I Compare Strat's With Solid Rosewood & Solid Maple Necks

[@PhillipMcKnight]

I had fun making this video. I own many Strats, mostly because they play and sound the same. Playing the Rosewood neck Strats they sounded different and had a different vibe which I thought was cool. But who knows, we could play twenty Strats and get all kinds of results. Either way I hope you have fun checking the video out.

[@graybryan9521]

I always enjoy your videos. I don't think the wood the neck is made of makes any difference. I think any two guitars are different to a degree. Regarding bright vs warm. I think a slight twist of the tone knob makes that irrelevant as well. Just my opinion of course.

[@letzrockitrite8469]

To my ear Phillip on the audio in the video what I heard coming through my headphones...which ones? I know ... gonna vary.. they're pretty good in the midrange as far as quality goes... (now that the disclaimer's been presented) was the opposite of what you could hear live.. the maple neck had a slight chime, with that subtle pick attack clarity going on where the rosewood neck almost had that baritone quality... the sound of a less wound pickup maybe.. although I just put 16k v8 and v7 in my Les Paul style guitar and I NEED to go in the other direction to a 7.6 or 7.7 k probably ... I got the guitar with emg's (passive) and they're screachy... similar with the ib's... It's still early though in the testing/deciding stage... love your video's P... with great appreciation I comment

[@bird718]

i like them both, for different reasons

[@guitarfeverl.a.8502]

Your videos keep getting more enjoyable, your background is cool :)

[@richie2dicks468]

I bought one in sunburst on a whim for a steal only 1050 due to a wrong price tag. I fell in love it's so crisp and sharp and the neck has a feel unlike anything I've ever played. Definitely a special guitar

[@RJT80]

I love the look of the rosewood headstock.

[@fuchsia5899]

Ik it looks dope!

[@thedondeluxe6941]

Bigger difference than I expected! The maple sounded more classic strat-ish imo.

[@rowlandstraylight]

If you've ever carved either, rosewood is as hard as hell. It's not so much the bright or dark that's interesting in the way the transfer characteristic of a pickup is, but in that the bright higher order harmonics don't decay as fast which really is something you can't add back in. But there are a few other ways to get a neck that rigid, and it really is about rigidity. Ebony. Laminates of very rigid woods, phenolic resin, carbon fibre. What's not so good is having very rigid woods and very soft woods together as you still get the damping from the soft woods, similarly a lot of attention needs to be paid to the glue used in laminates as some of the choices can have a high damping factor, particularly urethane based glues.

[@TheJacobshapiro]

To claim that wood doesn't affect tone would technically be wrong, as wood does affect the resonance of the instrument a bit (a softer wood like mahogany may dampen the very high frequencies a bit). However, in practice, amp, pickups, scale lengths, bridge and nut material, as well as a myriad of other factors affect tone more than wood does most of the time. Once you add overdrive, there's basically no chance you'll tell the difference.

[@TheJacobshapiro]

barnett25 of course. How hard you hit the string and whether or not you mute it affects what your pickups are receiving, so they easily have a big effect. I've found that I can play with light distortion and then get by clean by just picking very lightly.

[@5hredder]

have you ever bought a pair of prs pickups and installed them because you fell in love with a 12k$ guitar that had them? i have, the guitar i installed the pickups in sounded better, but nothing close to the prs starla that i played one was solid rosewood, the other was maple and mohogany.

[@TheJacobshapiro]

5hredder might just be the fit and finish of the guitar. An expensive guitar will likely just be better made. A better neck joint and better bridge setup will result in more sustain. Playability will also be much better. I doubt the wood made as much of a difference as those factors.

[@5hredder]

why would the finish of a guitar and the neck joint effect the tone when the wood doesn't? if it was due to a better neck joint, then it would have to just be a tighter joint, because both necks were perfectly straight. if the neck joint is tighter, that would attribute to a better energy transfer between the 2 pieces of wood, because most glues used in luthery are kinda dull sounding, and resemble rubber. you are right about how the setup of an instrument does change the tone. however, the two guitars had almost identical actions. in fact, one of the reasons i liked it so much was because it felt exactly like the one i have. i cannot really argue past this meaningfully without creating an algorithm to calculate the amount of varience in energy transfer that each of these woods have when used within a fixed guitar testing platform... maybe if you get a chance, try dropping a raw piece of cocobolo or rosewood on a table, and then drop an equivent sized and diminsioned piece of pine on a table to see the tonal difference. it would give you something to think about i suppose.

[@darktempest53]

TheJacobShapiro you're correct. However even with distortion you can tell if you're in a studio. Not so much live

[@keithruddell1800]

to my ears the rosewood has a little more low mid umph while the maple a little more high mids and a faster response

[@brandoncallegari7614]

yeah, like, it is bright, but also more lows & mids. It sound more balanced to me. Nice...

[@clairemurphy8813]

I agree. To my ears, the rosewood is more sensitive and expressive and the maple actually dampens the attacks and warms the tone. Great video, I'm just starting out on guitar and this has been helpful.

[@nohillforahighstepper]

I own one of those GC Strats. I love it. It is the 1st guitar I reach for. After 10 years, it has only gotten better. The middle pickup is fabulous. To be honest, I don't understand why these are not highly sought after. If you get the chance to play one, I highly recommend giving it a try.

[@krauz111]

hahaha in your face New CITES Regulations, Ill get a full rosewood guitar

[@4572dk]

looollll

[@titanuranus]

And it just so happens, Fender is making one available... 1000 George Harrison Telecasters due out this month.

[@Zantrop64]

titan uranus they are using an old stock, they still have some drying

[@daw162]

YOu can still order a full rosewood body blank off of ebay. From India. Take your chances with customs, I guess. Bet the seller would disappear if you had one repoed. Or you can try to find a giant bowl blank already in the US. Rosewood neck blanks are pretty easy to find. If you are skilled enough to do your own work, you can find a billet to make a telecaster or strat type neck for about $70. There are non-dalbergia types, too (pau ferro, macassar ebony, etc) that are not hard to find and not horribly expensive, and not unfriendly to someone working by hand. Macassar would be super nice.

[@pat8437]

I’m happy about the new regulations, even though I love me some rosewood. I guess I just like the environment.

[@MS-hj3ox]

Marty Schwartz, I didn't know you were running Phillip's channel now! :p

[@uria702]

that rosewood neck is amazing. I missed the chance to buy one for dirt cheap on clearance at GC. I got an american standard instead which wasn't the best choice looking back but I do love the american standard

[@edgararias6601]

The hat, man! Forget rosewood, It's all about the hat!!! It improves your tone, your playing skill and makes you look 30% more suave to the ladies!

[@TheRockinDonkey]

I love the way the rosewood neck looks. I almost bought a Strat a few years ago with one for $250, but, at that price I felt like I should leave the guitar there for a kid in need of an affordable guitar. Considering the guitars I have now, I'm glad I did. I wouldn't have wound up playing it.

[@hunterfagan6272]

I was surprised that that neck was so bright. I thought it was gonna be warm

[@jjrankin128]

I bought one of these yesterday (a 2014 for $1100) and have the exact same feeling. Brighter than my maple nitro usa strat. I think a rosewood fingerboard (on top of a maple or mahogany neck) might be mellower than the solid rosewood neck since its a relatively thin piece of wood glued on top of the maple neck. If you go nerdy you'll see the density of rosewood and some "Janka hardness" measure are both higher than maple or mahogany. Not scientific, but my experience agrees what you said, even down to the "just roll the tone off a bit" comment. (The finish is sweet, the medium jumbos are sweet, the 3 color sunburst is great...) Thanks, great videos.

[@GetawaysandGuitars]

Yeah, the RW neck sounded brighter to me too! Definitely the opposite to what you would imagine. I had an Ibanez 59'er LesPaul with a maple neck that was brighter than my Gibson LP's. One ebony, the other a rosewood fingerboard. I would hazard a guess that it is the poly finish on the maple neck and fingerboard that slightly deadens the tone here.

