Gloss or Satin Maple Neck? Playability, comfort?

[vscaletta]

Looking to purchase a Warmoth Maple Strat Neck. I love the look of vintage tint gloss. But does it feel "sticky"? Also, is there gloss on the fretboard (maple) ? Does that hinder playing or muffle tone and resonance at all?

Thanks!

 

[dmraco]

A good deal of this is personal preference.  I have a gloss neck and find it super slick.  I also enjoy my satin and raw necks. 

If you perspire a great deal while playing, this will also change things.

I would say go play any stock guitar with a gloss neck and this is what your Warmoth gloss will feel like.  The PRS gloss has a similar feel to Warmoth imho.

Also...if you order a maple fretboard, it will have gloss.  It will not change the tone.

 

[ghotiphry]

Personally, I don't care for gloss finished necks.  I find that my hand doesn't slide very well.  I do have a Warmoth finished satin nitro maple neck.  That feel fantastic to me.

If you order a maple neck with a maple fretboard, the fretboard does get a finish coat.  And as DMRACO says, it doesn't change tone quality.

 

[aarontunes]

I'm not too picky....I can adapt to either. Force me to choose? Satin.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Same here.

 

[TBurst Std]

Keep some baby powder on hand and
it doesn’t matter as much.  Yes I keep some in my gig box.

 

[Cagey]

Another thing you might consider is rather than get a vintage tinted Maple finished neck, get a raw roasted Maple neck...

Doesn't need a finish at all. Burnish it, and you'll have one of the finest feeling necks you ever wrapped your paw around.

Plus it saves you a few bucks.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I personally like the feel of gloss, don't find it sticky at all, and I really like the appearance of Warmoth's Vintage Tint.

 

[Cagey]

I don't have the problem with gloss that some do, either. In fact, I deliberately glossed the neck on my blue ice Tele...

But, nothing feels as good as a burnished raw neck.

 

[Cederick]

It's down to personal preference.

I have no problem with gloss necks.

 

[Hendrix]

gloss  feel same "sticky" if you found it is  "sticky" on all other gloss neck.

I go both kind of finish , both and RAW OK for me.

Satin finish less  "sticky" with sweat hand. but it more thinner than gloss , a bit easy to get scratch mark .

 

[Zhaezzy]

  I like raw necks you can get roasted maple or Padouk which is tonally similar. Raw necks is the reason I prefer partscasters. I have two guitars with Padouk necks the play great and sound good and one is 20 years old this year.

 

[davegardner0]

For me, a glossy back of the neck (like a Gibson neck with a RW fretboard) is okay. It's when the fretboard itself is gloss finished, like an old Fender maple neck, that can be a problem. I find that my fingertips "stick" to the fretboard a little bit when bending strings, and that extra drag gets annoying. It's worse the smaller/shorter the frets are.

+1 for the burnished roasted maple by the way. Can't say enough how nice they are!! And cheaper than regular maple with a tinted finish too!!

 

[Kostas]

I'm not too picky....I can adapt to either. Force me to choose? Satin.

Same here, I have unfinished, gloss and satin and I like 'em all. I prefer the satin just a little more from the unfinished.

 

[musicispeace]

Personal preference. A trip to a brick and mortar store with some examples of each may be of help. I personally find gloss finished necks to feel slower and somewhat sticky to me. I have satin finish maple on two guitars, which I find to be very smooth. I also have two raw, unfinished necks (one roasted maple and one bubinga) and love them both for their smoothness. Cagey did the bubinga one for me (burnishing and fretting) and it is like glass.

 

[exaN]

For me it's glossy for looks and a quick sand of the back for playability, but I'm used to glossy necks fine too.

 

[mullyman]

My personal opinion, it doesn't matter if you get the satin finish or not. If you play your guitar enough that satin turns to a very high gloss and loses all of it's satin....ness. My neck *was* a satin finish, as you can see by the headstock. You'd never guess it looking at the neck though. Oh, and it doesn't take very long for this to happen either.
MULLY