Fender Telecaster - maple or rosewood neck

**tomems** · 12-22-2016, 04:16 PM

I only get to buy one telecaster. Which neck should I buy? I think the sound difference is negligible. There's a bit of a different feel... but I think it comes down to cosmetics. If the rosewood came with a darker head stock it would look better...

I like the Tobacco burst but it only comes with the rosewood board... Maybe I'll buy two and switch the necks. (Just kidding.)

Sco has at least one of each but I don't get that luxury!

**bohemian46** · 12-22-2016, 04:47 PM

I have a tri burst Hiway 1 (2003) with a maple neck/board.

I much prefer rosewood for many reasons.. primarily the look, the feel

I will be replacing it with a rosewood board when I find the right one... straight grained neck and board.

One day I will get a G&L Blues Boy hollow with no f hole and a #3 neck 1 3/4 nut and an ebony board on an ivory colored body.

**jim777** · 12-22-2016, 04:57 PM

Maple every day and twice on Sunday. How is this a question? (j/k)

**Hep To The Jive** · 12-22-2016, 06:03 PM

I have a partcaster and i got a maple neck for it, because it has the specific profile i like. I never had a maple one before. I dunno, I still struggling to like the feel of it... Kinda like a sticky feel. I'm thinking of switching to rosewood.

**sgosnell** · 12-22-2016, 08:17 PM

I'll take rosewood or ebony every time, for any fretboard. Maple is great for necks, but not for fretboards. Fender originally sold maple for only one reason - it's cheaper to produce. Everything on a Fender was originally used for economics, not for anything else. The materials, the shape, everything, it's all for quick, cheap, and efficient production.

**Lobomov** · 12-22-2016, 08:55 PM

On fenders I like maple best and havent owned a rosewood one for 15 years

**vernon** · 12-22-2016, 10:27 PM

I really like the vintage style one-piece maple neck... you can feel the instrument resonating in your hand better. This makes for a livelier playing experience.

**marcwhy** · 12-22-2016, 10:48 PM

Just to be clear, we're talking "fretboards," not "necks," right?

**Cunamara** · 12-23-2016, 12:54 AM

I don't care for the feel of a maple fretboard, since they have to be finished. Tend to feel sticky under the fingers. Or maybe I just haven't found the right one. So I prefer rosewood or ebony. Although watching some videos of Julian Lage with his '54 blackguard....

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 12-23-2016, 01:52 AM

I've never bonded with maple fretboards -- I pick them up, I put them down.

My ASAT has an ebony board. My fave.

**50Hz** · 12-23-2016, 01:54 AM

I've always played rosewood/ebony boards but just recently picked up a 72 thinline w maple neck/board and i'm getting used to it. Aesthetically I think I still prefer rosewood but on a Tele I don't find maple offensive.

**MaxTwang** · 12-23-2016, 02:24 AM

I wouldn't worry too much one way or the other re. the fingerboard - the fingerboard does matter, but on a Tele not as much as the body wood and the bridge style/material. For me a 60's style 3 saddle bridge (steel saddles) is more important than maple or rosewood (or alder vs. swamp ash), many prefer 50's style brass saddles. If you want a little snappier sound look for a swamp ash body, more even sound go for an alder body.

Best to play a few and see what you like. All Tele's are cool, woods & metals add a bit of nuance but there's a lot of tonal variation even among Teles w/ rosewood, or maple, or alder or swamp ash. Best to find the 1 that's right for you instead of focusing on the specific woods.

Whatever you get you'll be more impressed with the sound of most any Tele than the specific wood.

Here's my 'Viva Las Vegas' Tele!!! Double bound alder body, rosewood fingerboard and steel saddles - a TWANG machine that's great for jazz.

Fender Telecaster - maple or rosewood neck-screen-shot-2016-12-22-10-31-54-pm-png

Fender Telecaster - maple or rosewood neck-screen-shot-2016-12-22-10-31-54-pm-png

**gmek** · 12-23-2016, 02:56 AM

maple is my favorite...

**jazzbow** · 12-23-2016, 03:16 AM

I've always prefered rosewood fingerboards but went for a maple neck for my strat!
And what a neck it is. Made by Chandler guitars in the late 80's. It's got a 7" radius, cellulose lacquer, the right feel and profile. Smitten!

Check this out...

Killer tone.....

I hear a clearer tone with maple fingerboards (IMHO). The only reason they're lacquered is because they get dirty.

So why not get a rosewood Tele and a warmoth maple neck that has the fingerboard 'roasted' to look like its a rosewood fingerboard? Then if you stick with the maple you can get back double the cost of the warmoth by selling the fender neck?!

**tusculum** · 12-23-2016, 03:32 AM

All teles are awesome but there is more to this debate than maple v rosewood necks, which usually means fretboards. Another option is a 100% rosewood tele. The ring and chime adds another dimension to the front pick up clean sound. I just got a reissue and will try it on my next jazz gig.

**mad dog** · 12-23-2016, 07:50 AM

I play and appreciate both maple and rosewood tele fretboards. Definitely a feel difference. May be something tonally as well, a slight softening of the sound with rosewood. Not a scientific observation, more something I notice as a subtle difference.

