Neck vs. Fingerboard Influence

[Superlizard]

All wood sounds exactly the same.

I know because I read it on the UW board... well, that and Billy Gibbons.

 

[iamdavidmorris]

I've been thinking about what you guys are saying.  I'm not at all convinced that all woods sound the same.  However, I may be putting too much stock into tone.  Today I went to GC and played around with some different things to help me make decisions.  I confirmed my suspicions that I prefer a 1 3/4" nut and small frets.  Sadly, the only exotic necks they had in the entire store were a few bubinga bass necks.  While I preferred them to finished maple, I wasn't terribly impressed, like I am with the feel of rosewood.  I've felt a wenge neck before, but only very briefly.  I've never touched a neck made from goncalo alves, padouk, canary, pau ferro, or any of the other popular exotics (not counting walnut or mahogany)

So I'm wondering if I ought to just buck up and spend the extra $100 on rosewood.  What do you think?  Worth it or not?  That's a lot more money, but I made a nice haul on my birthday that would make it possible.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Hold the phone, no one has said all woods sound the same, only that the video examples may not be scientific enough because they are different guitars not just different fretboards.  Blindly, could you pick them out if your eyes weren't helping your ears?  What most might agree on is that neck wood type, and thickness of, have more impact on the wood flavoring the tone than just what the fretboard is made of.  And too, of all the videos, did any have an all Rosewood neck like you are wanting to get? 

P.S.  What did you play on at GC that had an 1 3/4" nut?

 

[iamdavidmorris]

Oh yeah.  I know nobody was saying that.

When I was checking out nut widths, I had to go to acoustic guitars.  I just wanted to see what sort of string spread was most comfortable in my hands.  And honestly, a thick neck with 11 gauge strings, a 1 3/4" nut, and small fretwire is a lot like an acoustic neck anyway.

 

[Superlizard]

All wood sounds exactly the same.

I know because I read it on the UW board... well, that and Billy Gibbons.

Pay no heed to the above - that was me jokingly parroting/parodying what some people claim.

 

[iamdavidmorris]

Yeah, I got it.  Today I paid a visit to a local establishment that features WAY high end guitars ($5k-$10K and up).  Got to play on a couple of well-figured, totally legit Brazilian Rosewood necks and was asked to submit a resume for a voice teaching position (awesome). 

Nice place, huh?

I'm still sort of curious to know what you guys think about (Indian) rosewood, and whether or not it's worth a full hundred dollars more than a wenge neck.  Opinions?

 

[Mor Paul]

PRS Whorehouse?

 

[iamdavidmorris]

PRS Whorehouse?

Ha!  Something like that.  But if you ever wanted to spend a year's rent on a non-custom guitar, this would be the place to go.

http://www.theguitarsanctuary.com/

They do work with a few luthiers on custom orders as well, and the semi-custom stuff you can get from Anderson, etc.  It was the first place I'd ever seen one of Rick Turner's guitars in person.  Sort of a cool place.  I can't ever see myself spending $14,000 on a MacPherson (They have some that pricey - just not on the website), but it's fun to go in there and play them.

 

[Cagey]

You blaspheme!

 

[tfarny]

Go back and listen to these vids, especially the one where the guy is switching rapidly back and forth, with your eyes closed. Make a guess which one you're hearing, then open your eyes to check. Repeat ad nauseum. See how well above chance you guess.

 

[iamdavidmorris]

Go back and listen to these vids, especially the one where the guy is switching rapidly back and forth, with your eyes closed. Make a guess which one you're hearing, then open your eyes to check. Repeat ad nauseum. See how well above chance you guess.

I have.  I can tell you completely convinced about this though.