New Neck: Quartersawn vs. Plain

[Afd1469]

Yup, I've searched a lot online already and there seems to be a lot of back and forth over the years. 

I'm looking for a basic maple neck for my strat.  I think I'm going to go with the Vintage/Modern vs. Modern.  Just curious if there's a tonal difference between quartersawn and plain sawn. 

Thanks!

 

[ghotiphry]

I don't think there is a tonal difference, maple being maple and all.  There is arguably a stability difference in a QS neck, but again, that's arguable.  The biggest difference I've found is visual.  QS maple (usually? sometimes?) has this texture to it.  See here:

 

[Strat Avenger]

Has nothing to do with tone.
Quartersawn is supposed to be more resistant to twist or warpage, however John Suhr says it's totally unnecessary, and that a good flat-sawn neck shouldn't have any problems.
My soloist has a quartersawn neck, however the last 3 necks I have purchased from Warmoth are all flat-sawn.

 

[Rick]

Nope, no diff.  quarter sawn has a nice look, with flecking and curl.  flat or plain sawn, can be boring to whoa daddy, usually closer to boring.

 

[Bikertrash2001]

If I was doing a one piece like you are, I might get quarter just for the neato factor. I would have to see it in the Showcase before I bought it though. They can vary quite a bit. I have a '73 Tele Deluxe that is so slab sawn, I can't find a grain line on it anywhere. It's almost like it was painted yellow. Still sounds great though.

 

[fdesalvo]

People say that, oftentimes, no two pieces of lumber have the same sonic properties.  But, there’s a reason why there’s a consensus about tone woods.

YMMV, but all of my builds now have VM construction with thicker maple necks. When the design allows it, I use one-piece necks. I love the attack and liveliness (not instability!) that this wood produces.

I have 2 floating trem guitars. One has a standard thin; the other has a 59 roundback. The roundback has a more vibrancy, depth, and resonance. It’s lively in the hand and acoustically rich. This translates electrically. The standard thin’s tone has less depth, but remains fairly vibrant. When I swap the neck around, these characteristics follow it.

When I need a thin, flat neck, I opt for qtr sawn for additional stability. That’s the consensus, though it may not be a fact. Some very intelligent and experienced people have created good arguments on both sides of the issue, so I just decided to choose based upon that.

Warmoth VM necks, in general, are incredibly stable. I almost never need to adjust the truss rods beyond initial setup - even when traveling.

 

[Strat Avenger]

People say that, oftentimes, no two pieces of lumber have the same sonic properties.  But, there’s a reason why there’s a consensus about tone woods.

YMMV, but all of my builds now have VM construction with thicker maple necks. When the design allows it, I use one-piece necks. I love the attack and liveliness (not instability!) that this wood produces.

I have 2 floating trem guitars. One has a standard thin; the other has a 59 roundback. The roundback has a more vibrancy, depth, and resonance. It’s lively in the hand and acoustically rich. This translates electrically. The standard thin’s tone has less depth, but remains fairly vibrant. When I swap the neck around, these characteristics follow it.

When I need a thin, flat neck, I opt for qtr sawn for additional stability. That’s the consensus, though it may not be a fact. Some very intelligent and experienced people have created good arguments on both sides of the issue, so I just decided to choose based upon that.

Warmoth VM necks, in general, are incredibly stable. I almost never need to adjust the truss rods beyond initial setup - even when traveling.

My Warmoth Vintage Modern neck has never needed a truss rod adjustment since the initial set up, and it's been over 5 years. Most of my guitars never need adjustments, but my ESP M-2 that I've had for 13 years constantly needs neck adjustments, and it's supposed to be a high-end guitar.

 

[spe111]

I don't know if the need for truss rod adjustments is necessarily an indicator of high or low quality. I had a Carvin that needed adjusted seasonally, everything about that guitar seemed pretty high quality. Same with one particular Martin, but other Martins never needed it. I have owned more USA fenders than any other brand of guitar and I don't think I've ever adjusted a fender truss rod other than string gauge changes. Gibson, Jackson and PRS have not needed them. Gretsch has.

My Warmoth roasted maple and wenge necks both needed truss rod adjustments after they were about 12 months old. The Brazilian ebony neck has not needed an adjustment; I think that wood may actually be stronger than steel anyways.