Starting to dislike Rosewood boards

[glassjaw7]

I'm tired of the look of it for one. Just bored of the brownish color, and doesn't go well with many body colors IMO. Also, it sounds a lot darker and mushier than maple or ebony. I'm also getting sick of fret markers; namely the dots. They seem kind of pointless and almost elementary, like you need a guide or something. As long as the side of the neck has em, you're good to go, no?
I still like inlays if they have a cool design, like PRS's birds and whatnot, but I think a maple or ebony board with no inlays is sexy as hell! Am I alone here? I seem to dislike a lot of things today...male PMS maybe?

 

[sebby123]

I'm tired of the look of it for one. Just bored of the brownish color, and doesn't go well with many body colors IMO. Also, it sounds a lot darker and mushier than maple or ebony. I'm also getting sick of fret markers; namely the dots. They seem kind of pointless and almost elementary, like you need a guide or something. As long as the side of the neck has em, you're good to go, no?
I still like inlays if they have a cool design, like PRS's birds and whatnot, but I think a maple or ebony board with no inlays is sexy as hell! Am I alone here? I seem to dislike a lot of things today...male PMS maybe?

Im the same way! and its one happen recently. I love how you can thicken up a guiitar without it sounding muddy with maple in contrast to rosewood.

 

[mrp5150]

I've never been a big fan of rosewood. The only guitars I really like it on are some Gibsons. Much bigger fan of ebony and maple.

 

[Motorpud]

Funny you should say that, I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago and ever since then I've only purchased one guitar with a rosewood board. All of the one I had before that have since been sold/traded away. Something about the smoothness of the ebony board to me, feels like I can play more fluidly although that's probably in my head I just feel more comfortable with them. The boards with no inlays are my favorite too, I think you pretty much explained the phase I've been going through Oh yeah and I hate the dots

 

[TeleBlaster]

Pao Ferro has nice grain and sounds very similar to maple, just a little more mids in the twang. Not as bright as ebony, but much easier to work with.
Evenness in tone, will not have dead spots or overly bright spots like you can sometimes get with a maple board.

 

[glassjaw7]

Pao Ferro has nice grain and sounds very similar to maple, just a little more mids in the twang. Not as bright as ebony, but much easier to work with.
Evenness in tone, will not have dead spots or overly bright spots like you can sometimes get with a maple board.

Cool, I'll have to try one out!

 

[OldSkoolNJ]

Mainly used or preferred Rosewood due to getting rid of some of the brightness with Alder body guitars..
But I am making the switch to Ebony on my next guitar..

 

[TeleBlaster]

Pao ferro is also really hard and doesn't wear like rosewood.
(ignore dots)

 

[glassjaw7]

Mainly used or preferred Rosewood due to getting rid of some of the brightness with Alder body guitars..
But I am making the switch to Ebony on my next guitar..

Yeah, it definitely has it's place for darkening the sound of bright guitars, but I'm just sick of all my rosewood guitars. My LP sounds so thick and dark...sometimes I love it and sometimes I wish it had a maple board. I love the look of birdseye maple and ebony boards. Someday my custom Carvin tele will have a darker sounding body wood and a BE maple neck/fingerboard.

 

[unsafe]

I'm looking around for an Ibanez with a maple board

Still love rosewood for a Les Paul,especially if it's nicely figured

 

[OldSkoolNJ]

Mainly used or preferred Rosewood due to getting rid of some of the brightness with Alder body guitars..
But I am making the switch to Ebony on my next guitar..

Yeah, it definitely has it's place for darkening the sound of bright guitars, but I'm just sick of all my rosewood guitars. My LP sounds so thick and dark...sometimes I love it and sometimes I wish it had a maple board. I love the look of birdseye maple and ebony boards. Someday my custom Carvin tele will have a darker sounding body wood and a BE maple neck/fingerboard.

Yeh me to that is why I am switching I always liked Ebony fret boards but they were not very common on the guitars I like..
I like the hardness and smoothness of Maple but it is to bright for me or I guess to bright with Alder for my use..

