[Leon]

I like maple because of the extra brightness and snap. If I want thick and mellow, I'll reach for an LP.

 

[Professor Squidbeard]

I think it depends on the body wood as well. I get flack for my rosewood strat but it sounds better than everything else. i generally prefer maple but this strat sounds more like I think a strat should sound than any other. also, keep in mind SRV's strats pretty much all had rosewood if i remember right and i'm fairly sure we can agree that his guitar sounded alright.

 

[Soopahmahn]

Strat with Rosewood board |= thick and mellow.

If you want really bright, get an ash body, but the maple vs. rosewood thing to me is more about feel and aesthetic than sonics (maple is slightly snappier/pingier on the attack).

 

[Drew]

Maple all the way for me. I like how it looks, like how it feels, and thought it was as simple as that until the day I picked up Steve's UV777GR and immediately "heard" some of the same mojo in it I like about my strat. There's something about the way the string snaps against the fretboard when you dig in with maple that I love.

 

[Leon]

Strat with Rosewood board |= thick and mellow.

If you want really bright, get an ash body, but the maple vs. rosewood thing to me is more about feel and aesthetic than sonics (maple is slightly snappier/pingier on the attack).

Sorry but it's difficult to embed YouTube from work because it's blocked.

YouTube - Stevie Ray Vaughan Little Wing

He also strung it up with chainlink fencing :lol:

 

[Soopahmahn]

He also strung it up with chainlink fencing :lol:

Which makes the sound less bright.

 

[Leon]

Which makes the sound less bright.

Which can change depending on string brand/material. Are you done yet? :lol:

 

[darren]

I like a variety of sounds and feels, so i like a lot of different stuff. I also like my guitars to sound somewhat "balanced"... too much of one thing (e.g. brightness) doesn't work for me.

So i tend to prefer... well, uh... whatever.

 

[Soopahmahn]

Which can change depending on string brand/material. Are you done yet? :lol:

Heavy strings + rosewood board and it's still bright-sounding. Simply trying to make a sonic point.

I'm with Drew, it's really about feel. I voted my preference, but go with what your hands say.

 

[eleven59]

I personally love rosewood on Strats, and maple on Teles.

 

[Leon]

Heavy strings + rosewood board and it's still bright-sounding. Simply trying to make a sonic point.

I'm with Drew, it's really about feel. I voted my preference, but go with what your hands say.

Well, the vast majority of strats that I've tried, the maple boarded ones tended to sound brighter than the rosewood ones. Now, sure my sample size is probably under the 40 required for a good statistical mean, but I think I've got my basis covered

We're also arguing "brightness" which doesn't have a solid SI unit behind it :lol:

 

[105]

 

[Soopahmahn]

Well, the vast majority of strats that I've tried, the maple boarded ones tended to sound brighter than the rosewood ones. Now, sure my sample size is probably under the 40 required for a good statistical mean, but I think I've got my basis covered

We're also arguing "brightness" which doesn't have a solid SI unit behind it :lol:

Watts? (Luminosity). :lol:

Sorry.

 

[Elysian]

Heavy strings + rosewood board and it's still bright-sounding. Simply trying to make a sonic point.

I'm with Drew, it's really about feel. I voted my preference, but go with what your hands say.

Single coils have a small aperture so they're going to be brighter, SRV used single coils. Maple would have definitely made his tone brighter, no doubt about it, but single coils are why it was still bright enough. SRV also had a pretty thick tone despite still being bright, IMO.

 

[Alan]

Look and feel for me... I love the look of a worn maple fretboard. There might be a slight sound difference but I think its really player preference more than anything else. You are talking about a maple neck bolted onto an alder or ash body, most of the time with a trem for a bridge, and most of the time with single coil pickups, so you are on the brighter side of the spectrum anyways.

 

[7deadlysins]

Maple for me, most of the time. Now I do really like the Fender Showmasters, which typically come with rosewood boards but they're not really a "strat" at all. (I'm also Gassing for one because they go for super cheap)

 

[Max]

maple >> wrongwood

 

[shannon]

Maple all the way for me. I like how it looks, like how it feels, and thought it was as simple as that until the day I picked up Steve's UV777GR and immediately "heard" some of the same mojo in it I like about my strat. There's something about the way the string snaps against the fretboard when you dig in with maple that I love.

Exactly....and since Steve sold me that guitar, it has been my go-to axe for 2 years now. Serious mojo is found there.

 

[Drew]

maple >> wrongwood

Awesome! :rofl:

It's also worth noting that while SRV did some serious experimenting later on in his career, Texas Flood was mostly cut with small Fender combos cranked way up, which aren't exactly known for being super-dark... :lol:

...and, that finally, the tone he was chansing was really a H-H middle position sound on a flying V, which renders the whole "brightness" discussion beside the point. He was trying to make a bright guitar LESS bright. :lol:

 

[Leon]

Watts? (Luminosity). :lol:

Sorry.

Well, we could adopt an equation for the curve of the intensity as it depends on the frequency. Integrating over a predetermined range *could* provide a quantitative measurement of brightness.