Rosewood/birdseye maple neck with swamp ash body?

Gabe

Junior Member
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Just ordered a guitar with swamp ash body and flame maple top from the showcase, trying to decide a neck to go with it. I like the feel of birdseye maple, or maple in general for the neck wood, and the fingerboard I think would be a good complement to the ash as either indian rosewood or brazilian rosewood, does anyone know which type of rosewood has better sustain or would go better with a lighter sounding body like swamp ash?
 
I've always heard that swamp ash bodies and rosewood fretboards don't mix. Never tried it, just what i heard.  Maybe you might like a Pau Ferro board???
 
back2thefutre said:
I've always heard that swamp ash bodies and rosewood fretboards don't mix. Never tried it, just what i heard.  Maybe you might like a Pau Ferro board???

Sssshhh - don't tell Fender
 
back2thefutre said:
I've always heard that swamp ash bodies and rosewood fretboards don't mix. Never tried it, just what i heard.  Maybe you might like a Pau Ferro board???
I call BS. Whoever told you that does not know what he is talking about.
 
rockskate4x said:
back2thefutre said:
I've always heard that swamp ash bodies and rosewood fretboards don't mix. Never tried it, just what i heard.  Maybe you might like a Pau Ferro board???
I call BS. Whoever told you that does not know what he is talking about.

+1. it's a well proven combo!

i say go for it, warmoth has some of the best birdseye around. check out some fender custom shop "highly figured" birdseye necks, then check out warmoth's standard birdseye. it's insane how warmoth's can have more figuring than what fender charges small fortunes for.
 
Well I think the guys I always heard it from is Suhr guitars. http://www.suhrguitars.com/wood.aspx#body


I think you will be okay and your guitar will turn out great :icon_thumright:
 
back2thefutre said:
Well I think the guys I always heard it from is Suhr guitars. http://www.suhrguitars.com/wood.aspx#body

"Too much sizzle..." !?!?!?!?

...errrrr ...
I'd love to hear the rationale or sonic proof behind that statement.

I would think rosewood is going to be warmer than pao ferro no matter what the core wood.

Look at the W  "Tone-O-Meter"  http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/NeckWoods.aspx
( and I happen to hate the new design of that by the way ... the old one was much nicer with the gauge under it )
to judge Indian vs Brazilian vs Pao ferro vs goncalo alves.


 
is brazilian rosewood really a little brighter than indian? surprising. i would have thought they would be VERY close to the same. of course you can only take just so much from warmoth's tone-o-meter thing, but still a little surprised by that.
 
line6man said:
Gabe said:
I like the feel of birdseye maple, or maple in general for the neck wood

Maple needs a finish for Warmoth's warranty to apply.
Oh yeah, whatever "feel" you like about the birdseye neck that you have tried before had to do with the finish that was on the neck and not the wood itself. If you like the way that birdseye looks, then get that, and ask the W to put a slick satin finish on it, or ask the pros on the board how to do a nice finish.
 
thanks, I appreciate all the helpful replies, will definitely take some of this advice and use it for my ideas  :hello2:
 
Rosewood fingerboard on Ash body will give too much sizzle for many players.

What?

Isn't Pau Ferro a brighter wood than Rosewood? And the millions of Ash bodied instruments with Maple fretboards that I've seen out there are certainly going to have more sizzle than Ash bodies with Rosewood fretboards. I call bullshit on this.
 
I don't know where they ever got the idea rosewood/ash was a bad combo. It's only been done a bajillion times; it can't be too awful. Besides, swamp ash is all over the place as far as tone goes. It's gotta be one of the most inconsistent woods guitars are made of, what with densities varying as much as 50%. You can't predict what's going to happen with that stuff.

As for the difference between Brazilian and Indian rosewood, according to the folks at C. F. Martin, there's no appreciable tonal difference. Since they have a stellar reputation for making high-end acoustic guitars and use a great deal of rosewood, I'm more inclined to believe them than anyone else. The big difference between the two woods is cost due to availability, which is politically driven. Brazilian rosewood is strictly controlled/restricted, so the price is very high. It's not necessarily a better wood. But, as with all woods, the characteristics are variable, so you can't say anything absolutely.
 
I have to say that Brazilian RW will feel very different than Indian RW.. not sure how it really affects the tone, but mine sounds great :)

oh yeah, the Suhr thing is a load of ol shit
 
Cagey said:
I don't know where they ever got the idea rosewood/ash was a bad combo. It's only been done a bajillion times; it can't be too awful. Besides, swamp ash is all over the place as far as tone goes. It's gotta be one of the most inconsistent woods guitars are made of, what with densities varying as much as 50%. You can't predict what's going to happen with that stuff.

Agreed.

As for the difference between Brazilian and Indian rosewood, according to the folks at C. F. Martin, there's no appreciable tonal difference. Since they have a stellar reputation for making high-end acoustic guitars and use a great deal of rosewood, I'm more inclined to believe them than anyone else. The big difference between the two woods is cost due to availability, which is politically driven. Brazilian rosewood is strictly controlled/restricted, so the price is very high. It's not necessarily a better wood. But, as with all woods, the characteristics are variable, so you can't say anything absolutely.

I would take CF Martin's assertions with a grain of salt, not because I have any particular reason to mistrust them, but because they, too, are selling something.  Namely, Indian rosewood guitars - in part because Brazilian is so damn scarce.  Martin is stuck, like many mass producers of intstuments, with the problem of taking  the less desirable thing and explaining away the "less-desirable-ness."  That said, yeah, there's probably not a HUGE difference, and there may very well not be a detectable difference.  I always eye corque-sniffery with a fair degree of skepticism and trust my own ears.

Peace

Bagman

 
bagman67 said:
I would take CF Martin's assertions with a grain of salt, not because I have any particular reason to mistrust them, but because they, too, are selling something.  Namely, Indian rosewood guitars - in part because Brazilian is so damn scarce.  Martin is stuck, like many mass producers of intstuments, with the problem of taking  the less desirable thing and explaining away the "less-desirable-ness."  That said, yeah, there's probably not a HUGE difference, and there may very well not be a detectable difference.  I always eye corque-sniffery with a fair degree of skepticism and trust my own ears.

Good points, and well-taken.
 
Cagey said:
bagman67 said:
I would take CF Martin's assertions with a grain of salt, not because I have any particular reason to mistrust them, but because they, too, are selling something.  Namely, Indian rosewood guitars - in part because Brazilian is so damn scarce.  Martin is stuck, like many mass producers of intstuments, with the problem of taking  the less desirable thing and explaining away the "less-desirable-ness."  That said, yeah, there's probably not a HUGE difference, and there may very well not be a detectable difference.  I always eye corque-sniffery with a fair degree of skepticism and trust my own ears.

Good points, and well-taken.

Wholeheartedly agree
 
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