Why do you never see jazz guitars with maple fretboards?

[Salt Peanuts]

Just thought of this the other day and it made me wonder. I usually prefer the tone on maple neck Telecasters and Stratocasters because the maple just seems to have a little more clarity to the sound and a more immediate attack to the note. Often if you see a jazz player playing a Telecaster it could have a maple neck (Ted Greene for instance) so it doesn't seem to be a case of maple not being as good for jazz.

Any thoughts on why you tend to almost never see maple necks on Jazz boxes?

[wintermoon]

probably because it sounds bright, and that's not why people buy archtops.

[Lobomov]

Or maybe it is because maple necks where introduced by Leo Fender, who always looked for cheap solutions, while old world Gibson had a tradition that never considered stuff like that?

[emanresu]

When I get famous with my awesome jazz then you'll see one maple neck out there!

But seriously yeah, good question - why has the jazz guitar sound have to be fat? No idea. Absolutely no idea.

[mr. beaumont]

I used a tele with a maple neck for years...and then when I got a new neck for it, I went maple/ebony...mostly for the look...I don't put too much stock in the fretboard material's effect on tone, for electric guitars.

I'd say it's mostly tradition...Leo was the tradition breaker...

[rlrhett]

Lots of jazz being played on Teles with maple fretboards.

Why walnut dash on a Rolls Royce and plastic on a Kia? Does it make it drive better? Actually, maybe...

Driving a car is a subjective experience. Do you enjoy driving a beautiful car more than a strictly utilitarian one? Is it better even if you can't measure it in lateral Gs or 0-60 times?

Same with a guitar. Lots of blind tests say that even trained ears can't tell from the sound coming out of an amp whether its a semi, fully carved spruce, or a slab of ash.

But I still prefer to play a beautiful hand carved archtop over a Tele. I swear I am less inspired by an ibanez with a heavy poly finish vs a similar Epi with a satin finish.

Jazz boxes have a history of being guitar maker's top end guitars. They are made to be beautiful bespoke instruments. Tropical hardwoods give you that in a way that maple doesn't.

Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way.


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[Jabberwocky]

The same reason why you don't see violins with maple fingerboards...not the done thing. Some things simply don't go together.

And maple sounds bright.

You can always custom order an archtop with a maple fretboard though.

[lammie200]

It may be about sound, but I think that it has more to do with feel. Maple fingerboards need to be finished to be stable and the player will feel the finish - not the wood. Rosewood and ebony fingerboards don't need to be finished to remain stable, and the user will feel the wood. Subtle difference, but it is a difference nonetheless. Most other stringed instruments have unfinished fingerboards as well. And they are fretless, so the feel of the fingerboard is an integral part of the playing experience. I think that archtops tend to follow their lead, so to speak.

[emanresu]

Same with a guitar. Lots of blind tests say that even trained ears can't tell from the sound coming out of an amp whether its a semi, fully carved spruce, or a slab of ash.

It's nice to have a well done blind test around when the arguing about "something vs. somethang" goes to eleven.
Although those kinds of tests are different than a simple "like more" way of choosing when hunting for a combination.

Maple is technically brighter for sure but for me, it just sounds more "guitary".

opinions...

[wolflen]

have had maple strats and teles...for whatever reason they never felt "warm" to me...have been playing a les paul classic rosewood neck for past 9 yrs of so..I will be getting the new tele elite..with a rosewood neck...

[oldane]

FWIW, when I bought a Strat years ago I had the shop order one with rosewood fb for me because I thought I would like that best. But I went home with one with a maple fb. It sounded best to me - a little added clarity. Now, that may be the maple fb or something else, I don't know. And likely the difference would easily have been equalled out on the amp.

[Vladan]

... and bolted neck ... I'd buy it tomorrow if it was available in local shops ... bitches want money in advance to order and there's no turning back ... shipping from abroad is many times more expensive than guitar , so, ... I'll stick with Squiers, or shop on AliExpress ... in fact, I think I'll buy digital piano ...

[Flyin' Brian]

Many of the more high end full body guitars have ebony fingerboards. Ebony is pretty close to maple in feel and hardness, but looks more traditional.

[sgosnell]

As said above, maple fretboards have to be covered in finish, because of the light color and because maple isn't really that hard. The finish wears off, and the fretboard gets to be very ugly. Fender's only reason for using them was to save money. It's much, much cheaper to use a solid one-piece maple neck and fretboard than to take the time and trouble to glue on a separate fingerboard. It had nothing to do with tone, everything to do with money. Leo made his guitars as cheaply as possible, and sold them for as much as possible, like any good capitalist. The main reason people bought Fenders originally was because they were cheap, compared to other brands.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Just wanted to celebrate Teles with maple fretboards!

[neatomic]

when gibson had the feds after them (for endangered wood), they started using baked maple fretboards on their "studio" line



i want my maypo!

cheers

[neatomic]

ps- kay, in the 50's, also made some archtops with maple f-boards



cheers

[Flyin' Brian]

As said above, maple fretboards have to be covered in finish, because of the light color and because maple isn't really that hard. The finish wears off, and the fretboard gets to be very ugly. Fender's only reason for using them was to save money. It's much, much cheaper to use a solid one-piece maple neck and fretboard than to take the time and trouble to glue on a separate fingerboard. It had nothing to do with tone, everything to do with money. Leo made his guitars as cheaply as possible, and sold them for as much as possible, like any good capitalist. The main reason people bought Fenders originally was because they were cheap, compared to other brands.

Yep

[neatomic]

Yep

& a new one (relic'd) like that would cost you 7k$ from the fender custom shop!

cheers

[Flyin' Brian]

& a new one (relic'd) like that would cost you 7k$ from the fender custom shop!

cheers

I know it. Crazy stuff.