Maple or Rosewood??

[pluto]

I'm not going to bother doing one of those poll things since there aren't too many of us here on this forum. I just wanted to know which type of fretboard you prefer on your Andersons, maple or rosewood (or ebony)? I love the looks of maple and one of my Andys has an all maple neck, but for overall feel, I just love rosewood (and that's not only because I'm a big cobra fan). It just feels softer. As far as tones, IMHO, rosewood is less brittle than maple. To me rosewood has a more well rounded tone with less top end. My wife thinks I'm nuts and tells me that it's "all in my head" but I'm 100% convinced of my findings after owning tons of guitars with different types of fretboards. What do you guys think?

[Stan Malinowski]

Pluto,

You bring the subject up at a quite interesting time! After work today I am headed over to UPS to ship one of my Anderson Classics back to TA to replace a maple/rosewod neck with an all maple neck!

Right now my Anderson inventory is at 3:
1) Cobra - mahog/rosewood neck (not available with maple)
2) Classic #1 - Bora Bora Blue Swamp Ash/maple neck with Brazilain RW board (I supplied TA with the Braz RW board)
3) Classic #2 - Lake Placid Blue alder body presently with a maple/rosewood board soon to be an all maple neck.

I am in total agreement with you about the tonal diffs between rw and maple (for once a wife is crazy:D ). Rosewood on a mpale board to my ear produces clearer highs and mids. An all maple neck to me tightens up the bottom end big time. The best way I can exlain the tight bottom end is that it is very "punchy and tight" like a bass with an all maple board. This is a sound that I absolutely LOVE!

To clarify the reasons for the neck change:
1) I got a KILLER deal on this guitar since it was in inventory at a dealer and had some "shop" damage to the finish. The neck on the guitar is one I would not ormally order - 1 5/8" 62 Roundback. Too small for me - I prefer the 1 11/16" 62 Roundback. The tone of the guitar is KILLER and given the great price I saved enough o pay for TA to replace the neck.
2) At the time my Strat inventory (Real Fender and Botique Brands) consisted of 5 maple/rosewood necked models. I felt that this was an oppurtunity to get that all maple neck to get the tight bottom end sound I love.

[pluto]

That's too funny. I was thinking when I was posting this thread that I might have Bruce Nelson replace my all maple neck on my Hollow Drop Top with a rosewood fretboard/maple neck. I just feel more comfortable with rosewood boards. I was also thinking of doing this because I wanted to change the +.30 neck to the Anderson standard neck. I'm not sure yet though as it may be cheaper for me to just buy another Anderson. The last time I had the folks at Anderson make a new neck for me, I made so many other changes, it was like having a whole different guitar.

[John Price]

I have a Hollow drop Top arriving soon with a solid maple neck! When I get it I'll buzz back in!
Hey Roy! Is it ready yet???
:D

[JoeB63]

Once you're playing it through an amp - especially with gain, the tonal differences are pretty much in your head. The feel is different - which in part makes you think you hear something different.

To the guy who's having his neck replaced. Be honest when you get it back and try to separate the "tone" difference from the "feel" difference, and let us know what you think.

For the record, I prefer the feel of Rosewood.

[Stan Malinowski]

To the guy who's having his neck replaced. Be honest when you get it back and try to separate the "tone" difference from the "feel" difference, and let us know what you think.

Joe,

I am the guy you are referring to and I have to respectively disagree with you. I have A/B's many Rosewood/Maple board guitars and have heard a difference. There is a particular tone (as I have described before) that I have only been able to produce on maple boarded Strats/Classics.


Once you're playing it through an amp - especially with gain, the tonal differences are pretty much in your head. The feel is different - which in part makes you think you hear something different.

I typically play clean, and not with a lot of gain. The tone I've described is more pronounced when your're running very clean, I will agree that tonal differences start to diminsh when you add gain to the equation. I also have to agree that the feel is substantially different between maple and rosewood boards. I, like you, prefer the feel of rosewood and in most cases will play one of the rw board guitars.

