3 Different Necks On The Same Guitar (I’m Shocked)

Funny how Fender went with rosewood because the maple showed age and usage….now they charge extra to make maple necks look that way!

Now, the only problem is convincing my wife why I need three Strats.

Rosewood: softer attack, darker tone Maple: sharper attack, brighter tone

Brett, you are absolutely spot on that the average listener in the audience will not tell the difference but as players we sometimes get into the slight nuances and this comparison, is definitely cork sniffing territory.

When I compared a Squier to a Fender standard/custom shop/original '63 loads of people didn't hear a difference either, which is totally understandable. They all sound very much like a guitar. This is basically the same, but even more extreme I guess. There are differences, but they are marginal. But if you've been playing guitar for so many years and for so many hours a day, these subtleties are easier to spot. I don't even know if it's the wood, or just the fact that it's different necks/nuts/tuning pegs. For what it's worth: camp Rosewood.

I think we can all agree that what made Jimi Hendrix so great was his incredible choices of fretboard wood.

Thank you very much for sharing the wav files!

Awesome Rhett. Never saw a demonstration like this. You're incredible.

I closed my eyes and listened to the entire thing and I could not tell when you switched.

I heard more of a difference than I expected. Thanks for taking the time to run this experiment.

Very very cool video!! I loved the sound of all three necks but for me the snappyness of that Roadworn Neck maple neck was so friggin sweet! I have done several neck swaps on my strats and teles turning average playing, feeling and sounding guitars into great guitars. It was fun listening to it in a test last this. Thank you!

Thanks for this video. I totally agree that you can hear the difference and that the rosewood is slightly warmer. Also great that you point out that no one who isn’t as nerdy as us “guitar people” ever will hear the difference or care. So the only one it matters to is the player and like you say if you have a preference you should go with it. It’s not better or worse just a matter of taste. Love that you did this. 😊 Also, isn’t it reasonable to assume that Leo, being a business man, quite simply skipped a step in production and just put the fret wire straight in to the neck to save cost? I mean there is a reason why strats are kind of the most common and wide spread guitar type ever. Partly because it was readily available to the mass market at a affordable cost. Again thanks for great video.

I’ve often wondered if the visual lightness of maple makes us think it sounds “brighter”, and the darkness of rosewood makes us characterise the sound as “darker”. The mind plays funny games…

Great video Rhett! I have a Fender California Series Telecaster with rosewood neck and I always wondered why the sound is darker than other Fender guitars. After more than 20 years I found the answer!

This is a really useful video mate. Thanks and subscribed!

The picking position, cut of the nut, height from the strings, and the fit of the pocket will affect your tone more than the fretboard material, -playability and stability of the frets is actually quite different with different woods though!

It's over Rhett. You live in a post-Jim Lill world now.

Hi Rhett, I thought it would be less noticeable than that. Great video and explanation/analysis. That strat is awesome with all 3 necks!

Could you mimic the rosewood sound with a roll of the tone knob? Kinda a way to have your cake and eating it too situation. So the big question is do teles get their high end “snappy” from being traditionally maple necks. Do you think it’s changing the sound because of how the wood interacts with where the string is touching it as it frets or is it the same on open strings?

Definitely agree..! I have rosewood, maple and ebony neck guitars. The rosewood is really warmer, absolutely. Maybe that's why Jimmy Page, Slash, Satriani and Vai always wanted rosewood neck on their guitars.. Keep rockin' guys..!