Maple for me, I’ve always preferred a brighter guitar. “Warm” often just sounds woolly to me. That said, there was much less difference here than I would have expected. At this point maybe I just prefer the look though.
This guy is obviously joking to all the people out there that are dense enough to have not already though of this joke whilst Chris Buck was discussing the stats of both of the guitars used in the video. To be fair though, certain metallic finishes (candy apple red for example) need a base coat or an extra coat of primer before being applied. Let's just say you wouldn't see this done on an acoustic guitar top nor under normal circumstances would you see someone spraying excess material on a drum head or anything else that acts as a diaphragm. For the record I actually play a candy apple red strat, and it's actually an Eric Johnson model.... a Notorious tone chaser
@@michaeltyler1834 You have a Candy apple red guitar, that's what the guy just said - you should have got the surf green, so you could get better tone. He just said that
Which ever guitar currently being played by Chris Buck sounds better than the other one that's not being played by Chris Buck 😉. However, I've always preferred the aesthetic of darker fretboards (rosewood, pau ferro, ebony etc.)
They sound different, but a tiny tweak of any tone knob on the guitar or the amp will make up this difference. So, for me it comes down to looks and more importantly feel. I LOVE the way an aged maple fretboard looks, but I prefer the feel of rosewood. I need a new species of "rosemaple".
Tbh, adding more treble has a different sound than naturally bright sounding gear. Like when I have a bunch of distortion on, turning up the treble makes it sound super hairy, but when I take naturally trebly/bright sounding gear and turn down the treble a bit, it sounds SOOO much better. At least to my ears.
Chris. Been playing 57 years and I listen to a LOT of guitarists. Your playing has a strong magnetism, hugely addicting to hear. You have that elusive magic in your time and approach, that we all strive for but seldom reach.
@@ramencurry6672 who could not agree with that! What surprised me is that I always preferred rosewood, mostly from the feel when playing, but in this comparison I liked the maple tone. Wish roasted maple was added to the mix, because I'm looking at a roasted maple Warmoth neck ATM :-)
@@learningguitar7948 Roasted maple is on my list. My only concern is that it might possibly crack in the future. But I think the cracks don’t spread and can be repaired
@@abcrx32j Buying a cheap amp and expensive guitar is like buying a Waterford chandelier and looking at it through dirty glasses. It's all about the amp
This is absolutely true for me. With a gun to my head, I probably would choose the nuances of the rosewood sound. But maple both looks and feels so much better to me, that there's no contest. Just turn a knob or two half a click and the sound difference disappears.
@@suttletovah I own an LTD Viper 400. SG style guitar Pau Ferro fingerboard. Nice guitar. But once I sat down and actually played a nice Fender Strat with a maple board, I went out and ordered a Player Plus Top. And feels so much better to me. Not sure if it's actually the maple board or just the fact that owning a Fender has been a lifeline dream sort of but still.
i mostly play clean tones and when you play clean there's quite a wide difference.....in my opinion, in fender guitars, i prefer maple although i have rosewood in one of my tele's
Hey the psychological factor is bigger than you might think. I play a strat with a maple fingerboard, but if I were still making decisions based off "person I like made thing I like with this thing" I'd play nothing but Les pauls. I've discovered...with difficulty...that I get my best tones and most playing enjoyment from a strat, and the maple board is what I choose when I put maple against rosewood. And it's weird to accept because I'm a huge fan of Gibson, humbuckers, etc. But with an instrument in my hands, having had access to various guitar models and trying all the guitars my heroes use, I went the total opposite, ironically because that gives me what I want to hear
It would be easy to say that maple is brighter, and it was, but it’s not quite that simple. What really jumped out at me was the initial attack of the notes-that’s where the maple had more “bite and snap”. The maple fingerboard had a broader range of dynamics, too, to my ear.
To my ears, if anything, the maple sounded ever so slightly brighter on the bridge pickup. But since guitars have a tone knob, what's the point. Look and feel are where the real differences lie.
That's my view. These debates tend to be silly because there are a million ways to compensate for the differences. Go for the guitar that feels better to you and maybe that's the kind of attack you prefer but we have these debates as if people just plug straight into an amp with an amp they can't adjust, using a guitar they can't adjust hah. Pickups are the biggest thing with electric guitars IMO.
For me the difference is most noteworthy when it is time for a fret job. Until then I can't tell the difference. I play both. Incidentally, this was a great video comparison. Amazing that you could play so seamlessly on different takes. That was a mind blower.
