I'll be needing one more neck from Tommy for a new Strat. It's a dual-humbucking Strat, hardtail, Alder body.
This type of body wood and pickup combo has worked out exceptionally well for me on my 3 other Strats.
The necks vary, but so far I've grown to be a real fan of my 25" scale full-Madagascar RW neck, aswell as my other great Maple/MDGRW neck.
The Fender 1-piece Maple neck I have on this particular Strat feels somewhat strange. It always sounds kinda "plasticy" to me when I play it - so
I'm shooting for a RW board again. Maybe it's the really thick finish that's on the Maple neck and not the Maple-wood itself but anyways...
So it's actually the backing wood that I'd like your opinion about and not the fretboard.
I'll most probably settle on a 25" scale again as the Bluesy-feel is great and I feel I don't get the mud of a 24 3/4" scale axe.
So, to sum it up choices AFAICS would be as follows:
1.)Mahogany/RW - 25"scale
2.)RW/RW - 25"scale
3.)Flame or Birdseye Maple/RW - 25" scale
I'd be especially interested to hear your opinion on how a Mahogany backing wood would differ in tone from a RW backing wood and if you'd think it
would work well on Alder.
The RW/RW neck has worked out great on Alder with humbuckers - I get great, warm, singing and Bluesy Gary Moore and Santana-type tones from my Strat.
The obvious choice would be to get a RW/RW neck again, but a little variety while at the same time not straying too far away from my tried and proven formula
could be nice aswell.
The Maple/RW would be a more traditional/safe choice but I'm really wondering if a 25"scale Mahogany neck together with the Alder body would give me
another great Bluesy singing Strat.
I'm open to be talked out of the Mahogany/RW neck if you see some serious issues from your experience. Unfortunately, I have none with those
0 Kudo
New neck: backing wood Mahogany, Maple or RW? I Need your experience guys
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 Schneidas |
New neck: backing wood Mahogany, Maple or RW? I Need your experience guys |
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Posts: 286 Thu, Jun 26, 2008 16:19:39 Bronze Member |
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18631 Fri, Jun 27, 2008 20:14:21 The Big FIBer |
I wouldn't choose the mahogany option, at least for this Strat.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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Boris Bubbanov |
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Posts: 32 Mon, Jun 30, 2008 21:11:39 |
I've got a one piece indian rosewood Tele 25.5 neck; I'll let you know how that sounds on a couple of different bodies, once I have the tuners on
there.
I am open to all rosewood, and to walnut and even alder as a neck on a slab-board strat neck. Mahogany, not so much so, even if it is a hardtail. Gibsons and these other boys really do have too many issues with humps and bumps and major twists. Mahogany is a big reason why. Bubban0v |
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Boris Bubbanov |
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Posts: 33 Sun, Jul 6, 2008 04:21:57 |
Well, I've had a chance to play this one piece indian rosewood neck (from the nefarious 'W', sorry Tommy) and it is not the most musical neck I
have ever heard. My techno-jumble would probably be about missing frequencies and all that, but nevermind.
Given the fact I have bought 6 bodies and 3 necks from USACG in the last couple weeks, I was forgiven, and Rob (the USACG resident rosewood expert) felt I was lucky not to have gotten a mushy one, instead. Apparently it is easily to get a stiff neck to season in than to stiffen a gooey neck. I also suspect that the 1 inch fatback profile contributes to this stiffness, and that if shaven down a bit the neck would come in faster. All said, playing the same guitar with this neck, against a similarly dimensioned maple neck with an indian rosewood board, I much prefer the maple/rosewood combo. This was an alder/poly Tele body with OV pickups and a vintage bridge plate with 3 brass saddles. I'll try it on a maple cap 2 piece mahogany Tele next, perhaps against a birdseye maple neck this time. The finely sanded raw rosewood is a joy to hold and play, but the fishy oils are still plentiful in this wood and the smell is released as you play a while. |
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18721 Sun, Jul 6, 2008 12:41:36 The Big FIBer |
After all this might I recommend something not on your list of choices? IMO, 2-piece pau ferro is the way to go.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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Schneidas |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 287 Mon, Jul 7, 2008 17:14:05 Bronze Member |
Thanks a lot for your recommendations.
A 2-piece Pau Ferro neck sounds interesting. I always have probs choosing Pau Ferro over something else, as I really never have tried Pau Ferro myself. Nocaster, I'd be interested to hear what you'd think of a Pau Ferroo back / Rosewood board option? Pau Ferro is described as having Maple tone, so I'd guess a PF/RW neck should sound like a Maple/RW neck, right? Plus it would have the benefit of not needing a finish. |
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nocaster |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 18733 Mon, Jul 7, 2008 17:58:05 The Big FIBer |
Pau ferro is a little brighter than maple. Sure, you could go with a rosewood board, and sure the neck wouldn't need to be finished, BUT you'd pretty
much lose all the other benefits of the pf, such as its dead-spot resistance, drier and faster attack, etc (like ebony). If these aren't important to you,
and you have more confidence to throw your money down for that combo, then, IMO, it has benefits over your three stated options. HTH.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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Schneidas |
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Posts: 288 Tue, Jul 8, 2008 05:58:31 Bronze Member |
Looks like Pau Ferro for the backing wood is not an option anymore as Tommy's wood suppliers only have fretboard-sized Pau Ferro left now.
So I'll have to go another route. |
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18735 Tue, Jul 8, 2008 08:22:01 The Big FIBer |
What about a rosewood neck with pau ferro board?
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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PeteMK1 |
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Posts: 2083 Tue, Jul 8, 2008 09:41:00 Contributing Silver Member |
I'd choose simply Maple/RW or maybe Maple/PF. I know Maple/RW is basically the industry standard, but for good reason. IME, this combo delivers in most
cases. The dead-spot issue is a valid concern, but it is not much of an issue unless you choose a rather skinny neck profile, which is not a good option
anyways.
