I am "ruining" my raw wenge neck

[Tempest]

Good on you, some people on this forum gave me crap for not thinking raw was completely superior and that SS frets weren't a 1000000% improvement.  The wet look on that wenge looks sick!

 

[Danuda]

Good on you, some people on this forum gave me crap for not thinking raw was completely superior and that SS frets weren't a 1000000% improvement.  The wet look on that wenge looks sick!

Yeah, I went SS frets too and I honestly cannot tell the difference sound wise.  I am sure they wear better though as they are a harder material.  That is probably worth the cost in itself because of how expensive a refret would be.  Even doing it yourself.

 

[BlueTalon]

Good on you, some people on this forum gave me crap for not thinking raw was completely superior and that SS frets weren't a 1000000% improvement.  The wet look on that wenge looks sick!

Yeah, I went SS frets too and I honestly cannot tell the difference sound wise.  I am sure they wear better though as they are a harder material.  That is probably worth the cost in itself because of how expensive a refret would be.  Even doing it yourself.

Did anybody ever make the claim that you could hear the difference?  I thought it was supposed to be about how different it feels.  Regardless, I'm trying SS frets on my next build for the same reason as you, harder material means longer wear.  And I believe it will allow me to go with thinner frets and still get longer (or similar) longevity compared with thicker nickle frets. 


And then, once that bass is done, I will be able to tell for myself if there is any validity to any claims of differences in feel or sound.

 

[Cagey]

I've never heard a difference tonally, and I've played with a LOT of stainless frets on a lot of different woods.

There's definitely a positive difference in feel, and I've never seen any wear.

I do sometimes think I hear a bit more articulation with hammers/taps/pulls, but that could be my imagination.

All in all, I'd never use nickel-silver frets again if I've got a choice.

 

[Cederick]

I have finally decided enough is enough.  After having my new telecaster with a raw Wenge neck for almost a year I just don't like it.  I have found myself no longer playing the guitar and always grabbing my old one.  I just like the stick you get from a finished neck.  So I am finishing the Wenge.

I am not going to do grain filler.  I want to keep some of the character of the Wenge and a part of that is its open grain look.  So far I have just finished putting on the sanding sealer, but already I have to say it looks amazing.  The 'wet' look you get really deepens the color of the wood and makes it look nice.

The one thing I did do is mask off the face of the headstock.  So from the front you will still see that raw look which I really thought matched the guitar well.  I will take some pictures and post progress as I go along.  I am sure there has to be at least one other person who doesn't like the raw feel...maybe  :toothy11:

Haha you're not the only one. I don't like a sticky and disgusting neck with lots of sweat and shit on, but I don't like the very smooth "fast" necks either.

 

[DangerousR6]

I have finally decided enough is enough.  After having my new telecaster with a raw Wenge neck for almost a year I just don't like it.  I have found myself no longer playing the guitar and always grabbing my old one.  I just like the stick you get from a finished neck.  So I am finishing the Wenge.

I am not going to do grain filler.  I want to keep some of the character of the Wenge and a part of that is its open grain look.  So far I have just finished putting on the sanding sealer, but already I have to say it looks amazing.  The 'wet' look you get really deepens the color of the wood and makes it look nice.

The one thing I did do is mask off the face of the headstock.  So from the front you will still see that raw look which I really thought matched the guitar well.  I will take some pictures and post progress as I go along.  I am sure there has to be at least one other person who doesn't like the raw feel...maybe  :toothy11:

Haha you're not the only one. I don't like a sticky and disgusting neck with lots of sweat and shite on, but I don't like the very smooth "fast" necks either.

:icon_scratch:, then what else is there?

 

[Cagey]

Air guitar?

 

[DangerousR6]

Air guitar?

:laughing11:

 

[Danuda]

This board doesn't talk about the sound difference so much, but there are other resources that talk about tone differences.  Gold frets, nickel ect.

 

[Cagey]

I've seen many of the comments made on other boards, and most of them can be easily discounted. For instance, many have played Parker Fly guitars and gotten their SS fret experience from there. But, those are wildly different guitars constructed of unusual materials. Yes, they have stainless frets, but they also have carbon fiber necks and a hybrid piezo/magnetic pickup system. It's no surprise they sound different, and it has nothing to do with the stainless frets. Most of the other examples have equally broad disparities from standard guitars, or are compared after other changes have been made to an instrument so that any change in tone can't be easily attributed to any one factor. "I put stainless frets on a neck when I changed my bridge and pickups and rewired the controls, and now it sounds like garbage. I'll never use stainless frets again!"

I did a lotta research before I got my first set, because it seemed to me they had to make a difference, too. But, I kept finding the above situations, while those who should know better like individual and corporate builders/luthiers/manufacturers said they didn't affect tone. So, I went with the knowledgeable reports instead of the blithering idiots, took a chance, and wasn't disappointed. They don't change the tone, and they play/wear a lot better. If I was a manufacturer, I wouldn't even offer nickel/silver frets. Let WalMart and Best Buy handle that trade.

 

[BlueTalon]

Is it harder to gloss finish exotic woods?  Just curious.  I personally wouldn't do it.  I don't like gloss necks for the same reason I don't like leather couches during the summer.  But I still want to see what it looks like finished, so please go for it!  :icon_thumright:

You know what pen turning is?  People turning wood blanks about 5" x 3/4" x 3/4" to make pens.  It's apparently a hobby that has gotten a lot of traction.  Why is this relevant?  Because those wood blanks come in ALL kinds of wood now. 

My husband does that.  He just uses a tiny bit of oil on exotic stuff though, he hates high gloss finishes.  Purpleheart is probably the only one you've mentioned that I have ever seen in high gloss, and yeah I agree, it doesn't do that much for that particular wood. 

Is it harder to gloss finish exotic woods?  Just curious.  I personally wouldn't do it.  I don't like gloss necks for the same reason I don't like leather couches during the summer.  But I still want to see what it looks like finished, so please go for it!  :icon_thumright:

This is them.


Seven different woods:

Two side-by-side comparisons: