Jason Isbell: "If I Was a Beginner Guitar Player, I Wouldn’t Use a Maple Fingerboard"

Back in January, Jason Isbell teamed up with Fender to create a new signature Telecaster.

Asked recently by Music Radar why the guitar – like many of his Telecasters of choice – sports a rosewood fingerboard, Isbell discussed what he sees as the "forgiving" quality of rosewood. He also pointed out why – in his opinion – this very sonic quality makes it a better choice for beginner guitarists than guitars with maple fingerboards. 

"I love maple fingerboards too, but there’s something very forgiving about rosewood," Isbell said. "If I was a beginner guitar player I wouldn’t use a maple fingerboard Tele, because whatever you play is what you’re going to hear. 

"It’s very precise, and if you make a mistake you’re going to hear it. The rosewood just softens things up a little, rounds it off. For this particular profile [his signature Telecaster] it felt right, plus you’ve gotta have a rosewood board for a Telecaster Custom!"

Of course, as with so many age-old gear-related debates, fingerboard choice comes down to personal preference. As we all know though, these same debates will continue to rage on, matters of preference or not!