They actually sound a lot more different than I expected. I've always gotten strats just for the look... but tbh I liked how the maple sounded here much better.
They do sound different, but it could be any number of other factors besides fretboard material. For me it comes down to the look and I like the look of a maple fretboard better.
Rosewood sounds more "rock" and the maple sounds more "country" and brighter. I was expecting to not hear a difference but there was a definite difference. Thank for the comparison! Awesome playing.
Chris dude you are one talented young man. Your playing is amazing. But, your a natural music journalist with great historical and technical insights. Bravo. Very proud subscriber.
Darn, the firist time I actually heard a discernible difference between the two fretboards. Although it is worth noting that no two guitars are the same even if they use the same species of wood so it could also be differences in body and neck wood.
I've only recently come across your channel but already, i can immediately tell it's you by your playing, even if i didn't know it was a video by you. a major mark of a great player is being immediately recognizable
I went in with a bias, fully expecting not to hear a difference. But, through headphones, with my eyes closed, I actually did hear the difference, with concentrated effort.
You sure you're not forcing yourself to hear a difference? Tiny differences in playing also makes a difference. I think I can hear a difference, but that's not really trustworthy. Blind A/B test is the only way to find out.
I always thought it was b******t but much to my surprise I could actually hear a difference. Surprised me, but strengthened my opinion that the tone of a guitar is more about the neck than the body.
I would wager you just think you hear a difference. Here's the problem with this video. It wasn't a blind test. You see each guitar therefore you can safely conclude your imagining a difference because your eyes SEE a difference and your ears translate that difference in sound. I played this video a number of times with a really good set of Tascam headphones. I "thought I heard a tiny minuscule difference" but then on rewind the difference disappeared. This kept happening on each lick. Sometimes it was there, then it was not. Imagination was being influenced. I concluded there is no discernible difference. That's the human ear. A computer waveform might pickup a difference but the human ear can't without it's inherent bias.
With Fenders, I've always been partial to a maple neck. Everything just has its own flavor. Binding, no binding, Rosewood, etc. For Gibson's, a LP Custom. With Ebony, or a Standard with Rosewood. They all impart some magic over the instrument. There's really no X versus, Y versus Z. It's about taking hold of what's there. Finding the magic of the woods/tones.
This is the second demo I've seen on the topic, and to my ears, in both cases, I hear a slight more brightness in the maple neck, but it's frankly so slight a difference it doesn't matter. It's less of a difference than you hear between a brand new set of strings and a set a few days old.
Definitely also a difference depending on whether the maple is a 1-piece neck (skunk stripe) or separate neck and finger board. The latter tends to sound slightly brighter in my experience
I think your summing up at the end is absolutely right, maple actually has a bit more sustain but the rosewood has more of a midrange honk that suits overdriven front pickup solos and power chords, remember how fat Rory's strat sounded!
@@Steven_SK The maple sounds sweet to me. But in all honesty I think it depends what is played. Had it been some dark blues I'm sure I'd have felt the rosewood hit my spots hah
I prefer rosewood, ebony or pau ferro just because I prefer the sensation of my fingers on wood rather than on a gloss finished fretboard. I've never played on a unfinished maple fretboard.
I’ve got Strats and Teles with both - never thought about it before, but I tend to pick up the guitars with the rosewood necks. Great video and balanced view nicely articulated.
The ultimate test would be to use a single guitar body and swap necks to do the comparison - just to remove any differences in the 2 bodies' wood/wiring/pickup winds, however small those differences may be.
Darrell Braun did do that. Very obvious difference, not far off from what we hear in Chris' test. Though Darrell's conclusion was that there was no noticeable difference in tone at all,...
I’ve found the opposite be true (to my ears) playing many many different fender guitars with maple and rosewood over the years. When taking the pickups/electrified sound out of the equation and played just acoustically, I’ve found maple to have a somewhat slower attack and and softer feel - more warmness to it. Whereas rosewood tends to feel a bit stiffer and quicker in the note attack on the fretboard. Electrified I can definitely see the rosewood sounding warmer, but for me there’s a lot more to it than just that. Thickness of the neck will also have a huge impact. Long story short - I love maple the most.
@@mattflickinger8151 Maple usually has a finish on top, it used to be nitro and you could wear it through for cool spots. Rosewood is usually unfinished/ raw wood and to some, that feels better, plus you get the actual feel of the grain.
