Which would you prefer for your fretboard: Maple, Ebony, or Rosewood?

[monkie]

Ok, I should've learned this in the first place but I guess I was more into playing than learning about what kind of material was used to make the guitar. I've been playing guitars for a few years (about 3) now but still don't understand or know the differences between the different types of wood materials used to make the fretboard. All I care was one is light (White/Yellow) and the other was dark (Brown). Honestly, I didn't know which is which (what a shame), or what kind of tone it produces until I got better at playing the guitar and from playing different types of guitars.

I want to ask you guys is... what kind of wood produces what kind of tones? Which is more expensive? Which would you prefer for your fretboard, and why? I know it's such a newbie question but I gotta know that's why I'm asking. Does the materials effect the way a person plays? I'm asking because I want to buy another guitar and don't want to make a mistake like before.

Which would you prefer? Why?

Thanks in advance for all inputs.

 

[iqi616]

My basses are all rosewood but it'd be nice to have a maple for when I want more edge.

 

[MattNZ]

After years of playing nothing but rosewood, I'm definitely a maple guy on my Tele. Just plays so much nicer to me.

 

[Sloan]

Ebony is awesome, but just not available too often.

 

[juniorspecial]

I've used all three on my guitars, and I can't say that it really makes a whole lot of difference in the playing.

Practically speaking, I don't even touch the fingerboard. I touch the string, but I don't put enough pressure on it for the flesh of my finger to touch the fingerboard. The string certainly never touches the fingerboard.

I think Ebony and Maple look really good. Ebony looks especially good for setting off and accenting any inlays on the neck. I'm not as fond, visually, of the rosewood. I don't understand why some people are so amped up about rosewood.

 

[danw]

Practically speaking, I don't even touch the fingerboard. I touch the string, but I don't put enough pressure on it for the flesh of my finger to touch the fingerboard. The string certainly never touches the fingerboard.

Wow, that's some light touch. I'm a bit of a neck crusher myself. Even so, though, the fretboard wood is going to vibrate along with the neck. I can't imagine it wouldn't impact the sound, if only a little.

I have one guitar with a maple fretboard. I like the brightness, but I hate that it has to be hard finished. Once that lacquer wears off, it tends to get ugly kinda fast. That's my only complaint against it, though. Rosewood seems a little lower-maintenance.

I bet ebony is nice, but it's expensive and it's endangered, I think. I probably won't go there unless it comes with some fantastic deal.

 

[ocnor]

Practically speaking, I don't even touch the fingerboard. I touch the string, but I don't put enough pressure on it for the flesh of my finger to touch the fingerboard. The string certainly never touches the fingerboard.

Unless all you play are harmonics or your frets are 1/4 inch thick I don't see how that would be physically possible.

 

[antichef]

I guess I don't really touch the fretboard either, at least not when I'm playing like I think I should (not as true for frets below the 5th). I think you can press down pretty hard without touching the fretboard, particularly on the higher frets. I try to put my finger right behind the desired fret, rather than in the middle of two adjacent frets.

I've played a lot on all three woods. I least prefer rosewood, but don't mind it. I like ebony for most stuff, but back when I was a wannabe shredder (before anyone used the term ), I liked maple, and still do if I'm trying to play that way.

But if there's a guitar I really like, the fact that it has a rosewood fretboard isn't going to matter that much to me.
Among the various aspects of a guitar, this one doesn't rank too high in terms of differential -- for playability, the scale, the shape of the frets, and the shape of the neck are much more important to me.

I'm not sure what effect the type of fretboard wood has on the sound (but I've heard it does, and on acoustics, I believe a fair amount of sound comes from the neck/fretboard itself), so I could be missing something important.

 

[Light]

Maple tends to be brighter than Rosewood. I think Ebony is somewhere in between, though other people perceive things differently and think ebony is brighter than maple.

