Pro neck for metal?

[dwillen]

I have been wanting to buy a pro neck for a metal guitar build, but have read that the neck sounds twangy and bright.

So give it to me straight.... how accurate is that, and could it be used for a metal guitar?

 

[Cagey]

"Pro" series necks have a dual-acting truss rod with a side adjuster mechanism, which adds a few ounces of weight/mass to the neck. I've never noticed that they were any brighter than other styles, but from a purely theoretical standpoint, they probably should be. Still, you'll get a lot more effect by changing the wood species, profile and scale length than you will from using that truss rod system.

For example, a short-scale Maple neck with a boatneck profile is going to be very bright, while a long scale Mahogany neck with a wizard profile is gonna sound dead in comparison, regardless of the truss rod.

On the plus side, those "Pro" style necks stay the way you set them. Temperature and humidity won't make them move around like most necks will. Pretty much a "set it and forget it" setup.

 

[line6man]

I've never understood why people always feel the need to ask if whatever they are interested in buying is best for metal. It arises so frequently on some forums that it has become a joke. It's never any other genre. Only metal.

Why wouldn't a pro neck be just fine for any style of music?

 

[dwillen]

"Pro" series necks have a dual-acting truss rod with a side adjuster mechanism, which adds a few ounces of weight/mass to the neck. I've never noticed that they were any brighter than other styles, but from a purely theoretical standpoint, they probably should be. Still, you'll get a lot more effect by changing the wood species, profile and scale length than you will from using that truss rod system.

For example, a short-scale Maple neck with a boatneck profile is going to be very bright, while a long scale Mahogany neck with a wizard profile is gonna sound dead in comparison, regardless of the truss rod.

On the plus side, those "Pro" style necks stay the way you set them. Temperature and humidity won't make them move around like most necks will. Pretty much a "set it and forget it" setup.

What about a burds eye maple neck with a alder or basswood body? Do you think that it would be too bright with a fair amount of gain and hot pickups (21k)? Also thanks for the reply.

 

[dwillen]

I've never understood why people always feel the need to ask if whatever they are interested in buying is best for metal. It arises so frequently on some forums that it has become a joke. It's never any other genre. Only metal.

Why wouldn't a pro neck be just fine for any style of music?

Didn't mean to come off like I was only intending to use it for that, but I tried to factor in that a lot of times using a fair amount of gain will make the brightness and the twang apparent, so I used that as an example.

 

[Cagey]

I've never understood why people always feel the need to ask if whatever they are interested in buying is best for metal. It arises so frequently on some forums that it has become a joke. It's never any other genre. Only metal.

I've never understood it, either, but mainly because most metal players are running industrial strength military grade super-hot humbuckers into power boosters into Rats into Tube Screamers into Muff Pies into the highest gain Marshalls extant with the most wattage. Maybe some modulation effects in the loop just for fun. There's so little left of the guitar it's not even worth talking about.

 

[Cagey]

What about a burds eye maple neck with a alder or basswood body? Do you think that it would be too bright with a fair amount of gain and hot pickups (21k)? Also thanks for the reply.

Bird's Eye Maple sounds like Maple, oddly enough. It's just prettier. Body wood can make a difference, but on the list of things that will change your tonal character, the body wood is down a ways on the list. Alder is a good choice, Basswood is a bit fragile and will show wear much more quickly. Neither has a very interesting grain so they're usually finished in solid colors.

 

[line6man]

"Pro" series necks have a dual-acting truss rod with a side adjuster mechanism, which adds a few ounces of weight/mass to the neck. I've never noticed that they were any brighter than other styles, but from a purely theoretical standpoint, they probably should be. Still, you'll get a lot more effect by changing the wood species, profile and scale length than you will from using that truss rod system.

For example, a short-scale Maple neck with a boatneck profile is going to be very bright, while a long scale Mahogany neck with a wizard profile is gonna sound dead in comparison, regardless of the truss rod.

On the plus side, those "Pro" style necks stay the way you set them. Temperature and humidity won't make them move around like most necks will. Pretty much a "set it and forget it" setup.

What about a burds eye maple neck with a alder or basswood body? Do you think that it would be too bright with a fair amount of gain and hot pickups (21k)? Also thanks for the reply.

Bright is subjective, but there sure do seem to be a lot of people with that combo that seem perfectly happy with it. Remember that you can roll down your tone control when you want to take the edge off. This is especially true if you are playing through a lot of distortion. Very seldom can the nuances of wood be discerned when you are behind a wall of distortion. 

Note that hot pickups in general tend to sound darker. If you overwind, you lose treble. If that's not good enough, try lower value pots to shift the resonant frequency downward. And if all else fails, a high capacitance on your tone control can transform even the sharpest ice pick into a puddle of mud. So you should have no problem at all finding a happy middle ground.

 

[MikeW]

"Pro" series necks have a dual-acting truss rod with a side adjuster mechanism, which adds a few ounces of weight/mass to the neck. I've never noticed that they were any brighter than other styles, but from a purely theoretical standpoint, they probably should be. Still, you'll get a lot more effect by changing the wood species, profile and scale length than you will from using that truss rod system.

For example, a short-scale Maple neck with a boatneck profile is going to be very bright, while a long scale Mahogany neck with a wizard profile is gonna sound dead in comparison, regardless of the truss rod.

