Maple for me, I’ve always preferred a brighter guitar. “Warm” often just sounds woolly to me. That said, there was much less difference here than I would have expected. At this point maybe I just prefer the look though.
Chris. Been playing 57 years and I listen to a LOT of guitarists. Your playing has a strong magnetism, hugely addicting to hear. You have that elusive magic in your time and approach, that we all strive for but seldom reach.
@@ramencurry6672 who could not agree with that! What surprised me is that I always preferred rosewood, mostly from the feel when playing, but in this comparison I liked the maple tone. Wish roasted maple was added to the mix, because I'm looking at a roasted maple Warmoth neck ATM :-)
@@learningguitar7948 Roasted maple is on my list. My only concern is that it might possibly crack in the future. But I think the cracks don’t spread and can be repaired
This guy is obviously joking to all the people out there that are dense enough to have not already though of this joke whilst Chris Buck was discussing the stats of both of the guitars used in the video. To be fair though, certain metallic finishes (candy apple red for example) need a base coat or an extra coat of primer before being applied. Let's just say you wouldn't see this done on an acoustic guitar top nor under normal circumstances would you see someone spraying excess material on a drum head or anything else that acts as a diaphragm. For the record I actually play a candy apple red strat, and it's actually an Eric Johnson model.... a Notorious tone chaser
@@michaeltyler1834 You have a Candy apple red guitar, that's what the guy just said - you should have got the surf green, so you could get better tone. He just said that
@@abcrx32j Buying a cheap amp and expensive guitar is like buying a Waterford chandelier and looking at it through dirty glasses. It's all about the amp
I've only recently come across your channel but already, i can immediately tell it's you by your playing, even if i didn't know it was a video by you. a major mark of a great player is being immediately recognizable
Rosewood sounds more "rock" and the maple sounds more "country" and brighter. I was expecting to not hear a difference but there was a definite difference. Thank for the comparison! Awesome playing.
It would be easy to say that maple is brighter, and it was, but it’s not quite that simple. What really jumped out at me was the initial attack of the notes-that’s where the maple had more “bite and snap”. The maple fingerboard had a broader range of dynamics, too, to my ear.
They sound different, but a tiny tweak of any tone knob on the guitar or the amp will make up this difference. So, for me it comes down to looks and more importantly feel. I LOVE the way an aged maple fretboard looks, but I prefer the feel of rosewood. I need a new species of "rosemaple".
Tbh, adding more treble has a different sound than naturally bright sounding gear. Like when I have a bunch of distortion on, turning up the treble makes it sound super hairy, but when I take naturally trebly/bright sounding gear and turn down the treble a bit, it sounds SOOO much better. At least to my ears.
Which ever guitar currently being played by Chris Buck sounds better than the other one that's not being played by Chris Buck 😉. However, I've always preferred the aesthetic of darker fretboards (rosewood, pau ferro, ebony etc.)
Chris dude you are one talented young man. Your playing is amazing. But, your a natural music journalist with great historical and technical insights. Bravo. Very proud subscriber.
I went in with a bias, fully expecting not to hear a difference. But, through headphones, with my eyes closed, I actually did hear the difference, with concentrated effort.
You sure you're not forcing yourself to hear a difference? Tiny differences in playing also makes a difference. I think I can hear a difference, but that's not really trustworthy. Blind A/B test is the only way to find out.
I always thought it was b******t but much to my surprise I could actually hear a difference. Surprised me, but strengthened my opinion that the tone of a guitar is more about the neck than the body.
I would wager you just think you hear a difference. Here's the problem with this video. It wasn't a blind test. You see each guitar therefore you can safely conclude your imagining a difference because your eyes SEE a difference and your ears translate that difference in sound. I played this video a number of times with a really good set of Tascam headphones. I "thought I heard a tiny minuscule difference" but then on rewind the difference disappeared. This kept happening on each lick. Sometimes it was there, then it was not. Imagination was being influenced. I concluded there is no discernible difference. That's the human ear. A computer waveform might pickup a difference but the human ear can't without it's inherent bias.
@@Steven_SK The maple sounds sweet to me. But in all honesty I think it depends what is played. Had it been some dark blues I'm sure I'd have felt the rosewood hit my spots hah
This is the most well done video I have ever seen on the subject. I was also pretty surprised at the amount of difference in the high frequency in the attack and the placement of the midrange in the sustain.
This is absolutely true for me. With a gun to my head, I probably would choose the nuances of the rosewood sound. But maple both looks and feels so much better to me, that there's no contest. Just turn a knob or two half a click and the sound difference disappears.
@@suttletovah I own an LTD Viper 400. SG style guitar Pau Ferro fingerboard. Nice guitar. But once I sat down and actually played a nice Fender Strat with a maple board, I went out and ordered a Player Plus Top. And feels so much better to me. Not sure if it's actually the maple board or just the fact that owning a Fender has been a lifeline dream sort of but still.
i mostly play clean tones and when you play clean there's quite a wide difference.....in my opinion, in fender guitars, i prefer maple although i have rosewood in one of my tele's
Hey the psychological factor is bigger than you might think. I play a strat with a maple fingerboard, but if I were still making decisions based off "person I like made thing I like with this thing" I'd play nothing but Les pauls. I've discovered...with difficulty...that I get my best tones and most playing enjoyment from a strat, and the maple board is what I choose when I put maple against rosewood. And it's weird to accept because I'm a huge fan of Gibson, humbuckers, etc. But with an instrument in my hands, having had access to various guitar models and trying all the guitars my heroes use, I went the total opposite, ironically because that gives me what I want to hear
Great video as always Chris. Definitely a tonal difference albeit subtle and nuanced. The maple is quite distinct to my ear and I did take a peak while listening the confirm. I like hearing you play the maple board as it’s response is more immediate and I’m so used to seeing you play rosewood necks. It’s all good. Congratulations on your nomination.
To my ears, if anything, the maple sounded ever so slightly brighter on the bridge pickup. But since guitars have a tone knob, what's the point. Look and feel are where the real differences lie.
That's my view. These debates tend to be silly because there are a million ways to compensate for the differences. Go for the guitar that feels better to you and maybe that's the kind of attack you prefer but we have these debates as if people just plug straight into an amp with an amp they can't adjust, using a guitar they can't adjust hah. Pickups are the biggest thing with electric guitars IMO.
For me the difference is most noteworthy when it is time for a fret job. Until then I can't tell the difference. I play both. Incidentally, this was a great video comparison. Amazing that you could play so seamlessly on different takes. That was a mind blower.
The comparison section was the most helpful I've seen so far. History lesson was cool too. Also, great job playing the same thing identically for different takes, a true professional! Job well done all around, man.
They do sound different, but it could be any number of other factors besides fretboard material. For me it comes down to the look and I like the look of a maple fretboard better.
They actually sound a lot more different than I expected. I've always gotten strats just for the look... but tbh I liked how the maple sounded here much better.
This is the second demo I've seen on the topic, and to my ears, in both cases, I hear a slight more brightness in the maple neck, but it's frankly so slight a difference it doesn't matter. It's less of a difference than you hear between a brand new set of strings and a set a few days old.
Definitely also a difference depending on whether the maple is a 1-piece neck (skunk stripe) or separate neck and finger board. The latter tends to sound slightly brighter in my experience
I prefer rosewood, ebony or pau ferro just because I prefer the sensation of my fingers on wood rather than on a gloss finished fretboard. I've never played on a unfinished maple fretboard.
I’ve got Strats and Teles with both - never thought about it before, but I tend to pick up the guitars with the rosewood necks. Great video and balanced view nicely articulated.
I think your summing up at the end is absolutely right, maple actually has a bit more sustain but the rosewood has more of a midrange honk that suits overdriven front pickup solos and power chords, remember how fat Rory's strat sounded!
Guitarist logic: Plastic finishes and plastic tubing on the trussrod kills tone Also guitarist logic: Plastic binding and plastic fret markers - doesn't kill tone
Guitarist logic: a minute quantity of old glue binding body and neck makes all the difference in the world. Also: putting new guitar under serious surgery to remove the minute quantity of modern, factory-approved glue binding the neck and body of his new guitar, to replace with a minute quantity of horse glue, not a problem whatsoever.
I’ve found the opposite be true (to my ears) playing many many different fender guitars with maple and rosewood over the years. When taking the pickups/electrified sound out of the equation and played just acoustically, I’ve found maple to have a somewhat slower attack and and softer feel - more warmness to it. Whereas rosewood tends to feel a bit stiffer and quicker in the note attack on the fretboard. Electrified I can definitely see the rosewood sounding warmer, but for me there’s a lot more to it than just that. Thickness of the neck will also have a huge impact. Long story short - I love maple the most.
Darn, the firist time I actually heard a discernible difference between the two fretboards. Although it is worth noting that no two guitars are the same even if they use the same species of wood so it could also be differences in body and neck wood.
Brilliant, as ever... not only are your playing and presentation skills superb, but your camera-work deserves a prize too. Fantastic episode, Chris. And I wouldn't kick either guitar out of bed for eating crackers...
Excellent job on the audio quality sir. This is the first time I could distinctly here a clear difference between the two tone woods. And I'm listening to this through a smartphone too!
@@mattflickinger8151 Maple usually has a finish on top, it used to be nitro and you could wear it through for cool spots. Rosewood is usually unfinished/ raw wood and to some, that feels better, plus you get the actual feel of the grain.
@@Christopher.Marshall when you bend, at least when i do, my finger tips are at an angle which makes it so my fingers do touch the fretboard all the time
The ultimate test would be to use a single guitar body and swap necks to do the comparison - just to remove any differences in the 2 bodies' wood/wiring/pickup winds, however small those differences may be.
Darrell Braun did do that. Very obvious difference, not far off from what we hear in Chris' test. Though Darrell's conclusion was that there was no noticeable difference in tone at all,...
I never heard the difference untill tonight! Thanks! Rosewoid is more mid-low range clean. Maple High range clean! Accidentally, rosewood was the best deal I could get so all my guitars are rosewood!
With Fenders, I've always been partial to a maple neck. Everything just has its own flavor. Binding, no binding, Rosewood, etc. For Gibson's, a LP Custom. With Ebony, or a Standard with Rosewood. They all impart some magic over the instrument. There's really no X versus, Y versus Z. It's about taking hold of what's there. Finding the magic of the woods/tones.
Man... if those pickups are setup the same... then there is a BIG and NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE... I didn't expect that, but am pleased because I like the treble punch of the maple and that is what I have. ...cool.
So I only like Maple on a tele, I think its more the feel than the sound, the real smooth finish suits the way I use a tele. On every thing else I would always look for Rosewood. I guess its also got to do with how I see a tele fitting into the whole guitar spectrum.
