Guitar Fretboard Woods

Maple vs Rosewood Fretboard? Ebony vs Rosewood? What about Pau Ferro?

Guitar fretboard (aka fingerboard) wood is both overlooked, and over-hyped. Which wood feels best? Which wood is the most durable? Does fretboard wood affect tone? Why don’t they make Les Pauls with maple fretboards?! (actually, they have—more on that later). In this article we’ll discuss our thoughts and (sometimes contrary) opinions on the most popular guitar fingerboard woods, and why you might choose one over another.

Why Guitar Fretboard Wood Matters

The guitar is a tactile instrument, and the fretboard and neck are your main contact points. There are two reasons you’ll want to care about fretboard wood: The feel, and the tone. Everyone can agree that different woods feel differently, but there is bitter division over whether fingerboard wood contributes to the tone of a guitar!

Fingerboard Wood Options

Although there are many woods that can be used for guitar fingerboards, the industry has settled on a handful of woods that offer a usable combination of tone, durability, stability, and availability: Maple, Rosewood, Ebony, and to a lesser extent, Pau Ferro (Pau Ferro is also sometimes called Morado). We’ll also discuss Indian Laurel, a wood that has gained popularity in recent years as a Rosewood substitute.

With the exception of maple, these are all tropical hardwoods. Because the fingerboard is a high-touch area of the guitar, these woods need to be reasonably tight-grained, durable, and possess a high Janka Hardness Rating. The Janka Scale indicates the hardness of a wood by measuring how much force is required to push a 0.444 inch (11.28 mm) steel ball into the wood to a depth equal to half the ball’s diameter. The higher the number, the harder the wood.

Tonal Considerations

Unless you don’t believe in wood’s effect on tone, you’ve probably wondered whether guitar fretboard wood affects tone in a meaningful way. Truth be told, this is a tough question; some people swear it does and they can hear it easily, and others maintain that it has zero effect. Our position is that fretboard wood, perhaps more than anything else, is incredibly context dependent and non-obvious. Differences that may be detectable at a low volume with a quality amp may disappear when run through a series of pedals at higher volume.

It is challenging to isolate the differences between fretboard woods because they are so closely coupled with the wood of the neck. The common wisdom is that the harder and more dense the wood, the greater the transmission of high frequencies, which will result in a brighter sound.

Descriptions of Common Fretboard Woods

Rosewood

Botanical Name: Dalbergia
Density: 52 lbs/ft³
Janka Hardness: 2,440 lb

Rosewood is the most common wood used for fingerboards today. They are played mostly unfinished, and have a smooth, soft feel. The most common rosewood species used are Indian Rosewood, Madagascar Rosewood.

Tone of Rosewood Fretboards:

Most guitarists say that Rosewood imparts a “warm” tone, but that may be an example of people hearing with their eyes. Rosewood is both denser and harder than maple, which should equate to more high frequencies. Yet, people insist that Rosewood “warms up” a Fender guitar compared to maple. Our experience is that finish plays as much a part as anything in the fretboard wood equation: When comparing Rosewood to Maple, as many people do, keep in mind that Maple must be finished, and the finish has an effect on the tone.

One additional point I feel I need to mention. Years ago, John Suhr of Suhr guitars, made a statement that he is hesitant to recommend Ash-bodied guitars with Rosewood fretboards because he found that they sometimes have too much “sizzle” for his taste. I do not think that Mr. Suhr made the comment with an agenda in mind, but for whatever reason the internet seized on it and suddenly people on forums everywhere were questioning this classic tonewood combination. I can personally say that I have never experienced this, and any sizzle issues would have more to do with the quality and density of the ash body than the fretboard.

Maple

Botanical Name: Acer Saccharum
Density: 60 lbs/ft³
Janka Hardness: 1,450 lbs

Used most famously in Fender guitars, maple has an undeniable charm. When we refer to maple for fretboards, we are talking about the sugar maple (“rock maple”) species. Maple needs to be finished, but that doesn’t stop it from wearing out, and the look of a played-in maple fretboard is one of the hallmarks of a relic’d guitar. Maple has a tight grain and smooth feel, and has a buttery feel when it’s finished well, especially with nitrocellulose. Though maple isn’t as durable as other fretboard woods, it remains a popular choice due to its tone and feel.

