Neck Recommandations (for chamb. body)

[Bruno]

Hello,
I've not experience with (warmoth and others) chambered body, - spec.swamp ash/quilt maple top -.
Strat type, 2 point tremolo (american std or wilky vs100), SSH combo pups. I *try* to play  Blues, Rock and a little bit of Hard Rock.
I need recommandations for neck. Frist of all: with this conditions, which wood?
#1 - A classic combo maple/rose?
#2 - A bright maple/pau?
#3 - Or a warm goncalo/pau or goncalo one piece?
No full indian rose or pauferro or exotic and rare woods, too expansive for me, now...

Many thanks

 

[Cagey]

I don't know which woods you should use, but I do know that you shouldn't be too concerned about the cost of the exotics. If you choose a more traditional neck wood like Mahogany or Maple, you're going to have to spend $100 or so on a finish. With many of the exotics, you don't need a finish so the extra cost of the wood is simply replacing the extra cost of a finish. It's a wash. Sometimes better. For instance, here's an Ebony over Goncalo Alves neck for $223...

Add some stainless frets and a Graphtech nut and it's $273.

Now here's the same thing, but with Maple. Base cost after finishing is $257.

Add some stainless frets and a Graphtech nut and it's $307.

So, in this case it's $35 less to go with an exotic wood, and you have an Ebony 'board either way.

 

[Bruno]

Just a moment: I wrote *no exotic wood* in reference to a neck full indian or pauferro .
Sure a combo Goncalo/Ebony (or Goncalo/pau) is ok like a classic maple/rose (I'll apply a finish and a graph tech nut).
So... limited to these two options, which would you choose and why )blus/rock/hard rock, chamb body swamp/quilt)?

 

[Cagey]

It's difficult to say. Of the chambered bodies I have, two are figured Maple over Swamp Ash. One has an Ebony over Maple neck, the other has an Ebony over Koa neck. But, they have different pickups so of course they sound different. How much of that difference is attributable to the neck wood is anybody's guess. Acoustically, the one with the Ebony over Maple neck sounds slightly brighter. And I mean slightly. If you didn't have both guitars sitting next to each other to try back and forth and you weren't listening for it specifically, you'd probably never notice it.

An easy way to noticeably brighten up a guitar without rewiring it, changing necks or changing pickups is to simply put some stainless steel strings on it. They cost a buck or two more than the standard strings, but they also last a lot longer.

So, if you did a Goncalo Alves neck and didn't think it was quite bright enough, there's an easy out.

 

[drewfx]

The chambering isn't going to make too much of a difference, so I wouldn't worry too much about that part. On mine, maybe it sounds slightly more "open" or "rounder" unplugged than a solid body, but I'm not sure if that makes it to the PU's.

I have the chambered ash/quilt combo on my W strat with a maple/pau ferro neck, and I wouldn't call it overly bright. At least not for a strat, so unless maybe you are going for more of a Gibson tone?

So I would choose based on looks and whether you prefer a raw or finished neck.

Do get the SS frets though.

 

[Bruno]

Thanks for feed back.
As I wrote from the beginning I do not seek a particular sound, my target is a *balanced* guitar.
So...I must try and try again, this is only solution

But , forgive me for another question: in my mind I think *ok, I want a *balance* guitar... but physically too."
So, I ask you: with a light chambered body (3lbs - beautiful body in showcase... - ), there is a risk of a unbalance guitar like a Gibson SG?

 

[Cagey]

So, I ask you: with a light chambered body (3lbs - beautiful body in showcase... - ), there is a risk of a unbalance guitar like a Gibson SG?

No. My lightest body is my white Alder at a little over 3lbs., and it has one of the heaviest necks - Ebony over Pau Ferro with a double truss rod and Schaller locking tuners on it, and it hangs perfectly. That's a Strat, though. They hang nice almost no matter what you do. The front strap button is far enough forward that the center of gravity is always behind it.

 

[Bruno]

Cagey ... you are my personal GURU  :icon_thumright:
I sleep easy knowing that in order all my doubts, there's you with the solutions.
Thank you so much, (if I can...) my friend  :hello2:

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Can't help with other neck choices but what your looking at is very close to what I built.  This was my first build so I didn't want to take too many chances and go too far out of the box.  I have an all Ash chambered body, maple/rosewood neck, 2 pt trem (american deluxe), and HSS pickups (lace holy grails in neck and mid and a lace dually red/silver in the bridge).  I play the same kind of stuff as you - blues/rock/hard rock (and metal in my case as well).  I'm very happy with the build.  Would like to try a raw neck on a future build but am glad I stayed relatively conservative on this one.

 

[Bruno]

Hello,
thank for replay
Maple/rosewood is always a perfect combination  :headbang: (IMHO)

Although my project is a 2points trem (Wilkinson VS100 is ok but I find it terribly ugly . )
Pups, I think S/S/S: attract me very much the dimarzio injector  - neck and bridge - with an American Fender strat rw / rp in the middle. AlnICo 2 and hum cancelling...no bad, no bad  :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright: