Put my neck together - finish and FRETS question!

[Edoardo]

Hi from Venice guys!  ccasion14:


So, I've never been lucky with electric guitars.

I've tried and owned a bunch of electric guitars I could not manage to play, either because the necks were too thin or either because their backs were so gummy [I've learnt this word lurking here. I think we are meaning the same thing] that drove me mad until I eventually put each one on sale.

So... All I have decided is that it's going to be an angled strat neck, 25.5" scale, 1 3/4"-wide at the nut and with a FAT back.

I grew up on a Spanish guitar and I play fingerstyle. Anything less than a set of .11s will rattle and buzz and fry across the fretboard. I've always had to set the strings really high (tweaking both the trussrod and the saddles).

I was asking myself if some particular kind of fret (higher, wider, rounder who knows) could "counteract" this tendency?


Then... This one must have already been asked, but I would like to ask for the most frictionless finish available at the Warmoth store.  :toothy12:





Thanks a lot

 

[DavyDave53]

The most slick finish is no finish.  Check out the woods that don't need to be finish.

 

[Edoardo]

The most slick finish is no finish.  Check out the woods that don't need to be finish.

well... Maple?

 

[Cagey]

He's right - the slickest finishes on necks are no finish. Get a raw neck.

You may want to look over this page of the Warmoth site. It describes the various woods they offer, where they're typically used, and whether or not they need a finish. Most of them don't.

If you choose something raw, you may want to burnish it as well. There's a thread on doing that here.

 

[Edoardo]

Well, it's just that to me nothing will ever beat the looks of a Strat maple headstock. I don't think I want a red, brown or purple one.

I've checked the woods. An Afra neck may look similar but I don't see the option when I go to the "neckbuilder".

Is it temporary?

 

[Edoardo]

If you choose something raw, you may want to burnish it as well. There's a thread on doing that here.

You mean to sandpaper it? The thought just scares the hell out of me  :toothy11: Can someone with NO experience nor "touch"  whatsoever do it successfully?

 

[Great Ape]

I understand your liking the look of maple on a strat--it can be really difficult to erase that iconic vision from the mind's eye; that being the case, take a look at canary as an alternative--it's a very pretty, light colored wood with very similar tonal properties, and does not need a finish.
Best of luck with your project, you've come to the right place! 

 

[Edoardo]

I understand your liking the look of maple on a strat--it can be really difficult to erase that iconic vision from the mind's eye; that being the case, take a look at canary as an alternative--it's a very pretty, light colored wood with very similar tonal properties, and does not need a finish.
Best of luck with your project, you've come to the right place!

Thanks, it seems a little dark in the pictures though.

Cagey, could you please post or link a picture of your Afra neck headstock?

 

[Cagey]

This is as good as I could find...

Here's a shot of it installed on the body...

 

[Cagey]

I've checked the woods. An Afra neck may look similar but I don't see the option when I go to the "neckbuilder".
Is it temporary?

Warmoth's stock of available woods waxes and wanes. They may not have any Afra at the moment. In any event, Canary may be a better choice if you really like the Maple thing.

You mean to sandpaper it? The thought just scares the hell out of me  :toothy11: Can someone with NO experience nor "touch"  whatsoever do it successfully?

The grades of paper you use aren't so coarse that you can hurt anything. In fact, it takes a long time to have any effect at all.

 

[Edoardo]

I've checked the woods. An Afra neck may look similar but I don't see the option when I go to the "neckbuilder".
Is it temporary?

Warmoth's stock of available woods waxes and wanes. They may not have any Afra at the moment. In any event, Canary may be a better choice if you really like the Maple thing.

You mean to sandpaper it? The thought just scares the hell out of me  :toothy11: Can someone with NO experience nor "touch"  whatsoever do it successfully?

The grades of paper you use aren't so coarse that you can hurt anything. In fact, it takes a long time to have any effect at all.

Thanks a lot. extremely helpful... I can say I wouldn't mind Afra. then yours is a wonderful one. 


So Korina vs Afra, to be clear, are you speaking about maple-ish colour or tone?

Any considerable differences on the smoothness, weight or rigidity of these two? 

