Purple Haze/Rain/PeopleEater

[dan!]

Hi folks,

The time has come for a purple guitar - my wife's favorite color. And she's the only audience member I need to keep happy!

It'll be some kind of hardtail HSS Strat setup, but I'm really interested in getting some feedback on weight and balance.

I really dig the look of a body like this:
https://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/ShowcaseItem.aspx?i=PS14461
And a dark neck like this:
https://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/ShowcaseNeck.aspx?i=SN28099

But I read that those Brazilian Ebony necks, while stunning, are HEAVY! And because I'm planning on a hardtail, I won't have that giant chunk of trem block to help counterweight. So, here's my plan:

Get super lightweight tuners. Since they're so far out on the neck, every gram saved should help a lot. These Gotoh Stealth tuners (https://www.amazon.com/Gotoh-Stealth-Locking-Guitar-Machine/dp/B00EB11RVK) appear to be the lightest on the market, but I've never seen them in person. Anyone have experience with them?

If the guitar isn't balanced (and I'm assuming it won't be), I can put some tungsten weights at the very heel of the guitar. Plugs like these: https://www.amazon.com/Tungsten-H2-H3-Weights-3-Pack/dp/B07N2ZC21X

So what do you think? Is that crazy? Or just crazy enough?

Cheers,
Dan

 

[Cagey]

Brazillian Ebony is heavy, but it's not the heaviest wood used for necks. Also, the design of the Strat body is such that it's almost impossible to overbalance them. The guitar can end up heavy overall, but neck dive isn't going to be an issue. Finally, tuner weight is a factor, but not anything like you might expect.

I deal with a lotta necks here, and the heaviest I've ever seen was 2.2lbs vs the average Maple neck being in the 1 to 1.2 lbs range. So, your average Strat is typically between 7 and 8.5 lbs. You'll get more weight change from using humbuckers in place of single coils. Lotta copper, magnet metal, etc. in those things.

 

[Cactus Jack]

I've never had an ebony neck, but I sure like the way they look. With that said I do have a rosewood neck and would highly recommend it if you want a dark wood.

Regarding weight I've heard ebony runs heavy. If it were me rather than limit tuner choice, I'd slap some lead tape in the control cavity or a roll of quarters or something.

 

[Cagey]

Brazilian Ebony isn't really Ebony; it's another species and it's not like the Gabon Ebony we see used for fretboards, etc. that's so dense it's almost like plastic. Real Gabon Ebony is so dense that it has a negative specific gravity - throw a piece in the water and it'll sink.

 

[PhilHill]

Real Gabon Ebony is so dense that it has a negative specific gravity - throw a piece in the water and it'll sink.

It's also getting rarer than the proverbial hen's teeth. Hence all the replacement varieties.

 

[Cagey]

Right. Takes a million years to grow, so trying to be "sustainable" about it is sorta fruitless relative to its replacement rate. I understand Bob Taylor (of Taylor guitar fame) has invested quite seriously in rain forestland, etc. trying to make better use of what's out there, as a great deal gets wasted to fire and whatnot.

 

[PhilHill]

Yes, I've seen a couple of their vids about that. He certainly seems to have invested a pile. Including some not so cheap helicopters to fly the stuff straight back to the factory. And I imagine the folks he's got traveling about looking for damaged and fallen trees, who also seem quite knowledgeable about cutting up the logs for best yield, don't work cheap either.

 

[DangerousR6]

Looks like a sweet build...

 

[dan!]

Brazillian Ebony is heavy, but it's not the heaviest wood used for necks. Also, the design of the Strat body is such that it's almost impossible to overbalance them. The guitar can end up heavy overall, but neck dive isn't going to be an issue. Finally, tuner weight is a factor, but not anything like you might expect.

I deal with a lotta necks here, and the heaviest I've ever seen was 2.2lbs vs the average Maple neck being in the 1 to 1.2 lbs range. So, your average Strat is typically between 7 and 8.5 lbs. You'll get more weight change from using humbuckers in place of single coils. Lotta copper, magnet metal, etc. in those things.

I suppose you're right about the Strat body design. Now that I think about it, most of the neck dive complaints I've heard were Gibson players or Teles. I play seated much of the time, so balance is important to me. My American Professional Strat has a Rosewood fingerboard and Maple neck, and its balance is perfect. Do you have a rough guess how much heavier a Brazilian Ebony neck might be? Maybe I'll tape some weights onto my guitar's neck and see how it feels...

Good point about the bridge humbucker adding some weight to that end of the guitar! I hadn't thought about that for some reason.

 

[Cagey]

Vibrato bridges usually add some significant weight to Strats, too.

As for neck weight difference, you might pick up a pound, but as I said, I've used heavier necks on Strats. Bloodwood, Rosewood, and Pau Ferro can all be weighty.