# Ebony vs Maple vs Rosewood



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

What is your preferred fretboard wood?


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I prefer the feel of rosewood, but like the look of maple. I don't like ebony at all.


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

To me, that's like asking about skin colour: black, white, or red. Depends on the girl it's attached to!

I like the typical smoothness and blackness of ebony, though I like Taylor's variegated ebony less so far... maybe an acquired taste. Contradictorily I like rosewood when it's got good variegation and color in it, even though its surface is often less-smooth at first. And contradicting again, I don't like maple much at all because it's too smooth - feels for years like playing on plastic - and because (unless birds-eye) it doesn't add any visual character to the guitar.

If the guitar they're attached to sings, I don't care much what the board is made of.


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## Woof (Jan 13, 2010)

I prefer ebony except I think strats and teles should be maple. I'm pretty sure that most of mine are rosewood


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

I don't have a preference. I'd say maple because I like the look and feel, except most of my guitars are rosewood. I guess that means I don't play favourites. Ebony looks and feels very nice but I only have one guitar with an ebony board. That said, I love the look of maple on Fenders, and most of my Godins are maple/maple too. I'd hate to have only one choice, truth be told.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I don't know why, but I've always liked the look of rosewood.

I have guitars with maple boards too, but RW would be my choice.
I don't even know if I have, or tried a guitar with an ebony board.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

Alternative man-made materials...........


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Ooooooo. That's a tough one. I like maple on my strat and rosewood on the others. Never really given ebony a good try so I'll have to pass on a choice.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Ebony on acoustics, rosewood on electrics. No reason, just because. I do have a couple of maple electrics, and some rosewood acoustic instruments (an acoustic or two, mandolins, banjos, etc) so I'm not very biased. If an instrument "speaks to me", it doesn't matter the wood.

I've had a couple of severely flatsawn maple boards that I thought were just ugly and the necks were very flexible so maybe there's a practical reason the prefer stiffer quartsawn fingerboards.

Peace, Mooh.


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

are we talking aesthetics? if so then ebony by leaps and bounds. a nice black board really makes those inlays pop out. If it's sound quality we're discussing then i'll refrain from voting...don't wanna be the one to open that can of worms.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Ebony feels the best to me.

tonally, I'm impartial because I don't usually play very clean, and there's usually other differences between the guitars that could be contributing to the subtle tonal differences.


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

I like the feel of rosewood best because it's less tacky up and down the fretboard. Personally, I think ebony looks best because of the colour and to my eye, maple only looks good on Tele's. 

To me, it's more about feel than looks and "sound" when it comes to fretboard material.


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

Generally speaking I prefer the look of a dark ebony fretboard and the tight grain.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I have one that is ziricote. It looks fabulous, feels great too. 

My bouzouki has an ebony fingerboard with a large maple burl inlay of the rising/setting sun and I honestly don't have any change in sensation if my fingers are on one as opposed to the other. I mean, the double course strings are between f/b and fingers so there's hardly any contact anyway.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Rosewood all the way. I've never bonded with a Maple neck and I don't think I've ever tried Ebony - unless that is what is on a LP neck. Love the feel of a rosewood board.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I like them all. On Telecasters and Stratocasters I like maple but it really depends on the colour of the guitar. 

On Gibsons the rosewood seems right. Tried the baked maple_(hated it).
_
Ebony is nice too. I have a Greco with an ebony fretboard and it's very nice.

To tell the truth it's all about how it looks for me. I don't feel or hear much difference I can attribute to the fretboard wood from guitar to guitar.

Maybe the back of the neck matters more. I'm feeling mostly strings and frets on the front.


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## james on bass (Feb 4, 2006)

Ebony. Of course, my "fret"board has no frets, dots or inlays. It's a very strong wood and has barely a mark on it after a year's use with round-wound strings. 

I prefer rosewood over maple for my fretted instruments.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

For me it's all about aesthetics, so it really is a function of "the look" relative to to whole instrument.


