metal neck

HeavyEddy

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4
I don't know much about guitars, but I was wonderin' if someone would give me a tip on a good combination of wood types would be for versatile sounds in drop d or c..?
 
What kinds of sounds are you looking to achieve?  Many bands use those tunings, and they also use a variety of pickups depending on what they play.
 
Mostly mids and lows, but definitely plan on working some highs into the mix.
Kinda goin' for the whole black metal thing.
 
Well, you should probably think active pickups.

EMG 81's are probably the most popular amongst the metal crowd (black metal or otherwise)

Or some of the newer bands are endorsing Seymour Duncan Blackouts, so they might be what you're looking for as well.  I don't think you can go very wrong with either, personally.  :dontknow:
 
If you're playing with that much gain it won't matter at all what neck wood you use. It will be all about your pickups, technique and rig.
 
Bosnian doctor for Rock'n'Roll and
Travis Bean TB1000S

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Dunno where the Bosnian guy came from  :icon_scratch: get an exotic neck and L500/'59 pickups.
 
Maybe go for a bright neck wood (just look at the descriptions on the warmothh site and pick a wood that you like the look of and will match whatever finish you're planning) just to be on the safe side - but if you use EMGs your guitar will probably sound the same whether it's made of 1000$ worth of good woods, or 10$ worth of homedepot plywood.

If you use pickups that will allow your guitar's tone to come through, then stick with brighter woods, I tune to C and you'll get plenty of lows and mud, trust me. It's the tightness and clarity you'll be needing.
 
For Metal you can't go wrong with all Mahogany, or Alder body and Maple neck. There's not a real NEED for a special type of wood, as long as its quality, like Warmoth. With Dimmu or Dahlia levels of gain the wood tone can get covered up pretty quick.

To support the earlier posts and with my experience in thrash and black metal, the body wood plays second to the pickups and overall rig.
IMHO It's better to spend money on quality pickups, cables and AMP than spending for a fancy wood.

For metal, active pickups isn't the ONLY way to go. EMGs and Blackouts have their advantages: they're quiet, reliable and consistent with few if any surprises.
The Bill Lawrence XL 500 (Or BL USA) in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck are a great passive combo that's passed the test of time. It's an alternative to the Dimebucker, which is modeled after the Lawrence. For the "Real Deal" get a Bill and Becky Lawrence XL500, the Bill Lawrence USA is good too. There is much debate on what is better.  :dontknow:

Especially with tuning as low as C standard it's VITAL to keep the guitar intonated correctly. If not it'll sound out of tune and weak. When it's right, you'll feed your amp a great tone from square one. Let the AMP do the work. Keep your technique tight. Oh, and remember, you don't need as much gain as you think you do...It's only heavy if you can tell what you're playing.
:rock-on:
 
+1 to the wood not contributing to the sound. I'd be more worried about the feel so I say stick to something that looks and feels good to you at a price you like. An all maple neck is cheapest (if you finish it yourself), but for more money you can get an exotic sorta neck wood which feels very slick because it doesn't need a finish, and it looks great. Examples of these woods...
Padouk
Purpleheart
Wenge
Bubinga
Bloodwood
Goncalo Alves
Rosewood
Pau Ferro
Ebony
Kingwood
Ziricote
 
-1 to the wood not contributing to the tone at all... I have backed up that point multiple times so won't do that again. and I don't care if nobody agrees with me.

none of the available woods will make your guitar sound bad though..
 
Respectfully: Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying.  :sad1:

I am 100% in agreement with Markarooni (and cheese?)  :doh: The tone really does come from the GUITAR and pickups and such only support what is there. It's just that the pups and such are critical pieces of the signal chain that MUST be of high quality, otherwise the great neck he has will not translate well through crappy pups or a cheapo pedal, or an amp dialed in all wrong, or dead tubes.

Forgive me if I'm out of line, but I understood that HeavyEddy doesn't know much about guitars and as such has limited experience and perhaps limited funds as well...

That being said, I gave a reccomendation of two good wood combinations that although are fairly standard, have been proven to be good combos for "metal" guitars. For his purposes, the standard woods may fit the bill just right. He doesn't need to get a "fancy wood" like Goncalo Alves or anything...

Allow me to clarify: I was simply comparing the extra cost of buying an exotic next vs a standard neck.
On a blank canvas I feel it would be more effective for him to buy a cheaper "standard" wood like Mahogany or Maple and use the money he would have spent on the more expensive neck to buy better pups or cables, or maybe re-tube the amp. 

I think the important thing to focus on is that you can't go wrong with the QUALITY of wood that Warmoth provides. It is for that reason that I encourage the OP to use something like Maple or Mahogany. He'll get a killer neck from Warmoth and can use it to train his ears and hands on what he likes and dislikes. In other words, start with the standards and work your way up once you know what you like.


Hope we're all still friends  :rock-on:
 
MUYFUE said:
Respectfully: Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying.  :sad1:

I am 100% in agreement with Markarooni (and cheese?)  :doh:

Who ?  :icon_scratch:
 
i would go with canary. unless you really like the feel of a finished neck, in which case i would go with maple. nothing's quite as smooth as an unfinished neck (i'm very glad i got one) so that would be my number 1 choice!

as for maple; it's a pretty literal wood. i mean that it's a rock solid wood, so it would be great for a neck with downtuned strings, and it'll pretty clearly convey what you play through your pickups and amp.

as for unfinished, canary has some similar properties to maple, plus there would be no sticky finish for you to feel uncomfortable with.
 
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