Difference Between Rosewood and Maple for Guitars

The key difference, aside from the look, between maple and rosewood fretboards, is that the whole piece of maple makes up the neck as well as the fretboard, whereas a rosewood fretboard is usually glued on to another piece of wood to make up the neck.

1. Which fretboard is better maple or rosewood?
2. Which is harder maple or rosewood?
3. Is Rosewood more expensive than maple?
4. What is the best wood for a guitar fretboard?
5. What is the best oil for a rosewood fretboard?
6. Is Maple a good wood for guitars?
7. Why is Rosewood banned?
8. Does fretboard wood matter?
9. What type of rosewood does fender use?
10. Why is rosewood so expensive?
11. How much is rosewood worth?
12. What is the best wood for an electric guitar body?

Which fretboard is better maple or rosewood?

Compared to maple the difference is notable, as rosewood will soften the sound, even for guitars with maple necks. This is one of the reasons some guitar players prefer Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters with the option of a rosewood fretboard. The rosewood takes a bright guitar and mellows it out a bit.

Which is harder maple or rosewood?

Rosewood is known to be much mellower, and usually makes it's way on mahogany bodies and necks. They definitely feel different too. A maple neck is harder and feels very smooth under your fingers, while rosewood has some sponginess to it due to the porous properties of the wood.

Is Rosewood more expensive than maple?

If the fretboard needs to be sanded smooth before refreting, then a rosewood fingerboard just gets sanded, whereas a maple board will need to be re-lacquered. A rosewood fretboard/maple neck is more complex and therefore more expensive to build than a one piece maple neck with no separate fingerboard.

What is the best wood for a guitar fretboard?

Rosewood is the most common fretboard wood that you are likely to find on a guitar. It is a naturally oily wood which results in a richer fundamental tone than maple due to the unwanted overtones being absorbed into the oily pores.

What is the best oil for a rosewood fretboard?

The D'Addario lemon oil will suit those with a rosewood or ebony fretboard, who wish to keep their frets clean and protect their boards from drying and cracking.

Is Maple a good wood for guitars?

Maple is a very hard type of wood with good tonal qualities and good sustain. ... Maple is also often used as a top for the guitar body, partly because it is beautiful (think flame, or quilted maple tops), and partly because it can brighten a sound that would otherwise be murky.

Why is Rosewood banned?

The restrictions under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — commonly referred to as CITES — went into effect in 2017, after strong demand for high-end rosewood furniture in China led to conservation worries and violence in areas that produce the wood.

Does fretboard wood matter?

As you can tell, there's definitely more that matters when it comes to the wood used for fretboards. Some guitarists may over-exaggerate the effect on the overall sound, but no one can deny that each type of wood looks uniquely different.

What type of rosewood does fender use?

The main reason why there is such wide shade difference is cause majority of what they use is Indian Rosewood and it varies a lot from light brown to dark brown. And Fender is known to stain their lighter rosewood to look darker, after playing a while on such fretboard the dye comes off.

Why is rosewood so expensive?

This is also the reason that hardwood is expensive, as it takes longer to grow. Some famous hardwoods include maple, balsa, oak, elm, mahogany, and sycamore. Rosewood is named as such due to the fact that the older trees have a very sweet and rich aroma, which is reminiscent of roses.

How much is rosewood worth?

This high demand for the wood, coupled with its growing rarity has resulted in prices soaring, with them exceeding $17,000 per ton a few years ago, which is ten times the cost of other tropical hardwood species. Thai rosewood, in particular, can reach values exceeding $50,000 per cubic meter.

What is the best wood for an electric guitar body?

Maple/Mahogany

This is the most popular laminated body type of all time. Adding a solid maple top to a solid mahogany back yields a guitar body that exhibits many of the best tonal properties of both woods. The solid maple/mahogany body is characteristically rich, warm, and resonant.