is a pretty noticeable thing, particularly with fenders. Just an opinion. I think Rosewood is a noticeably darker tone with a fair amount of sustain. The maple sounds tinny and has a bite to it, better sound between strings. I could pick out the difference any day.
@josenet2006 Actually not really, the strings are the same gage on both guitars and more important, I have changed the strings on the blue Strat with Elixir 10-46 (the same like on the other one) and the difference is still there. The maple neck has less middles than the rosewood one, which is great for some things and no so good for others (for me personally). But the difference really can be felt best when one plays both guitars. In general I think that both necks sound really good
Different woods definitely resonate differently in electric guitars! It all comes down to density and weight. Prefer maple but also like the warm tones attributed to rosewood. Nice post!
Before some of you try to kill each other listen to what Eric Clapton has to say on a Fender video talk about the Anniversary edition of his beloved Stratocastor named "Brownie" I listen to what he says about maple fretboards necks verses rosewood fretboards, Clapton clearly explains why he likes the maple neck the best. Its a video titled, "Fender Custom Eric Clapton "Brownie" Tribute Stratocaster" February 12, 2013....
I would say that 90% of the time you can swap maple & rosewood fretboard necks on strats and teles without hearing any difference at all. Sometimes you just run across a neck that a little denser with heavier wood and it will have a tiny bit of a deeper tone because of it, but that's pretty rare really.
I am beside my self with confusion! It is so ridiculous that there are presently 30 dipshits in this world willing to give this vid a thumbs down!! This is an AMAZING video. No endless opinions, babbling, and time wasting mixed with incredibly tasteful playing, and hands on examples. Every "how to" and "vs" video should be modeled after this! FANTASTIC VIDEO THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
Thanks, great demo and the wood makes a big difference. I have swapped necks on guitars and installed dozens of pickups and it makes a big difference what wood it is.
This was a very informative video and I can surely hear a big difference ! I'm glad my start has a rosewood neck.
Your video is the most fair comparison I've seen, u picked up the guitars and plugged in the same setting with no editing. I'm glad u made me confirmed my preference for maple :-).
Thanks alot for the demo bro! Great playing and the difference of sound is so little but it's there.
Thanks a lot for this demo. I'm about to invest in a Strat, and was agonising over the fretboard material. This really helped.
Thanks for the demo man! Good back and forth comparison.
♥ You're videos are amazing and super informative! Thank you for that, and don't ever put down that Strat!
Maple sounds thinner, less bass and less overall "fullness", is my impression. Great sound with the rosewood, I'm contemplating changing my maple neck for a rosewood one, and this is good news. I don't know how some people here say they don't hear a difference, it's quite obvious. Thanks!
kudos, dude! most people apparently think wood is magnetic... duh...
scott grove has demonstrated this very effectively on his channel. This guy tested with 2 different guitars. if he used the same guitar and 2 necks there would be no difference. The only difference i noticed b/t these two guitars is the way the guy plays and a little bit of pickup and/or string differences.
Glad you like it! Thanks!!!
I like the sound of the maple fretboard. Thanks for the video!
Maple has more frecuencies at least in this video. To me the maple is a winner for versatility and the style and great playing of the man here.
Of course the wood matter, thanks for taking the time and sharing your findings
Great playing! Made it look effortless. Nice comparison as well.
Such great playing too man!
Fretboard material affects tone as much or more than body wood. Especially on a Strat with a floating trem bridge. The strings vibrate against and in relation to frets embedded in wood. The tighter grain of maple makes the frets (and therefore the strings) vibrate with more high frequency overtones than the coarse grain of redwood. It's pretty obvious if you really listen.
I have the 1995 strat with matching painted headstock, it was a ltd edition 50th anniversary, its rosewood, I think rosewood warms teles up great as they are so bright anyway.
both sound awesome, i think it comes down to the feel of the wood on your fingers
I never cease to be amazed that people actually think that the fingerboard affects the tone. The difference in tone that you hear from one guitar to another here could be any number of variables, but the fingerboard isn't one. You are certainly free to imagine whatever you like :)
I have used both at gigs through 70's, 80's and 90's and can testify that a fender with a maple neck is much sweeter than a rosewood. If you have a good ear you can spot one on recordings.A string is suspended under tension between 2 metal points which are embedded into wood at both ends,if you change the composition of the wood your string is going to resonate accordingly. A pickup doesn't simply translate vibrations, it picks up resonance, harmonics and all sorts of nuances that are created by by the composition of materials in your guitar.
stratocaster539 wow this a great explanation ! Thanks! I personally like the warmer tone of the Rosewood though .
