Which Telecaster is Best for a Jazz Tone: Maple or Rosewood Neck?
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
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Both of these telecasters have the same pickup (Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro ii) in the neck as well as the same strings 10-46.
They're also setup the same way and recorded through the same amp for this comparison, so I thought the tones would be more similar than they are here.
The rosewood neck Tele also has compensated saddles.
I know, the only true way is to put two different necks on the same guitar which I might have to look at sometime!
Which tone do you prefer?
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I think they both sound incredible, to be honest. Some people really do think that a dark wood fretboard makes a difference. I believe they’re listening more with their eyes.
I agree. I've always felt the same way about dark wood fretboards. I really can't hear much, if any, difference. I have a maple Tele.. and love it. I get very warm tones out of it when I play jazz. I think it just comes down to what you think looks better.. which is subjective.
Robben Fords iconic Tele has a rosewood board. Sometimes it can vary from guitar to guitar, everyone is different, sometimes some have a magical sound, Julian Lage has a maple cap, hard to quantify.
They both sound great. The subtle differences could be more than just the fretboard wood.
Very true although it’s worth mentioning they do have the same neck pickup
The differences come from the variance in the potentiometer tolerances, which are between 10% and 20%, depending on the quality level of the potentiometer. Thus a potentiometer labeled 250k will measure anywhere between 225-275k (for 10% tolerance) or anywhere between 200-300 (for 20% tolerance). That’s where the differences come from. Not the wood species. Want to confirm this? Just swap the necks, record and compare, and you’ll see. I’ve done this exercise with several Teles and Strats.
Sounds silly, but for me the poly or lacquer fretboard finishes feel... detached somehow, like my fingers are playing on plastic. I know, ridiculous. Something about rosewood or any darker wood really, with a more natural finish... just makes me happy! Plus there's the little ritual of cleaning / hydrating the fretboard I like. To that end as well, I like dot necks over huge inlays where your fingers are on more wood than inlay. Hey, no one ever said all guitar players are rational :)
I’m a little biased towards the maple neck cause I own 2 maple neck tele’s, but in this video the rosewood tele had a little more clarity and definition in the tone, making the voicings ring a little brighter
Hi Jamie. When it comes to what are commonly referred to as tonewoods these days, I'm firmly in the "doesn't make any difference" camp on solid body guitars. A good example would be if you fret a note on a fret that has an abalone - (or similar) - block on a Les Paul, then fret a note that has either the rosewood or ebony fingerboard next to it, there is absolutely no difference in sound. Likewise, a guitar that has a fancy maple top or just plain mahogany, ash, alder or whatever wood is used, doesn't affect the tone. The choice of wood on a semi-solid or acoustic guitar will have different tonal characteristics but not on a solid body from my experience. I know it's a never-ending topic, but that's just my opinion.
The abalone block shouldn't be a significant factor anyway - it's about what the fret is anchored into, not what your finger is pressing on. Some old rosewood board fenders with a thin "cap" board have fret tangs that go through the rosewood to the maple, which is different again.
It’s all the electrical and magnetic components and the speaker. That’s it.
@@lomoholgaYep. I cant fathom why people think wood affects how an electrical instrument sounds.
Great playing. So difficult to pick a favourite. I prefer the looks of a maple tele, but surely there’s a reason why almost every jazzy arch top I can think of is Rosewood or Ebony? But then you get Ted Greene / Julian Lage enjoying a maple board. Maybe I just need to practice more ! 😂
Thanks. I think that maple necks are just more associated with solid bodies!
Both sound good but I must say that I unexpectedly give the nod to maple!
Thanks for your comment!
I have to agree, and I’m not generally a fan of maple fingerboards
Absolutely, on this piece of music, Maple sounded better to me, ... even though I know I love the "feel" of a rosewood board!