[@bigdguitars]

tonewood war II. HAHA

[@derangedhermit2879]

...Indeed, and so naturally, wouldn't that Maple neck sunbursts body be made of Ash wood, whereas that Rosewood neck red job is made of alder wood?...Then plot thickens, but then thins back out. As after all, who among us Fender fanatics had not yet experienced endless quest of searching through loads of the exact same precise guitar model, in seeking out just the particular guitars magical Fender tone, mojo and feel....I should add? That some Deranged analog audiophiles type individuals among us, never stopped at arguing over the tonal sonic charistics of just merely the guitars wood, in heading far down other aspects, of these endless guitar arguments world war 2 rabbit holes. The overly obsessed tone questing seekers, have gone far as having their Strats silver foil shielded, having pickups and guitar completely rewired with silver wire over copper installing silver input jacks, for plugging in silver wire speaker cables into solid core silver wired amps, sent out to braided silver wired speaker cabinets...LoL...8)

[@ejf8225]

Deranged Hermit if anything those crazy guys shielding the electronics and messing with those wires might actually have more of an effect on the tone of the guitar. The sound and therefore tone is dictated from the electronic components in non-microphonic electric guitar pickups interpreting the interruption in the EM field by the strings.

[@valebliz]

@@ejf8225 you don't know physics very well do you.

[@lungflogger9]

I agree, the rosewood had more highs and articulation vs the maple, I was surprised too.....

[@saddle8bag]

Great point at the end about the tone knob. You can always dial back the bright if it's there. Better to have it and not want it than want it and not have it. I dig it!

[@monstrok]

I think we definitely heard something different on KZbin than you heard live. The maple neck sounded more "stratty" especially in the #2 switch position. There was a midrange cut in the tone that made me think of the Knopfler sound. The rosewood neck guitar had a much fuller sound across the audio spectrum, mostly in the lower midrange, and did not sound bright or harsh in the recording. Each certainly has their own applications for both the listener and the guitarist.

[@geofixated]

Please define 'stratty'. Try not to use the word in the definition.

[@TheInsanityofGab]

sounds like a strat. kinda stratty you know?

[@DChrls]

The rosewood also sounded like it had more sustain.

[@geofixated]

Exactly... But you did use the word in the definition so you lose the chance to win "A Brand New Car!!!!!"

[@geofixated]

TheDogpa - Thank you for using the word physics. Up until now I thought we were chatting with a bunch of wine experts. The roswood had a nice nose but lacked the earthy chocolate undertones of maple neck.

[@lone-wolf-1]

The sound difference is as I expected. Just the one with the maple neck lacked of sustain- but shure enough not related to the neckmaterial. Nice idea to tap the upper neck and feel the vibration on transition to body. I think too, as you mentioned, it gives you a feel for the overall construction. Thanks Phil, for this test👍 I used to tap and knock on a guitar on various places listening closeup to kinda get an idea of solid guitar wood sound. I noticed, that knocking in the lower third of the headstock gives you a pretty good idea of the overall unplugged voicing of the guitar (strings are out of the equation)

[@zzettecarla]

Appreciate the care you took to match them for specs in comparison. Big shortage of rosewood appointed guitars at lower price points starting to creep in, such as MIM Squires no longer made with rw necks. With Fender's other new guitars with rw vs maple, you'll see about a $50 swing due to pressure for documentation on rosewood parts of guitars. Good luck getting them in Canada and Europe in 2018.

[@fix298]

I love how happy you look in the thumbnail!!

[@fender1000100]

Im a maple neck man always have been always will be. Theres a sweetness to the sound on a maple neck. That you dont get with anything else. You listen to the old Buddy Holly and Shadows records and you will know what I mean.

[@playdelay]

Waited 5 years: rosewood is back though not like it was. I just bought a used 2017 American Professional with a rosewood neck and I was happy to see that Phil had a video on the subject.

[@SRNF]

My rosewood is raw just watching your video.

[@danielcannon3511]

Oh behave baby yeah

[@ericb.1384]

I was not expecting such a noticeable difference.

[@SickMetalAddict]

I know this isn't what you intended, but I love how you say 0.75 mm on 3rd fret and 1.25 on 12th fret. This gives me a clue as to how I should set up my string action for the first time, then once I learn I can deviate from that however I like. Fantastic videos as usual Phillip, keep up the great work. I have one (small) request, can you come up with a video where you pretty much explain what kinda small, simple, but accurate tools that I can use to measure these things? Thanks in advance man, I watch your videos for your set up tips, and they've been really awesome. Keep up the great work :)

[@mattbrillhart2922]

I was NOT expecting the results as you stated. I prefer rosewood necks mainly due to not liking the coated maples fretboards.

