Rosewood=OVERRATED! *fretboard poll*

[nevusofota]

Almost everytime I play a guitar with a fretboard made of something other than rosewood I seem to like it better. Maple and ebony just seem to have qualities, that for me, make for a better playing and sounding guitar. I have noticed that many RT'ers over the years seem to feel the same.

So, how has it that rosewood became (and still is) the standard for making up most of the fretboards being made today? What does rosewood have that the others don't?

*edit: poll added

 

[glassjaw7]

Rosewood has a warmth to it that maple and ebony don't have, but I agree with you; it's my least favorite. I like the clarity and snap of maple/ebony.

 

[Skrapmetal]

I like all three... Rosewood, Maple, and Ebony.

Rosewood is a little more subdued and warmer, which fits some guitar/pickup combinations well.

 

[nevusofota]

I guess if I were playing jazz maybe rosewood would be ideal. However, take ebony for example, I love how smooth ebony is and would rather just EQ it to give it more warmth if need be. The smooth feel alone IMO is worth it.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

It depends on the woods the guitar is made of and what pickups/amp you are using. On a LP standard, rosewood is perfect match with mahogany body and neck with a maple top and a great tonal match. If you are primarily a high gain player there are subtle differences between the 3 where some might not even notice. I prefer solid maple necks (not maple with a super glued maple fretboard) or ebony bolt on guitars like strats.

I have built a bunch of parts monsters myself from top notch parts and one thing I learned is you can spec a guitar from the ground up but once it becomes 3 D it might not always be what is best. I've built guitars that for some reason where not working so you swap pickups and necks around until you find a suitable match. I've done so more with pickups than necks but I've went from maple to ebony on certain guitars ans ebony to maple on others.

 

[Aristocat]

I like them all and each and every one of them holds something different for me.

Typically (when finances allow) I like to have a Strat to go with my LP. Reason why is that I can EQ or mod out my Strat to my liking, but a solid maple neck gives me a different 'energy' to work with. I recently restored my father in law's 89' Am. Standard and I was playing scales and chords in a way I never had. I even wrote a quick tune and when I went to play it on my LP, it lost its magic altogether.

Favorite line up I've ever had was an LP (Rosewood) Strat (Maple) and a Mockingbird (Ebony) all at the same time. Now that I'm down to just my LP, I'm missing the others.

 

[metalmaniac93]

I prefer RW over ebony and maple with ebony being my 2nd fav, so most of my guitars are RW with 2 having ebony boards and one maple. Like Shawn stated there is not much difference when playing with high gain amps. It is all about the feel at that point.

 

[nevusofota]

It depends on the woods the guitar is made of and what pickups/amp you are using. On a LP standard, rosewood is perfect match with mahogany body and neck with a maple top and a great tonal match.

See, I guess this is where personal preference comes into play because I generally prefer the tone and feel of LP Customs (ebony/mahogany/maple) over the rosewood Standards.

 

[Rash]

Almost everytime I play a guitar with a fretboard made of something other than rosewood I seem to like it better. Maple and ebony just seem to have qualities, that for me, make for a better playing and sounding guitar. I have noticed that many RT'ers over the years seem to feel the same.

So, how has it that rosewood became (and still is) the standard for making up most of the fretboards being made today? What does rosewood have that the others don't?

Rosewood tames liveliness (maple), especially when added too thick to a maple neck, a very thin one is heaven on strats, as it helps the bass frequencies, adds high end shimmer and makes playing a little easier (compression), never enjoyed solid rosewood necks, very boring, perhaps for super high gain things. Rosewood tames also honkyness/twang alittle.

I hate ebony which kills (mostly lacking) mid-range, it makes sense on acoustic and Gretsch guitars (killing woofyness). The high end (often brittle! shimmer) of ebony helps acoustical instruments.

 

[Tone Zone]

My favorite? ROSEWOOD!

And, I don't mind ebony....but, I'd rather play something with ebony's qualities, but still retains the characteristics of rosewood: PAU FERRO!

 

[Stramm8]

I prefer maple but I tend to agree with that crazy guy on youtube who demonstrated that the fretboard wood has little or nothing to do with the tone. I like maple because of the way it looks and feels...

 

[nevusofota]

My favorite? ROSEWOOD!

And, I don't mind ebony....but, I'd rather play something with ebony's qualities, but still retains the characteristics of rosewood: PAU FERRO!

To me the "feel" of ebony and maple far out weigh any subtle tone nuance that rosewood may have.

 

[Tone Zone]

My favorite? ROSEWOOD!

And, I don't mind ebony....but, I'd rather play something with ebony's qualities, but still retains the characteristics of rosewood: PAU FERRO!

To me the "feel" of ebony and maple far out weigh any subtle tone nuance that rosewood may have.

I'm the opposite....love the "feel" of rosewood.

 

[nevusofota]

My favorite? ROSEWOOD!

And, I don't mind ebony....but, I'd rather play something with ebony's qualities, but still retains the characteristics of rosewood: PAU FERRO!

To me the "feel" of ebony and maple far out weigh any subtle tone nuance that rosewood may have.

I'm the opposite....love the "feel" of rosewood.

Gotcha, I read your post as you would rather play ebony (due to it's feel) but prefer the (tonal) characteristics of rosewood.

 

[Valtyr]

Love them all but I prefer the glass/composite boards on my Parkers. All maple necks would be my second favorite.

 

[Ventura]

I like the spank of an ebony board. But I dig the feel of RW all the way. Just feels nicer to play - I find ebony kinda wooly feeling under the fingers. But hey, I've got a lot of both and won't say no to either.

Cheers,
Mo

 

[Tone Zone]

My favorite? ROSEWOOD!

And, I don't mind ebony....but, I'd rather play something with ebony's qualities, but still retains the characteristics of rosewood: PAU FERRO!

To me the "feel" of ebony and maple far out weigh any subtle tone nuance that rosewood may have.

I'm the opposite....love the "feel" of rosewood.

Gotcha, I read your post as you would rather play ebony (due to it's feel) but prefer the (tonal) characteristics of rosewood.

Well,...not exactly. I love the feel and tone of rosewood above all else. As an alternate option, I think pau ferro has a similar feel to ebony, but I overall prefer the feel and tone of pau ferro to ebony. So, for me it goes like this: rosewood > pau ferro > ebony and piss all over maple! Actually, maple is okay I guess, but it's my least favorite. Don't care for the feel or the (at least, perceived) brighter tone.

 

[zuel69]

I like whatever makes the guitar a great playing and sounding guitar..zero preferences. It's not a bad thing to have all types anyways, you never know when you could get called up on stage in front of a mobbed house and get handed someone elses guitar. Actually on the hunt for the right Suhr or Anderson with a rosewood board now.

 

[mniel8195]

i just choose the fret board type based on the body finish or wood to be honest with you. Nice quality rosewood is amazing.

 

[EOT]

Ziricote is probably my favorite.