Mahogany / Satin or Raw Rosewood - what to do??

[elgravos]

Just about ready to pull the trigger on my telepaul project.

The purist side of me is telling me to get an all mahogany guitar, and therefore a finished neck.  The advantage with that is that it will be faithfull to the les paul spec - albeit in carved top tele format - and the clear finish on the back of the body and the neck will give it a nice uniform look.

On the other hand, I'm thinking this may be the occasion to sneak in a raw neck - in the form of rosewood - as I've been considering this option for quite some time.  Ideally I would want wenge but I really think the LP sound profile is not there, and I'm trying to be faithful. 

I've seen from the Warmoth neck woods tone chart that Mahogany and Indian Rosewood are pretty much the same from a tone standpoint - both are equally "warm" on the warmoth scale.

Therefore, I'm reaching out to those in the know here who have had the opportunity to compare the two.  If I go the rosewood route, will I still have a somewhat formulaic LP "all mahogny" sound or will it deviate from that baseline (and yes, I am getting a conversion neck with dual PAFs / TOM and have a gibby LP so I am familiar with the reference sound I am after) or is it close enough that your average player couldn't really spot the difference.  Oh, and I think I'm going to put an ebony fretboard on it to go the LP custom route.  I figure that won't make a huge difference anyway.  In any case, I'm just looking to confirm that the rosewood option will still be in the LP ballpark rather than take me somewhere entirely different.

Last thing, what's the forum's take on finish?  Blue dye or fireburst.  I know the blue dye is somewhat overdone with the PRS thing but it does look good...  Flame maple top.

Thanks for the input,
Cheers.

 

[JaySwear]

i definitely know where you're coming from when trying to stay true to a building style (like all mahogany neck back and body) but this is what building custom is all about! a custom shop les paul with a raw rosewood neck? yes please! thats how i look at it. so long as the prices are close and not an issue i say rosewood all the way.

 

[whyachi]

Fireburst flame maple with a rosewood neck would be the bee's knees.

:guitarplayer2:

 

[Nando Vallart]

Indian Rosewood...

 

[whyachi]

I think you'll have a rough time finding anyone on this forum that will say, "No, don't get a raw exotic neck. Get something finished."

 

[elgravos]

you're probably right... maybe the answer is to go with the rosewood and get some crazy luthier somewhere to put a finish on it just to annoy everyone (myself included in that case) :icon_scratch:.

 

[blue313]

you're probably right... maybe the answer is to go with the rosewood and get some crazy luthier somewhere to put a finish on it just to annoy everyone (myself included in that case) :icon_scratch:.

Flat black, and make sure to put it on thick.  :laughing7:

 

[whyachi]

you're probably right... maybe the answer is to go with the rosewood and get some crazy luthier somewhere to put a finish on it just to annoy everyone (myself included in that case) :icon_scratch:.

Flat black, and make sure to put it on thick.  :laughing7:

With a three-inch brush, so you can do it in 15 seconds.

 

[Mor Paul]

you're probably right... maybe the answer is to go with the rosewood and get some crazy luthier somewhere to put a finish on it just to annoy everyone (myself included in that case) :icon_scratch:.

Flat black, and make sure to put it on thick.  :laughing7:

With a three-inch brush, so you can do it in 15 seconds.

That's to be done with Koa necks, silly

 

[whyachi]

you're probably right... maybe the answer is to go with the rosewood and get some crazy luthier somewhere to put a finish on it just to annoy everyone (myself included in that case) :icon_scratch:.

Flat black, and make sure to put it on thick.  :laughing7:

With a three-inch brush, so you can do it in 15 seconds.

That's to be done with Koa necks, silly

Didn't someone post something in black koa recently? I remember dying a bit when I saw that.

 

[elgravos]

There's nothing a thick coat of black poly can't fix, especially flamed koa!

 

[Mor Paul]

I'm just poking fun at the victim/culprit. It's okay, man.

 

[tfarny]

Rosewood neck on a carved tele with Gibson features? AAaaagh!!! Get -    out -    of  --    my mind!!!!!!    :icon_tongue:

 

[elgravos]

I'm thinking that's all the rage at the moment since the carved top showed up...

 

[willievega]

Once you've had raw, you'll never go back.

 

[Jet-Jaguar]

I really, really like my raw rosewood neck.

 

[Maltozombie]

I really, really like my raw rosewood neck.

+1 i don't think you'll find anyone with a raw rosewood neck that will disagree,  ccasion14:
feels like silk and sounds like thunder and lightning

 

[Schlieren]

Everyone here loves their raw wood necks, and I'm here to tell you that a Satin finish on a mahogany neck feels freaking fantastic as well.  Better than any finished neck to which I've ever set my hand.  You wouldn't regret either decision, so if it were me I'd focus more on the aesthetics and the tone I'd prefer.  You'll be pleased with the outcome of either decision once it's been made, 100% guaranteed.

 

[m4rk0]

I may have mentioned it here once or twice, but I love my raw necks! it is hard to say at this point what my preference is, I especially love my rosewood/ebony and wenge/ebony necks! tonewise, I once had a bloodwood/ebony neck that sounded insane, with even more insane sustain!