Wow, I'd have bet a beer I wouldn't have heard any difference. I love the feel of rosewood (and such) but I love bright, too. Maybe I've been doing this wrong. Great video! Thanks for doing it. Now tell me the setups were as equal as possible, right? Any chance the neck pickups were different?
Hi thanks for your comment! Neck pickups and setups were the same
well, I guess you make the thing sounds great, both tones are lovely
Thank you!
Like them both. I have a late 90s Japanese-made Tele Thinline reissue with the maple fretboard and humbuckers and it sounds great for jazz.
I bet! Thanks for your comment.
Perhaps the rosewood has slightly more of a darker/warmer coloring of the sound that the maple neck? They both sound great!
Thank you! You could be right
beatifull sounds my favorite maple, saludos desde España ;)
Your playing sounds great!
Thank you!
I’m always swapping necks on my Teles, and they all sound different. Even my wife (an upright bassist) can tell the difference, and has her preferences. Strangely, the rosewood was the brightest in my case!
For me, the rosewood had the more authentic jazzy sound.
Interesting conversation, I own both a maple and a rosewood Tele....I happen to prefer the feel of a rosewood neck, but soundwise they're both great! :-)
Thanks! I don’t think that there is much in them.
Interesting conversation. I have just bought a mocha burst american ultra jazzmaster for the maple fretboard. But it is going back. I can't gel with the finish. I am exchanging for the blue with the maple fretboard. Honestly, the tonal differences are so slight - and it is nothing you can't eq anyway. I really think it is just a traditional thing. Most high end jazz boxes use ebony which is brighter than rosewood anyway.
I think that there must be a difference in the pots and the capacitors. I believe the butterscotch tele (maple) has 500k pots and the sunburst (rosewood) has 250k pots. Am I wrong? Anyway I prefer the warmth of the sunburst. Love your work and your passion, Jamie; keep up!
Thank you! They both have 250k pots
I have tried quite a few solid body guitars recently, some with rosewood, some with maple fingerboards. Of course there are many parameters that come into play, but in my experience even if everything else was 'same' (which never is), I felt that RW fingerboard guitars tend to sound slightly darker and fuller. But maybe this is just because the mind plays tricks: seeing darker - sounding darker 🤣. I don't know. Instinctively I'd go for rosewood.
In this video the RW one definitively sounds darker in my ears, but I'm not sure if I like it better with the way how you play it, though it might also be your familiarity with the old one...
Thanks they definitely do sound different. The maple neck is more crisp. I do prefer the blonde but I was happy with both of the sounds. I just prefer the nitro finish and satin neck on the road worn. It’s also a bit lighter.
Love the sound & playing style .
The Maple has a warmer tone , I personally like Maple necks , that might hold sway over my opinion .
Thank you!
correction - mocha burst for the rosewood fretboard, exchanging for maple fretboard.
The maple pulls it off better than I'd have thought, but I'm still a Rosewood fan. Definitely mellower, warmer, and darker.
What body wood(s) do your Teles have?
Thanks it’s hard to say with 100% accuracy but probably alder on the rosewood and ash on the maple neck
Rosewood
Rosewood, no doubt. Warmer sound, maple is too bright for me.
I much prefer the maple interestingly enough - which is great because I own a really great maple tele but don't have a rosewood - but truly I think it's clearer - though they both sound great. Thank you for helping me resolve this in mind! A lot of it is - what feeling do you prefer? I like Maple. I also know maple is less forgiving but with that comes the possibility for additional details in the articulation
I like them both for different reasons! Maple necks can get sticky when it's hot I find, but I like how the one on my road worn tele is not lacquered.
@@jamieholroydguitar Yes, only maple with no lacquer. I agree!
They are just two different guitars, so a comparison of the fingerboards cannot provide a valid result. But nonetheless: I like the maple better.
To me, the maple neck has more pronounced mids, while the rosewood fretboard guitar has the more wooly, rolled-off treble sound that is typically used by jazz guitarists. Are the tone and volume knobs up all the way on both so that they are not affecting the sound?
