I'm a little afraid to go with rosewood...what else is there?

[exalted]

I'm building a mahogany Jazzmaster with 3 P-90's.

I want an unfinished neck, but I'm thinking that rosewood might make the guitar too muddy. Though frankly, I haven't played enough different guitars to really have an opinion on what is too muddy (I play left-handed, so getting out there and playing more guitars isn't too much of an option). But based on what I've read, I think I might be better off getting something brighter.

What other neck woods might be a good choice? I'm hoping to keep the neck around 300 before options, so nothing too crazy.

 

[tfcreative]

Goncalo. The world's most underrated neck wood. I got one for my 5-string bass because of a few testimonials here, and I've never looked back. The pores are so tight that it feels incredibly smooth, and the tone cuts like a knife. I don't know of anyone with a Goncalo neck that doesn't rave about it; granted, I only know of a few, but that's why it's underrated.

 

[blue313]

Pretty much anything other than Maple, Mahogany, Koa, and Korina doesn't need a finish.  Pau Ferro is pretty popular around here, but I haven't heard anyone say that rosewood is muddy.  I'm liking my Canary at the moment.

 

[exalted]

Maybe I haven't read that it's muddy...just not as articulate as maple.

I'm trying to get as much bang for my buck out of this guitar, since it'll be my only guitar for who knows how long. I'm afraid to get something that potentially limits my tonal options.

Did either of you get a different fretboard, or did you go with goncalo/canary?

 

[guitlouie]

I have a Goncalo/Pau Ferro neck on my thinline Tele, and it is incredible.  The feel is unbelievable.  My friends who play it all want to ditch their glossy necks.  The guitar is articulate and clear.  No mudiness here.  Although, from what I have heard around here, Canary is another fine neck wood that does not need a finish, and is very close to maple in sonic qualities.  I have not heard  of anyone dissapointed with Canary as a choice.

 

[blue313]

Mine is Canary/Canary and it's pretty close to maple with just a little less snap but with a decent low end.  Although its paired up with Nocaster pickups at the moment (and pulls off classic Tele tone), I think it would perform well if it were mounted over certain humbucker combos.

Good choice on going unfinished!  :icon_thumright:

 

[Nando Vallart]

Rosewood won't be muddy unless you put some really dark pickups and scoop the amplifier... My opnion...

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I'm a little afraid to go with rosewood...what else is there?

That's pretty much it.

 

[Kostas]

I have a Goncalo/Pau Ferro neck on my thinline Tele, and it is incredible.  The feel is unbelievable. 

Me too!

Rosewood won't be muddy unless you put some really dark pickups and scoop the amplifier... My opnion...

I agree, I have a rosewood neck on my strat and sounds like a strat. It's not muddy unless the tone knob is on zero...

 

[Orpheo]

rosewood wont make it muddy. it wont make it bright too. It will give it a nice mellow sound which can be very firey when played fiercely, but also very mellow when you play mellow. its a really, REALLY nice wood. in combination with a full mahogany body, its a GREAT sound. Me LIKKEEE *drool*

 

[stubhead]

I have a padouk neck on Spermy the Imprecision Bass and it sounds like maple, as far as I can tell. It turned brown until I didn't want it any browner so I rubbed it with some Howard's Feed-n-Wax and it stopped. Turning browner, that is. Warmoth says padouk sounds like maple, too... it's got slight open grains but smaller and lesser than rosewood.

It's browner now.

 

[dbw]

I agree with Orpheo!  Rosewood still gives you plenty of snap when you dig in, it's just got those big round warm lows rather than the ice-pick maple sound.

 

[Tempest]

I'd get goncalo.  Course its the only unfinished neck I've ever felt and I don't even have it on a guitar yet so my opinion may not matter tone-wise, but man it feels amazing! Smoothest neck I've ever felt.  (Oh, and I'll get pics of it soon for those who wish to see it)

 

[exalted]

rosewood wont make it muddy. it wont make it bright too. It will give it a nice mellow sound which can be very firey when played fiercely, but also very mellow when you play mellow. its a really, REALLY nice wood. in combination with a full mahogany body, its a GREAT sound. Me LIKKEEE *drool*

I play a lot of melancholy, slow stuff, so maybe rosewood would be a good choice after all.

 

[Superlizard]

...rather than the ice-pick maple sound.

A maple neck definitely gives brightness and snap, but the ice-pick part comes from sh!tty pickups and prolly some to do with a sh!tty bridge as well.

For example, my Callaham H/SRV bridge single coil in my *maple-necked* Strat (yes, the notorious Strat bridge single coil pickup) is clear, articulate and has a bell-like top end on a clean amp setting, and with distortion it's all about mids and chime... ain't no ice-pickin' goin' on!

addendum:  in fact, I dig my Warmoth vintage modern maple neck so much, that I'm getting another one for my Parts-O-Caster.

 

[tfcreative]

My Goncalo neck is paired with a wenge board, but it's on a bass. If it were guitar, I would probably have gotten ebony.

 

[Vol. Knob]

Goncalo. The world's most underrated neck wood. I don't know of anyone with a Goncalo neck that doesn't rave about it; granted, I only know of a few, but that's why it's underrated.

Gongalo Alves rave...
I have a Goncalo Alves neck with a Marblewood fingerboard (not Warmoth) on my Mahogany Thinline (MIJ Fender '69 thinline RI with the poly peeled off and wiped down with Tung oil). Its a killer neck.  It replaced a maple neck.  Sounds bigger, deeper, great mids, no loss of the highs, they just sound less bright.  Not muddy.  And it feels amazing.

I have another Gongcalo Alves neck, this one with an Indian Rosewood fingerboard(not Warmoth), that's going on my Warmoth Double F Hole Thinline, Mahogany Body/Bubinga Top, with P-90s.  I'll report once its done. 

 

[tfarny]

Here we go again...if you like rosewood (looks and feel), go with it. It will not make your guitar too muddy. If you get a pickup which is muddy (with your amp) your guitar will sound muddy, if not then it won't. Otoh, I'm sure Goncalo, padouk, canary, etc. will not make your guitar muddy either. I have this one (RW neck and P90): http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=1865.0, and it was much too midrangey and one dimensional with a Rio Grande jazzbar, when I put in a Lollar it became perfect.
And I've never heard a P90 guitar, with any wood, that I would describe as 'snappy' - to me that adjective is mostly for tele bridge pickups, and is a kind of percussive quality in the treble range.
I would love someone to give a reality-based explanation of how one wood 'gives' 'snap' and another wood doesn't.

 

[exalted]

That's definitely a nice-looking guitar!

I did go ahead and order the rosewood neck (with the impending price increase, it'd be tough to justify in the future). If I don't think it's right for my p-90 build I'll put it on something else and order goncalo or canary or something.

Actually I found a left-handed Warmoth Jazzmaster body on ebay for VERY cheap. It's routed for two humbuckers, which I currently have a set of lying around (DiMarzio Satriani PAF and Super Distortion 2). I'm thinking about picking that up and trying out the rosewood on both JM's once I get my p-90 set up (which I can actually put off for a few months if I get the ebay Jazzmaster).

 

[Mor Paul]

I would love someone to give a reality-based explanation of how one wood 'gives' 'snap' and another wood doesn't.

It's all in the body shape and the twisting of the fibers. Headstock shape also has an effect, but I'd put it at only 20% of the tone. Position of Mars and Venus has 15%, body shape 50%. The last 15% is the material of the tone knob.