Rosewood gets my vote, not by a huge margin. What sways it is how pretty and fine the brazilian RW board is on one of my telecasters. Such a pleasure to play that one.
MD

**Marty Grass** · 12-23-2016, 08:57 AM

One cool thing to me is the wear on a maple board. That may sound funny, but it leaves a record of the hours of use.

One of my drummers told me he never cleans his skins because he's worked so hard to make those marks.

Check out some old pics of Eric Clapton's Strats that had maple boards. To him, it must feel like coming home every time he opens the case.

**tomems** · 12-23-2016, 10:25 AM

I think you've convinced me to at least try both out... I'll see if my local GC has elites with both fretboards...

Sco uses the middle pickup setting on the videos I've seen. What is Lage using? I can't see...

**mr. beaumont** · 12-23-2016, 10:33 AM

The neck MUST be maple.

The fretboard is up to the individual's preference. My tele has an ebony fretboard. Blasphemy!

**Cunamara** · 12-23-2016, 10:54 AM

One issue with figuring out switch settings is that you have to know the wiring scheme. For example, Juluan's switch is in the middle position, but if his Tele still has the old 50s blackguard wiring, that means the neck pickup with the tone control engaged. The front position means neck pickup through a cap and no tone control (AKA the mud switch); the rear position is rear pickup, IIRC with the tone pot acting as a blend knob rather than as a tone control. You can get sounds with that arrangement that can't be gotten just about any other way.

As for the tonal aspects of maple versus rosewood boards, Jim Soloway put up some samples years back of one of his guitars, swapping necks that were as close as possible except for the fingerboards. To my ears the maple was actually warmer and a touch softer. Counter-lore about these things.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 12-23-2016, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by Cunamara

One issue with figuring out switch settings is that you have to know the wiring scheme. For example, Juluan's switch is in the middle position, but if his Tele still has the old 50s blackguard wiring, that means the neck pickup with the tone control engaged. The front position means neck pickup through a cap and no tone control (AKA the mud switch); the rear position is rear pickup, IIRC with the tone pot acting as a blend knob rather than as a tone control. You can get sounds with that arrangement that can't be gotten just about any other way.

As for the tonal aspects of maple versus rosewood boards, Jim Soloway put up some samples years back of one of his guitars, swapping necks that were as close as possible except for the fingerboards. To my ears the maple was actually warmer and a touch softer. Counter-lore about these things.

Yes, I listened to a comparison and rosewood was brighter -- higher mids. Not night and day, but it made me wonder how much we listen with our eyes.

I still don't like the feel of finished maple, thought.

**Hatim** · 12-23-2016, 12:00 PM

if you play jazz, IT is easier to play with a rosewood fingerboard. The rosewood gives a little punch, click before the note sounds.

**Greentone** · 12-23-2016, 02:56 PM

I have owned a bunch of Telecasters and Stratocasters. I have owned about an even mix of maple boards and rosewood boards. Currently, I own a maple board Strat and a maple board Tele.

Having lived with Fender guitars for the better part of 50 years now, I have to say that there is very little difference between the two boards, in terms of sound. If you looked on a spectrum analyzer I am sure you'd see a difference between the spectrograms of the two Telecasters--i.e., same guitar but with different necks. However, I doubt that you'd hear the difference.

OTOH, I'd be surprised if you didn't experience a difference in playing the two versions of the guitar. Blindfolded, I'm not sure that you'd note which guitar you were holding and playing, but who plays blindfolded? Most soda pop drinkers cannot identify their pop of choice blindfolded, but that's not how they consume pop, either. Playing a guitar is part feel, part sound, AND part how things look. When everything is taken into account, there is a difference between playing a rosewood board Tele and a maple board Tele.

I have a slight preference for early-60s, rosewood board Telecasters--feel, look, and sound. However, I also have a strong preference for chunky neck Telecasters. Consequently, it is easier for me to find a maple neck/board that is chunky and mate this with a 60s-style Tele body. It's not period correct, but it works best for me.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 12-23-2016, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by Greentone

I have a slight preference for early-60s, rosewood board Telecasters--feel, look, and sound. However, I also have a strong preference for chunky neck Telecasters. Consequently, it is easier for me to find a maple neck/board that is chunky and mate this with a 60s-style Tele body. It's not period correct, but it works best for me.

That's what drove me to a custom neck: the chunky ones always seem to have a maple fretboard.

**Cunamara** · 12-23-2016, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

Yes, I listened to a comparison and rosewood was brighter -- higher mids. Not night and day, but it made me wonder how much we listen with our eyes.

I still don't like the feel of finished maple, thought.

Yes! Not only with our eyes but also with what we think we already know.

I played a friend's MIM Tele with a maple fingerboard recently- very nice guitar. The finish on the fretboard was noticeable, although after a few songs I didn't really notice as much as I thought I would. Nice sounding instrument. I also have a Squier Affinity which has a satin finish on the neck and fingerboard, which is not too bad in terms of feel but the neck is too narrow/thick. It might be the feel of a gloss finish on the fingerboard that bothers me. I am thinking about trying a Warmoth roasted maple neck and 'board on one of my Teles- no finish required for their warranty! That could be very interesting.