First, thanks for this great A-B comparison. I'm pretty sure I would have made possibly unconscious variations playing the same lick, sort of "playing to the guitar's groove", but you seem to have played them spot on with either. I've had 5 Strats and 1 Esquire and 4 Teles over the last 46 years. I still have all the Tele-types, and 2 Strats, both maple V-necks. There are subtleties that make me prefer a maple fingerboard, and in spite of my very large hands, the old-style V-necks. I like the feel of the maple. Because of your A-B, the rosewood seems to have that "warmer" sound, but also somewhat like it has a pillow over it, just a bit. Oddly, my oldest Fender, a '59 or '60 Esquire, has a rosewood board and a big beefy neck that really fits my hand better. I guess there is actually a sound component that makes me prefer maple, but like you say, in the context of a loud band, with pedals, etc., who could really tell? Great comparison!
this is the most realistic guitar review that I have ever seen on youtube.....i love that you played the same licks for each guitar....and even the same color!!!....btw ....great playing too!!! The maple neck is much brighter...although both giitars sound great!!!
In this case, the tonal difference can be worked out through the whole rig, i think FEEL is more important. I think Maple has less “drag” on bending and such to my taste. I prefer it, but also think certain guitars just look right with the right neck color!
This intro is so sick that I asked another RUclipsr (Alberto Guitar Lover) to break it down and he did! He's put it together, with tabs here ruclips.net/video/v0i8OGmuXbs/видео.html Chris, I tuned into the Buck and Evans gig on Dec 12 from Vancouver, Canada. It was awesome, would love to see more of this type of thing. Even just you jamming with a looper would be great. Merry xmas 👊.
The perfect fretboard wood is bloodwood. It seems to sit right in the middle between those three taking the best attributes of each. I know a lot of exotic woods only show up for bases, but the frequency range emphasis of bloodwood is perfect for the guitar.
Both of mine are ebony. Quick and dense like maple, brighter than rosewood but looks deeper and richer. lean toward maple boards in this comparison, and on fenders. I like one piece, their roasted birdseye is nice.
Maple is definitely brighter, but usually rosewood isn't covered in sticky layers of gloss. Think you can do another comparison of ebony vs roasted maple?
For those who can't hear the difference, the acid test would be a display of the harmonic spectrum and also the attack, delay, sustain, and release envelope of a single note being played. .
Those tests are irrelevent when the difference in audible tone is probably less than what a listener would experience by moving 2 metres in any direction.
I just like the rosewood. I like the resistance, if you could call it that, and the subtle extra bit of warmth. But maybe it's because I am just used to that. It's just a personal preference. I never believed one or the other is 'better'.
Great video. I have just bought my daughter an American special tele and she really loved the look of the rosewood fingerboard so we went with that. I’m a bass player and far prefer rosewood for my basses but I wasn’t sure if it’s the right choice for a tele. She loves big chords and big riffs so this video has made me more comfortable that the guitar is right for her. BTW, there was never any doubt in her mind she wanted a sunburst tele. Nice playing too, Sir. Tasty 👍
Huge difference, even just through my tv speakers. I love the maple. I notice that, as I get older and my ears lose their ability to hear high frequencies, I tend to like brighter sounding instruments that compensate for my loss. So now I'm off to find a video doing an A/B comparison of Cialis vs Viagra, given my other old age deficits.
I’m listening on a crap iPhone 8 speaker, but even so, I was able to hear a slight difference with the higher single notes. The rosewood sounded slightly warmer/softer with the high notes. (a sound I prefer)
Just one of the many highly intelligent musicians in Cardiff, Wales. ; ) Although I think you'd have a job finding a better, more expressive and original blues-rock guitarist anywhere in the UK at the moment.
There are tone differences. But after having pedals and pre amps over it, you can easily change the tone. The most important is the feel, they do feel quite different while playing.
Great Review - thorough analysis, excellent comparative sound demo (the way it should be) - I really like that you state your personal preference. It doesn't sway me one way or the other, but it's very helpful. Thanks!!!
Very good video, Chris. I have heard people talk about the difference often, but this is the first time I have heard the actual difference :) An interesting test, in my opinion, would have been to play them both "unplugged". I imagine the difference would be even bigger and I believe the acoustic sound will always be part of the signal going into the amp.
All guitar necks tended to be rosewood, until leo fender. He brought in the maple neck, but later became concerned about its tendency to leave marks over time.
@@davidhumphries1146 The actual reason Leo brought in rosewood boards is because when he saw his maple boards played on tv he thought they looked really dirty and was afraid it would hurt sales. Therefore he used a darker wood. It's just a case of necessity being the mother of invention. Edit: I typed this before Chris said it. LOL!
@@SimpleManGuitars1973 yes. Heard something similar, like a guitar show coming up. Mid 59 rosewood was the go. Ironic given that the bolt on necks were meant for replacement, and nowadays, marks are a badge of honour. Most players didnt go beyond the cowboy chords position. Maybe fret. 5. Different lacquers now, also make maple difficult to mark. I must say, as getting older, maple is easier to see. But I like the sound and look of both.
I don’t know about sound but I always liked how rosewood felt when plying. A lot of the cheaper maple necks have lacquer or poly on them which makes it feel a bit off to me. The rosewood is usually open pore and finished with oil so I like that better
So, rosewood or maple? Have *YOU* got a favourite? 🤔
I prefer maple for bending on Fenders, but I do appreciate a good rosewood board here and there
Maple for me, I’ve always preferred a brighter guitar. “Warm” often just sounds woolly to me. That said, there was much less difference here than I would have expected. At this point maybe I just prefer the look though.