Ash body + maple neck = Standard musical industry sound
Great playing, great comparison.
They both sound amazing anyway!
Good video, I thought for sure that I would be able to tell the difference between the two but its very close. The maple may be slightly brighter and the rosewood slightly warmer but, they are very close.
+Al D. It's not close at all, even listening with some cheap apple earphones. To me, a rosewood board is a must tone wise even though I much prefer the lacquer feel of the maple fingerboards
Great playing! Great sound! Great clip! Thanks!
This guy plays really well
Very nice playing and a great video comparing the necks!
I fell in love with that blue strat, wow
It is not incorrect. Yes the woods have different densities but once you plug in a guitar, the pickup is taking the vibration from the string and creating an electric current. It is not picking up the acoustic sound of the instrument it is only picking up the strings vibration, which is unaffected by a piece of wood that is not in anyway touching the strings. The frets touch but the fingerboard is never in contact with the strings. The wood of the guitar doesn't matter either. It's physics.
Excellent demo, thanks.
Thank you so much!! I had a hard time deciding which strat deluxe to buy, maple or rosewood. I chose maple and loving it. Awesome playin bruv, take care!
Excellent, very informative, and terrific skills! Trying to decide between maple and rosewood... on Elite Strat...
great demonstration, it really clears the difference between the fretboards - I personally likes your roswood strat more. p.s you are a wonderful guitar player - you got the vibe!! thanks
gotta love the look of the maple fretboard
On a very expensive speaker system or set of headphones combined with a trained ear, the differences are very clear. However, most people don't have those things and so it doesn't really matter if there is a difference in the wood, any alder body sounds almost the same. A walnut body will be way warmer than alder, even with the same electronics. However, with the right electronics, both guitars will sound the exact same.
Yes, maple is more clear, with bright basses and smooth trteble. I heard it on other video's too. Rosewood seems more distorted in sound, more mid range, or something. I have a Tele and a Strat with maple necks and wondered if it was time for another Fender with a rosewood neck. But now, I don't think it is necessary. There is one thing with the rosewood neck that appeals to me though: there is more contrast in color between the fingers and the fretboard.
Weird, so many people are hearing the same meanwhile I hear quite a difference. At least with cleans (I normally only play cleans). Then again, maybe not everyone has a good sound system.
Rosewood has more lower-mids (which are soft/spongier) and shimmery treble. Maple has less treble, bit smooth, but sounds more focus and brighter with the upper mids and greater attack.
I love Rosewood or Ebony with acoustics for the shimmery treble but Maple fretboard just sounds right with a Strat. Plus, it seems to sit in the mix better.
Tyvm for the demo!
Perfect breakdown! I couldn't quite put it into words.
as hard as you will try, you will never be able to find 2 pickups or 2 pieces of wood who sound the same, so this whole video is pointless.
Nejc rozic gorjup Maple pickups are always brighter, which is a remarkable coincidence.
Neil Pincus u probably meant maple fingerboards? Well i am not saying that this isnt true, its just that i personally dont believe that its that big of a difference. u can still mess around with setting on an amp to get the desired tone, so thats why i dont really give to much of an importance from which material its made.
Nejc rozic gorjup No, I was being a little sarcastic. Everybody says "it must be the electronics" but it's funny how the electronics always make the maple brighter, without fail :) You can surf these videos all day and the maple pickups are magically brighter. The difference is small but it is there. That's the whole point. People are saying there's none at all, which is bullshit. It's just subtle.
Excelent job... Very simple and objective, thanks
Rob Chapman does a great comparison of squire/fender strats with his buddy at Anderton's Music. The one's they guessed correctly with a blindfold were the ones they could FEEL with their hands and fingers.
Really helpful video. Thanks, you've helped me make my decision
First off very nice playing..and a great side by side comparison.
I have always liked the Maple, the look, feel and sound (everyone has their own fav).
Both clean settings sound great. I really liked the Rosewood overdriven sound ( that kind of surprised me because I have always gravitated to the Maple,,,must be the Clapton influence).
Cool video.
I have a black fender strat with rosewood. I have also played a Telecaster with maplewood and I have to say that the maple wood feels more comfortable to me and sounds better IMO
Excellently played sir
Stunning tones
Great playing. Thanks for sharing!
Both sound great in their own way. I guess that's why you have both! Can't have too many guitars.
