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Stevie Ray Vaughan on Rosewood Fretboards


Stevie Ray Vaughan, in an October 1984 interview with Guitar Player Magazine, responding to the question "Do any of your guitars have maple necks?":

Lenny does. It has a real clear tone, and the pickups are microphonic-you can hear it when you hit the pickguard. But when you play it soft, it sounds great. When I first got the guitar, it had a rosewood fretboard, but it was thinner, and that bothered me. So I put a copy of a Fender maple neck on there that Billy Gibbons gave me. I like the rosewood necks usually, because, for one thing, when you sweat, you don't get blisters. It seems like the finish on a maple neck gets hotter, and there's more friction. As hard as I play and as much as I sweat, I get sore enough as it is. There's a fatter sound on the rosewood, as far as I can tell. It's not as bright. The ebony fretboard seems a little clearer, but it's fat, too.

I've previously expressed my preference for rosewood fretboards. It's interesting to hear Stevie Ray's opinion on the matter.