Indecision on future neck order.....need help please.....

[akmusicfreak]

I should be receiving my fretless bubinga/bubinga neck shortly which I have decided now to put on my mahogany dinky P w/ jazz pickup set. Tomorrow I'll be receieving my other warmoth body a mahogany dink J with PJ set. I want to put a fretted neck on this one, but keep to a unfinished neck I still haven't ordered a neck to put on it yet, and I'm stuck going back and forth between Bubinga, Padauk, or GA.

So I have 3 questions:
Should I go with something different than bubinga just to spice up my bass variety, or make the bass match the fretless more?
Are there any better benefits tonally for using pudauk, or GA over bubinga for use with a fretted neck?
Are any of these 3 woods more slick feeling on the back of the neck, and better suited for a SS fretted bass?

Any info would greatly be appreciated, and warmly welcomed.
Thanks

 

[Nando Vallart]

Gonçalo Alvez, it's the fattest one

About the fretted vs fretless, I can't help...

 

[tubby.twins]

Bubinga is probably going to be the slickest feeling wood of those three, as well as the stiffest. You should really make this decision after you receive the fretless bubinga neck, and see if it feels and plays well in your hands.

 

[akmusicfreak]

GA sounds like fun, but tubby.twins has a good point. I should wait for my neck to show up in a week or two. So I'll be patient and wait to see how much I like the Bubinga. If I've fallen in love with it, I'll use it again. Almost bought a Bubinga  neck last night after having one too many beers with the guys at the bar. Lucky enough TT's post was up,and made me think twice about what I was doing.


Saw a Wenge/Ebony I thought might look real hot with the Mahogany body. I seem to be getting more indecisive as the days go by.

 

[tubby.twins]

Indecision is the best part of this hobby!   :laughing7:  Seriously though, there are a lot of fine woods out there.

Don't know if you saw this yet, but I've got an all-Bubinga fretless neck as well.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=10220.0

Actually it's not quite all Bubinga on account of the Bloodwood laminate stripes, Ebony inlays, etc... but you get the idea.  It's so nice to play.  Bubinga/Bloodwood is a nice combination too.

 

[akmusicfreak]

Indecision is the best part of this hobby!   :laughing7:  Seriously though, there are a lot of fine woods out there.

Don't know if you saw this yet, but I've got an all-Bubinga fretless neck as well.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=10220.0

Actually it's not quite all Bubinga on account of the Bloodwood laminate stripes, Ebony inlays, etc... but you get the idea.  It's so nice to play.  Bubinga/Bloodwood is a nice combination too.

TT, that Bubinga/Bubinga looks super sweet. Did you do any finishing on that Bubinga or is that the all natural sheen of the wood?
I hope my neck shows up in that color, more brown less red. What do you use to treat your neck to keep it from drying out? I use this stuff called "Guitar Honey" for my rosewood and ebony fingerboards. Do you think this same product would work well on my Bubinga FB and neck wood?

 

[akmusicfreak]

Looks like the color of my mahogany is going to be a bit redder in hue than my previously natural finish mahogany body. So do to body color, and budget reasons, I have just put in the order for a showcase Padouk/Rosewood J Bass neck with SS6105 frets.

 

[tubby.twins]

Did you do any finishing on that Bubinga or is that the all natural sheen of the wood?
I hope my neck shows up in that color, more brown less red. What do you use to treat your neck to keep it from drying out? I use this stuff called "Guitar Honey" for my rosewood and ebony fingerboards. Do you think this same product would work well on my Bubinga FB and neck wood?

That's pretty much the natural color.  Bubinga varies slightly from one piece to another, but that's generally what most pieces should look like.

I did rub in a tiny amount of pure lemon oil (as I usually do with my raw necks) to bring out the sheen and make it a bit smoother.  I haven't tried Guitar Honey yet so I can't comment on it.

By the way, your new Padouk neck looks sweet!

 

[AndyG]

I have never played a bubinga neck, so I cannot comment there, however ...........

My personal favorite wood for bass necks is wenge.  Not only does it feel wonderful to play, it adds a great midrange "bark" to your bass tone, if you're into that sort of sound.

