Koa fretboard and neck back?

[achartra]

so ive been thinking about getting a guitar off warmoth for a while now and was thinking about the neck and since koa is one of my favorite woods i thought, wouldn't it be cool to have a koa fretboard :laughing7:. so anyway is this a bad idea.

thanks for your opinions.

 

[line6man]

Call Warmoth and ask if they can do a Koa fretboard.

 

[achartra]

i was actually thinking of doing this myself, this just seemed like a good place to ask.

 

[OzziePete]

Is Koa good for a fretboard? You don't see too many Mahognay fretboards and so often, Koa is an upgrade in neck wood for Mahogany. Might be safer to go for a rosewood or ebony fretboard?

 

[AGWAN]

Is Koa good for a fretboard? You don't see too many Mahognay fretboards and so often, Koa is an upgrade in neck wood for Mahogany. Might be safer to go for a rosewood or ebony fretboard?

where is your sense of adventure? my friend?

Somebody had to cook the first lobster.

 

[kboman]

Somebody had to cook the first lobster.

I would like to shake that person's hand.

I think a koa fretboard would be too soft, probably even if it's been finished.

 

[Cagey]

so ive been thinking about getting a guitar off warmoth for a while now and was thinking about the neck and since koa is one of my favorite woods i thought, wouldn't it be cool to have a koa fretboard :laughing7:. so anyway is this a bad idea.

thanks for your opinions.

Since Koa needs a finish, I don't think it makes a good fretboard. Finishes and fretboards go together like plastic covers on good furniture - makes things unattractive and uncomfortable, plus they wear funny. But, if you want something that looks similar and is hard/dense enough for fretboards, you could put Pau Ferro over Koa. Ziricote or Kingwood would also look good, and any of those would sound at least as good as Ebony. Plus, you wouldn't have the ubiquitous look of of Rosewood that even the cheapest dimestore guitars on the planet have.

 

[OzziePete]

Is Koa good for a fretboard? You don't see too many Mahognay fretboards and so often, Koa is an upgrade in neck wood for Mahogany. Might be safer to go for a rosewood or ebony fretboard?

where is your sense of adventure? my friend?

Somebody had to cook the first lobster.

Yeah, I get your point, but for the price of a Koa board and neck, I am not going to experiment..... Koa neck & Rosewood or Ebony board is a more prudent way to spend $500 or so.

 

[AGWAN]

^yeah, I honestly don't think I'll ever buy a custom neck that doesn't have an Ebonyfretboard.

 

[Cagey]

^yeah, I honestly don't think I'll ever buy a custom neck that doesn't have an Ebonyfretboard.

I'm there, too. I have necks of pau ferro, koa, maple, and mahogany, but they always get ebony 'boards on them. It's just the stuff to use. It wears well, looks good, feels good, and matches anything. Can't go wrong.