@@Christopher.Marshall when you bend, at least when i do, my finger tips are at an angle which makes it so my fingers do touch the fretboard all the time
Great video as always Chris. Definitely a tonal difference albeit subtle and nuanced. The maple is quite distinct to my ear and I did take a peak while listening the confirm. I like hearing you play the maple board as it’s response is more immediate and I’m so used to seeing you play rosewood necks. It’s all good. Congratulations on your nomination.
Huge difference, even just through my tv speakers. I love the maple. I notice that, as I get older and my ears lose their ability to hear high frequencies, I tend to like brighter sounding instruments that compensate for my loss. So now I'm off to find a video doing an A/B comparison of Cialis vs Viagra, given my other old age deficits.
I don’t know about sound but I always liked how rosewood felt when plying. A lot of the cheaper maple necks have lacquer or poly on them which makes it feel a bit off to me. The rosewood is usually open pore and finished with oil so I like that better
This is the most well done video I have ever seen on the subject. I was also pretty surprised at the amount of difference in the high frequency in the attack and the placement of the midrange in the sustain.
There are tone differences. But after having pedals and pre amps over it, you can easily change the tone. The most important is the feel, they do feel quite different while playing.
So I only like Maple on a tele, I think its more the feel than the sound, the real smooth finish suits the way I use a tele. On every thing else I would always look for Rosewood. I guess its also got to do with how I see a tele fitting into the whole guitar spectrum.
I prefer maple to rosewood or ebony, but the thing is that with maple you have to be more confident. Ebony makes me feel relaxed and comfortable but shredding on maple feels better if you have the confidence, grip. It’s a lot more slidy and unstable, but if you know how to drive that car well, it benefits you!
Guitarist logic: Plastic finishes and plastic tubing on the trussrod kills tone Also guitarist logic: Plastic binding and plastic fret markers - doesn't kill tone
Guitarist logic: a minute quantity of old glue binding body and neck makes all the difference in the world. Also: putting new guitar under serious surgery to remove the minute quantity of modern, factory-approved glue binding the neck and body of his new guitar, to replace with a minute quantity of horse glue, not a problem whatsoever.
The comparison section was the most helpful I've seen so far. History lesson was cool too. Also, great job playing the same thing identically for different takes, a true professional! Job well done all around, man.
Man... if those pickups are setup the same... then there is a BIG and NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE... I didn't expect that, but am pleased because I like the treble punch of the maple and that is what I have. ...cool.
Brilliant, as ever... not only are your playing and presentation skills superb, but your camera-work deserves a prize too. Fantastic episode, Chris. And I wouldn't kick either guitar out of bed for eating crackers...
In this case, the tonal difference can be worked out through the whole rig, i think FEEL is more important. I think Maple has less “drag” on bending and such to my taste. I prefer it, but also think certain guitars just look right with the right neck color!
For those who can't hear the difference, the acid test would be a display of the harmonic spectrum and also the attack, delay, sustain, and release envelope of a single note being played. .
Those tests are irrelevent when the difference in audible tone is probably less than what a listener would experience by moving 2 metres in any direction.
I’m listening on a crap iPhone 8 speaker, but even so, I was able to hear a slight difference with the higher single notes. The rosewood sounded slightly warmer/softer with the high notes. (a sound I prefer)
I just like the rosewood. I like the resistance, if you could call it that, and the subtle extra bit of warmth. But maybe it's because I am just used to that. It's just a personal preference. I never believed one or the other is 'better'.
First, thanks for this great A-B comparison. I'm pretty sure I would have made possibly unconscious variations playing the same lick, sort of "playing to the guitar's groove", but you seem to have played them spot on with either. I've had 5 Strats and 1 Esquire and 4 Teles over the last 46 years. I still have all the Tele-types, and 2 Strats, both maple V-necks. There are subtleties that make me prefer a maple fingerboard, and in spite of my very large hands, the old-style V-necks. I like the feel of the maple. Because of your A-B, the rosewood seems to have that "warmer" sound, but also somewhat like it has a pillow over it, just a bit. Oddly, my oldest Fender, a '59 or '60 Esquire, has a rosewood board and a big beefy neck that really fits my hand better. I guess there is actually a sound component that makes me prefer maple, but like you say, in the context of a loud band, with pedals, etc., who could really tell? Great comparison!
All guitar necks tended to be rosewood, until leo fender. He brought in the maple neck, but later became concerned about its tendency to leave marks over time.
@@davidhumphries1146 The actual reason Leo brought in rosewood boards is because when he saw his maple boards played on tv he thought they looked really dirty and was afraid it would hurt sales. Therefore he used a darker wood. It's just a case of necessity being the mother of invention. Edit: I typed this before Chris said it. LOL!