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## TA462 (Oct 30, 2012)

Rosewood. Why? Because that's all I've ever really known. My go to Strat and my Les Pauls all have Rosewood fretboards. I have a Telly and another Strat that have a Maple fretboard but they don't get played very often.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I just went back to back with my albert lees - one is one-piece maple and the other one-piece rosewood. I can tell the difference blinded for sure, because there is a texture I can feel with the rosewood. 

I'm not exactly sure what to make of it; they are the only guitars I own with the exact same finish, carve, radius, and scale.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Out of my 4 electrics, two are rosewood, one maple and one ebony. And they all sound great


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I prefer ebony as far as feel goes, but I like rosewood.
I don't like fingerboards that are finished, they feel slippery--although over time I've gotten better with that--although the only finished board I have is on my fretted bass, so I don't really feel it with my fingers.

i don't know that I've ever really noticed much of a difference soundwise--although some people swear by one type way over the others.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

zontar said:


> i don't know that I've ever really noticed much of a difference soundwise--although some people swear by one type way over the others.


People who can tell the difference between the sounds of the fingerboard wood are also the same people who catch and release 15 pound Largemouth without a camera. Fact.

:stirpot:


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

adcandour said:


> People who can tell the difference between the sounds of the fingerboard wood are also the same people who catch and release 15 pound Largemouth without a camera. Fact.
> 
> :stirpot:


On another board I had a guy complain about my preferences based on feel, when it should have been on tone.
I replied I didn't have a preference, and he didn't want to accept that at first.

I should have asked how many large fish he's caught.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Stratin2traynor said:


> Rosewood all the way. I've never bonded with a Maple neck and *I don't think I've ever tried Ebony - unless that is what is on a LP nec*k. Love the feel of a rosewood board.


Not usually. To the best of my knowledge, the only LPs with ebony are some LP Customs and a very few Studios (which is odd, maybe Gibson had some extra ebony to use up, because it's more expensive than rosewood typically.).


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

for me, it depends. since i agree with the others that is all about feel and looks, i like 'em all in different circumstances. generally i like strats to have a maple board, axcept when it's a black on black strat, then rosewood. i like LP guitars to have rosewood, but any humbucker guitar that's blingy or not conventionally shaped, i like ebony.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Diablo said:


> Not usually. To the best of my knowledge, the only LPs with ebony are some LP Customs and a very few Studios (which is odd, maybe Gibson had some extra ebony to use up, because it's more expensive than rosewood typically.).


IIRC it's the 90's studios (and only some) that come with ebony boards. Most LPC's up until recently are also ebony, I think. My Gibson knowledge is not very extensive or current haha.


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## GUInessTARS (Dec 28, 2007)

I voted other as a vote for no preference. I have guitars with all three choices and they all play great.
The only difference I notice as I get older is the guitar I have with a maple board and abalone dots all seem 
to be the same colour on stage. This causes the band to play out of tune from time to time. I never miss.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Budda said:


> IIRC it's the 90's studios (and only some) that come with ebony boards. Most LPC's up until recently are also ebony, I think. My Gibson knowledge is not very extensive or current haha.


Im not sure if youre correcting me or agreeing with me, lol


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## Clean Channel (Apr 18, 2011)

I prefer ebony or rosewood over maple on all guitars. I know, I know, teles/strats maple etc, but even then I prefer ebony or rosewood.

