Bubinga vs Wenge bass neck

[baskruit]

So I've been around this bbs for like 6 months now, 200+ posts and counting and I still haven't ordered my first Warmoth part. It's going to be a jazz bass neck with 20 frets but I just can't decide on the details. Too many woods to choose from....
Yesterday I ordered a set of hipshot ultralites so now I only need a proper neck. I'm allowing myself one Warmoth neck this year and I want it to be just right.

For the neck wood I've narrowed it down to either bubinga or wenge because soundwise I want something that's clearly different from maple and the emphasized mid range these woods apparently have is quite appealing. I'm imagining that they're leaning toward that typical Warwick-like sound.

But how do bubinga and Wenge compare? Do they sound distinctly different from eachother or is it a toss up?

 

[tubby.twins]

They seem to sound pretty much the same.  Both are very stiff woods, but bubinga is probably stiffer.  Both should have a good tone with a crisp, clean fundamental and a well-defined but not overpowering midrange.

The big difference to me is the feel and appearance.  Bubinga feels smoother and has a tighter grain, while Wenge still has the fairly coarse open grain.  If you like your necks to be slippery and fast, then Bubinga should work best for you.  Plus the Bubinga is just so "shimmery" in most cases, and looks really nice.  However, the downside is that Bubinga appears to be heavier than Wenge.  Neck dive could be a concern.

I have two Gecko necks made of Bubinga, and they sound and feel great.  I don't think you'll notice a Warwick-like sound unless you also choose a comparably stiff and dense wood for the body.  With a lighter or more resonant wood for the body (e.g. Alder, Ash or even Mahogany) a Bubinga neck will really sing.

 

[whyachi]

The MECs Warwick uses are fairly important in the growl also. Sets come up on eBay from time to time, so I'd avoid spending $700 to get them from Warwick themselves. Someone sniped a J/TJ set out from under me a month ago and got both for about $65.

I've played both necks, I think they work best when paired together. I like the feel of bubinga necks and everything tubby said is correct, but those wenge boards Warwick uses are fantastic. Granted, their necks are ovangkol, but that's not an option with Warmoth so bubinga will be closest.

Or flip it, a wenge neck with a bubinga board would look amazing.

 

[baskruit]

The MECs Warwick uses are fairly important in the growl also. Sets come up on eBay from time to time, so I'd avoid spending $700 to get them from Warwick themselves. Someone sniped a J/TJ set out from under me a month ago and got both for about $65.

I've played both necks, I think they work best when paired together. I like the feel of bubinga necks and everything tubby said is correct, but those wenge boards Warwick uses are fantastic. Granted, their necks are ovangkol, but that's not an option with Warmoth so bubinga will be closest.

Or flip it, a wenge neck with a bubinga board would look amazing.

I've played Warwicks with wenge necks in the past in music stores so I know how that feels. Very substantial and stiff. Very nice.
Personally I'm not sure yet if I like the looks of a wenge/bubinga neck but on the other hand I like the idea of getting two different woods, just because I can. So here I am, spending many hours on end deciding what to get... But both your posts do help so thanks for that.

MECs are way cheaper here since I'm in Europe (in fact just a <90 minutes drive from the German border) but I'm not necessarily going for an exact copy of the Warwick sound. For some basses they use SD pickups by the way.
For my bass the electronics are pretty much decided. I already own an Aguilar OBP-3 and a single Nordstrand NJ4 neck pickup. Most logical would be to add another Nordstrand jazz or humbucker pickup for the bridge position.

I'm actually planning on carving a jazz-body out of a slab of bubinga or afzelia (another a tonewood that Warwick seems to use) but that's a project that will keep me busy for several more months to come. So I'll be using the neck with my Squier body for a while which obviously has a softer wood.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Sounds to me you have to decide whether you like open or closed grain better.  That is a rough place to be...  I personally like Wenge the best as a wood for a neck.  I have a Pau Ferro neck and an Ebony neck, and for playing ease, the Wenge wins for me.  Personal thing I guess.  Good luck deciding.
Patrick

 

[whyachi]

The MECs Warwick uses are fairly important in the growl also. Sets come up on eBay from time to time, so I'd avoid spending $700 to get them from Warwick themselves. Someone sniped a J/TJ set out from under me a month ago and got both for about $65.

I've played both necks, I think they work best when paired together. I like the feel of bubinga necks and everything tubby said is correct, but those wenge boards Warwick uses are fantastic. Granted, their necks are ovangkol, but that's not an option with Warmoth so bubinga will be closest.

Or flip it, a wenge neck with a bubinga board would look amazing.