Nicely done, helpful. For listeners who can't hear a difference, I think they probably would if they were in the room with the player. Through the average desktop speakers, the difference is very subtle - maple is a bit brighter, and with more "attack" - moving in the direction of a tele. In a true live performance, the band and crowd would wash out the differences. Incidentally, with a quality analog equalizer (MXR) you fine tune your clean tone to make up for these differences.
Bout time someone made a proper comparison video, thanks bro
sick playing, mate! That Traynor sounds sweet, too!
Many people believe this to be true. However, in an electric guitar where the sound produced is primarily derived from the metal strings interrupting a magnetic field which sends a signal to the amp and out the speaker. The relationship of the sound produced through this process can only be effected at the bridge contacts up the neck to the nut. So the influence of string vibration from tonal wood is so subtle as to lay the hype to rest. Acoustics are an entirely different sound source
@haden
Thanks a lot!! Its not a song, originally was a demo of some overdrive pedal i heard once, I liked it and kept playing it ever since when I am recording samples
Maple seems to sound more defined in lows and highs. A little more mid-range tones with the rosewood fretboard. But I maybe couldn't tell without the video.
it's cause they're really heavy and sunlight affects acrylic pretty bad. UV rays discolor it and heat from sunlight can make it warp.
Love your tone man! Good job
youve got some serious blues skills mate
sounds good man keep up the good work, i believe the rosewood has a fuller sounds but the maple emphasizes the single coils better. thanks for the vid. ill be making a comparison video on the Jackson DXMG(rosewood) VS Jackson DK2M(maple). i will make various videos with these same guitars but each video will have different pickups(Dimarzio,Seymour Duncan) to see the true differences in pickups and fretboard.
Great test and awesome playing!
Thanks, the rosewood one is with normal standard Fender (USA) pickups
Cheers!!!
Looks like we have the same amp and pedal board and both have Strats too. Nice playin! Tasty.....very tasty!
perfect video. all of TH-cam needs to take note. i was surprised how bassy the maple was, i thought the opposite
THANKS FOR THE VIDEO. YOU RULE. AND YOU'VE MADE ME DECIDE TO BUY THE SQUIER CLASSIC VIBE 50'S STRAT (instead of the 60's one... the 50's has a maple fretboard and now im sold on it)
I'll give you some tips. get some graphite powder and gently put some in the grooves in the nut, the bridge saddels and under the string trees. I have an 88 american standard with dual trees. You'll be amazed at how good it stays in tune, even when you whammy hard. Also just use Fender Nickel Plated Strings to bring back the high end of the guitar, sounds like you have the treble almost off. And if you have a sealed back cabinet get a screwdriver and take it off. The amp will breath better.
I agree it would be better, but my idea was not to prove something, just to compare two guitars I got at the time. The guitars sound fairly different, at least for me(obviously not for everybody else), but its one thing to listen them on TH-cam, other to play them actually.
Cheers!!
It sure would be nice to see the db output on a frequency scale....haha The maple seems to drown out some mid-range and sound more open which I like. Anyway you slice it this is fun, thank you for taking your time to post a FREE video :)
HI and thanks!!
I am soon starting to give online lessons and I will be glad to do so!!
Cheers!!!
I hear very little if any difference. Both necks are maple and one has a rosewood fingerboard. The pickups, electronics, strings, body, fingers have a bigger impact on the tone than a guitar neck. This is an age old fallacy similar to what the guitar is painted with.
Hi, that´s cool. For me the maple neck sounds more like SRV, but he mostly plays his number one with a rosewoode neck :-) Cool playing! Regards from germany
the differences is so noticeable in this comparison. Maple is a little bit mid-concentrated so it seems to be a little louder. but rosewood is a little bit mid-scooped and when it comes to Drive, so smooth and sweet.
thanks for the video, always was wondering if there is a real difference. To be honest i couldnt feel this difference, maybe when the distortion was on. Would be great to analyse both wave files recorded and see the db spectrum differences :P
cheers
I prefer the maple - I like the poppy attack, especially how it cuts through the distortion. Nice demos.
Seems they would sound the same but how bout feel? you like the glossy maple or the dry rosewood better , Im buying one soon & am really not sure yet what I want lol.
wauw, you know how to play the blues. Can listen to it all day. ;-) Thxs for the video man.
In your demo, the maple sounds brighter to me and has more mids too!
I believe the maple vs rosewood issue pertains more to how the neck feels when being played and not so much the sound difference between the two, because there is no real noticeable difference.
In my opinion, maple is great for strats with humbuckers! I have American Standard with maple fingerboard and HH configuration (I replaced the pickups myself) and it sounds very much strat like, despite the Humbuckers. One of my favorite guitars!