Hands down: Ebony.
Maple; but nothing to do with Tony Wood, it's all about the aesthetics.
rosewood! I like warm sound and it even looks better to me, rosewood neck is the ideal!
while watching the intro my guitar got up , slapped me and walked out the door!
Mine head butted me and then kicked me in the nuts!
Mine is hanging on the wall looking at me with a mixture of pity and disgust. I feel ashamed
mine broke it's own strings just to make sure I don't have any ideas of picking it up
I didn't let my guitar hear this video. Used headphones: I learned my lesson from the last slap it gave me 🎸
whahaha
There's only one conclusion to draw from this video: They do sound different, which means we need one of each! Simple as that! Happy shopping! :-)
No, the solution is the guitar in the thumbnail, but opposite, maple on the high end, mahogany on the low :)
Yeah, that's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it !! One more cheap guitar, please.
I suspect different pick materials and gauges could coax the sound of each from the same guitar...
@@Reverend_Mojo Not really. You'll affect the tone, but not in the way that you suspect.
@@guitarpedaldemos9121 People just need to learn to play "Rosewood-ey" or "maple-ey"
Tones in the hands!
Maybe Hendrix's guitar sounded warmer because he would throw it onto the floor and set it on fire !!!
That would sound hotter. Not warmer. =^-^=
@@ImnotgoingSideways relative to the sun I’d say the guitar would be warm.
"Roasted maple neck"
LOLOL!! Hilarious comment and responses. Thanks guys - made my day!
@@theejpp Fried Maple neck, really cooking those fretboard conditioning oils.
That opening solo just blew my mind. Taste, tone, chops, inventiveness. Well done, Chris.
̶I̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶l̶o̶s̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶d̶ ̶u̶p̶?̶ ̶😶
I'm an idiot, pls ignore me
so groovy
Me too !!!
Chris. Been playing 57 years and I listen to a LOT of guitarists. Your playing has a strong magnetism, hugely addicting to hear. You have that elusive magic in your time and approach, that we all strive for but seldom reach.
He’s already taken
@@ramencurry6672 who could not agree with that! What surprised me is that I always preferred rosewood, mostly from the feel when playing, but in this comparison I liked the maple tone. Wish roasted maple was added to the mix, because I'm looking at a roasted maple Warmoth neck ATM :-)
@@learningguitar7948 Roasted maple is on my list. My only concern is that it might possibly crack in the future. But I think the cracks don’t spread and can be repaired
Hmm, I think the mystic surf green paint has a very distinctive tone, you can't get tone like that with a candy apple red guitar!
Is that you, Billy Corgan?
This guy is obviously joking to all the people out there that are dense enough to have not already though of this joke whilst Chris Buck was discussing the stats of both of the guitars used in the video. To be fair though, certain metallic finishes (candy apple red for example) need a base coat or an extra coat of primer before being applied. Let's just say you wouldn't see this done on an acoustic guitar top nor under normal circumstances would you see someone spraying excess material on a drum head or anything else that acts as a diaphragm. For the record I actually play a candy apple red strat, and it's actually an Eric Johnson model.... a Notorious tone chaser
This
@@michaeltyler1834 You have a Candy apple red guitar, that's what the guy just said - you should have got the surf green, so you could get better tone. He just said that
@@derek8376 I need a handicap to keep shit from getting out of hand ✋
It was great to see Chris is as articulate with his choice of words as he is with his choice of notes. Really fine video Chris, thanks!
It makes me laugh at the pickyness of guitar players over woods etc and then they play through ten guitar pedals! Lol!
Good job they don't make wooden pedals - that would be a whole new world to argue about ;-)
Lil bastards should be grateful.
Today's starter guitar is 3x better than anything jimi hendrix could hope for.
@@BOBANDVEG thats a bit of an exaggeration lol.
Imagine buying a $3000 with the same value in pedals just to get a cheap vintage sound or fuzz washed nonsense
@@abcrx32j
Buying a cheap amp and expensive guitar is like buying a Waterford chandelier and looking at it through dirty glasses.
It's all about the amp
Man... I would pay a chunk of change just to listen to Chris Buck play live.
I can never get over how much I dig your picking hand technique.
This guy is a master of video editing 🤯 changing the color of the neck while he's playing. Wow.
I've only recently come across your channel but already, i can immediately tell it's you by your playing, even if i didn't know it was a video by you. a major mark of a great player is being immediately recognizable
Welcome to the clan. The clan of great Buckness
Rosewood sounds more "rock" and the maple sounds more "country" and brighter. I was expecting to not hear a difference but there was a definite difference. Thank for the comparison! Awesome playing.
mee too
Agreed. I watched it back without looking at it and just listening, and the country twang is always the maple fretboard.
It would be easy to say that maple is brighter, and it was, but it’s not quite that simple. What really jumped out at me was the initial attack of the notes-that’s where the maple had more “bite and snap”. The maple fingerboard had a broader range of dynamics, too, to my ear.
100%
Amin . So yeah they are different,if you want country lead definitely go with maple ,for me rosewood sounds dule ..
They sound different, but a tiny tweak of any tone knob on the guitar or the amp will make up this difference. So, for me it comes down to looks and more importantly feel. I LOVE the way an aged maple fretboard looks, but I prefer the feel of rosewood. I need a new species of "rosemaple".