Tone of Maple Fretboards:

The rap on maple is that it is inherently bright. We disagree! Our opinion is that the poly finishes of maple—especially the thick ones used in the 1970s-1990s—contributed more to this reputation than the wood itself. I know that personally a maple neck Fender guitar with a nitro finish or carefully applied thin poly can be as sweet as any. In addition, to my ears, maple fretboards impart an upper treble sweetness that you don’t get from rosewood. Not rolled off per se, but a sense of roundness and focus. My opinion is that this is maple’s tonal characteristic, because I perceive this same sound quality in maple-bodied acoustic guitars. Maple offers good attack and note separation, and figured maple fretboards generally look amazing.

Ebony

Botanical Name: Diospyros Celebica
Density: 60-70 lbs/ft³,
Janka Hardness: >3,000 lbs

Ebony was historically the king of fingerboard woods due to its tight grain, fast feel and jet-black appearance. Today, the common species of ebony used, Ceylon and Gaboon, are endangered, and listed on the CITES treaty. Exports are banned in some places, and regulated everywhere else.

An aside: Robert Taylor of Taylor guitars launched a sustainable ebony project in 2011 that is dedicated to planting and conserving ebony. Interestingly, not all ebony is jet black, which is impossible to tell until you cut the tree. As a part of the Ebony Project, Taylor has helped popularize the use of streaked ebony, which allows for more supply of perfectly good ebony. Tonally, there is no difference between streaked and uniform dark ebony, and the quality is the same.

Tone of Ebony Fretboards:

Most people feel that ebony has a crisp attack and renders a bright tone.

Ebony is more common on acoustic guitars—both flat tops and archtops—because the snappy tone of ebony works well with hollow instruments. Some luthiers feel that ebony’s characteristics don’t translate as well to solid body guitars, and are hesitant to recommend them for fear of excessive brightness. I can’t say definitively either way, but Ebony is far less common on solidbody guitars than Maple or Rosewood.

Pau Ferro

Botanical Name: Machaerium
Density: 54 lbs/ft³,
Janka Hardness: 1,960 lbs

Pau Ferro has been in somewhat common use for fretboards for a while now, but it still flies decidedly under the radar. Famous for being used on 90s-era Fender Stevie Ray Vaughn signature Strats, it is nonetheless less popular than Rosewood. Due to sustainability issues with Rosewood it has been gaining steam recently. Pau Ferro is not listed in CITES, and is not endangered at this time. Fender has been using Pau Ferro as a rosewood substitute on their Mexican Strats and Teles for years.

Pau Ferro is particularly nice looking, having a similar dark but lighter and streakier appearance than Rosewood. Although many report that Pau Ferro is harder than Rosewood, it is actually softer on the Janka Scale. To the touch, Pau Ferro plays a little slicker than Rosewood.

Tone of Pau Ferro Fretboards:

Many people claim that Pau Ferro is a midway point between Rosewood and Ebony. I’ll say this: If there is a difference, it is subtle, and less than the difference between Rosewood and Maple.

Indian Laurel

Botanical Name: Terminalia Elliptica
Density: 54 lbs/ft³,
Janka Hardness: 2,340 lbs

Indian Laurel has come on to the scene recently as a low cost alternative to Rosewood. It is generally used on lower cost instruments, and extensively on Fender’s Squier line. Epiphone uses laurel on some of their models as well, as do many of the popular budget guitar lines.

Indian Laurel is similar in playability to real rosewood, and has a similar feel. The most noticeable characteristic of Indian Laurel is its tendency to be lighter in color, which causes many people to want to darken it so it more closely resembles rosewood! To that I say don’t do it! Appreciate Laurel for what it is, which is an inexpensive, decent quality alternative. One of the tradeoffs of a lower cost guitar is materials, and it is likely that you’ll get a higher quality Laurel fretboard than rosewood if the guitar were forced to sell it at the same price point.

Tone of Indian Laurel Fretboards:

Most people report that little or no difference in tone between Indian Laurel and Rosewood fingerboards.

Brazilian Rosewood

Botanical Name: Dalbergia nigra
Density: 52 lbs/ft³
Janka Hardness: 2,790 lbs

We left the best for last—the legendary Brazilian Rosewood. Brazilian Rosewood is the most prized species of the Rosewood family. Because it is critically endangered, import of this wood is basically banned, and one must have the proper paperwork to buy and sell it. Nonetheless, it is sometimes offered as a costly upgrade on luthier built guitars, as well as from custom shops of high end makers such as PRS. Brazilian Rosewood often features beautiful and rich dark chocolate coloring.

