Sharp fret ends - rosewood vs roasted maple

[Cederick]

I've had 2 Warmoth necks with rosewood fretboard, and they never got any sharp fret ends during winter here in sweden. They didn't need any kind of fret work either, one of them even allowed for the absolut craziest low action I've ever experienced, I think it was 0.5mm or something, it was ridicolous. I raised it up to 1.00mm later on because I realized it sounded better, and still mainted the playability.

The all maple neck I got is like a saw at the moment, and needs some fret leveling. Can this be because of maple? Both sharp fret ends and need for fret leveling.

I know that sometimes you need a fret leveling on any factory neck, so it's not that I'm concerned about

It's if I'm going to order a new neck, I have two options;

1. Roasted maple
2. Rosewood

I know from experience that the rosewood might offer superb playability and maybe save cash for potential fretwork (which I can't do myself... I'm good with setups tho).

Roasted maple... Does it prevent sharp fret edges in winter?

 

[dmraco]

Thats a good question.  Roasted maple is supposed to be more stable than maple so you would think so.  I have never had issues with fret ends on a Warmoth neck.  The only guitar and had to get them filed was on a Gibson Les Paul standard (no binding) with a rosewood fretboard.

I do not think any neck is immune to this.  Since I have MANY guitars and this is the lone example of this I doubt it was my storage of the guitar that caused it.  Just luck of the draw I guess.  Any natural product is going to change a bit.

I would go with what ever wood suits your fancy.  Neither is going to protect you more than the other.  70 degrees and 50% humidity and what I have read is best for guitar storage.

 

[Cederick]

Thats a good question.  Roasted maple is supposed to be more stable than maple so you would think so.  I have never had issues with fret ends on a Warmoth neck.  The only guitar and had to get them filed was on a Gibson Les Paul standard (no binding) with a rosewood fretboard.

I do not think any neck is immune to this.  Since I have MANY guitars and this is the lone example of this I doubt it was my storage of the guitar that caused it.  Just luck of the draw I guess.  Any natural product is going to change a bit.

I would go with what ever wood suits your fancy.  Neither is going to protect you more than the other.  70 degrees and 50% humidity and what I have read is best for guitar storage.

Yeah, of course it might happen with any neck; there might have been a SLIGHT sharp fret end on the rosewood fretboards
I had/have, but nothing I even notice while playing. The maple fret ends I DO notice.  :sad:


I have seriously no idea about temperature or humidity in my house ... i guess i would need super expensive equipment to mantain that? So far I've never had a neck warp or simply go bad for me.

 

[dmraco]

Not really.  I picked up a digital thermometer/humidity combo at my local music store.  I think it was $20.  during winter the humidity is the issue.  Mine can drop as low as 30% (I have gas forced air heat)  I simple humidifier ($50) will work fine.  I have most of my "expensive" guitars in a display case I made.  It is not air tight but a simple humidifier using water works well.

 

[dmraco]

BTW...a local luthier charged my $90 to file my fret ends and spray some nitro on my Gibson.  I think the whole low E side needed done.

 

[Cederick]

Sounds reasonable!

I'm going to a PLEK for a mega setup when I feel I'm ready for it.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Now I'm intrigued as to when Gibson ever sold a Standard without neck binding....

Anyhoo, this can happen with any fretboard made of wood. Sometimes you are lucky and the particular piece of wood you have doesn't recede enough to expose the ends of the frets a noticeable amount, and other times you are unlucky and it'll recede a whole lot. There aren't any particular woods that are more or less prone to this, other than that well-conditioned woods—and, therefore, woods which are easier to keep well-conditioned—are, on average, going to have fewer problems than woods kept in poor condition.

Binding can shrink a little too, through generally not as much as wood. Often if you have a guitar with binding that exposes the fret ends in colder months, it's the wood that's receding and taking the binding with it, rather than any issue with the binding itself.

Maple necks with very thick poly finishes do tend to avoid these problems a little better, but only by virtue of having a finish so thick that there's no movement possible, which typically means low sustain and a muddier tone, too.

As far as regular maple with an 'ideal' thin, non-restrictive finish vs roasted maple raw, the roasted maple should, in theory, be a little more stable. But, again, you could luck out with regular maple and get an exceptionally stable piece, or you could be unlucky with roasted maple and get a neck which isn't noticably more stable than regular maple.

As far as roasted maple vs rosewood goes, this is again a bit of a luck-of-the-draw situation, but rosewood may be the better option by virtue of the fact it's a little easier to keep conditioned. A decent deep conditioner, followed by a little conditioning oil a week or so later, is enough to keep rosewood in top condition for 9+ months. It'll need more regular care if you happen to leave it next to radiators, air conditioning units, or the temperature and humidity really changes drastically in a short period of time, but generally, one round of conditioning a year should keep a rosewood board absolutely solid. Roasted maple, on the other hand, can't have much done to it. You can give it a hard finish, but then it's not really any different from a regular maple neck/fretboard.

FYI, Warmoth don't finish the fret ends or crown the frets, so if you're able to get even action and no sharp fret ends with Warmoth, you've already lucked out a bit. Ideally, Warmoth necks should have the fret ends and fretboard edges rolled, and the frets crowned to be sure everything is as it should be. If you go for smaller fretwire you stand a better chance of getting away without having to do additional work.

My advice, in summary: if you're really worried about it, get a rosewood or ebony neck, keep to small or medium fretwire, and buy some good rosewood/ebony conditioner; the Dunlop 65 range is really good stuff, and one bottle of each will last you several years. But nothing is guaranteed, and you should still be prepared to have the frets and fretboard edges properly finished off if you wish to minimise the risk of exposed or sharp frets.

 

[dmraco]

Now I'm intrigued as to when Gibson ever sold a Standard without neck binding....
the frets crowned to be sure everything is as it should be. If you go for smaller fretwire you stand a better chance of getting away without having to do additional work.

Studio.  my bad