I've played Warwicks with wenge necks in the past in music stores so I know how that feels. Very substantial and stiff. Very nice.
Personally I'm not sure yet if I like the looks of a wenge/bubinga neck but on the other hand I like the idea of getting two different woods, just because I can. So here I am, spending many hours on end deciding what to get... But both your posts do help so thanks for that.

MECs are way cheaper here since I'm in Europe (in fact just a <90 minutes drive from the German border) but I'm not necessarily going for an exact copy of the Warwick sound. For some basses they use SD pickups by the way.
For my bass the electronics are pretty much decided. I already own an Aguilar OBP-3 and a single Nordstrand NJ4 neck pickup. Most logical would be to add another Nordstrand jazz or humbucker pickup for the bridge position.

I'm actually planning on carving a jazz-body out of a slab of bubinga or afzelia (another a tonewood that Warwick seems to use) but that's a project that will keep me busy for several more months to come. So I'll be using the neck with my Squier body for a while which obviously has a softer wood.

Warmoth will make you a bubinga J-bass body for $200 more than alder.

 

[baskruit]

Warmoth will make you a bubinga J-bass body for $200 more than alder.

Yeah, but what's the fun in that?

 

[baskruit]

Warmoth will make you a bubinga J-bass body for $200 more than alder.

Yeah, but what's the fun in that?

Let me explain: A bare piece of Bubinga will cost me roughly 1/10 of what it would cost to have Warmoth build and ship me a similar J-bass body.
While I don't claim in any way to be able to match W's craftmanship, it will be a cool project and I already have some minor custom details in mind.
Add a Warmoth neck to that and it could become a fine axe (I hope).

 

[dbw]

Warmoth will make you a bubinga J-bass body for $200 more than alder.

Yeah, but what's the fun in that?

Do we really need to answer that?   arty07:

 

[baskruit]

It's decided. It's going to be a wenge neck.
Why? Well, it would be kind of silly to have a Bubinga neck AND body.

Now I only have to decide on fretboard and fret markers. Input is welcome.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Awesome Bubinga there!!

Please make it Rear routed!!!!!!

 

[baskruit]

Awesome Bubinga there!!

Please make it Rear routed!!!!!!

Yeah, while I think that the pickguard and control plate are features that really define the jazz bass, I should go rear routed with this project.
Unless I screw up and need to cover it up.  :laughing7:

 

[Nando Vallart]

:laughing7:

 

[whyachi]

Awesome Bubinga there!!

Please make it Rear routed!!!!!!

Yeah, while I think that the pickguard and control plate are features that really define the jazz bass, I should go rear routed with this project.
Unless I screw up and need to cover it up.  :laughing7:

Maybe put a clear pickguard and a standard control plate on it, just sticking with the modern-traditional approach.

 

[baskruit]

Awesome Bubinga there!!

Please make it Rear routed!!!!!!

Yeah, while I think that the pickguard and control plate are features that really define the jazz bass, I should go rear routed with this project.
Unless I screw up and need to cover it up.  :laughing7:

Maybe put a clear pickguard and a standard control plate on it, just sticking with the modern-traditional approach.

Yes, that's definitely an option.
By the way, I started planing and sanding one of the corners a bit to get a feeling for the wood and it's amazing how smooth it already is to the touch.

 

[Nando Vallart]

My goodness, you guys going to put a silly plate on it... If put a plate, put together a pickguard... the plate alone looks weird...

 

[AutoBat]

i bet it'd look sweet if you rear routed it, but recessed the plate to be flush with the wood...

 

[Dan025]

i bet it'd look sweet if you rear routed it, but recessed the plate to be flush with the wood...

you wouldn't need to rear route it. but you could definately use the xtra room if you wanted weird controls. a tele runs the wires through a  hole, the pick guard is just that a pickguard. it can be removed and the pickup can be wood mounted. the pickguard does clean up the pickup mounting though, singles that are wood mounted can be quite ugly.

 

[baskruit]

you wouldn't need to rear route it. but you could definately use the xtra room if you wanted weird controls. a tele runs the wires through a  hole, the pick guard is just that a pickguard. it can be removed and the pickup can be wood mounted. the pickguard does clean up the pickup mounting though, singles that are wood mounted can be quite ugly.

With a jazz bass, the neck pickup is always wood mounted whether it's top or rear routed. The pickguard doesn't cover the pickup mountings or any routes at all.
I will definitely want some sort of rear route because currently I have active controls (2 concentric pots, one push-pull pot and the preamp) crammed in my current top routed jazz body and it always takes some effort and persuasion to screw the control plate in place. But I still have some time to decide what I'll do. First I need to determine the best grain pattern and cut the general shape. That will take me days if not weeks.

 

[Dan025]

ok now i dont know what the hell i was thinking about?  :tard:

late night semi conscious ranting i guess. and yet im still awake, damn this insomnia thing.