Dunno for me it also sounded like the rosewood sounded a bit hotter at times although I preferred the sound of the maple.
Tbh, adding more treble has a different sound than naturally bright sounding gear. Like when I have a bunch of distortion on, turning up the treble makes it sound super hairy, but when I take naturally trebly/bright sounding gear and turn down the treble a bit, it sounds SOOO much better. At least to my ears.
Or get EQ pedal for even more tonal control.
roasted maple is the answer
i don't know how you can feel the difference, my fingers don't touch the fretboard when i play. they only touch the strings and the frets.
Man, your phrasing is on another level entirely 🙌🏻
Which ever guitar currently being played by Chris Buck sounds better than the other one that's not being played by Chris Buck 😉.
However, I've always preferred the aesthetic of darker fretboards (rosewood, pau ferro, ebony etc.)
Facts.
Love the look of ebony and it sound like maple
Finally the truth revealed.
...and that there is the answer!🤔👍
Pau ferro looks dumb
For my own part, the materials of the guitar is not the limiting factor, it's my God damn fingers!
Chris dude you are one talented young man. Your playing is amazing. But, your a natural music journalist with great historical and technical insights. Bravo. Very proud subscriber.
Are they different? Yes. Is it noticeable? Yes. Does it matter? No. Personal preference? Yes.
Hotel? T... ok sorry
I went in with a bias, fully expecting not to hear a difference. But, through headphones, with my eyes closed, I actually did hear the difference, with concentrated effort.
You sure you're not forcing yourself to hear a difference? Tiny differences in playing also makes a difference.
I think I can hear a difference, but that's not really trustworthy. Blind A/B test is the only way to find out.
I always thought it was b******t but much to my surprise I could actually hear a difference. Surprised me, but strengthened my opinion that the tone of a guitar is more about the neck than the body.
so in other words the differences are so minute they could only be picked up by either a computer waveform program or your imagination.
Yea, I could hear a distinct difference. Not sure which is "better" but they are different.
I would wager you just think you hear a difference. Here's the problem with this video. It wasn't a blind test. You see each guitar therefore you can safely conclude your imagining a difference because your eyes SEE a difference and your ears translate that difference in sound. I played this video a number of times with a really good set of Tascam headphones. I "thought I heard a tiny minuscule difference" but then on rewind the difference disappeared. This kept happening on each lick. Sometimes it was there, then it was not. Imagination was being influenced. I concluded there is no discernible difference. That's the human ear. A computer waveform might pickup a difference but the human ear can't without it's inherent bias.
They are, practically, the same, but there's something about the rose wood tone that goes straight to my heart.
And I am the same except I'm Team Maple.
Kinda like galleons and guns, eh..?
@@Steven_SK The maple sounds sweet to me. But in all honesty I think it depends what is played. Had it been some dark blues I'm sure I'd have felt the rosewood hit my spots hah
Yes, similar but I liked the rosewood better too.
me it's the other way around
The difference might just be in the pickup (e.g. ever-so-slight difference in wounding, parts tolerance, etc).
Correct!
Most likely
Or age of strings.
Or distance between pickup and string
LOL... Or...maybe its the wood. Save your pennies, get one of each, you'll know the difference pretty quick.
This is the most well done video I have ever seen on the subject. I was also pretty surprised at the amount of difference in the high frequency in the attack and the placement of the midrange in the sustain.
Hot take: the difference is too little to be as important as how you feel seeing and picking the guitar up.
This is absolutely true for me. With a gun to my head, I probably would choose the nuances of the rosewood sound. But maple both looks and feels so much better to me, that there's no contest. Just turn a knob or two half a click and the sound difference disappears.
@@suttletovah I own an LTD Viper 400. SG style guitar Pau Ferro fingerboard. Nice guitar. But once I sat down and actually played a nice Fender Strat with a maple board, I went out and ordered a Player Plus Top. And feels so much better to me. Not sure if it's actually the maple board or just the fact that owning a Fender has been a lifeline dream sort of but still.
i mostly play clean tones and when you play clean there's quite a wide difference.....in my opinion, in fender guitars, i prefer maple although i have rosewood in one of my tele's
Hey the psychological factor is bigger than you might think. I play a strat with a maple fingerboard, but if I were still making decisions based off "person I like made thing I like with this thing" I'd play nothing but Les pauls. I've discovered...with difficulty...that I get my best tones and most playing enjoyment from a strat, and the maple board is what I choose when I put maple against rosewood. And it's weird to accept because I'm a huge fan of Gibson, humbuckers, etc. But with an instrument in my hands, having had access to various guitar models and trying all the guitars my heroes use, I went the total opposite, ironically because that gives me what I want to hear
Unbelievable! Thank you again Chris. And great to see the subs racking up. 100k for Christmas :)
Great video as always Chris. Definitely a tonal difference albeit subtle and nuanced. The maple is quite distinct to my ear and I did take a peak while listening the confirm. I like hearing you play the maple board as it’s response is more immediate and I’m so used to seeing you play rosewood necks. It’s all good.
Congratulations on your nomination.
To my ears, if anything, the maple sounded ever so slightly brighter on the bridge pickup. But since guitars have a tone knob, what's the point. Look and feel are where the real differences lie.
Definitely brighter. I wouldn't say slightly though. It's a big difference to my ears.
