Fingerboard Type

[msmasitti]

Ok, I am going to be getting a Stratocaster soon, and need to know which fingerboard type is better: maple or rosewood? Does anyone have first hand experiences with both? Which do you prefer? I am new to electrics... :confused:

[The Fury]

I know that they each have advantages over each other, unfortunately I don't know exactly what they are.
www.Warmoth.com has a good section on wood types, you might like to try that.

Personally I prefer rosewood, purely on asthetics though.

[msmasitti]

Ok, thank you for the reply! :)

[Perfect4th]

I prefer the Maple neck hands down. As far as the fingerboard I also like the Maple (Birdseye Maple) due to the appearance first and feel second.

Outside of cosmetics, another benfit of rosewood is it doesn't show dirt nearly as much.

Peace!

[SonicSid]

Because it needs to be sealed with a finish coat, Maple generally produces a somewhat brighter tone, but not enough to be easily offset by pickup configuration and Body Constuction.

Some will argue that Maple is faster than Rosewood, but again this probably is due to the "slick" feel that Laquer provides. I personally prefer rosewood for it's "bare wood" characteristics.

Remember, above all, a guitar should be considered as the sum of it's parts. You gotta look at the whole picture!

Later!
Sid

[Phil Pierce]

Hey,

Yeah about 13 years ago I owned a Charvel Model 6 which had a Rosewood fingerboard and it was extremel nice. However, the guitar as a whole was well manufactured.

I now own a Clapton signature Strat and it has a Maple neck and it is far and away the nicest guitar I have personally played. Once again the guitar itself is well put together and everything about it is nice. So I think the thing to remeber is...

What is your personal preference as far as looks and feel, and what you will be happy hanging low off of your hip as you rip.

Just my opinion...

Phil

[tpatel]

I prefer rosewood. I like the look of maple, but prefer the feel of rosewood. To me, it is much smoother. Also, I found that the rosewood increases sustain. It also seems to give a strat more of that "quack" sound.

[Krieselman13]

I like Maple because it looks better. I havent tried any guitars with maple necks though, mine has rosewood.