And although I have never used it on a bass, I got a Warmoth Golcano Alves neck with an ebony fingerboard for my guitar.  It has a really slick feel to it, and is great to play raw.

 

[Soylent]

my tele neck is bubinga, and it's very stiff, and very slick.  :icon_thumright:

 

[tubby.twins]

My personal favorite wood for bass necks is wenge.  Not only does it feel wonderful to play, it adds a great midrange "bark" to your bass tone, if you're into that sort of sound.

Agreed, Wenge is a very nice wood, and it looks good when paired with many of the other woods, like Mahogany.

This isn't getting any easier, is it?  :laughing7:

 

[akmusicfreak]

Thanks TT, and everybody. I'm looking forward to a padouk neck in the near future. I should see it shortly after my Bub/Bub fretless neck shows up.
One thing I'm digging is when I have all my pieces and parts I'll be able to experiment on which neck sounds and, or looks better with what body/pickup style.

So just for grins and giggles.
Which neck would you put on what body?

Necks are:                                                            
Bubinga / Bubinga Fretless
Padouk/Rosewood Fretted

Bodies are:
Mahogany Dinky J body with P+J(reposition)
Mahogany Dinky P body with Jazz set

My indecision  is increasing daily.

Here are pics of the bodies, one is finished other is work in progress.

 

[tubby.twins]

So just for grins and giggles.
Which neck would you put on what body?

It's hard to say unless I can see what the Bubinga neck looks like.

If looks are the primary concern, then I probably would put the Padouk neck on the Dinky P body.  You mentioned that the Dinky J body is turning more reddish with the finish that you applying on it.  Well, not all shades of red would look nice together.  Using the Padouk neck on a more clear-colored Mahogany body may be a more pleasing contrast than red-on-reddish.

 

[akmusicfreak]

It's hard to say unless I can see what the Bubinga neck looks like.

If looks are the primary concern, then I probably would put the Padouk neck on the Dinky P body.  You mentioned that the Dinky J body is turning more reddish with the finish that you applying on it.  Well, not all shades of red would look nice together.  Using the Padouk neck on a more clear-colored Mahogany body may be a more pleasing contrast than red-on-reddish.

Just found out my Bubinga neck is going to be shipped soon, so I'll be able to post pics soon. Looks are not as important as tone to me. Do you think P+J or Jazz set would be better for a fretless neck? What pickup set would be better suited for fretless?

'

 

[SlingBass]

IMO & IME going with a body wood that contrasts the neck wood is more desirable - aesthetics aside.  *I* will take an ugly mismatched bass that sounds great over a gorgeous bass that sounds much less so.  I've had bubinga/bubinga, bubinga/ebony, bloodwood/bloodwood necks and found they work well against alder bodies.  Your tastes are different, but other bassists experiences may lend themselves more to your projects than that of a guitarist.  At the risk of offending them (and NO offense is intended) - their sonic needs and demands may vary.  Plus passive or active bass pups are simply different than guitar pups.  Canary, wenge, bloodwood, rosewood, padauk, goncalo alves, and bubinga are all wonderful exotics.  Bubinga is heavy.  No hurry - take your time.  Query other bassists, study wood weights, their hardness, textures, and sound characteristics more.  Talk to the staff at Warmoth - Eric is a fellow bassist, and quite knowledgeable.  Try your neck on both bodies.  Enjoy your bubinga neck (I know you will)   :glasses10:

 

[baskruit]

It's hard to say unless I can see what the Bubinga neck looks like.

If looks are the primary concern, then I probably would put the Padouk neck on the Dinky P body.  You mentioned that the Dinky J body is turning more reddish with the finish that you applying on it.  Well, not all shades of red would look nice together.  Using the Padouk neck on a more clear-colored Mahogany body may be a more pleasing contrast than red-on-reddish.

Just found out my Bubinga neck is going to be shipped soon, so I'll be able to post pics soon. Looks are not as important as tone to me. Do you think P+J or Jazz set would be better for a fretless neck? What pickup set would be better suited for fretless?

'

Has it arrived yet? What do you think of it?

I'm about to order a bass neck myself but... too many options to choose from.
From what I've read a bubinga/bubinga neck sounds tempting but wenge plus a not too bright sounding fretboard would probably be nice too..