[JoeB63]

Cool! :)

[LeonC]

Boy...I like 'em both for different things. But for a numbers of years, I've played too many guitars (not TAs per se) with large-pore rosewood...this wood has a feel that I don't dig...a coarsness that just feels bad to me, particularly when bending strings. I don't care how it sounds. So, I switched to Pau Ferro a few years ago and love it. Sounds great, looks good and that nice, tight grain really feels wonderful!

[Stan Malinowski]

Leon,

I have to agree with you on Pao Ferro, I had a fender SRV Model a few years ago and the pf felt great on that guitar!

[JoeB63]

I hate the feel of a Pao Ferro fretboard - yuck!

[sonsop]

{hi stan}

i like both but at the moment prefer rosewood. i don't hear that much sonic change, and generally i associate it with more feel preference than tone preference. however, they are very different materials and often maple can be one piece, so there has to be a specific tone association. i imagine some people {like me} hear those nuances very little and others can hear them a lot more.

i do think maple has a quicker feel and plays faster than rosewood. again, that may appear to be a bogus generalization but when it comes to what feels good and what sounds good then, i would say it's all valid.
JoeR

[John Price]

sonsop I agree with you about the quicker feel and I would have to add that the notes seem to jump out a little faster than the rosewood...just my opinion!!

[pluto]

Just on a side note for you Anderson experts out there-do you any of you know whether Tom has ever offered ebony as an option? I've never seen that on the option list, but I've always wondered if he would do it if you asked.

[tom]

you can always ask. we'll always answer, and we'll tell you why or why not. i made a couple guitars with ebony in the late 80's. that was enough for me. "on our guitars", and i say that because that is what i have the most experience with, ebony has a brittle top end that just won't go away. i have acoustic guitars that i love with ebony, but just can't like the sound of it on our electrics. it is also a wood that is so dissimilar from maple that it will make the neck move more with climate changes than anything else. if you like the smooth feel, try pauferro of madagascar rosewood. also if you're into the dark look, madagascar does oxidize with time and gets very dark.

[malabarmusic]

I hear a major difference when playing with a lot of gain. Stan's earlier reference to the "tight bottom" [:cool: ] is spot on. With modest dirt, the louder/looser low end from rosewood can sound cool, but at higher distortion levels the amp seems to get "confused" leading to a more ragged tone. Maple's high gain sound is just more solid, IMO.

[Obviously these comments apply to Strat/Classic style guitars.]

FWIW, high gain Strat players tend to favor maple. Bob Mould, Billy Corgan, David Gilmour (not exclusively high gain, but ...), Yngwie, Green Day ... even EVH, if you consider his early mongrels "Strats."

I couldn't agree more with the earlier comment about "large pore" rosewood. I can't stand the feel. Every TA I've seen has had beautiful boards, unlike those from a certain larger manufacturer.

In the past Roy's referred to the "crashing" high end of ebony, which I think is on target. It looks great and feels nice, but I'd say that it's clearly inferior to both maple and rosewood in Fender-style guitars. It's like ice cream -- some like chocolate, some like vanilla, but no one likes sardine ripple.

- DB

[tom]

sardine ripple? yikes. i use that ice cream analogy all the time when people ask what is the best...
joeR, i loved your comment, "at the moment". i am certainly not looking for the same thing out of an amp today as i was five years ago. sometimes we are looking for a diffrent result, and sometimes we just want to take a different rout to get there. that's part of what makes guitar playing fun.
i would like to add that along with the looser bottom end of indian rosewood, there can be a higher top end that can fuzz up the high gain sounds. maple doesn't have that, making it be very defined with distortion.
stan, i fretted your new neck this week, so it should be on it's way to you in a week or so.

[LeonC]

Originally posted by tom
stan, i fretted your new neck this week, so it should be on it's way to you in a week or so.

Tom - that's great. Now all he needs to see is "out for delivery" on UPS' web site and you'll send him into a complete frenzy. :D

Not to hijack the thread...but what'd you get Stan?

[Stan Malinowski]

Leon,

Only something half new! I had the maple/rw neck on one of my Classics replaced with an all maple one. The original 1 5/8" 62 RB neck was a bit too small for me so I decided to have the neck replaced.

[LeonC]

Cool! Congrats.

[SteveK]

Newbie ? here...IF I wanted to replace my hollow Cobra S mahogany neck with a rosewood neck, what might the ball park figure be? If this is in the wrong place please disregard.

[tom]

hi steve and welcome. if you are talking solid rosewood, it is, are you sitting down? $780. since you have a cobra, you already have some kind of rosewood fingerboard.

[SteveK]

Tom,
Thanks for the reply. I was asking about the solid rosewood neck. I've got a PRS McCarty and a Thorn Artisan Master with rosewood necks also. Just curious about the price. Any idea if it is possible to order just the neck?

[tom]

that price is for a neck replacement. a non rosewood neck replacement is $500. you don't get the old one back, we have a lot of trouble with forgeries, and we don't want to fuel that fire. the upcharge on a new order is $400 retail.

[Stan Malinowski]

Steve,

I had the oppurtunity to play the first RW Neck Cobra owned originally by Jack Gretz (and now by John Price). Even though it had a satin finish it is EVERY bit as killer as any PRS McRW I have ever played!

Stan

[John Price]

I second that!:D

[John Price]

Stan!
I just sold the Cobra Back to Jack!
But don't worry it was for another Cobra!:D

[SteveK]

John,
Did you sell it back to Jack as a personal guitar, or is Jack going to be selling it for Magdon?

[John Price]

Steve,
I believe he's going to put it back into his personal collection being that it was a special guitar made just for him!

[SteveK]

John,
Just curious...which pups, and do you have any pics?

[John Price]

Steve,
This one has the HO1- in the neck and the H2 in the bridge position.
The other Cobra had the H1- neck/ H2+ in the bridge!
I don't hear a big difference between the H2 and H2+ but I do hear and feel a difference in the neck pickups, maybe it's me but I thought the HO1- was a little hotter than the H1- I was thinking about getting a new neck pickup to replace the H1- for the first Cobra but when I got the new one everything was very well balanced!

One major factor here I believe was the necks! Jacks Cobra has the all rosewood neck and my Cobra has the Mahogany with African Rosewood fingerboard! each neck adds it's own character to the tone and output!

I do have some pictures that I could e-mail to you!

[SteveK]

Thanks John! My email is: guitarsk@optonline.net
I'd love to see some pics!

[John Price]

Steve,
I just emailed you the pictures.
Let me know what you think....
Thanks John......

[SteveK]

WHOA!!!!:eek: Beautiful guitars...it's not as though I have GAS or anything...:rolleyes:

[Tom Gross]

Originally posted by Stan Malinowski
Steve,

I had the oppurtunity to play the first RW Neck Cobra owned originally by Jack Gretz (and now by John Price). Even though it had a satin finish it is EVERY bit as killer as any PRS McRW I have ever played!

Stan

That is an awesome guitar - it inspired me to order mine on the spot. SteveK- do you remember Ariel playing that on stage at the '01 PRS event?

Speaking of cobra neck profiles, I ordered my Rosewood neck as a "thinner Cobra standard". It came out great (for me, anyway). That's what it says on the web description, too:
"Back Shape - Slimmer Cobra"
I have no idea what the dimensions are.

[John Price]

SteveK,
I spoke to Jack, if your interested in the guitar just give him a call!

[SteveK]

ARGH!!!!!!:eek:

[Stan Malinowski]

ARGH!!!!!!

Buy it Steve, it's only money..........:D :D