macrossgeorge
Newbie
- Messages
- 12
Hi there. I am a new member (just joined today) and this is my first post. However I have experience getting custom parts from Warmoth and have had three custom bodies and two custom necks over the past few years. Very happy with Warmoth parts and my warmoth partscasters are my favorite guitars.
My two main guitars are Warmoth Partscasters:
- 7/8 mahogany STRAT body, 2 P90s, wraparound bridge, angled neck pocket, rear route; Jaguar 24" scale neck, Roasted Maple shaft with Rosewood board, SS6150, fatback, 42mm nut.
- 7/8 black korina/limba TELE body, 2 humbuckers route (although I ended up with a bucker sized p90 in the neck), wraparound bridge, angled neck pocket; CBS Jaguar 24" scale neck, Roasted Maple shaft with Rosewood board, SS6150, boatneck, 41mm nut.
Although I do love both guitars I have found that I prefer the 42mm nut and the fatback so I am considering getting a new neck for the Tele with those specs. BUT... I am also thinking about maybe getting a different fretboard but would like to get something sonically close to what I have because the tone I have on that guitar is fantastic. If anything it is just a touch dark but I do not want to brighten it up too much.
For those who are not believers in tonewood, I am a believer and not just from my own experience but also from the wonderful videos that Warmoth has put out doing the body wood and neck wood shootouts, I can totally hear the differences and they matter to me. So that is where I am coming from. I know that some people disagree and say that there is very little tonal difference between different fretboards but on Aaron's neck video I can clearly hear the differences. Also I know that specimens are variable and that two different pieces of the same kind of wood can sound a lot difference. Luckily the shaftwood of roasted maple is rather consistent so the only variable would be the fretboard.
I might just play it safe and get another one with rosewood but am considering Bocote, Goncalo Alves, or Kingwood as alternatives. Keep in mind this is going on a roasted maple shafted neck on a black limba guitar and that particular piece of black limba has lots of glorious midrange and is slightly dark sounding.
So, finally, my question for those who have tried these (and yes I have read all the descriptions on the warmoth website already), how do these compare tonally to you, and can you offer more descriptions?
Rosewood - "Here we have the most popular fretboard wood! Indian Rosewood has the warm "rock-n-roll" tonality you've heard on many of the most famous rock albums in history. The warm tone is also a favorite amongst blues players."
Bocote - "Because of Bocote’s dense nature, you can expect great sustain and nice attack."
Goncalo Alves - "With an articulate, clean, warm tone, Goncalo gets rave reviews for its overall well balanced tone and great looks."
Kingwood - "Sonically you can expect great articulation, fast response and ample sustain."
I do generally like articulation, attack and sustain so Bocote or Kingwood is looking attractive to me. I am also curious about Wenge and Zircote but they might be too bright? Also with Wenge's supposed midrange it might be too much midrange with the korina body. Or perhaps it might not have that much of a difference since we are talking about fretboards. I know that it will be subtle but I am into the subtleties of tone.
What input would be helpful here? Do you think I should play it safe or try one of these? If so which one?
Thanks!
My two main guitars are Warmoth Partscasters:
- 7/8 mahogany STRAT body, 2 P90s, wraparound bridge, angled neck pocket, rear route; Jaguar 24" scale neck, Roasted Maple shaft with Rosewood board, SS6150, fatback, 42mm nut.
- 7/8 black korina/limba TELE body, 2 humbuckers route (although I ended up with a bucker sized p90 in the neck), wraparound bridge, angled neck pocket; CBS Jaguar 24" scale neck, Roasted Maple shaft with Rosewood board, SS6150, boatneck, 41mm nut.
Although I do love both guitars I have found that I prefer the 42mm nut and the fatback so I am considering getting a new neck for the Tele with those specs. BUT... I am also thinking about maybe getting a different fretboard but would like to get something sonically close to what I have because the tone I have on that guitar is fantastic. If anything it is just a touch dark but I do not want to brighten it up too much.
For those who are not believers in tonewood, I am a believer and not just from my own experience but also from the wonderful videos that Warmoth has put out doing the body wood and neck wood shootouts, I can totally hear the differences and they matter to me. So that is where I am coming from. I know that some people disagree and say that there is very little tonal difference between different fretboards but on Aaron's neck video I can clearly hear the differences. Also I know that specimens are variable and that two different pieces of the same kind of wood can sound a lot difference. Luckily the shaftwood of roasted maple is rather consistent so the only variable would be the fretboard.
I might just play it safe and get another one with rosewood but am considering Bocote, Goncalo Alves, or Kingwood as alternatives. Keep in mind this is going on a roasted maple shafted neck on a black limba guitar and that particular piece of black limba has lots of glorious midrange and is slightly dark sounding.
So, finally, my question for those who have tried these (and yes I have read all the descriptions on the warmoth website already), how do these compare tonally to you, and can you offer more descriptions?
Rosewood - "Here we have the most popular fretboard wood! Indian Rosewood has the warm "rock-n-roll" tonality you've heard on many of the most famous rock albums in history. The warm tone is also a favorite amongst blues players."
Bocote - "Because of Bocote’s dense nature, you can expect great sustain and nice attack."
Goncalo Alves - "With an articulate, clean, warm tone, Goncalo gets rave reviews for its overall well balanced tone and great looks."
Kingwood - "Sonically you can expect great articulation, fast response and ample sustain."
I do generally like articulation, attack and sustain so Bocote or Kingwood is looking attractive to me. I am also curious about Wenge and Zircote but they might be too bright? Also with Wenge's supposed midrange it might be too much midrange with the korina body. Or perhaps it might not have that much of a difference since we are talking about fretboards. I know that it will be subtle but I am into the subtleties of tone.
What input would be helpful here? Do you think I should play it safe or try one of these? If so which one?
Thanks!