[RHCPfan]

I'm planning to get my new fender standard stratocaster REAL soon, but I just have one unsettled question that has to be answered before i buy it, maple or rosewood? I love how the maple feels, and especially how it looks with electron blue, over the rosewood. I also noticed it was a bit brighter than the rosewood, but apart from that, I didn't notice much of a difference, I play mostly metal but also classic rock, etc. What would be the best neck for me, rosewood or maple, but it looks kind of weird playing metal on a maple for some reason, but does it really make a difference in sound?

 

[david henman]

...in my view, that's something you can only learn through hands on experience.

there's not a huge difference, as you say. you may ultimately acquire a preference for one or the other, or perhaps discover that you like both equally. this is something that that no one can predict, however.

-dh

 

[Robboman]

it looks kind of weird playing metal on a maple for some reason, but does it really make a difference in sound?

What's weird is playing metal on a Fender Strat to begin with. Aren't most metal guys are into Ibanez, ESP, Les Pauls, etc? I think the main thing is to get a bridge humbucker if you're playing metal. As for rosewood vs maple, I doubt most could hear a big difference, especially at high gain. Definitely not as much impact as pickups, bridge hardware and overall guitar mass will make.

Oh, and if you want heavier tone on any guitar, move up to heavier strings. Especially if you're mostly just chugging away at power chords and not trying to solo like Yngwie.

My $.02 IMHO

 

[Ripper]

The guys in Iron Maiden have maple fretboards, Mick Mars has both rosewood and maple. My two cents is that for higher gain stuff, the pickups are more important than the fretboard wood.

 

[RHCPfan]

I have 2 ibanez's, and now i think it's time to get a more diversified guitar, hence i will be getting a stratocaster. As for "chugging" power chords, one of the main reasons i wanted to get a strat is because of yngwie. I know the pickups are way more important and that they could be changed, i just wanted to know about the neck......

thanks for the advice

 

[exhaust_49]

Either board will make little difference on sound. I like rosewood boards best because of the way they feel and because of the way they age.

 

[dwagar]

Maple should be a tad brighter, but I don't know if it's enough to be really noticeable.
As Exhaust_49 said, there is a feel difference, so I'd suggest you play a few to see which you like.

A simple and effective way to bump up the mids in a Strat (closer to a humbucker sound) is to install an Eric Clapton board. I picked one up from Axe a few years ago for, I think, $99. I think it's great. There may be better boosters out there now too.

 

[axestronomer]

One thing to consider is that a maple fretboard will cost a bit more for a refret then rosewood.

 

[Coustfan'01]

Like the other guys said , I don't think the fretbaord does that big a difference . Maybe you can feel it , but I always ask myself " What can I tell about his guitar setup just by hearing a song? " , and realise that with a versatile amp / eq / boost , you can get almost any guitar to sound like almost any guitar , so a fretboard difference probably won't ever get heard by anyone .
Does that make sense ?

 

[Rick Assenger]

Good post by everyone, and this is not the first time this issue has been discussed. If you go to the Harmony Central web site, I think this has been debated a number of times...particularly over whether you can tell the difference in tone or not - because amplification plays a big role in the final tone.

I just went through this decision myself. I have a number of guitars (electric, acoustic, and classical) and they all have rosewood necks. In the end, I love the feel of the maple neck on my new American Strat because it is different...it feels 'fresh'...there's a new term. In terms of sound, let the debate rage on.

If your arsenal of guitars all have rosewood necks, go with maple...you'll love it for its difference.

cheers...