[@saxonsteve]

I had a Tele just completely done over and it came with the maple neck. Personally speaking, I didn't like the maple neck. It felt wet & slippery to me. This is the best way for me to describe how it played and felt. I put $700 dollars into it(and other things) and changed the neck to a authentic Fender Rosewood and some Ritchie Kotzen twang king pickups and whammoooo! This thing friggin rips! For me, rosewood is the only wood. I guess, it's all what you like. Happy playing everyone!!

[@endezeichengrimm]

It can never be too bright. You can always turn down the treble on the amp.

[@Stoffendous]

Or up.

[@endezeichengrimm]

@@Stoffendous Sure. Why not

[@markdakel9253]

Cool review. I didn't expect the tonal difference.

[@carlo6485]

Same result for me! Full rosewood snappier and brighter with a nice tack (something like pulling off a piece of scotch tape with nearly every sound...schhthwappp!), and the maple warmer, smooth and comparatively more forgiving and "gentlemanly", (for lack of a less absurd description. :) Any 2 identical-material strats can have slightly different voice, but full rosewood vs maple have added distinction. It's what has me not discarding t*ne w**d debate and opinion out of hand. Anyone, if you see a full rosewood and a maple necked strat together somewhere, see for yourselves. It won't be on the same guitar of course, but I submit you WILL notice the mentioned distinction. And THANK YOU Phillip, I had no idea that you had covered this so long ago, greatly appreciated!

[@pterantula]

Love the look & feel of solid rosewood necks, but love the look & feel of maple fingerboards - I want THAT combo on mine...

[@user-nb3vs2mc4e]

I like that idea! Rosewood neck with maple fingerboard.

[@BarchettaValveAmp]

Use Teak as a cheaper alternative and its really dense. Sometimes heavy. The density is a good thing because it will not flex much becoming a vibration dampener. The string tensioned between the solid heavy bridge and solidly built nut will send the string's transverse wave back and forth very consistently and it will add to the prolonging of resonant frequency bouncing between the nut and bridge through the strings. Anytime the frequencies pass off of the strings and into the wood the frequencies die and resonance is shortened.

[@chrisggoodwin777]

I had a Warwick Corvette with a bubinga body, ovangkol neck, and wenge fretboard. Super warm and dark. I also own a Corvette $$ with an ash body and solid wenge neck, and it's super punchy and definitely brighter. My DW drums are Maple and are super warm and resonant. It's amazing what different woods will do for tone and feel

[@thomaskrawczyk8164]

I definitely agree with you on the punch and brightness. Not what I expected whatsoever. I expected a very warm rich strat tone. I was very surprised and loved the video, another great one😃

[@sckwong3888]

Being dark in color the rosewood will not look ugly with dirty stains all round the neck when the lacquer wears off after long period of time. In fact it will look more shinny after long playing. That's the advantage.

[@randyc5650]

I agree with McKnight. It is relatively easy to tone down bright but hard to brighten up warm.

[@samn5564]

Go for the RW, a Strat almost always has a variable resistor wired with a capacitor, it is used to roll off some of that harshness. Sometimes referred to as a Tone Control. It's easy AF to roll off extraneous high frequencies, with the rotation of the tone knob. It ain't so easy to add clarity and definition to a dull signal. Bring on the bright! 🤣

[@ipuya]

Nice video thanks! That rosewood neck is gorgeous 😍. Would have been great to have used the same body and just switched necks for the comparison to avoid variability in other things like pickups, pots, body wood etc... every guitar will sound different cause the wood is different. Even if the wood comes from the same tree some parts will be denser than others and so effect sound.

[@QS-si3cq]

*affect

[@r.o.v.v.3613]

Just got an American Pro Limited Edition Strat with Solid Rosewood Neck in daphne blue. Love it. Different from my Ash/Maple in sienna burst (same - American Pro, with 10's) which was what I always went for. The rosewood came with 9's which is what's on it right now. Can't explain the difference but I can't seem to put it down when I start playing (well, actually, same goes for my ash/maple. lol). These stock V-Mod pick ups aren't bad at all. Enjoy your new baby (as well as all of them). Cheers! :)

[@guitarfeverl.a.8502]

Wow I didn't expect the rosewood to be so bright! So maple neck with rosewood are totally Different i'm guessing. Thanks for the Good info.