I listened without looking and couldn't tell the difference.
the word i'd use here is "warmer." In my mind the maple is "brighter" but the rosewood is "warmer."
@@ChristianGonzalezCapizzi have 13 guitars about half rosewood half maple. Both are as good it all gets down to what the tune 'needs'.
That's my view. These debates tend to be silly because there are a million ways to compensate for the differences. Go for the guitar that feels better to you and maybe that's the kind of attack you prefer but we have these debates as if people just plug straight into an amp with an amp they can't adjust, using a guitar they can't adjust hah. Pickups are the biggest thing with electric guitars IMO.
For me the difference is most noteworthy when it is time for a fret job. Until then I can't tell the difference. I play both.
Incidentally, this was a great video comparison. Amazing that you could play so seamlessly on different takes. That was a mind blower.
The comparison section was the most helpful I've seen so far. History lesson was cool too. Also, great job playing the same thing identically for different takes, a true professional! Job well done all around, man.
They do sound different, but it could be any number of other factors besides fretboard material. For me it comes down to the look and I like the look of a maple fretboard better.
This
You just contradicted yourself.
@@MrAnderswt explain
I wish he'd got a meter and checked the resistance of the pickups to rule that out.
@@Sam1628 welp he ended up not explaining lol
I am here just to hear the solos. Amazing!
Bang! What a badass Intro!!!! THAT´s the way how one starts a video. KILLER pierce!!!
They actually sound a lot more different than I expected. I've always gotten strats just for the look... but tbh I liked how the maple sounded here much better.
Same man, I don’t really have a preference I have both, but my maple fretboards have gloss on them and they do feel different.
This is the second demo I've seen on the topic, and to my ears, in both cases, I hear a slight more brightness in the maple neck, but it's frankly so slight a difference it doesn't matter. It's less of a difference than you hear between a brand new set of strings and a set a few days old.
+
Definitely also a difference depending on whether the maple is a 1-piece neck (skunk stripe) or separate neck and finger board. The latter tends to sound slightly brighter in my experience
I agree. You could turn the treble knob on your amp just a little bit and get them to sound the same.
@@dorielementary Sure. The touch response and natural compression of the instrument always feels better with a skunk stripe neck to me though
I prefer rosewood, ebony or pau ferro just because I prefer the sensation of my fingers on wood rather than on a gloss finished fretboard. I've never played on a unfinished maple fretboard.
That’s my take as well. Don’t like glossy finish on maple.
Same. Fender American performer series have unfinished maple I believe.
I’ve got Strats and Teles with both - never thought about it before, but I tend to pick up the guitars with the rosewood necks. Great video and balanced view nicely articulated.
@@Milton_Andrew So have the new Player Plus Telecasters (maple necks)
Chris Buck has the most beautiful phrasing.
Damn dude! You are such a great player! That intro piece, was inspiring. Truly. 👍🏻
I think your summing up at the end is absolutely right, maple actually has a bit more sustain but the rosewood has more of a midrange honk that suits overdriven front pickup solos and power chords, remember how fat Rory's strat sounded!
I am actually shocked by the differences I can hear!!
Needed to replay it 5 times, because I forgot about paying attention to the tones by that kickass solo.
Guitarist logic: Plastic finishes and plastic tubing on the trussrod kills tone
Also guitarist logic: Plastic binding and plastic fret markers - doesn't kill tone
cant really compare having a guitar coated in plastic to 10-odd dots being plastic....
Guitarist logic: a minute quantity of old glue binding body and neck makes all the difference in the world.
Also: putting new guitar under serious surgery to remove the minute quantity of modern, factory-approved glue binding the neck and body of his new guitar, to replace with a minute quantity of horse glue, not a problem whatsoever.
Also, pickups are mounted to plastic generally. How’s that for tonewood
I feel like I should know what truss rods are. I hear the words said a lot
@@cjscarff6453 there’re like Johnson rods only thinner.
I’ve found the opposite be true (to my ears) playing many many different fender guitars with maple and rosewood over the years. When taking the pickups/electrified sound out of the equation and played just acoustically, I’ve found maple to have a somewhat slower attack and and softer feel - more warmness to it. Whereas rosewood tends to feel a bit stiffer and quicker in the note attack on the fretboard. Electrified I can definitely see the rosewood sounding warmer, but for me there’s a lot more to it than just that. Thickness of the neck will also have a huge impact. Long story short - I love maple the most.
I just have the weird assumption that maple has a lighter and brightet sound, and rosewood has a darker and bassier sound
Darn, the firist time I actually heard a discernible difference between the two fretboards. Although it is worth noting that no two guitars are the same even if they use the same species of wood so it could also be differences in body and neck wood.
Brilliant, as ever... not only are your playing and presentation skills superb, but your camera-work deserves a prize too. Fantastic episode, Chris. And I wouldn't kick either guitar out of bed for eating crackers...
There is definitely a difference. But not so much that you’d notice with a little tweak of the amp, especially in a mix.
Maple I want to see the blood, sweat, and tears on the fretboard!🤯🔫🎸
Excellent job on the audio quality sir. This is the first time I could distinctly here a clear difference between the two tone woods. And I'm listening to this through a smartphone too!
Prefer the sound and feel of rosewood, but like the look of relic maple.
I prefer rosewood. For feel, not tone
I just commented similarly, but like the maple feel better. What you do you notice with the rosewood?