I voted ebony, because it'd be my first choice for any guitar (and what I'd pick if I were ordering a custom instrument). However, if I'm buying an already-built guitar I'm totally happy with rosewood.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

For me it is ebony over rosewood, slightly. Maple-necked fretboards never seem to get played much whenever I have them. It is mostly a feel thing with me though two of the best sustaining guitars I have ever owned, a '58 Les Paul Custom and an '89 Ibanez AM800 both had/have ebony necks. Not sure if the fretboard material is entirely why but it seems coincidental at the least. I also have a Taylor T5 and love the look and feel of the ebony neck on it as well. Rosewood fretboards run a close second for me.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

I am surprised at the poll results and the numbers in favour of ebony. I have always preferred it over rosewood. When I built my strat and tele projects I went with the maple, first I had ever owned and thought I would not like them. They are fine to play. But if I had only one to choose for everything I would go with the ebony


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## jdguitarbuilder (Aug 1, 2010)

For me it's Ebony on all acoustics or electric instruments with humbuckers. Always rosewood on Strats and maple on Teles, only because maple looks so cool on a Tele!


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## captainbrew (Feb 5, 2010)

Rosewood on all my guitars (ES335, Les Paul, Strats and acoustics) except my blackguard tele.


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## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

Accept2 said:


> Alternative man-made materials...........












My preference is that whatever material the fretboard's made of, it suits the guitar... I recently picked up a Hagstrom HL-550 for a great price, and though I didn't realize it when I was buying it, it turns out that it has a Resinator™ Fretboard... According to their website, "_the resinator fretboard is a homogeneous wood composite that maintains a strong fundamental harmonic and eliminates wolf tones. It offers the articulate sound of high quality ebony but with more consistency and durability. Silky smooth, reliable and fast._" Well, I don't know about that, but it sure looks like Ebony to me, though it feels "lighter" or "less dense", if that makes any sense... Anyway, it's as good as any fretboard I've ever played, for all that it's not "real wood"... And I've played and owned the odd Parker Fly in my day that were smoother and silker than anything else I've ever played; partly the stainless steel frets, I'm sure, but partly the carbon fibre fretboard - wonderful feeling guitars... my 2¢


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Jimi D said:


> My preference is that whatever material the fretboard's made of, it suits the guitar... I recently picked up a Hagstrom HL-550 for a great price, and though I didn't realize it when I was buying it, it turns out that it has a Resinator™ Fretboard... According to their website, "_the resinator fretboard is a homogeneous wood composite that maintains a strong fundamental harmonic and eliminates wolf tones. It offers the articulate sound of high quality ebony but with more consistency and durability. Silky smooth, reliable and fast._" Well, I don't know about that, but it sure looks like Ebony to me, though it feels "lighter" or "less dense", if that makes any sense... Anyway, it's as good as any fretboard I've ever played, for all that it's not "real wood"... And I've played and owned the odd Parker Fly in my day that were smoother and silker than anything else I've ever played; partly the stainless steel frets, I'm sure, but partly the carbon fibre fretboard - wonderful feeling guitars... my 2¢


Gretsch "ebonizes" some of their fretboards....not sure what it means....it definitely looks darker so theres a dye/stain involved, but it also seems to have a tighter more ebony like grain as well, so maybe theres a filler being used as well, or theyre selecting wood with tighter grain for a more convincing result.


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## mrmuzikhead (Jun 24, 2007)

My fave is Ebony BUT it's got to be maple for Fenders! Especially Tele's


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## Stonehead (Nov 12, 2013)

I like them all but maple is by far my favorite.


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## bluesguitar1972 (Jul 16, 2011)

Fenders, maple all the way (especially birds eye). Others, I like both RW and Ebony, but I really like a rosewood with a tight grain, but some visual striping.


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## newfmp3 (Feb 6, 2010)

Tele's - Maple. Lots of flame, subtle birds eye...all good.
Strat's - Rosewood
PRS's - Ebony, although they make a crazy good maple on some guitars. Far better then fender.
Acoustics - Ebony
LP - Ebony or Rosewood.
Any other electric pretty much Rosewood

I can definitely feel the difference between them. Hear a difference? probably not. But unless I can switch them back and forth on the same guitar, how could I tell? I have a PRS CU24 Experience model from 2011 that is Ebony and I'm so impressed with it. So smooth, so easy to play. PRS's Ebony is top notch.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I think the best would be eb-ple-rose.


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