[@jrsmoots]

Nearly everything on the guitar affects the tone, though it's all subtractive. Metal, wood, magnets, pots, whatever - is going to dampen certain frequencies in varying amounts. Guitars don't produce simple sine waves - they produce a wave rich in harmonics (frequencies). Different setups are going to dampen different combinations of frequencies. The differences could be subtle or striking.

[@hgostos]

I think people associate darker coloured woods with a warmer sound (e.g. rosewood; mahogany ) and lighter woods with brighter tones (maple; ash)

[@conartist267]

I love when you talk in millimetres. USA should convert to metric. Screw thousandths of an inch. Well done!

[@brandonmattoon3294]

The maple sounded warm and kinda darker But the rosewood was bright with more of a ping

[@zdsrtgnzetmyet]

exactly

[@daw162]

I just read fender's statements about rosewood on mex guitars. They stated that they're going to pau ferro, which is "harder than rosewood". A strange statement, as both are variable and I've turned a lot of them. They're about the same, each varying a lot - perhaps some pau ferro being twice as hard as others, and indian rosewood is definitely like that. Pau ferro is inexpensive, and restricted by CITES as far as I know, at least not in the same way as gabon ebony and rosewoods. It'll make fine fingerboards, though it can be boring looking and not that dark (staining it or oiling it will make it look darker). Then they made the statement that ebony will look like a good option for guitars (or was it basses) due to the restriction of CITES. Well, not if it's gabon ebony (which is what most of us think of when we see black ebony). Gabon ebony has been on the sh*tlist of cites longer than the dalbergias (true rosewood) and is certainly restricted. Which makes me think that the fingerboard ebony options are either some kind of far east alternative or not real ebony (could be macassar, etc, but those do not remotely look like the jet black LP custom type fingerboard most people think of. I'm sure those are stained, too, anyway, to make sure they look perfectly black). I do wish the manufacturers would state exactly what they're talking about when they say they'll offer "rosewood" or "ebony".

[@AtypicalPaul]

Really love how the entire rosewood neck and head looks

[@kellyc2425]

I saw a Martin custom D-28 with a rosewood neck. I wouldn't have believed it had he not posted a pic of it on the forum. Never knew Martin had rosewood neck blanks.

[@Turboy65]

What I hear is that the rosewood neck lets ALL the string harmonics ring out better. It's strong in EVERY part of the frequency spectrum, while the maple neck seems to emphasize the treble slightly and kind of skips over the midrange. Rosewood has more of a high fidelity sound to it. I've experienced this with my own rosewood necked guitars. (One Indian Rosewood, one Mexican Cocobolo)

[@recaster]

Bodies are in same wood family but different, pickups are similar but have different wounding and probably magnetic field charge, pots and cap tollerance are different... KZbin audio compression cut many frequency. However the sound is quite identical in both guitars!! Nonsense test!

[@blues24jesus]

Phillip. What maintenance do they recommend for the solid Rosewood neck do you need to oil the whole neck like you would just a fretboard just curious as I bought an after-market solid Rosewood neck and I can't really find any information on upkeep what needs to be done to these necks if anything or is the wood oily enough to where I don't need to mess with it but I'm sure it will dry out over time just curious great video by the way

[@daw162]

I'd be willing to bet that most of the sound difference has nothing to do with the neck. If you also made the body out of solid rosewood, you might get a longer-ringing guitar just because the decay from the bridge would be slower. the heavier the bridge, the slower the decay (longer the sustain). Adding rosewood below the bridge would have some of the same effect. No clue if the guitar would be "brighter" which some people like to imply. It would sustain longer, though. The same effect could probably be had by making a massive bridge and putting it in alder. Nobody puts a brass bridge on a violin - there's a reason for that.

[@paulolsen6870]

Through my headphones the maple is brighter and more defined than the rosewood.....but I would think that's probably the pickups or the bridges causing that. Now I gotta go play a rosewood today to see if it sounds brighter in person. Thanks a lot. :) FYI.....stratosphere has rosewood necks at very good prices. Warmoth necks are priced great too.

[@Bjmusic2491]

I am glad they finally decide to use Rosewood as a neck I remember seeing a Rosewood when Pops Staples used to have his Telecaster and it had a very bright sound and I really think from watching this video I really think the rose will will fit better more on a Telecaster or something with humbuckers to eliminate some of that brightness

[@neverenoughguitars8276]

Any differences you would hear would be the very slight difference in setup and the slight variation on the electronics. The sound coming out of the amp is not affected by the tone wood whatsoever. Having said that, the one with the rosewood neck sounds a bit better. The setup and elevtronics all combined for a slightly better tone imo..

