Maple fretboard history

Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:41 am

I was curious as to why the first Fenders had maple necks on them. It seems the acoustics at the time had ebony or rosewood. I know there are opinions there are marked differences and others say it does not matter what the fret board is in an electric. So in the same light, has anyone seen an acoustic with maple fretboard on it? Thanks!

Re: Maple fretboard history

Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:00 am

I only remember seeing one maple board acoustic. I'm pretty sure it was an Ibanez acoustic that a friend owned. I have no idea what year it was made. I strummed it once or twice and it played and sounded nice. That's all I've got.

Re: Maple fretboard history

Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:23 am

The whole ebony boards on acoustic for most of the old ones dates back to pre truss rod type days. The dimensional stability of the ebony allowed the neck to be much more rigid. I took have never seen maple either.