Question Fretboard Wood Poll

[Mixolydian82]

Piggybacking off of my last poll, what is your preferred fretboard wood? Maple, natural or roasted, rosewood, ebony, etc..

Let me know!

Thanks!

 

[dave1812]

My Starry Night JP with the Roasted Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard is by far my favorite Neck of all Time!
I can‘t put a pin into what makes it so special, i guess it just feels really great and also looks awesome! Tbh the all Maple Neck on the JP15 is my only reason i didnt pull the trigger in one yet.
My Roasted Maple & Pao Ferro JP7 comes in second place

 

[DrKev]

In don't like ebony. I sometimes like pao Ferro and love rosewood but I don't currently have a maple board guitar so that's mah vote!

 

[GWDavis28]

My Starry Night JP with the Roasted Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard is by far my favorite Neck of all Time!
I can‘t put a pin into what makes it so special, i guess it just feels really great and also looks awesome! Tbh the all Maple Neck on the JP15 is my only reason i didnt pull the trigger in one yet.
My Roasted Maple & Pao Ferro JP7 comes in second place

I agree my Black Sugar AL has this and I've come to really love it!!!!

Glenn |B)

 

[Mixolydian82]

In don't like ebony. I sometimes like pao Ferro and love rosewood but I don't currently have a maple board guitar so that's mah vote!

Woo! I don't mind ebony, but I enjoy the feel of maple. Black inlays on maple always looks good to me, but so do other materials.

 

[JasonT]

Rosewood has always been my favorite. But I will say no one does maple like EBMM. I’m generally not a fan of ebony, but I love my starry night LIII.

 

[Ted]

I have several guitars with ebony and to me, it's the premium choice for any stringed instrument. I love the neutral black look that doesn't clash with any body finishes. It feels great. Tight grain, easy to maintain.

I also have several guitars with maple-- and I'm always in awe over the appearance and feel of the roasted flame maple fretboard/neck on my standard Valentine.

Rosewood is usually my distant third choice. Often, it's that dried out, yellowish cheap looking wood I hate. However, when I got my Pine Green BFR with the bound rosewood fretboard, I found EBMM's rosewood to be so beautiful-- a rich chocolatey reddish brown color that pairs nicely with the particular bluish green paint of the body and headstock. A prettier grade of rosewood than I find on other makers' guitars-- though I do think the binding contributes to the overall effect. I wouldn't like the more open grain as much on an unbound neck, I suspect.

I think generally, on a darker colored body, I like a darker colored fretboard wood like ebony or rosewood. On a lighter colored body I prefer something light like maple. On something in the middle of the spectrum, whatever doesn't clash, colorwise.

 

[DrKev]

I just really like wood to have some grain to give interest to it, something to look at. Rosewood always does. Rosewood can have lots of colors. When I first got my Cutlass it had quite a light piece of rosewood which I loved. I replaced that neck a few years later and got something much darker but still not as dark as my Silhouette Special, which has lightened a little over the years! I really don't get the drooling over old Brazilian rosewood on vintage instruments. It's seem often kind of plain and boring. *shrug*

I really like ebony when its highly streaked. Real dark ebony is kinda boring and actually reminds me of the cheap guitars from the 80s and 90s which were stained to look that dark.

But I'm just wired/weird that way.

 

[fogman]

This is an interesting poll. Of course everyone will have their faves with various reason behind their choices; and I'm no different.
For me the answer depends on the guitar model to some degree as the design aesthetic matters to me..
As far as feel and overall preference.... it's kind of funny as the poll has listed them in my order of likes. lol
I love natural maple for its clean cimplicity and feel.
Roasted maple is a close second to natural maple. My roasted maple Axis is the best feeling neck/fretboard of any guitar I've ever owned or played.
In the end, both natural & roasted maple are almost the same in my book.
Ebony; again, clean & simple, plus the woodgrain is nice and tight and sometimes non-existent visually. It's blackness makes it a great candidate to match up with any finish of the body and headstock.
Rosewood... it's a nice solid wood for resonance. The feel doesn't do anything for me personally. Visually I find it hit and miss. I'm not a fan of heavier woodgrains. Colour wise, I prefer it as dark as possible. My Dargie Silo is a great example of this. It's a medium toned rosewood and when I look at it, I wish it were ebony or maple. lol
Last up... Pau Ferro. I've never tried one, have no interest to. I'm sure it's a good solid wood that does the job. Visually I think it looks cheap has hell, and therefore would never have it in my guitar stable. lol

 

[lumberjack]

I have guitars that run the gambit of neck woods. I've got ebony, rosewood, maple, and roasted maple. Roasted maple is cool but I think it's time has come and gone. Yes, it's very stable, but everyone is doing it. Rosewood looks great. It's hard to beat a nice piece of Ebony, but in the EBMM world, I'm an Axis guy. I have other models and love them but nothing beats an Axis with a birdseye maple neck with some nice inlays and matching headstock.

 

[Mixolydian82]

I just really like wood to have some grain to give interest to it, something to look at. Rosewood always does. Rosewood can have lots of colors. When I first got my Cutlass it had quite a light piece of rosewood which I loved. I replaced that neck a few years later and got something much darker but still not as dark as my Silhouette Special, which has lightened a little over the years! I really don't get the drooling over old Brazilian rosewood on vintage instruments. It's seem often kind of plain and boring. *shrug*

I really like ebony when its highly streaked. Real dark ebony is kinda boring and actually reminds me of the cheap guitars from the 80s and 90s which were stained to look that dark.

But I'm just wired/weird that way.

Not weird at all! I think Royal Ebony looks fantastic when it has a lot of grain variation.

 

[Mixolydian82]

I have guitars that run the gambit of neck woods. I've got ebony, rosewood, maple, and roasted maple. Roasted maple is cool but I think it's time has come and gone. Yes, it's very stable, but everyone is doing it. Rosewood looks great. It's hard to beat a nice piece of Ebony, but in the EBMM world, I'm an Axis guy. I have other models and love them but nothing beats an Axis with a birdseye maple neck with some nice inlays and matching headstock.

There's something about a nice roasted Birdseye from EBMM that just hits different. No one does necks like them.

As for Ebony, I think it looks great when there is little to no grain variation. Just black. If I want something streaky, I'm likely to go with Royal Ebony, but it's really kind of hit or miss with getting a pattern you want.

It's funny, most models I own have Jumbo or high profile frets, so I'm not as picky on the wood type from a feel perspective as others night be. For me, it's mostly about the aesthetics.

 

[fogman]

There's something about a nice roasted Birdseye from EBMM that just hits different. No one does necks like them.

It's funny, most models I own have Jumbo or high profile frets, so I'm not as picky on the wood type from a feel perspective as others night be. For me, it's mostly about the aesthetics.

YES!
Interesting on your comment. My opinions on frets and freboard material weren't as specific until I got my first Axis. The way EBMM does a roasted neck combined with the medium frets was instantly heaven to me. My other Music Man guitars are great. The Axis just brought it to an entirely different level for me. If I could have the Axis maple neck/fretboard on all my guitars, nothing would be better for me. Hence my love for maple on this poll.

 

[jayjayjay]

I'm generally a fan of necks that use the same wood for both neck and board. So, maple/maple or, for probably my favorite guitar - my BFR Sabre - an all-rosewood neck.

 

[Vito Porkleone]

I can't imagine anything but the roasted maple on my StingRay. But if I get a Luke or a Sabre, it's gonna be ebony all day.