Also, what if I wanted an ebony fretboard?

...And to be clear, none of them needs to be finished at all, just sanded a little for smoothness? Wow.

 

[Cagey]

So Korina vs Afra, to be clear, are you speaking about maple-ish colour or tone?
Any considerable differences on the smoothness, weight or rigidity of these two? 

You mean Canary. Korina is rarely used for necks. Anyway, I was speaking of color; the tone is very similar. But, in review, there's little difference in color between the Afra and the Canary. Hard to tell them apart, really. It's been a while since I looked at the Canary neck I have, but it's also installed on a Tele...

...except this one has a Kingwood fretboard. Also a very nice wood. They'll put Ebony on there if you prefer, or any of the woods they stock. Ebony is very nice - one of my favorites.

...And to be clear, none of them needs to be finished at all, just sanded a little for smoothness? Wow.

Right. Most of the exotics don't need a finish. They're stable as is.

 

[Edoardo]

You mean Canary. Korina is rarely used for necks. Anyway, I was speaking of color; the tone is very similar. But, in review, there's little difference in color between the Afra and the Canary. Hard to tell them apart, really. It's been a while since I looked at the Canary neck I have, but it's also installed on a Tele...

...except this one has a Kingwood fretboard. Also a very nice wood. They'll put Ebony on there if you prefer, or any of the woods they stock. Ebony is very nice - one of my favorites.

...And to be clear, none of them needs to be finished at all, just sanded a little for smoothness? Wow.

Right. Most of the exotics don't need a finish. They're stable as is.

I love Ebony. I had a Raimundo Spanish guitar with an ebony fretboard and loved how it literally embraced  the strings. I guess on electric guitars it is just a matter of looks as the strings only go against the steel frets, without touching the board. Am I correct?

 

[Cagey]

It depends on your playing style. The strings usually don't touch the fretboard unless the frets are very short or you're an aggressive player, but the fretboard wood species still makes a difference because the frets are press-fit into it. So, a softer wood will tend to absorb some higher frequencies, while a harder wood will not. That's why a Rosewood 'board sounds "warm" while an Ebony 'board sounds more articulate or "bright".

 

[Edoardo]

It depends on your playing style. The strings usually don't touch the fretboard unless the frets are very short or you're an aggressive player, but the fretboard wood species still makes a difference because the frets are press-fit into it. So, a softer wood will tend to absorb some higher frequencies, while a harder wood will not. That's why a Rosewood 'board sounds "warm" while an Ebony 'board sounds more articulate or "bright".

Oh yeah, I forgot I opened this thread to ask about frets rather than woods  :laughing7:

My right hand is really aggressive. my left hand not as much. Can frets make a difference since I have had many rattling issues with stock electric guitars? (more details in the first post?)

 

[Cagey]

It's possible you've had some fret issues causing buzzing/rattling, but it wouldn't be fret size as much as how level they are. It may just be your playing style. Electric guitars typically take a much lighter touch than acoustics unless you use heavier strings and set the action a bit higher.

I have a Taylor acoustic here which plays much like an electric, but it still has more fight in it than any electric I have (mainly because of the heavier strings). So, if I spend a lot of time on it, when I go back to the electric I've got to calm down some. It's tough to play fingerstyle on light strings - you tend to get tangled up in them and/or over-pluck them so they snap off the 'board (that "rattling" sound you hear).

 

[Edoardo]

It's possible you've had some fret issues causing buzzing/rattling, but it wouldn't be fret size as much as how level they are. It may just be your playing style. Electric guitars typically take a much lighter touch than acoustics unless you use heavier strings and set the action a bit higher.

I have a Taylor acoustic here which plays much like an electric, but it still has more fight in it than any electric I have (mainly because of the heavier strings). So, if I spend a lot of time on it, when I go back to the electric I've got to calm down some. It's tough to play fingerstyle on light strings - you tend to get tangled up in them and/or over-pluck them so they snap off the 'board (that "rattling" sound you hear).

Yeah. Thanks a lot. I think I'm just getting "vanilla" frets then. There is no left-hand technique I privilege on another.

Man, I really don't know how to thank you for this loooong chat