@@mattflickinger8151 Maple usually has a finish on top, it used to be nitro and you could wear it through for cool spots. Rosewood is usually unfinished/ raw wood and to some, that feels better, plus you get the actual feel of the grain.
@@Christopher.Marshall when you bend, at least when i do, my finger tips are at an angle which makes it so my fingers do touch the fretboard all the time
@@juliusnisonen2431 Yep what he said...
@@Christopher.Marshall so I suppose Claptons Blackiie got those wear marks during transit or something??
Great video. The maple definitely sounds brighter and twangier in every setting. Awesome comparison.
was way too captivated by your playing to remember what I was even listening for. incredible work chris.
Wow I'm actually surprised how much of a difference there is
Same
I came into this with the preconceived notion that I wouldn’t hear a meaningful difference. My mind has been changed.
More than 1 Tele is the only and proper decision!
The ultimate test would be to use a single guitar body and swap necks to do the comparison - just to remove any differences in the 2 bodies' wood/wiring/pickup winds, however small those differences may be.
Darrell Braun did do that. Very obvious difference, not far off from what we hear in Chris' test. Though Darrell's conclusion was that there was no noticeable difference in tone at all,...
@@goldmole1 it's been done by others better, and there is no difference that you can hear amplified.
@@louiscyfer6944 They do sound different.
See other replies as well.
probably the best guitarist i have heard in a long time, and he is on youtube giving us advice, NUTS.
Finally, I can compare to Chris in one way! We both have a green Telecaster :)
I never heard the difference untill tonight! Thanks! Rosewoid is more mid-low range clean. Maple High range clean!
Accidentally, rosewood was the best deal I could get so all my guitars are rosewood!
It's 2020 how has someone not made a half and half neck?
Interesting... split vertically or horizontally? Like E, B and G rosewood and D, A and E maple? Or split at say the 7th fret?
Maple necks with rosewood fretboards are more or less half and half right?
@@fouter81 yeah I should have said the fretboard.
i don't think it's goin' to work, mate.....let's stop inventin' things without any other purpose than the challenge......
With Fenders, I've always been partial to a maple neck. Everything just has its own flavor. Binding, no binding, Rosewood, etc. For Gibson's, a LP Custom. With Ebony, or a Standard with Rosewood. They all impart some magic over the instrument. There's really no X versus, Y versus Z. It's about taking hold of what's there. Finding the magic of the woods/tones.
0:09 - 0:20 - plays just two notes that sound better than all of mine ;)
Man... if those pickups are setup the same... then there is a BIG and NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE... I didn't expect that, but am pleased because I like the treble punch of the maple and that is what I have. ...cool.
BTW, the editing on the opening piece was exceptional, as was the playing. Way to go, guy!
So I only like Maple on a tele, I think its more the feel than the sound, the real smooth finish suits the way I use a tele. On every thing else I would always look for Rosewood. I guess its also got to do with how I see a tele fitting into the whole guitar spectrum.
Likewise. There's some kind of a crispness to the sound of a maple fretboard which i really like.
I think the maple fretboard sounded a little warmer but the difference was minimal. Just go for whatever suits the guitar's main color.
I would say more balanced, the rosewood almost sounded muddy to me.
First, thanks for this great A-B comparison. I'm pretty sure I would have made possibly unconscious variations playing the same lick, sort of "playing to the guitar's groove", but you seem to have played them spot on with either. I've had 5 Strats and 1 Esquire and 4 Teles over the last 46 years. I still have all the Tele-types, and 2 Strats, both maple V-necks. There are subtleties that make me prefer a maple fingerboard, and in spite of my very large hands, the old-style V-necks. I like the feel of the maple. Because of your A-B, the rosewood seems to have that "warmer" sound, but also somewhat like it has a pillow over it, just a bit. Oddly, my oldest Fender, a '59 or '60 Esquire, has a rosewood board and a big beefy neck that really fits my hand better. I guess there is actually a sound component that makes me prefer maple, but like you say, in the context of a loud band, with pedals, etc., who could really tell? Great comparison!
I just realized, you should make a video of how to play these amazing licks ! Subscribers would increase exponentially, and I would be first in line.
this is the most realistic guitar review that I have ever seen on youtube.....i love that you played the same licks for each guitar....and even the same color!!!....btw ....great playing too!!! The maple neck is much brighter...although both giitars sound great!!!
Man, your playing gets better and better. A joy to hear. Looking forward to seeing you and band play in Bristol again.
I've always been and always will be a maple man and big 70s headstocks....I'm an old school rocker...keep rockin
In this case, the tonal difference can be worked out through the whole rig, i think FEEL is more important. I think Maple has less “drag” on bending and such to my taste. I prefer it, but also think certain guitars just look right with the right neck color!
Excellent video, Chris. Your comparison bits are expertly played. The premise of matched guitars, different necks is brilliant. Thanks!
Love the right hand technique! Smooth transition between pick and fingers. Great playing!
This intro is so sick that I asked another RUclipsr (Alberto Guitar Lover) to break it down and he did! He's put it together, with tabs here ruclips.net/video/v0i8OGmuXbs/видео.html Chris, I tuned into the Buck and Evans gig on Dec 12 from Vancouver, Canada. It was awesome, would love to see more of this type of thing. Even just you jamming with a looper would be great. Merry xmas 👊.
people : rosewood is this and maple is this and that.
me with ebony fingerboard guitar : ...
