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This subject has probably been done to death but I'm curious about your opinions.

I grew up playing Martins (ooooh, the poverty!!!!) and when I got an electric, I naturally preferred Rosewood fretboards. Because of the Martin, my fingers have their own biceps, so my playing style involves a bit of bending.
Some years ago, I was adopted by a Maple neck Strat. It took a long time, but eventually we became close friends. The only thing that still bugs me about it is the stickiness of the fretboard. When I do a slow bend, my finger literally creaks across the fingerboard; it just doesn't feel smooth to play. I never noticed this with Rosewood....

I see plenty of bendy players like Maple... so, do you find it smooth or is that grippy thing not a problem for you?

My Strat is one of the numbered 1954 clones made for the 40th anniversary. It has a 7' radius neck and vintage frets. I know that flatter necks are easier to bend on, but the issue that bugs me still seems to be grip.

If you sprayed rosewood with gloss poly then it would feel sticky and icky too.
Satin finish maple necks is where it's at. Not much difference in feel with satin finish, tho rosewood feels slightly more open grain compared to maple.
I like rosewood but am drawn to the look of maple, my tele creation is going to sport a maple neck.

you can sand the lacquer off the maple board for a smooth feel, but then of course you will get the staining of the wood.....

I prefer maple because of the extra bite you get (more treble than rosewood) and I love the look of maple

Vorbis wrote:If you sprayed rosewood with gloss poly then it would feel sticky and icky too.
Satin finish maple necks is where it's at. Not much difference in feel with satin finish, tho rosewood feels slightly more open grain compared to maple.
I like rosewood but am drawn to the look of maple, my tele creation is going to sport a maple neck.

You are quite correct about the poly. As my fretboard wears, it does become smoother. In fact, now that my hairy paws have worn half the finish off the neck, the guitar seems to improve daily. (Thank you Fender for remembering to use real nitrocellulose on my guitar!) I'm still intrigued that this doesn't seem to bother a lot of folks. Thought maybe y'all knew something i didn't...

Good luck with the Tele creation. I'll be doing one this Winter too. Can't wait.... Actually, can't decide exactly what Iwant. Maybe 3 or 4 Teles?
Sewercaster..... That's brilliant! Can I use it please?

Ha, SewerCaster indeed. Players that dont sweat much (if at all) when playing probably dont notice the stickiness anywhere near as much as those that sweat bullets.

slowfingers wrote: Good luck with the Tele creation. I'll be doing one this Winter too. Can't wait.... Actually, can't decide exactly what Iwant. Maybe 3 or 4 Teles?
Sewercaster..... That's brilliant! Can I use it please?

Mine's up in the air too. I've never owned or even played a tele. Should be fun...

slowfingers wrote:The only thing that still bugs me about it is the stickiness of the fretboard. When I do a slow bend, my finger literally creaks across the fingerboard; it just doesn't feel smooth to play. I never noticed this with Rosewood....

weird.. I prefer maple for the exact same reason.. I find the roughness of rosewood to feel as though my fingers get 'stuck' on each of the ridges, whereas the smoothness of the finish on maple means I slide over it more...
my tokai has rosewood (I presume - it's not maple, so by default..) andit is smooth, so I guess some rosewood is smooth, but by and large I find it too grabby.. like fingernails on a blackboard... *shudder*

I have both and have no preference for either. To me, its just a guitar neck - whatever it is is what it is, it makes no difference to my playing.

I played a maple neck ESP M2 recently. It had a natural finish neck I think and it felt really stick. This is why I love ebony necks, they are so slick, even if that Ash fellla says they can sound funny.

Rog wrote:I have both and have no preference for either.

Samesies.

Ebony, maple, rosewood in that order. For me anyway.

I've never tried the same kind of guitar with different fretboards, I've owned lots of different ones but there are too many variables. My all maple Gibson Marauder was super bright and gooood, that is all.

Did some experimenting last night and discovered something: The lighter my fretting hand, the less difference I noticed between Maple & Rosewood.
So here's the question; Do those of you who don't mind either way play with a light touch? And do the rest of you tend to wring your guitar's neck like I do?

I do like a guitar that pushes back.......

I'm a light touch for sure. a 4 hour gig is tough enough without putting my lazy @rse through any unnecessary gymnastics.

I can't tell the difference, and I have a fairly heavy ungainly touch I think. I think I'm just oafish in general when it comes to playing... and life..