Maple vs Goncalo

[willievega]

Hi
    I've been using a Goncalo neck with a Goncalo board for a couple of years now.
With no finish.
Today I received my new Maple/Maple neck and installed it on another (sister) guitar.
I went with Maple to save a hundred dollars as I would have rather have had another
Goncalo neck.
The neck is exactly the same except for the wood choice.
When comparing the two it is quite evident that the Goncalo is much more dense.
It is naturally more 'oily' than Maple and so the Maple seems brighter and snappy.
The Goncalo neck (after playing it for two years) has a very smooth worn in feel.
Cosmetically, the Goncalo does darken considerably but wow, what a feel.

Here is a little video I made today with the Maple neck, guitar;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bGI5xrwGbg

Here's one with the Goncalo Guitar;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3W5HNwc9Q

I hope this helps someone out there who was on the fence.

 

[crash]

Love the graphics on those guitars!

Seems odd that you would save money buying a maple neck considering the maple neck needs a finish and the GA neck doesn't.

 

[Cagey]

While Maple is a highly-regarded neck wood, it's also fairly common and in good supply in North America so it isn't very expensive. All things being equal, a Maple/Maple neck's base cost from Warmoth is $157, while a GA/GA will be $272, for a difference of $115. Add a finish to the Maple part, and it still only $242, for a difference of $30 in the Maple part's favor. That doesn't include frets/nuts/etc., but the cost of those things is the same for either so it doesn't matter.

 

[willievega]

Here's a pic. The guitar on left, with a Goncalo neck (two years old and played hard)  and a guitar (right) with a new Maple neck that's not getting a finish (2 days old).
The new Maple neck is almost white but that will not be the case in the coming months.

 

[willievega]

At this time that $100 is a considerable amount to save.
The Maple neck sounds very snappy compared to the darker Goncalo.
Both bodies are Maple.
BTW the artist that did those two is Philip Long. The crazy looking one started when I gave my 3 year old niece, Violet, some colored markers and let her go nuts on the un-finished body. Then Philip Long went over her scribbles.
The theme is 'Violet, my niece',  hence the violet colored pickguard and colorful pickups. It was then finished in a clear, violet pearl.
You can still see her scribbles peeking out all over.
That whole guitar is a tribute to my little niece/  :binkybaby: