Neck/fretboard to match this body

[Ace Flibble]

Snagged this off the deals section a few days ago

Black Korina thinline with a tobacco burst finish and natural masked binding.


Just wondering what wood - especially the fretboard - would look right with this. I was going to go for plain maple/rosewood with a satin vintage tint but I figure this might be a good chance to expand into something a little more special. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this though, I know no more than the brief descriptions on the Warmoth site and it's hard to choose just based off that.
Tonally, since the body will probably have quite a deep tone, I was thinking the neck should be balanced or on the brighter side. No really specific needs though, it's getting the look right and having something a bit more interesting that I'm mostly concerned about.

 

[line6man]

Wenge/Ebony (Jet Black)

 

[Mor Paul]

Wenge/Ebony (Jet Black)

Yep. +1

 

[m4rk0]

+1 + no face dots!

 

[line6man]

+1 + no face dots!

-1

Gotta have dots!

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

+1 + no face dots!

-1

Gotta have dots!

-1 to the above comment

 

[NLD09]

+1 + no face dots!

-1

Gotta have dots!

+1

 

[line6man]

+1 + no face dots!

-1

Gotta have dots!

+1 to the above comment

Fixed it for you.
Too much math in this thread...

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

+1 + no face dots!

-1

Gotta have dots!

+1 to the above comment

Fixed it for you.
Too much math in this thread...

:laughing7:

 

[Ace Flibble]

I've seen a wenge/ebony combo advised a lot around here to lots of people. Is there any particular reason it's such a popular and commonly advised combination?
Also, any good substitutes for ebony? I'm not really a fan of it. I got an ebony fretboard on my other Warmoth Tele to try out and I've been wanting to get a new neck with a rosewood board to replace it ever since. I hear ziricote and pau ferro might have a more similar feel to rosewood and should look like an alright match for the body from what I can tell, how would the tone match up with a wenge neck back?

edit: I'm reading up on wenge, apparently it's very heavy? How's the weight compare to a normal maple/rosewood neck?

+1 + no face dots!

-1

Gotta have dots!

I really can't stand dot inlays. I was thinking maybe diamond inlays or trapezoid inlays if I can bring myself to really splash out, otherwise no inlays for me.

 

[chrisg]

Anything with an ebony fretboard. They are bright and the black will go well with the body.   :glasses9:

and don't that natural wood binding look nice  :icon_smile:

 

[m4rk0]

I've seen a wenge/ebony combo advised a lot around here to lots of people. Is there any particular reason it's such a popular and commonly advised combination?
Also, any good substitutes for ebony? I'm not really a fan of it. I got an ebony fretboard on my other Warmoth Tele to try out and I've been wanting to get a new neck with a rosewood board to replace it ever since. I hear ziricote and pau ferro might have a more similar feel to rosewood and should look like an alright match for the body from what I can tell, how would the tone match up with a wenge neck back?

edit: I'm reading up on wenge, apparently it's very heavy? How's the weight compare to a normal maple/rosewood neck?

+1 + no face dots!

-1

Gotta have dots!

I really can't stand dot inlays. I was thinking maybe diamond inlays or trapezoid inlays if I can bring myself to really splash out, otherwise no inlays for me.

good choice! nothing is more sexy than a naked fretboard!

 

[Nando Vallart]

The Wenge/Ebony would be cool, but also:

*Birdseye Maple
*Ziricote
*something with Macassar Ebony fingerboard (and perhaps headstock veneer)
*figured rosewood
*perhaps even a red Bloodwood

 

[tfarny]

Nice bod!
Tell us why you don't like Ebony. I love it myself.
I would maybe look at a pao ferro board and just a maple neck, do a satin finish yourself and splurge on a top end bridge and pups.
Wenge feels great in the hand and looks cool, and the bass I have sounds great. I have no idea what the particular contribution of the wenge or the ebony is to the overall sound, but lots of people on here will tell you something or other. But mostly I think wenge / ebony is the bandwagon exotic right now on the board.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Nice bod!
Tell us why you don't like Ebony. I love it myself.
I would maybe look at a pao ferro board and just a maple neck, do a satin finish yourself and splurge on a top end bridge and pups.

This was pretty much my inital plan (though I can't do a finish myself, but meh), just thought it might be a missed opportunity to blindly go with a boring ol' maple neck as per usual without asking around first.
As far as ebony goes, it's the feel. I've never gotten on well with maple fretboards either. I've got a Gibson with a pretty tight-grained rosewood fretboard that's just about fine, but ebony and maple are a step too smooth for me. I've got weird taste like that.

Guess I'll get down to some stores and try some wenge necked basses.

 

[tfarny]

Pao ferro is smooth like Ebony. Maybe just stick with a nice dark rosewood - nothing wrong with rosewood. In fact, an all-rosewood neck can be a great choice even if it's not the rarest of exotics.