Rosewood sounds warmer, really like the tone, Maple sounds bright, with snapping sound of the thinner strings. Based on this video, I like rosewood.
these guitars sounds really great!!
Congratulations, amazing sound dude!!!! In my opinion the main difference between maple and rosewood are notorius when you use heavy distortions; Rosewood absolutely brings more sustain.
Amazing Strat sound great video!
yup i think the rosewood has more delay in it with a bit of flange dont you think?
love the way you play
loving the riff at @1:28!! its like an angel licking my ears ;p
Thanks for the very good comparison without all the blah blah blah, but I had a difficult time detecting a major tone difference listening on my IPhone, but will try again with headphones. It could be my 56 year old ears. I'm on the fence between an American Standard Strat or Tele, but leaning toward the Strat for more of the warmer blues tones. Like many others, I don't know if the fingerboard makes as much difference as the pickups and amp, but I'm just learning how to play so what do I know.
Check out 1:50 Vs 2:31... difference is clear
Maple is clear, more open and rings beautifully
Rosewood is a little "flat", with some "cartboard" sound going on.
I love the argument that you can hear your strings acoustically as well and that clouds your perception. Believe me, when I crank up my Hiwatt stack, I can NOT hear the strings! My garage door rattles and my power tools fall off the shelves. What I hear is that different fretboards sound different.... amplified.
I played an American Standard Strat with a maple board for some time, but finally got back to rosewood. Sounds warmer, sweeter and more colourful in my opinion - has more bass and treble than maple.
Very nice playing dude !
@CandleOfGod I could see how one would prefer maple for clean settings. But there is some extra noise in there that the rosewood eliminates. Some might call it flat, but for distortion I think I would prefer rosewood. it is like a "De-esser" for guitars :D
Keep in mind I'm using this video to make a decision for a neck on a rock oriented guitar either Charvel or Ibanez, so my tonal goals maybe different from yours.
@ealiagac SRV never played Pao Ferro. His Number 1 Strat was Rosewood. Lenny had maple neck, but most of his songs were recorded with a rosewood Strat. Fender SRV Signature is Pao Ferro but Stevie hadn't live long enough to see it finished. The point is that Pao Ferro fretboard is Fender's addition, Stevie mostly played rosewood and occasionally maple.
I can hear the brightness of the maple one straight away. Still I love rosewood fret boards.
thanks for the video. I feel like maple necks sound best for that stevie ray strat stuff, but i want a maple one for my jazzmaster.
I like how everyone says that the fretboard makes a sound difference, when the strings don't even touch the fretboard. Sure there would be an infinitely minute differences from say the density of the wood on frets and other factors, but all of them are virtually impossible to detect.
+Ceyhan beckham but due the very different densities the acoustic impedance would kill off most of the vibration
+Nathanael Hutchison havent you seen a vintage maple fretboard strat? with fretwear?
+Nathanael Hutchison there's a lot of nonsense out there about what changes the sound and how, but fretboard wood is a pretty noticeable thing, particularly with fenders. Just an opinion. I think Rosewood is a noticeably darker tone with a fair amount of sustain. The maple sounds tinny and has a bite to it, better sound between strings. I could pick out the difference any day.
amazing playing. Thanks for the tutorial.
there is a reason why fender offers rosewood and maple.. and while some dont have the ear for it, its very obvious the difference
Awesome playing man. What pickups are in these two guitars? Incredible tone.
@josenet2006
Actually not really, the strings are the same gage on both guitars and more important, I have changed the strings on the blue Strat with Elixir 10-46 (the same like on the other one) and the difference is still there. The maple neck has less middles than the rosewood one, which is great for some things and no so good for others (for me personally). But the difference really can be felt best when one plays both guitars. In general I think that both necks sound really good
Different woods definitely resonate differently in electric guitars! It all comes down to density and weight. Prefer maple but also like the warm tones attributed to rosewood. Nice post!
Nope
Before some of you try to kill each other listen to what Eric Clapton has to say on a Fender video talk about the Anniversary edition of his beloved Stratocastor named "Brownie" I listen to what he says about maple fretboards necks verses rosewood fretboards, Clapton clearly explains why he likes the maple neck the best. Its a video titled, "Fender Custom Eric Clapton "Brownie" Tribute Stratocaster" February 12, 2013....
Great playing man
I would say that 90% of the time you can swap maple & rosewood fretboard necks on strats and teles without hearing any difference at all. Sometimes you just run across a neck that a little denser with heavier wood and it will have a tiny bit of a deeper tone because of it, but that's pretty rare really.