[@MK-oz2lf]

Point of the story: Find a neck that is RAW and not coated. If I am not mistaken the EVH guitars are not coated and are raw Maple necks. I think that's what chimed the brightness people like. But the differences in tonewood is very minuscule in the end.

[@donewithmodernlife]

I just put a rosewood neck on my Strat & I love it. It did change the tonality a bit but I think that was due to the fact the previous maple neck had a slim c profile & the rosewood is a friggin' gigantic deep u, really a telephone pole but I prefer large profile necks. The best part is the feel, the raw rosewood just feels great in my hand. I have renamed the guitar "Sexual Chocolate."

[@chaddukes9221]

I had a similar experience. I was looking for a strat...because I wanted to get strat sounds. But, I tried a rosewood neck strat. What a great guitar. Great sound. The guitar was somehow darker and brighter at the same time. I don't know how to describe it...maybe that there was more harmonic content in the lower notes, but the higher notes were brighter...hard to explain. Definitely a cool sound. Ultimately I choose a maple neck with a rosewood board because that 60's strat tone was what I was after. But, if I had money to blow I would definitely pick one of these up. It's a truly cool guitar with it's own sound.

[@guitarandcamera3392]

I have a solid rosewood neck on my Jazzmaster. 1. Guitar is bright (so I get more jangly sound that I want from JM) 2. It has great sustain

[@loopie007]

Thanks Phil. I also would have expected a darker tone, but after hearing you say it's denser, that may be a bit part of the reason it sounds brighter. Audio via KZbin is terrible for compairsons. But the review of visiting different GC's with a common tone was what really sold me. Also, many violins are built to exacting spec's with the same wood, but they all sound different. Why do people expect guitars to be any different. It's an amplified violin with frets.

[@daw162]

KZbin has brought this up to me again (recommendation of theirs). I wonder what the neck of the "rosewood" guitar is actually made of. The progression of what rosewood is goes like this: * Before restriction, almost always brazilian rosewood * then indian rosewood * then there are tons of other rosewood type woods (dalbergias or far east woods that have similar properties to rosewood or ebony) that are either true rosewoods or maybe not * and now there are woods like pau ferro and pauduk, etc, that are not rosewoods, even though some of their market names are. I don't know that it really matters for a guitar's timbre, some of their densities are similar to rosewood, which... ... you can't judge even by having a name. You can have indian rosewood that is old growth, which will usually be darker and denser with very tight growth rings. And then, you can have modern plantation grown indian rosewood, some is not more dense than maple, it's lighter in color and the growth rings are very far apart. the difference between those is like the difference in spruce on a true stradivarius vs. a later german (inexpensive) copy with softer spruce (used due to cost). On a guitar, unless it's actually the top of a flat top guitar - which would sound horrible, the various types of real rosewoods as well as the various densities of old growth vs. plantation probably won't make much of a difference. BUT, if I was buying a guitar with a rosewood neck, I'd kind of like to know what it is. Given that Fender appears to be charging only about $100 for the pleasure of having a "rosewood neck", they can be given a pass if it's not a true rosewood. I suspect as a woodworker and sometimes maker of guitars and tools that they probably got a couple of containers of something off of a ship that don't resemble vintage indian rosewood.

[@trushack]

Everyone thinks of tone mainly in terms of EQ, but I think you also have to consider note attack. The rosewood necked-one does seems to have a snappier attack to my ears, whereas the maple actually sounds a pinch rounder. EQ-wise they sound very close to me, but I definitely hear a difference between the two in the note attack.

[@brianpoole9514]

I think the main takeaway from this video is showing the uniqueness of the rosewood neck. It shows that you have experience with wenge and that it was a pleasureable instrument to play.

[@cuatrocinco2186]

Only thing I noticed was resonance and the high strings on maple cut out sooner. The resonance on rosewood last longer. The maple might sound darker to you because most maple is lacquered where as the rosewood is natural. Lastly. There is not much difference between tone on the necks because it is a small piece of wood. The body difference is more noticeable.

