The Return of Rosewood

Picture a classic Fender from the late 50s or early 60s and chances are it’s got a rosewood fingerboard. Beloved by players, the return of rosewood is one of the most talked about features of the all-new Player II Series. But classic style is just the beginning.

Fender first introduced rosewood fingerboards on the Jazzmaster in 1958, and within two years they became the standard for every model in the lineup. If you wanted a maple neck on your Fender you had to special order. But why did Leo make the switch to rosewood in the first place? Legend has it, sometime around 1957, he turned on his TV and saw an artist playing a Fender with an all-maple neck. In the unforgiving glow of the studio lights, he noticed the dark patches and grime where the finish had worn away. For many players, fingerboard wear is a badge of honor (worn necks are among the many relic requests fielded by the Custom Shop), but for Leo, the wear detracted from an otherwise pristine instrument. 

The adoption of rosewood fingerboards didn’t just mark a departure in style for Fender, it gave the guitars a whole new feel. “Rosewood is very porous, so we don’t put finish over it,” says Allen Abbassi, Director of Product Management. “It feels different because your fingers are touching the raw wood. With maple, you have to use a finish to protect it from the elements.” Rosewood also has a higher oil content, which makes it more resistant to moisture. And it doesn’t stop there. Rosewood can affect a guitar’s tone, too. “Maple sounds more bright and snappy. A lot of people say rosewood has brightness as well but rosewood has more warmth.”

More likely than not, the warm tone and smooth playing feel of rosewood were happy accidents. “Leo wasn’t a guitarist, or even a luthier,” explains Patrick Harberd, Senior Product Development Manager. “He ran a radio repair shop and started making amps and guitars – for him it was about practicality and what was available at the time. Rosewood was widely used, didn’t require finishing and had cachet from its use on high-end instruments so it solved multiple problems simultaneously.”

Since he wasn’t a player himself, Leo also had a penchant for talking to artists and incorporating their feedback into his designs. Of course Fender has carried on that tradition – particularly when it comes to the Player II Series. Our product team listened to feedback from players around the world and incorporated their insights, replacing pau ferro fingerboards from the original series with rosewood (an option that now sits alongside maple) plus the addition of rolled fingerboard edges, vintage hardware and all new vintage colors. 

It’s no surprise rosewood was one of the most requested updates from the guitar community. Some of our most iconic artist signature models feature rosewood fingerboards – from the Jimmy Page Mirror Telecaster, George Harrison Rocky Strat and Chrissie Hynde Telecaster to the Kurt Cobain Jaguar, Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster and Susan Tedeschi Telecaster. 

“One of the big themes for Player II is that it’s a bit of a return to form,” Harberd says. “It’s a more classic Fender package, with rosewood being a huge element of that. It’s heavily associated with Fender. The rosewood, paired with the vintage hardware, tuners and tinted headstock, the vintage colors, it’s one standard deviation closer to classic Fender.” 

Check out the all-new Player II Series here.