The biggest difference, though, is that Maple needs to be finished. This raises the cost of all later maintenance for your frets. When dressing the frets, the finish needs to be protected from the files. Even worse, when refretting, you frequently need to completely refinish the fingerboard. With most maple boards being on Fender necks, it is usually cheaper (or at least, very comparable in price) to replace the neck. Except, of course, Fender doesn't sell necks anymore, so you are going with another brand (which will not have a Fender decal) and all of a sudden your guitar's value is about half of what it was. So, in other words, maple fingerboards raise the cost of maintenance.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Light]

Unless all you play are harmonics or your frets are 1/4 inch thick I don't see how that would be physically possible.

People do it all the time. I don't touch the fingerboard much. And all those guys who play supper fast, well, that's part of the deal. By not touching the fingerboard you reduce the amount of friction, which makes it easier to play fast, and also reduces the effort involved with bending and vibrato. It DOES require larger frets, but not all that big. Most of my electrics have Dunlop 6150's or a stainless equivalent. Not huge, but Jumbos none the less. Big frets also allow you to create your vibrato by simply pushing a little harder.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[MK-Ultra]

That is why people scallop their fretboards, no? I've always played better on guitars with ebony fretboards. I prefer maple to rosewood on Fenders, though.

 

[Light]

That is why people scallop their fretboards, no? I've always played better on guitars with ebony fretboards. I prefer maple to rosewood on Fenders, though.

Yup, though I think it's a bit silly.


Then again, look at Sitars. Same basic idea there.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Milnoque]

It's a bit of a pity that people don't select their guitars blindfolded. Pick a guitar you like the feel and sound of. Don't worry about the fretboard material.

Light's right about repairs on maple boards.

 

[muttley600]

This subject and others about tonewood has come up often here and I'll start with my usual proviso. Everything on a guitar and that you do to a guitar will effect the tone to some extent, How much and how detectable is the key issue. In this case the fingerboard has an effect but it is not as large as you may think. It is discernible though.

As I also always state, the amount of effect it has is different when you consider electric, semi's, archtops and acoustics, generally in that order.

Down to the specific differences. Maple is generally the brightest sounding fingerboard material. Take into consideration that in nearly all cases it goes onto a maple neck. The neck material will have a larger effect on tone than just the fingerboard material. This is where I have to depart from light's judgment but only because what follows is largely subjective and the differences are small. Rosewood and ebony sit at the opposite end of the spectrum and most often but not always go on mahogany necks. Mahogany is mellower by nature and so are ebony and rosewood. You'd expect a much more rounded mellower tone and that is the case. My experience and it's mostly from building archtops but also acoustics and electrics is that rosewood is the warmer and brighter than ebony which has a darker deeper tone. They are significantly closer in tone than when compared to maple.

I Notice this especially when I put them onto maple necks on archtops which is possibly the best way I can think of of making a comparison. Mahogany necks make a judgement harder because it has a tone that is closer to rosewood or ebony. As I say al this is subjective to a large degree because there is so much else going on. It is relly just one more thing in the mix.

Best advice is find a guitar you like the feel and tone of and go for it. The only real decision is as light says, between maple and rosewood or ebony. Maple being harder to maintain and work on and for the reasons given above much brighter in tone.

 

[apl]

Ebony rocks.

 

[WhiteStrat]

I love the maple on my strat--smooth as glass, and so it feels really fast. But I've been pairing my guits with certain amps lately, and by default I've been playing the faster stuff on a guit with rosewood. I thought it would be "slower" but it's not. I'm lovin' 'em both.

But not oak.

 

[MiamiMike]

On Fenders, I also prefer maple to rosewood.

 

[tdukex]

Ebony on my acoustics. But I agree with the sentiment that you should let the tone and feel decide for you. I've never chosen a guitar because of what it was made of.

 

[darrin_h2000]

I have to say that my most comfortable playing has been on ebony fingerboards...but lately Ive been aquiring more maple necks because more fenders seem to be availible to me with maple.

 

[Supercreep]

I like to have both.

Rosewood on my strat and SG, maple on my tele.