[@khalaziafaqih367]

because you enjoy rosewood more than maple, make you more energy to play rosewood, make you hit string stronger than maple , and make sound feel brighter and louder

[@slayer1021]

rosewood one sounds brighter to me as well

[@ozoneswiftak]

Yep, rosewood is snappy. Maple is smoothe

[@jhazelw]

The maple sound warmer and richer to my ears and I like that better. The opposite of what I expected.

[@Bingopete71]

Yes I heard a difference. Differently wound pups is what I heard. There's an output difference too that gives it away that the difference is due to the pups not the different woods.

[@millershane71]

It's just me but I think the rosewood neck has a tighter bell like snappyness. especially in the low mid bass range but it makes sense that those qualities would carry over to the high end and make it brighter because of the higher response of the dense rosewood, but honestly in the video audio if I closed my eyes I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. I'm sure you can tell much better in real life, but maple is also very dense and I found them to be so similar that it is so negligible almost to the point that I don't think it may matter in this case. I had a rosewood neck Tele tho and they do feel and play amazing in my opinion much better than a maple or a maple with rosewood fingerboard. Thanks for listening!

[@twinsmm1]

The rosewood sounded brighter, punchier. Like the look of maple better though.

[@24666dem]

So it's better to look good than sound good. Ok nickelback!

[@roy.mclean]

i don't think that you can isolate a single variable when comparing two guitars unless you remove the neck and attach it to the other body and resting it. Its really a function of all the quality of parts and assembly. Not to mention the player's own personal technique, preferences, style. etc. My motto is that you never choose a guitar, it chooses you.

[@usslongbeachcg9]

The Maple is very bright whereas the rosewood has more of a tonal "open-ness" to it it. A bit darker and a bit more mid range chime. Seals the deal I had in mind for my custom Mustang.

[@dude_crush_]

Rosewood neck was more beefy sounding, more weight Maple neck sounded thinner Thank you for the video!

[@brianlastname3808]

Ohhhh I wanted that guitar so bad!!! I ordered it and then Guitar Center said they had it but didn't know where it was..... so I canceled it after two weeks. I got the Telecaster though. Love it. Great Comparison. Thanks!

[@TheGBs1972]

The rose wood neck is a thing of sheer beauty

[@tegelert]

I would think the main point of having rosewood vs. maple is how it plays rather than how it sounds. The difference in sound, if any, is indistinguishable. If there is any difference in sound, it would be due to other factors.

[@scottlocaputo4290]

I don't hear the rosewood having more treble, I hear it being louder with more upper midrange. It sounds very good, like it has a built in high mid boost.

[@jdb2722]

Very close sounding but a rosewood neck plays like butter!

[@sinjon]

It was close but I agree that the rosewood sounds brighter and jazzier which is the opposite of what you’d think

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

Certain frequencies are absorbed by wood. Which i believe will make a difference to the overall tone. Some people are much more sensitive and can hear these differences. Wood even from the same tree is going to be of different densities and all this makes small but noticable differences to the overall tone.

[@lightnintrucker]

There's definitely a difference alright. Me personally, I got two Strats with solid maple necks. I gotta tell ya, I love the maple. Never been to keen on a Strat with a rosewood fingerboard.

[@andresilva8444]

I found the rosewood brighter as well. Monitor speakers though. But hey, don't forget a red guitar sounds better than a sunburst guitar. 🤪

[@blackie75]

the only way to really tell would have been to test one strat, then take the neck from the other and put it on the one you tested originally as the pickups, pots and wiring will create minor differences

This is a honesty comparison.

[@rw9495]

I'm planning to order a solid rosewood neck from Warmoth with the Arrow headstock reversed and Wizard back profile. I'm actually happy it's a little brighter/snappier sounding than maple, that's what I'm going for with this build!