If you go into normal thickness ranges like at least .850-.920, you should be on the safe side.
You can say you to
me.
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Schneidas |
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Posts: 289 Fri, Sep 7, 2029 19:15:55 Bronze Member |
I dunno, PF on Rosewood could be good, but might look a little weird, since it's a lighter colored fretboard on a darker backing wood.
Might be good soundwise. I have never seen or heard of a neck like that though. The classic RW on Maple is... well... classic :-) I'll have to think about it |
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Schneidas |
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Posts: 290 Tue, Jul 8, 2008 21:22:47 Bronze Member |
Btw, I've had a little more than half a dozen RW fretboarded necks in my life, and deadspots have never been an issue.
I have had some on 3 1-piece Maple necks though |
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18737 Wed, Jul 9, 2008 01:12:44 The Big FIBer |
Dead spots aren't such an issue for guitar as for bass. Still, it can be an issue. Plenty of guitarists still post about dead spots, but just don't
call them dead spots, if you know what I mean.
As to the pf over rw, I actually think it has a lot of merit, especially if you don't want to have to finish the neck. Sure, it's an experiment, but one that is quite calculated. And one of the simple reasons it's not a classic combo is price, just like all-rosewood is not exactly a classic combo either. And let's face it, all-rosewood doesn't always work, and that's because one can get too much rosewood in the mix. As far as looks, I'm sure Tommy can find a darker piece of pf and also a pleasingly complementary piece of rw. Of course, it's your money and your call!
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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Boris Bubbanov |
Not for early rock | #13 | ||
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Posts: 40 Sat, Jul 19, 2008 23:28:17 |
This is that Rosewood neck on an Am Se I'm well acquainted with, a guitar with a twin I can A/B:
I'm searching for a way to make this neck happy. It is not soggy or muddy, it just speaks in a language I don't know that well. I'll be swapping it around a lot; it'll find a home at some point. I like the idea of an all Pau Ferro, or perhaps a Walnut neck with a Pau ferro board. |
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Schneidas |
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Posts: 295 Sun, Jul 20, 2008 09:48:55 Bronze Member |
I was reading through the board yesterday and found a couple of threads on all Pau Ferro necks from way back:
http://guitarsbyfender.yuku.com/topic/6821 http://guitarsbyfender.yuku.com/topic/6558 Notice how Tommy says that it'll be REALLY bright, moreso than Maple. Now that made me really think about the new neck I was planning. I might have found a source for a Pau Ferro neck blank, but now I'm not so sure I wanna continue with the all-Pau Ferro idea, if it's indeed brighter than Maple. Maybe a simple Maple/Pau Ferro neck would be the ideal here - but I was kinda hoping to get a neck that doesn't require a finish. |
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PeteMK1 |
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Posts: 2088 Sun, Jul 20, 2008 11:14:06 Contributing Silver Member |
Padouk is sometimes used for finish-free necks, AFAIK. I'm not sure about the tonal characteristics though. It would also be good to know where it comes
from (rain forests?).
You can say you to
me.
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nocaster |
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Posts: 18787 Sun, Jul 20, 2008 13:03:34 The Big FIBer |
We're not talking ebony bright! Pf is generally at the bright end of the maple spectrum, but a given piece of pf could be less bright than another given
piece of maple. I would not recommend pf if it were in the ebony spectrum. HTH.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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Schneidas |
#17 | |||
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Posts: 297 Sun, Jul 20, 2008 14:50:17 Bronze Member |
Ok, I'm still thinking about it. The prob I have is that I generally like warmer sounds.
"At the bright end of the Maple spectrum" is a term that makes me slightly uncomfortable. I generally like 1-piece Maple necks on Alder, so if it's not brighter than that I could go this way. I'll have to research a bit further. Btw, Nocaster, may I ask how the Pau Ferro neck you have has worked out for you? On what body wood did you put that neck on? |
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Schneidas |
#18 | |||
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Posts: 299 Sun, Jul 20, 2008 22:11:18 Bronze Member |
Then again, the 25" scale has a little less snap/zing so maybe it'll take some of the edge of the all Pau Ferro.
And maybe I could take it down a notch more by going with a Rosewood board, right? This is tough... |
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nocaster |
#19 | |||
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Posts: 18790 Mon, Jul 21, 2008 11:38:21 The Big FIBer |
I am actually suggesting that you opt for the rosewood neck with pau ferro board. It has the merits that Tommy can supply/select the woods and that no finish
is required. I do not recommend the reverse, because there are benefits to pf as the fb wood, which would be lost if is were instead only the neck wood.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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nocaster |
#20 | |||
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Posts: 18791 Mon, Jul 21, 2008 11:43:40 The Big FIBer |
My own all-pf neck is probably not supportive of your selection...
Its spec is: Neck: 2-piece pau ferro (right-hand) Headstock: US-3 Headstock inlay: USA(CG) logo Truss rod/adjust: vintage single, *top* adjust Tuning key holes: for Kluson-style Nut width: 1.75" Scale: 25" Frets: 22 x Dunlop 6105 Radius: conical 7-1/4" to 10" Back profile/taper: E.B. (asymmetrical) Contour (0.850" to 0.920") Dots: clay Heel: Strat Mated to a semi-hollow, all-mahogany Strat body with Fat Tele rout.
i feel the weight of the world on my shoulder; as i'm gettin
older ya'll people gets colder
most of us only care about money-makin; selfishness got us followin the wrong direction wrong information always shown by the media; negative images is the main criteria infecting the [people's] minds faster than bacteria; [peeps] wanna act like what they see in the cinema |
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