Tone of Brazilian Rosewood Fretboards:

In the acoustic guitar world, Brazilian Rosewood is famous for its glassy clarity and bell-like tone when used for back and sides. Compared to Indian Rosewood, most people say Brazilian sounds better. For fingerboards, the difference will be negligible, though

Golden age vintage guitars from the 50s and 60s from Fender and Gibson often came with Brazilian fingerboards, including the famous Les Paul Bursts from the late 1950s.

Maple vs Rosewood Fretboard

By far the biggest debate around fretboard woods is the question of a Rosewood vs Maple fingerboard: Which is the superior guitar fingerboard wood? The guitar is a very personal instrument, and guitarists often have very particular preferences when it comes to fretboard woods. At GK we do not feel that there are significant tonal differences between Maple and Rosewood on an electric guitar, with one exception, explained below.

Maple wood fretboards require a finish, and we feel that both the type and quality of this finish can affect the guitar’s tone in a noticeable way. Not too long ago, thick polyurethane finishes were very common on guitar bodies and necks, and this was particularly noticeable on maple necks. Thick poly finishes have a hard, “plastic” feel, and this translates into the tone; this is one fretboard finish that I feel absolutely has a negative effect on tone, making the sound harder and brighter. I believe that much of the “maple fretboards are brighter” talk started because people were playing maple fretboard guitars with thick poly finishes. In contrast, a maple fretboard with a thin, well-applied poly or nitrocellulose finish feels completely different, and sounds comparable to Rosewood.

Here’s a quick rundown of the benefits of each:

Pros of Rosewood Fretboards

Alleged “warmer” tone (see above, we don’t believe this)
Shows wear less obviously than maple
Softer feel than finished maple
Can be played without a finish

Pros of Maple Fretboards

Great attack, snappy tone
Increased clarity and note separation
Faster feel than Rosewood
Maple + Ash/Alder is THE vintage Fender combination
Figured Maple Fretboards look AMAZING!

Ebony vs Rosewood Fretboard

The question of an Ebony fretboard vs Rosewood is a distant second to Maple vs Rosewood. Ebony vs Rosewood is a far less common question for two reasons:

Ebony was not used as a Fender fretboard wood when the Stratocaster and Telecaster were originally released in the 1950s.
Ebony is used sparingly by Fender. Fender does spec ebony on some models such as the Fender Stratocaster HSS Ebony Fingerboard Limited-Edition.

What do the Pros Prefer?

Some legendary guitarists stick to one or the other, while others switch between them. Stevie Ray Vaughn was known to play both Rosewood and Maple fretboards, though his #1 guitar was Rosewood. Eric Clapton has played both Gibson style and Fender style guitars throughout his career, but Clapton’s signature Stratocaster is only offered with a maple fingerboard. John Mayer’s signature PRS offers a choice between Maple and Rosewood, while Jeff Beck’s signature Fender is only offered in Rosewood. Basically, it’s a toss-up!

Fretboard Care

Caring for your fretboard isn’t that difficult. For an unfinished fretboard such as Rosewood or Ebony, you can clean it with a rag and warm water. If needed, you can use a purpose designed brush or soft steel wool (#0000) to get the grime off. Fretboard conditioners may be used to ensure that your fingerboard doesn’t dry out, but don’t overdo it! Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars has mentioned that he feels that once a year is usually sufficient, and there is a reason for this: Excessive use of fretboard conditioner can seep into the nut slots and soften the wood holding the frets, and you definitely do not want this.

Note: Never use a fretboard conditioner on a finished Maple Fretboard!

For maple fingerboards, a rag and warm water is usually sufficient to get it nice and clean. Plus, maple boards start to look “vintage” when they develop some wear!

Conclusion

There is no best fretboard wood. For electric guitar fretboards, we suggest going with what feels best to you. Tonal differences are there in some cases (e.g., Rosewood vs Maple) and barely perceptible in others (e.g., Indian Rosewood vs. Brazilian Rosewood). If it’s a finished fretboard such as maple, keep in mind that not all finish work is created equal.

Oh and as to why you never see a Les Paul with a maple fingerboard? Believe it or not, they have made them!

Happy Playing!