Guitar fingerboards

[jimmiJAMM]

Personally, I prefer the subtle buttery texture of rosewood. Mmmmmm

[ksdaddy]

If it's a GOOD piece of rosewood.... but I've had some newer Gibsons that just didn't feel right. No amount of oiling or buffing would make them soft and buttery. One '96 Herb Ellis I had for about a week was downright rude to my fingers. I initially blamed it on being Indian Rosewood* but I've played other IR boards that were fine.

 

*Disclaimer - I believed it to be Indian Rosewood but had no documentation or dendrochronological reports to substantiate it.

[ShredAstaire]

I've never tried Ebony....I have rosewood and i'm really digging into my first Maple fretboard with my new Tele.

 

There's definitely a difference though I can't quite put my finger on what it is...(hardy har har)...

 

I'll need to play the Maple board more before I can say which I like better...but the rosewood boards are what I am used to....

[RichCI]

I have guitars with all three types and don't really have a big preference for one over the others. All of the guitars are different with the closest pair with different fretboards being two Strats - a 57 RI (maple) and a MIM Standard (rosewood) and even those two have very different neck shapes. For me, the type of frets used is more important as I prefer small frets. All that said, I tend to gravitate towards the guitars with maple and ebony fretboards because those happen to be my best playing guitars.

 

Ebony: LP Custom, Peavey Vandenberg

Maple: 57 RI Strat, 52 RI Tele

Rosewood: MIM Strat, Gibson SG Jr, Reverend Slingshot, Guild S 300-D, Dean VX, various others not worth mentioning

[deepblue]

I like them all for different reasons. I cant choose.

[zigzag]

I love the feel and look of ebony. I like maple least.

[SGSpecialguy]

Ive got a Maple Strat that I just LOVE, its clean and fast, its one of my personal favorite guitars to play,, I do like rosewood too especially when a sweat gets going though, I like rosewood better under those circumstances

[S t e v e]

i love polished maple your fingers glide so easily over the neck, my rg770 has a maple neck but un-polished but my strats neck is...i'm just imagining if the wizard neck on the ibby was polished it would be the fastest neck ever!

[mcmurray]

I chose Ebony but the ultimate would be Brazilian Rosewood.

[MojoRedFoot]

My #1 favorite guitar is maple (and it's the only maple in my collection) but I prefer RW. I don't have ebony. Yet. I have played some that I really liked.

[Jantha]

I prefer Rosewood m'self... but I'm easy...

[LPguitarman]

Rosewood for me. Never really tried Ebony. Used to have a maple a long time ago. Never connected with it...

[FirstMeasure]

I love the look of rosewood, especially when it's a nice Grainy red rosewood. But I like the feel of Ebony, although I have no ebony.

 

I love the way my MIM Buddy Guy feels with it's Maple, but it's just not my favorite feel.

 

All that said, I'd take any fretboard if the guitar is right.

[Shnate McDuanus]

I have one guitar with an ebony board, and I have to say that, honestly, nothing beats it.

 

I'd probably take an ebony fretboard over maple or rosewood when given the option.

[sgman]

I love the feel of Rosewood for sure, but prefer the look and feel of Maple even more.

[KL]

I chose Ebony but the ultimate would be Brazilian Rosewood.

 

I'm pretty certain that the fingerboards on both of my Fender Electric XII's are Brazillian rosewood. I can't honestly say it makes any difference to the playability over say my telecaster with a rosewood board or any of my Gibson acoustics. It looks nice.

[Hall]

Ebony, used to have more reality in its' name though. But, what the heck; try the instrument.

[milod]

I put down ebony, and it's a nice "feel."

 

But seriously, I'm personally far more interested in the shape and dimensions of the fingerboard. Most maple I've played have seemed a bit "slippery."

 

m

[zigzag]

Most maple I've played have seemed a bit "slippery."

m

 

Like playing on marble.

[jamman]

I have all 3 types and for Strats imo, maple is the way to go. it gives you speed and a different type of tone. I have Rosewood on a Strat and it has a much warmer sound than the maple but i cann't play as fast. The Rosewood on my LP's have a great warm tone. i like these the best. I also have Gibsons with Ebony necks and they play faster and smother than Rosewood and have a brighter sound to them. I would go with a rosewood LP ,

as my first pick.

 

My Gear :-)

 

‘10 LP R0 50th Anniversary Version 3 1/500 (Cherry Burst) (RW)

‘09 LP R9 50th Anniversary (Heritage Dark Burst) 1/500, Bought 4-2010 new (RW)

‘10 PRS 25th Anniversary Santana Model ,10Top / Santana Yellow (RW)

‘09 LP R9 50th. Anniversary 1 of 59 (Rust Burst) (RW)

‘09 LP R0 Standard Ebony VOS (RW)

‘09 “Wildwood” CS - 356 Quilted maple & Korina (Ebony)

‘05 Les Paul Standard Faded T.B. (RW)

‘08 50th comm.edition, G.O.M. Flying V (Ebony)

‘08 July G.O.M. Longhorn Double Cut BV (Trans Blue) (Ebony)

‘08 Firebird VII (metallic red) (Ebony)

‘08 Fender Stratocaster ‘70’s reissue (black / rosewood neck)(Fat‘50’s pups) (swaped neck from guitar below)

‘08 Fender Stratocaster ‘70’s reissue (natural / maple neck)

1999 MIM Fender Stratocaster ’70’s reissue (white / maple neck)(‘69 pups) (Maple)

1987 Japan Squier by Fender, Stratocaster (white / maple neck) (Maple)

1986 Ovation Model # 1767-Legend (Ebony)

‘08 Marshall JVM 210H - 1960 AX Cabinet

‘10 Fender Blues Deluxe reissue

And some pedals

[pippy]

I love ebony.

 

Having said that; all my instruments (nowadays) have rosewood.

 

I positively hate the feel of a maple neck. I think they are very pretty, especially on Strats and Teles, and I've persevered with quite a few over the years - I even had one on a Music Man Sabre II - but I've sold them all.

 

My pre-CBS Strat may well have had a Braz 'board but the rosewood on my R0 is, for all intents and purposes, absolutely identical in feel.

 

For me' date=' the type of frets used is more important as I prefer small frets.[/quote']

 

That's a very interesting point, Rich.

 

Although my three LP's are, ostensibly, all meant to be '1960-type' models, each has different fretwire. My R0 has the wide '60 style frets; my 1995 'Classic' has the medium '59 style and my 1991 'Classic' has the small '58 style.

 

On the '58 and '60 type the frets have quite a square 'crown' whereas the '59 style has a softer and more rounded 'crown'.

 

Flight959 was round a few weeks ago and, after comparing them all, commented on how much smoother the '59-style rounded crown 'board was to play. This is down to the frets' profile.

 

I'm seriously considering having the other two necks' frets re-profiled.

[retrosurfer1959]

Ebony for feel Braz for looks - but Ebony if I have to pick one

[Gibson4life]

I love the feel of a good ebony fretboard.

[Californiaman]

It makes no difference to me.

Rosewood or Maple. Either way, I'm gonna play.

 

[deepblue]

Try playing a raw maple neck. No finish on it at all. I love the feeling, but the fretboards get dirty fast and over

time when moisture gets into the wood you could have problems...EVH used to do that, but he can afford new necks.