The perfect fretboard wood is bloodwood. It seems to sit right in the middle between those three taking the best attributes of each. I know a lot of exotic woods only show up for bases, but the frequency range emphasis of bloodwood is perfect for the guitar.
I feel like ebony would be in between the 2, maybe more in maple territory. Harder & tighter grain structure than rosewood.
Both of mine are ebony. Quick and dense like maple, brighter than rosewood but looks deeper and richer.
lean toward maple boards in this comparison, and on fenders. I like one piece, their roasted birdseye is nice.
Maple is definitely brighter, but usually rosewood isn't covered in sticky layers of gloss. Think you can do another comparison of ebony vs roasted maple?
Thank you, Chris. I have just discovered you here on RUclips. Great videos, great personality and playing.
Great video. Darker wood, darker sound! definitely the Tele is more associated to the maple sound...
Hands down the maple sounds better. The fact that it looks cooler, even more so with the patina left by years of sweaty hands, is just an added bonus!
It's the exact opposite for me.
For those who can't hear the difference, the acid test would be a display of the harmonic spectrum and also the attack, delay, sustain, and release envelope of a single note being played.
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Those tests are irrelevent when the difference in audible tone is probably less than what a listener would experience by moving 2 metres in any direction.
I just like the rosewood. I like the resistance, if you could call it that, and the subtle extra bit of warmth. But maybe it's because I am just used to that. It's just a personal preference. I never believed one or the other is 'better'.
Man Rosewood or Maple, one thing is for certain: Chris, you play beautifully. I really like those tones
Great video. I have just bought my daughter an American special tele and she really loved the look of the rosewood fingerboard so we went with that. I’m a bass player and far prefer rosewood for my basses but I wasn’t sure if it’s the right choice for a tele. She loves big chords and big riffs so this video has made me more comfortable that the guitar is right for her. BTW, there was never any doubt in her mind she wanted a sunburst tele.
Nice playing too, Sir. Tasty 👍
This video only proofs one thing, Chris is an awesome guitar player and expert in his field.
Huge difference, even just through my tv speakers. I love the maple. I notice that, as I get older and my ears lose their ability to hear high frequencies, I tend to like brighter sounding instruments that compensate for my loss. So now I'm off to find a video doing an A/B comparison of Cialis vs Viagra, given my other old age deficits.
so what is better cialis or viagra?
😆
@@nejou ha ha! they're both better than a vacuum pump and a cock ring, which is tough to attach to a guitar. but for pharmaceuticals, go cialis!
I’m listening on a crap iPhone 8 speaker, but even so, I was able to hear a slight difference with the higher single notes. The rosewood sounded slightly warmer/softer with the high notes. (a sound I prefer)
I came to see which is better but now I'm left with awe at your playing!
I was scrolling down and reading the comments while listening to Chris playing...and i don't hear a difference. His playing is still AWESOME!
Besides being a great guitar player Chris, you're also an excellent speaker with an intelligent vocabulary. I enjoy your channel very much.
I noted the same thing. He’s a very good communicator.
Just one of the many highly intelligent musicians in Cardiff, Wales. ; ) Although I think you'd have a job finding a better, more expressive and original blues-rock guitarist anywhere in the UK at the moment.
There are tone differences. But after having pedals and pre amps over it, you can easily change the tone. The most important is the feel, they do feel quite different while playing.
I’ve always heard a subtle difference between rosewood and maple, and I’ve always felt rosewood necks to be way more playable
Great Review - thorough analysis, excellent comparative sound demo (the way it should be) - I really like that you state your personal preference. It doesn't sway me one way or the other, but it's very helpful. Thanks!!!
Very good video, Chris. I have heard people talk about the difference often, but this is the first time I have heard the actual difference :)
An interesting test, in my opinion, would have been to play them both "unplugged". I imagine the difference would be even bigger and I believe the acoustic sound will always be part of the signal going into the amp.
This should have been done double blind. Would have made for a much better comparison. The fact that we can see the guitars introduces biases.
bro just close your eyes
All maples necks were considered to look "unfinished", which is why Rosewood was added later on. May or may not up the cool factor for some
All guitar necks tended to be rosewood, until leo fender. He brought in the maple neck, but later became concerned about its tendency to leave marks over time.
@@davidhumphries1146 The actual reason Leo brought in rosewood boards is because when he saw his maple boards played on tv he thought they looked really dirty and was afraid it would hurt sales. Therefore he used a darker wood. It's just a case of necessity being the mother of invention.
Edit: I typed this before Chris said it. LOL!
@@SimpleManGuitars1973 yes. Heard something similar, like a guitar show coming up. Mid 59 rosewood was the go. Ironic given that the bolt on necks were meant for replacement, and nowadays, marks are a badge of honour. Most players didnt go beyond the cowboy chords position. Maybe fret. 5. Different lacquers now, also make maple difficult to mark. I must say, as getting older, maple is easier to see. But I like the sound and look of both.
@@davidhumphries1146 What's funny is Leo thought it made them look "dirty" but now the Custom Shop sells them for THOUSANDS that way brand new! LOL!
I'm willing to bet that that amount of differences could have been heard between 2 of exact same models fingerboard and all.
I’m willing to bet you’re right
@@ryanfulldark2775 You bet your britches he's right
I don’t know about sound but I always liked how rosewood felt when plying. A lot of the cheaper maple necks have lacquer or poly on them which makes it feel a bit off to me. The rosewood is usually open pore and finished with oil so I like that better
Your playing ist breathtaking