@@SimpleManGuitars1973 yes. Heard something similar, like a guitar show coming up. Mid 59 rosewood was the go. Ironic given that the bolt on necks were meant for replacement, and nowadays, marks are a badge of honour. Most players didnt go beyond the cowboy chords position. Maybe fret. 5. Different lacquers now, also make maple difficult to mark. I must say, as getting older, maple is easier to see. But I like the sound and look of both.
My personal preference is maple for Fenders, rosewood for everything else. Nothing looks better to me than a sweat-stained, "dirty" maple board on an old Tele. As for sound, I honestly don't think the differences are big enough to matter.
I never heard the difference untill tonight! Thanks! Rosewoid is more mid-low range clean. Maple High range clean! Accidentally, rosewood was the best deal I could get so all my guitars are rosewood!
I have a Rosewood Tele and a Maple neck Strat, idea being the rosewood warms up the Tele a bit and the Maple gives the Strat a bit more chime. I think I sort of need a Rosewood Strat and Maple Tele though too.
There are just 3 reasons I prefer the Maple Neck. 1- Looks much better 2- Can be seen better on a dark stage situation 3- I personally like the way it feels. As for the tone vs darker wooks, My opinion is that it is slightly brighter. But as for tones, I like either.
To me what matters is how it looks and eels I prefer the feel of maple but some colors and finishes go better with rosewood There was a difference alright, but i don't think it was due to the fretboard but the pickups (yes the same guitar model with the same pick up model/settings can still sound different
My preference is Rosewood over Maple for playability. There is something about the high gloss neck on a Maple fretboard. Now that Rosewood is endangered, other dark woods are being substituted. Maybe if the Maple were not so highly lacquered?
Excellent job on the audio quality sir. This is the first time I could distinctly here a clear difference between the two tone woods. And I'm listening to this through a smartphone too!
Maple is definitely brighter, but usually rosewood isn't covered in sticky layers of gloss. Think you can do another comparison of ebony vs roasted maple?
Great video. I have just bought my daughter an American special tele and she really loved the look of the rosewood fingerboard so we went with that. I’m a bass player and far prefer rosewood for my basses but I wasn’t sure if it’s the right choice for a tele. She loves big chords and big riffs so this video has made me more comfortable that the guitar is right for her. BTW, there was never any doubt in her mind she wanted a sunburst tele. Nice playing too, Sir. Tasty 👍
Excellent playing and review. Thank you. IMO the rosewood neck had more warmth but also more high frequencies. I would say more balanced from low to high. The maple neck seems to have more high end but has more midrange.
I prefer rosewood every time, because the lack of varnish makes them easier for me to play. Also, replacing frets on an unvarnished rosewood board presents fewer problems than with a varnished maple board. I find the difference in sound insignificant, in most cases.
No two guitars will sound exactly the same, so any difference just be that one guitar sounds brighter than the other? I prefer rosewood fingerboards, but does it really matter? It's down to choice.
Of course that's true to some extent.....but if you compare 5 rosewood guitars to 5 maple guitars, the maples, as a group, will sound brighter than the rosewoods..... all other things being equal.
@@TheMirolab your probably right, but surely not in every case? The maple will give a snappier sound, but also as I said, each guitar will very because not two bits of wood are the same? But overall, I'd agree with you.
Yes, I do hear a difference. I like both. I have to admit my favorite to play is maple--it offers a brightness that I prefer--but I do like the smooth sounds of rosewood, as well.
Where solid body electrics are concerned, with the exception of sustain, I think wood type has virtually no impact on tone. I believe any variance in tone between two "identical" guitars like this is more likely down to differences in set-up, string age, and the inevitable variation from one pick up and wiring set from one guitar to the next. Hell, you can go down to your local guitar shop, and grab 3 identical model guitars off the wall, and they all sound different. Even when they have all the same specs and components. Now, I like the feel of maple better though, especially on a guitar I plan to be doing a lot of bends on. I don't like feeling the grain on rosewood when bending strings. So I normally go for maple on my electrics, when possible.
I would like to see this comparison with two necks and one guitar. The necks being switched out and everything else (strings, amp setting, etc.,..) the very same. Some times two identical guitars with the “same” everything still sound different. The differences may manifest in that scenario but it would be a great way to settle it in my opinion. As always, Chris, you are a fabulous musician! I just watched your video about Hendrix...I must say, I think you’re better! 😎
