1 piece Goncalo Alves versus Goncalo Alves with Rosewood

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I bought a new strat neck from warmoth with maple back and rosewood fingerboard but it just came out too bright for me. I had the same spec neck from warmoth for many years and loved thew tone as it was warm but not muddy and had lots of sustain.....but didnt like the back contour at all so got new one with thicker back (thus more maple).

I want to get a new neck now that can guarantee me warmth but I also don't want to lose that chimey, strat tone (with attack to it).  

I was originally thinking about Bocote, but Warmoth is out of it. What about a 1 piece Goncalo Alves neck or a Goncalo Alves back with Indian Rosewood fingerboard.

Would the 1 piece Goncalo Alves be warmer than a maple rosewood combination?

 

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P.S. How's the sustain with Goncalo Alves?

 

[dNA]

it should be warmer, but still have good sustain. in my personal experience, the Goncalo/Pau Ferro neck I used had better sustain than the 1-piece maple neck I'd had on before it.

if you want more warmth, I say get thicker strings, or try nickel-wound strings. are you in love with your pickups? if you like how the guitar feels and looks, switching necks might not be the logical thing to change right away. a lot of people would argue that chimey strat tone is all in the maple neck. but a lot of people would argue otherwise. there's more of a market (and therefore a wider range of options) for pickups than necks

disclaimer: your mileage may vary

 

[Nando Vallart]

No Indian Rosewood with Goncalo Alves... There is a big difference in density and they think it may move very different...

 

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Thanks. Who's they?

 

[-CB-]

Goncalo is a very nice sounding wood.  You can finish it or use it raw.  The choice of fretboard wood wont change the tone all that much.  Goncalo is very warm and middy.  On a thinline, it can get a bit muddy sounding with traditionally toned humbuckers (Gibson Burstbucker type).  With single coils, very nice on a thinline, and on a solid body...it warms things down from "ice pick in the ear" to "fat yet sparkly". 

I like it.  The one guitar I built was an ash Tele thinline, with P90 at the neck and HB at the bridge.  Goncalo was too warm there, and maple put the sparkle back in.  That same goncalo neck on a solid ash telecaster, with Gibson mini-humbucker at the neck and Fralin +10% telecaster bridge pickup at the bridge... quite honestly, outrageous.  On par with my ES-333 Gibson with the Phat-Cat pickups in it.  I call the combination "musical".  Hard to describe but... you just get this very wide range of tones that sound like tones from classic rock going way back.  Not a trace of mud, not a trace of icepick.... just "musical".  Think in terms of Buddy Holly, Dick Dale roy Orbison, the Byrds, Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Clapton, Harrison, Animals, Townsend, Skynyrd... you name it.. Amazing tones from the solid ash and goncalo, with that pickup combination.

 

[Steve_Karl]

That same goncalo neck <snip>

Fatback? ... and with what fretboard?

 

[-CB-]

fretboard  is goncalo