Those are some great points! I think the volume and tone on both were both slightly rolled off
I was a rosewood neck Strat guy for a long time, these days having had a few Tele's with maple necks, that is more my preference now. Not so much for tone but there is the feel and aesthetics element to this debate as well, rosewood and maple obvs look different for starters but also feel different under the fingers....(for me anyway) and people select a guitar based on a number of factors I feel and not exclusively just for the wood the neck/fretboard is made of, although appreciate that might be a deal breaker for some?...but its subjective anyway. ...we all have different ears. Comparing same guitar with diff necks for me, I'm probably in the camp that there is very little difference when it comes to solid bodied guitars and any slight differences might not solely be due to fretboard wood choice alone?
Yes the difference in sound is small, especially when in a mix!
As long as you play this good the kind of wood won't make no difference.
Ha thank you very much!
Doesn't matter...what matters is thickness of the neck ,pickups and maybe body wood
nice video, trahnk you!
Thanks!
Both sound good. I have gotten great jazz tones on my American Special Tele with Super Fat pickups as well. I am not sure how much the neck effects tone. I have tried both with the same amp settings on the same amp and found the bigger difference is in the body and pickups than the neck. I also switched necks on the same guitar with no effect on the tone at all. Again, just my experience.
Interesting!
humpbacker instead of a single coil on the neck pickup
What gauge strings are you using on the guitars and through what amp are you playing, and what kind of pick?
10s, no amp just plugging into GarageBand and a 2mm purple Dunlop
what songs were you playing? Or if it's not a song in particular do you have tabs?
Round midnight by Monk. No tabs but I do have a course called Beginner Jazz Guitar Chords which explains how to create your own arrangements.
They both sound good, but if I were you I'd rather play jazz on that beautiful Gibson 330 that you own.
Thanks for your comment. I’ll take both 😅
I think the drones sound more bass and round in the rosewood Tele.
Interesting observation!
Many times i´m captivated by a tele clean sound they are ash/maple, i don´t think it´s a coincidence. what gauge where you using? great video!
10-46 on both
thanks@@jamieholroydguitar
what is the telecast model you use?
Rosewood is a cij 62 reissue and maple is a Mexican road worn
They're not just different guitars. In that respect, it's not really a fair comharrison. Because everything about the instruments as different.
I think red cars are faster because red makes them go VROOOOOOM
Do they have the same pickups and electrics?
Yes same neck pickup and CTS pots
@@jamieholroydguitarThank you for the answere. 🙂 i think it depends on what is "the jazz tone" for you. The rosewood obvious has more warmth and deepness to it. On the other hand the maple one pops a little bit out more what can be what someone wants in a band context ore to show a specific mood in a song. I realy like em both. So my conclusion is. Its better to have two teles. 😂👍
Do you remember what pickup it is? EDIT: i found it in the video discibtion 😅
Greetings from Germany ✌️
In order to get a great jazz tone, the fretboard has way less effect than the pickups you choose !
Very true.
What amp? Amp control settings? Beautiful tone!
Thanks Steve - no amp just GarageBand 🎸
The rosewood neck tele sounded ever so slightly softer and warmer, not much more
Thanks the rosewood is currently for sale
Just put a TBX in any Tele and get any tone you desire.
Please, wich amp are you using?
GarageBand again!
@@jamieholroydguitar Thanks Again!!
Suona meglio a mio avviso quella con il manico in acero
Same!
What model Tele?
Rosewood is a cij 62 reissue and maple is a Mexican road worn
@@jamieholroydguitar Thanks!
I respect this guys playing but it should be revealing for everyone to see how even a skilled player can believe this tone wood nonsense.
Skill at guitar does not inoculate one against unscientific thinking or believing in wrong things about the instrument
Not really much of a dif. Both are great.
Thanks!
Che dilemma epocale…