[@retrocny5625]

I can definitely hear the difference, even if it's not scientific per say. It could be explained by any number of unknown factors, however I can hear a difference pretty easily even through youtube quality/compression. The maple neck sounds a little thinner but brighter and more snappy, as conventional wisdom suggests a maple neck/fretboard should sound. The rosewood neck produces a tone that has more fullness to it and is smoother on the high end, not so much that it's darker but it doesn't have the same kind of high frequency bite that the maple does but all that said, the differences are pretty minute and I imagine not everyone can perceive them. I can, but I've been playing guitar for close to 15 years now and I've played all sorts of necks and fretboard woods. The difference could legitimately be the wood or it could be your playing, maybe your picking harder subconsciously without realizing it, it could be very slight variations in the pickup winding from factory, even though a machine does it I imagine there could still be very slight variations due to tolerances, etc. Great video though. I absolutely prefer the rosewood guitar, it sounds fantastic. Weird that I hear it exactly the opposite as you did and I'm not the one playing it! Shame I didn't see it when it was released last year but I'm glad I stumbled onto it none the less. I do believe that tone woods make a difference, no matter what people tend to say otherwise whenever the tone-wood debate gets sparked up.

[@shiraga0516]

I think both rosewood and maple are "bright", but they have different flavors in their tones. Perhaps rosewood has a resonance peak (or peaks) in the high-mid range, whereas maple has rather flat response all-over. I would express such feelings from rosewood neck "spunky" or "cheeky", both in positive senses.

[@Spidouz]

Each wood is different, by nature, because you can't get the exact same piece of wood... even if it comes from the same tree, it will still be physically different. And it could be why not two guitars sound the same, even if you have guitar from the exact same production, same material, same setup, etc... there's always something that might be slightly different; And it could be way more difference between two guitars supposed to be identical, than between two complete different guitars, with different wood, different pickups, strings and such. There's a great video of a german guy comparing two original '54 Fender Strat, same year, same material, same setup, even same color... and they sound completely different. Not "better" or "worse", just different. For some people, some playing style and music genre, one strat might fit better... but it doesn't mean the other is bad. It will probably just fit better another person with another playing style and another music genre. And it would be more sound differences than what we can hear here, or what we could hear between a Vintage guitar and a reissue, etc... That's why it's important to not obsess about wood tone, or any specific gear, brand, year, etc... just pick a guitar and play it. If it feels good, stays in tune and sounds good... you might find the one, regardless the year, wood type or even name on the headstock!

[@TrizzaW]

I have a solid rosewood necked PRS McCarty Soapbar and I find the exact same thing - it is somehow snappier and has a really addictive attack that my other guitars don't. My PRS Studio is fabulous too but it doesn't have quite that snap the McCarty does. The feel of raw rosewood is just lovely, too - easily my favorite neck wood! Sweet Strat!

[@XiXora]

Ever since getting a rosewood neck on my PRS… I'm hooked. I wish I could get an unfinished rosewood-necked Strat in UK that didn't cost master build money.

[@JazzyCurtains]

Hey dude I just got a all rosewood neck from eBay for about 200 gbp and added that to my strat. Check out if that works for you.

[@elevenAD]

this is the same effect rose wood fretboards have vs maple, its not just your guitars, maple will always tame some of the mids and glassy highs you get with rosewood. Rosewood vs maple= long cable vs short

[@charliefoxtrotthe3rd335]

I can't tell a difference in tone but like you said it does sound snappier and livelier. And raw wood is a much better feeling neck than a maple one covered in all that clear goop. I wonder how stable solid rosewood would be over time and with temp changes. Should be rock solid but some wood goes nuts when you change rooms! lol

[@moimeme7839]

Rosewood necks all sound that way, and it’s great for Jazz and Blues but to my personnal taste I don’t like distortion with a rosewood neck. I would have one I really enjoy that snappy sound

[@jimleath2241]

Just when it seemed the Tone Wood debate had cooled off... Always fun to watch

[@mnowaczek8480]

The rosewood neck looks amazing but it absolutely doesn’t fit with that red body and white pickguard in my opinion. I don’t like the last two things anyway, I think it makes the instrument look very cheap. But that might be just me

[@DaviTrombela84]

I don't think it is a matter of more treble or more bass but tone really. The rosewood is a more dense wood, giving it a "glassy" and louder tone, while maple gives it a softer tone in comparison.

[@lynyrddeville]

I have a strat with a maple neck and I stripped all the finish off it. I know, I'm crazy, but I swear, getting that crap off of the neck and fingerboard seems to have unlocked its resonance or something. I feel that the guitar is more responsive now and I wouldn't go back.

[@showerstimescartoon]

I have been a Les Paul player and I’m getting a Strat this year. People like me will rather pick a maple neck one ‘cause all I want is the high clean tone.