So I am hoping to get the added benefits of Ebony and hopefully get rid of some of the brightness with Alder..

 

[glassjaw7]

Pao ferro is also really hard and doesn't wear like rosewood.
(ignore dots)

I don't hate dots all the time. I guess what I hate is that they are so standard and common. I still love many guitars that have dots, and even rosewood, but I prefer it without.

 

[isvoid]

Pao Ferro has nice grain and sounds very similar to maple, just a little more mids in the twang. Not as bright as ebony, but much easier to work with.
Evenness in tone, will not have dead spots or overly bright spots like you can sometimes get with a maple board.

music to me ears -- i have a guitar coming with a pao ferro neck, can't wait to try it

 

[grunge782]

Pao Ferro is awesome...Some guy over at HC I think made a fretboard out of some Caribbean wood Either way it looked amazing and I really wanted to play it

I like different fretboard types for different things. Hell I have access to all 3, though I am more of a fan of maple and Ebony. Between those 2 I am not sure which I like more, it depends on the day.

Either way, having all your guitars with rosewood can get boring pretty quick.

 

[puketem]

I hate to break it to you guys, but rosewood is brighter than maple. Maple has more mids (especially low mids) and less higs. There's alot more sizzle in the top end in rosewood. Just ask any builder.

 

[unsafe]

I hate to break it to you guys, but rosewood is brighter than maple. Maple has more mids (especially low mids) and less higs. There's alot more sizzle in the top end in rosewood. Just ask any builder.

First time i hear this?

 

[puketem]

I hate to break it to you guys, but rosewood is brighter than maple. Maple has more mids (especially low mids) and less higs. There's alot more sizzle in the top end in rosewood. Just ask any builder.

First time i hear this?

It's an old myth that maple is brighter. Just ask John Suhr. The reason for this, is that the old Fender necks used way to much laquer on the maple fretboard, so what you where hearing was the laquer, not the wood.

It was a long time since I've heard somebody say maple is brighter.

 

[unsafe]

interesting

 

[ShaneV]

Longtime maple lover here. I love the way it looks, love the way it feels and tend to love the sound of my maple board guitars best (though there are other factors involved there, obviously). A maple fretboard with no inlays, or small EBMM inlays just looks so good on pretty much anything.

 

[TeleBlaster]

I hate to break it to you guys, but rosewood is brighter than maple. Maple has more mids (especially low mids) and less higs. There's alot more sizzle in the top end in rosewood. Just ask any builder.

I guess Tommy at USA Custom has got it all backwards then.

"Here are some subjective descriptions of the woods we use for our necks based on years of building, playing and listening.

HARD ROCK MAPLE - This is what we make 90% of our necks out of. Durable and bright and articulate. We of course carry all of the varieties for neck woods (Quarter sawn, Birdseye, and Flame).

ROSEWOOD - We have different varieties of Rosewood, but currently use Indian and Brazilian. Madagascar rosewood was our main choice until our suppliers were unable to get it due to deforestation concerns. We don't recommend bodies out of it, unless you are going to make a T style body like George Harrison's (which was Indian Rosewood). It comes in an array of colors (dark brown, burgundy, tan) and can be plain or very figured. It's oily and porous so it dampens some of the high end out of the Maple, creating a smoother tone. Awesome for Blues, Jazz and some breeds of Rock.

EBONY - Very hard and dense wood, comes in jet black and when available, in the Striped Macassar version. Great on Maple for players who really like to cut through the mix and get super twang. Or for rock and metal players that like high end and that forever sustaining note. It also works well to add articulation to Mahogany bodies and hollow bodies that need to be brightened up because they are a little muddy in the bottom end.

PAU FERRO - For players who like the tone of Maple but like a darker fingerboard! It always has nice grain, and can range from chocolate to tan in color. Great for fretless basses, because of its hardness, and it's not as bright sounding as Ebony."