Neck Woods to Match Tortiseshell Pickguard?

[MikeW]

I've started collecting the parts for my next build. Here's the concept:

Alder/Ash body
Sonic Blue
Contoured Heel
Wilkinson

LSR Roller Nut
Wizard profile
SS6105 frets
Turquoise fret dots

Neck pickup - Cool Rails
Bridge pickup - either a Pearly Gates or a JB. I'm leaning toward Pearly Gates at the moment.
Five-way switching including coil taps for north coils in positions 2 and 4.
And just the right number of knobs too!

So here's the question. Pao Ferro or Goncalo Alves to match the tortoiseshell pickguard? I'm leaning toward Pao Ferro mostly because I love the examples that I see rolling through the showcase but I'm open to suggestions. If anybody's got examples that you could share, that would be great too.

All opinions welcome. Thx!

 

[line6man]

I can't picture Goncalo Alves working at all. Especially given how "busy" most pieces will be, juxtaposed with the pattern of tortoise shell. I would go with a darker Pau Ferro, or perhaps Gaboon Ebony. Something plain and simple.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I'll loose the tortiseshell pickguard and let the wood speak instead.  :sign13:

 

[AutoBat]

Sonic Blue & Tortoise are a proven combination.  Rosewood or a non-figured fretboard would work best in my mind.

 

[Hbom]

I like the mock-up, got to say Rosewood for the neck!
:rock-on:

 

[Cagey]

I'm in the black Ebony camp. Tortoiseshell pickguards are busy. You want something that won't compete with that, but will still complement the blue. Black does that.

Nothing against Pau Ferro, of course. In fact, if you can do it, an Ebony over Pau Ferro w/ ss frets is one of the best necks I've ever put my hand around. Just an excellent combination.

 

[MortenB]

Here are a few pics of my P bass with quater sawn pau ferro, pau ferro neck and tort guard  (also one with a white guard). I think the tort guard and pau ferro is a beautiful combination and the ultra-smooth feel of the pau ferro is amazing, so I say go for the pau ferro, pau ferro..! One thing to consider though. Pau ferro can have a wide range of colors, some necks are light in color, some darker. Some are more orange/red kind of like rosewood, some are more brown (like this one).

The other bass, in the final picture, has a quarter sawn pau ferro neck with ebony fretboard  (the combination that Cagey mentions)

 

[Pelagaard]

Here's a crappy phone pic of Bubinga w/ Tort.

 

[line6man]

I'll loose the tortiseshell pickguard and let the wood speak instead.  :sign13:

+1.

I would skip the pickguard entirely.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

If you go the other direction, Canary would look good to me.  I like the pickguard on that one, but the dark red with a dark neck muddies things for my eyes.  I would see if the lighter wood could add some contrast.  Also, you can ask for a piece of Gancalo that has minimal streaking, but there is an upcharge for them to look through the supplies to find one.  I did that for the neck on my paisley guitar.
Patrick

 

[MikeW]

Thanks for the replies all. Some other thoughts:

I'll loose the tortiseshell pickguard and let the wood speak instead.  :sign13:

+1. I would skip the pickguard entirely.

I like the cleaner look of a Strat without a pickguard too, but I've found over time that I change pickups enough that it's just easier to have them mounted on a pickguard. Plus, I'm looking for a 'classic' look on this one, so the pickguard fits the theme.

Sonic Blue & Tortoise are a proven combination.  Rosewood or a non-figured fretboard would work best in my mind.

I like the mock-up, got to say Rosewood for the neck!

I've considered a Rosewood neck/fretboard and that's still a possibility, but our rhythm guitarist is all Gibby (LP and ES) so the warmth and low-mid range is pretty covered. I'm thinking this one should be brighter and sit on top a bit more to keep from muddying the mix. Still, I like the feel of Rosewood and it would match the Tortiseshell pretty well, so it's in the mix.

Nothing against Pau Ferro, of course. In fact, if you can do it, an Ebony over Pau Ferro w/ ss frets is one of the best necks I've ever put my hand around. Just an excellent combination.

Yep. I love the Canary/Ebony that I put on my sunburst, but I think the Black would be a bit off color. I've also considered Macassar Ebony for the fretboard, but I'm not a huge fan of the stripes. The might match the cream flecks in the pickguard well though.

Here are a few pics of my P bass with quater sawn pau ferro, pau ferro neck and tort guard  (also one with a white guard). I think the tort guard and pau ferro is a beautiful combination and the ultra-smooth feel of the pau ferro is amazing, so I say go for the pau ferro, pau ferro..! One thing to consider though. Pau ferro can have a wide range of colors, some necks are light in color, some darker. Some are more orange/red kind of like rosewood, some are more brown (like this one).

This is what I was thinking as I was browsing the Showcase. Thanks for the pics, they were exactly what I was hoping to see an example of. I have to say that the Pao Ferro/Pao Ferro is still my first choice. The one thing I think I'd have to specify when I'm ordering is to get a darker piece to make sure the neck and pickguard will match.

If you go the other direction, Canary would look good to me.  I like the pickguard on that one, but the dark red with a dark neck muddies things for my eyes.  I would see if the lighter wood could add some contrast.

This is exactly why I went Canary/Black Ebony on the sunburst Strat. That worked out really well and I love the feel of the Canary. It just gets better the more I play it. I'm considering having the headstock face painted to match the body, and if I go that way I may go Canary/Pao Ferro. I think the blue on the headstock would look pretty good too.

Thanks for your opinions everybody.

 

[stubhead]

Two points. Foist, there is tortoise, and there is RED tortoise, and that can be a big difference. 2nd, based on you wanting some tonal contrast with the Gibman, and also something "classic" - I immediately think -

maple/maple! :headbang:

or perhaps it's subtly exotic peep-around - canary/canary.... :glasses10:

 

[MikeW]

Two points. Foist, there is tortoise, and there is RED tortoise, and that can be a big difference. 2nd, based on you wanting some tonal contrast with the Gibman, and also something "classic" - I immediately think -

maple/maple! :headbang:

or perhaps it's subtly exotic peep-around - canary/canary.... :glasses10:

Two good points.

I'm not totally against Maple/Maple. I have one from the W on my all-white strat, but I've really become a convert to the exotics and for this guitar I think Maple/Maple just isn't quite right. Too stark, if you know what I mean.

I've got a great Canary/Black Ebony on my sunburst Strat and it's feeenomeenaaal. Love that neck! Canary/Canary could work if it had really dark streaks in it, or if the pickguard was of the redder tortoise variety. But, I've already got the pickguard and it's really close to what MortenB has on his P-Bass. Really dark browns with bigger cream flecks running through it. It's very cool piece that I think will work well with the chrome and white.

So I'm not totally against Rosewood/Rosewood or Rosewood/Pao Ferro, but I'm leaning toward Pao Ferro/Pao Ferro. Still a couple months until ordering time though so I'm not in a rush to decide.

 

[MikeW]

AAAAnd the winner is.... Pao Ferro/Pao Ferro. I'll be interested to see how close it is IRL as opposed to what I've seen in the numerous pictures I've been going through, but I went with the PF/PF more because I want to be sure that the tone will be on the brighter side.

I'll start a Work in Progress thread when it gets in since I've got all the parts minus neck and body. Now if I could just get the Big W to put a Alder body, top rout, Sonic Blue with a contoured heel in the showcase....  Hint, Hint, Nudge Nudge...