Rosewood\Ebony to a maple board ?

[Riffmeister]

I never had a maple board before, and a Jackson that I am interested in has one on it. I can't play it before I buy it so I wanted to know if there is a major difference , or maybe something I won't like about it.

Is there any maintenance required for it, more so than an Ebony or rosewood board?

Oh, and how much brighter will it make the tone with a Basswood body vs the Rosewood in the same body?

[Spivonious]

It might be a little bit brighter, but in my opinion the fingerboard wood is more about cosmetics and left hand feel than tone. YMMV.

[Grandturk]

A concern will be if it is a finished maple board, and how it is finished - gloss nitro, satin nitro, gloss poly, satin poly, unfinished, oiled, etc.

That's really where the difference in feel will come from.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I absolutely hate, hate, hate Strats with maple boards, because of the nasty poly finish. Nothing puts the brakes on your bends quite like nasty finished fretboard.

The Charvel Pro Mods and Jackson PC1 feel great.

[RobRR]

I absolutley love finished fretboards. Maple is nice and bright, maybe a bit more note definition. Finished maple, atleast for me, is ALOT faster to play on that bare rosewood.

[DonP]

Rosewood and ebony require (seldom) oiling to keep from shrinking / cracking. Maple as far as I know does not.

I like maple, I like ebony. I like rosewood that is smooth and waxy (like on my R0). When it's cut at the wrong angle against the grain, it can be rough like sandpaper. I don't like that. It needs to be buffed / burnished down smooth.

I don't like thick poly maple either, so I don't buy necks like that. I had an Allparts neck that was finished that way but returned it before I used it.

[Riffmeister]

I have no clue if the neck is finished or not It is one of the New Jackson Dinkys that has the matching maple headstock and the black shrkfin inlays.

[Grandturk]

Satin poly on that one I believe.

[RobRR]

Yeah the new ones are satin poly, its pretty thin coat as well.

[Riffmeister]

Ok, so how does the Satin Poly feel?

[Grandturk]

Pretty close to unfinished, but it stays that way - i.e. unlike raw maple, it doesn't get better with age.

[DonP]

I have an RR24M. The maple fretboard neck is fine.

[Tricky]

With big fat jumbos, I don't really notice the top of the board.
Rolled edges are a must though, and Maple does sound brighter to me.

[Gibsonmac]

maple is very similar to ebony in tone, it really has no required maintenance to speak of, its pretty much bullet proof, and I'm pretty sure DK2m's have a gun-oiled board, just like the back of the necks.