On the plus side, those "Pro" style necks stay the way you set them. Temperature and humidity won't make them move around like most necks will. Pretty much a "set it and forget it" setup.

What about a burds eye maple neck with a alder or basswood body? Do you think that it would be too bright with a fair amount of gain and hot pickups (21k)? Also thanks for the reply.

You'll be fine with these choices. I did an Ash body with Birdseye Maple/Birdseye Maple neck Strat as a shred guitar a while back. It had a ton of top end, but was not bright in the 'biting ice pick in your ear' kind of way.

Honestly, I think that brightness will come more from your amp and EQ settings than from the woods of your guitar. It's nice to have the guitar put the top-end overtones out there, but if you EQ all of it down, it's not going to make any difference if it's there or not, especially if you're running with a ton of gain and a ton of presence.

And as Cagey says, the Pro truss rod won't make much of a difference to tone either way.

 

[dwillen]

I've never understood why people always feel the need to ask if whatever they are interested in buying is best for metal. It arises so frequently on some forums that it has become a joke. It's never any other genre. Only metal.

I've never understood it, either, but mainly because most metal players are running industrial strength military grade super-hot humbuckers into power boosters into Rats into Tube Screamers into Muff Pies into the highest gain Marshalls extant with the most wattage. Maybe some modulation effects in the loop just for fun. There's so little left of the guitar it's not even worth talking about.

Haha yeah I wouldn't go to that extent. Although I'd use bare knuckle warpigs, they aren't CRAZY hot, but they are passive. I'd go guitar>VFE Focus (It's like a tube screamer minus the drive; to tighten it up)>amp. Done. I too believe that you don't need a mess of things. I believe it was Jim Root of Slipknot that said "The less stuff between my fingers and the amp, the better. The tone usually comes from your fingers."

 

[dwillen]

What about a burds eye maple neck with a alder or basswood body? Do you think that it would be too bright with a fair amount of gain and hot pickups (21k)? Also thanks for the reply.

Bird's Eye Maple sounds like Maple, oddly enough. It's just prettier. Body wood can make a difference, but on the list of things that will change your tonal character, the body wood is down a ways on the list. Alder is a good choice, Basswood is a bit fragile and will show wear much more quickly. Neither has a very interesting grain so they're usually finished in solid colors.

Yeah, I was thinking of maybe doing a Camphor burl top

 

[dwillen]

"Pro" series necks have a dual-acting truss rod with a side adjuster mechanism, which adds a few ounces of weight/mass to the neck. I've never noticed that they were any brighter than other styles, but from a purely theoretical standpoint, they probably should be. Still, you'll get a lot more effect by changing the wood species, profile and scale length than you will from using that truss rod system.

For example, a short-scale Maple neck with a boatneck profile is going to be very bright, while a long scale Mahogany neck with a wizard profile is gonna sound dead in comparison, regardless of the truss rod.

On the plus side, those "Pro" style necks stay the way you set them. Temperature and humidity won't make them move around like most necks will. Pretty much a "set it and forget it" setup.

What about a burds eye maple neck with a alder or basswood body? Do you think that it would be too bright with a fair amount of gain and hot pickups (21k)? Also thanks for the reply.

Bright is subjective, but there sure do seem to be a lot of people with that combo that seem perfectly happy with it. Remember that you can roll down your tone control when you want to take the edge off. This is especially true if you are playing through a lot of distortion. Very seldom can the nuances of wood be discerned when you are behind a wall of distortion. 

Note that hot pickups in general tend to sound darker. If you overwind, you lose treble. If that's not good enough, try lower value pots to shift the resonant frequency downward. And if all else fails, a high capacitance on your tone control can transform even the sharpest ice pick into a puddle of mud. So you should have no problem at all finding a happy middle ground.

I was planning on doing Bareknickle warpigs for a HH set, and then les paul type controls with 2 tone and 2 volume with a mini toggle, only I'd have a cap on each tone and those would be push push to throw the pickups in parallel wiring 550k for the volume and 500k for the tones.

 

[dmraco]

ALL of my warmoth necks are warmoth Pro with maple (plain, flame and birds eye) and have either rosewood or Pau ferro finger boards.  They are mostly standard thin with one wizard profile.  The sound perfectly at home with super saturated gain with both my Mesa recto or Orange TH30.  They also sound fantastic at church with a fender twin.

Yes they are a tad heavier but well worth it.  I live in the Northeast where the humidity levels are up and down like a yo-yo.  While my gibsons and guitars with lesser truss rods, I have to adjust at least twice a year.  The warmoth pros....I adjust hardly ever.  They are almost set and forget.  Even swapping 009 for 010 strings I do not notice a huge difference in deflection.  They are super stable.

 

[DocNrock]

What about a burds eye maple neck with a alder or basswood body? Do you think that it would be too bright with a fair amount of gain and hot pickups (21k)? Also thanks for the reply.

Bird's Eye Maple sounds like Maple, oddly enough. It's just prettier. Body wood can make a difference, but on the list of things that will change your tonal character, the body wood is down a ways on the list. Alder is a good choice, Basswood is a bit fragile and will show wear much more quickly. Neither has a very interesting grain so they're usually finished in solid colors.

Yeah, I was thinking of maybe doing a Camphor burl top

Camphor burl makes an incredible top for a guitar.  :icon_thumright: