Rosewood boards sound the same as maple

[Sir Axeman]

I think this is yet another of those things where there is a real difference, but it's quite hard to identify as a listener - its more obvious to the player, and if you're aware of it, it will change how you perceive the tone you're producing when you play. To me it's more in the attack of the note than the sustained part, maple is 'snappier'.

The difference between ebony and rosewood is larger and is audible to a listener as well - even to the point that I think you can probably tell in a recording.

It's very easy to be dismissive and say none of these things make any difference - especially if you're going to use something like twanging an open B string in a non-musical way and recording it with a camcorder as "proof" , but most players *know* there is a difference for a good reason, and it can be shown in a proper test.

I'd be the first to say that there are some parts of "accepted guitar wisdom" that are wrong, and can be shown to be so in a properly-done test, and others that are right even when the "technical" opinion says they shouldn't be... but you need to start off with an open mind, not an attitude.

I'd bet money you'd fail a blind test as a listener. In a recording i'd bet my house!

[ICBM]

I'd bet money you'd fail a blind test as a listener. In a recording i'd bet my house!

That's what I said - audible to the player, probably not to a listener, and not at all in a recording - or not without a very carefully controlled comparison.

That doesn't mean there's no detectable difference though, and I think it *does* change how you play, how you might set your amp etc. So it's still wrong to say they sound the same.

I bet you couldn't tell the difference between a 10' cable and a 20' cable in a recording either - at least not without a direct A/B comparison using the same guitar and set-up, with nothing else changed. That doesn't mean there's no difference, and you can easily prove that there is a difference if you compare them properly.

[Sir Axeman]

When I had 4 USA Series Strats...

the Candy Cola one had SSS with Clapton mid boost kit mod added in.
the sunburst was 3 texas specials + push pull for series options
the olympic white with rosewood was stock apart from having a Custom Custom replacing the original bridge single coil.
the olympic white/maple one I still have it has a full size JB in it and since this pic has the LSR nut and locking Sperzels added.

But at the time of this pic acoustically they all sounded very similar but all slightly different. The rosewood one in theory should've been the warmest. It wasn't! I kept the best sounding one! The olympic white/maple! That had a warmer, sweeter tone acoustically. Of course with different pickups they all sounded differerent..but thas another matter entirely. This was when I changed my mind on the "rosewood is warmest" thing that i'd naively swallowed many years before cos I read it!!

[pintspiller]

Lace Sensors having no magnetic drag is balls.

Also comparing them without fretting notes doesn't seem like a fair test.

This test is much fairer as it uses the exact same guitar body. The necks do sound slightly different, but not enough to not make my primary choice based on what feels nicer.

that really was an eye-opener. i've never owned a maple-fretboard guitar, and not sure if i've played one.

to me it just sounds like the microphone was moved bit.

i did play a guitar with an ebony fretboard once. i didn't really like the feel under my fingers. mind you it was a gibson L5-S and i either hated or didn't understand how to get the tone/pickup correctly.

in-line with the title of the thread, i too had an eye-opener a few years ago while trying a selection of guitars with view to getting another guitar. at this time i had a gsg gypsy and a gibson sg and fancied getting a 335-style guitar. to me a semi-solid electric sounded much like a solid-body electric. in the end i bought a hollow-body - different tone when amped up and more sustain than the semi-solid when not. mind you, i think the bigsby may have something to do with he sound too

[pintspiller]

tone is mostly in the fingers anyway. i've had jams and rehearsals where i've swapped guitars with others (some being similar guitars and some being different), and each player having a tone that wasn't remarkably different

[Neil.C]

I am no expert but I think rosewood looks warmer than maple.

Maple does feel a little more hard under the fingers so perhaps one senses a slightly more brittle tone?

After all, perception is reality.

[folkyblokey]

I am no expert but I think rosewood looks warmer than maple.
.

I think it sometimes smells warmer too, but it might just be me.

[WezV]

The rosewood one in theory should've been the warmest. It wasn't! I kept the best sounding one! The olympic white/maple! That had a warmer, sweeter tone acoustically. Of course with different pickups they all sounded differerent..but thas another matter entirely. This was when I changed my mind on the "rosewood is warmest" thing that i'd naively swallowed many years before cos I read it!!

this is one of the problems with tonal descriptions.


the fact your rosewood board strat was not the warmest does not make the tonal description incorrect - even with identical strats there are far too many factors that can also affect it.

also, tonal description should only ever be treated as generalisations. wood varies too much for it to be anythign else.


but i would say rosewood generally has a softer attack than ebony or maple - i think fretboard choice has more to do with attack and feel than overal tone.

its not a massive factor by any means - for most people buying a guitar i wouldnt worry about it too much unless you know you have a strict preference. but as a builder i think it makes sense to pay attaention to as many of the small factors that make up the tone as possible

[guitarmangler]

For some reason I always assumed that maple =brighter than rosewood. Perhaps a view muddied by what I saw people using, and what it sounded like? I now realise that, for me personally, I couldn't tell the difference sound wise. Feel wise, if the frets aren't high enough, then maple feels sticky because of the varnish on the board. I like high frets as a preference, so if a guitar doesn't have that I don't like it regardless of fingerboard type. I'm sure there is a subtle difference between the maple/rosewood/ebony boards amplified, but guessing there might be bigger factors in shaping tone. After 20 odd years of playing, I'm just starting to realise I will play pretty much anything as long as it stays in tune. And looks cool. It does need to look cool.

[ICBM]

After 20 odd years of playing, I'm just starting to realise I will play pretty much anything as long as it stays in tune. And looks cool. It does need to look cool.

+1

Almost anything else can be compensated for...

There's still a difference between things that matter and things that change the actual sound though. And the little things do add up, as WezV said - even if each one doesn't seem to make a huge difference in isolation.