Smooth neck woods, weight and profile ?'s

[rauchman]

Greetings,

Have started researching for the next project.  On my last, for the neck, I went roasted maple and sanded it to 2000 grit and it is really smooth.  Like...really really smooth and now along with the polished stainless frets, my other guitars (all factory) pale in comparison in playability to my ShoreCaster.  Overall, very happy with the neck, just want something a little different and exotic.  Want something that doesn't require a finish, and also is more uniform in color than not.  Love Black Korina visually for a body, but not a neck...I'm weird ..I know.

For the next one, I'd like to use a wood that is not as common as maple (just because) and am somewhere between canary, padouk, rosewood and wenge for the shaft wood.  Ebony is interesting too, but worry it might be a little too bright.  From what I've read, the tonal qualities of canary and especially padouk are in the wheelhouse of maple, where wenge is a little warmer and rosewood is a lot warmer.

One of the things I like about the roasted maple neck on my previous guitar is how smooth I got it.  Was in a Guitar Center recently, and they happened to have an Ibanez S 1070 PBZ (which I think is just a damn gorgeous guitar) and it has a wenge shaftwood neck.  Was surprised how coarse it felt. Actually, was turned off by it.  Can wenge be made "really" smooth with it's coarse grain?  Granted, I'm spoiled by how smooth I've gotten my roasted maple neck and I've dinked with other roasted maple necks on various offerings in GC and they are no where near as smooth as mine. 

So, this is a really long winded way of saying, between canary, padouk, rosewood, wenge, and what they hell, throw ebony in there as well, which of these can get "really" smooth?

As aside, if one uses an ebony shaftwood, can the highs be tamed a bit with say, a rosewood board?

Also, regarding weight, are these woods in the same ballpark in weight as a maple neck?  I had put Hipshot locking tuners on my build and it was too neck heavy until I changed the tuning pegs from the stock metal to an ivoroid plastic (thanks to the member on this board that suggested I change the tuning heads and whose name I forget...sorry).  Another way of saying, I don't want neck dive, but I realize body weight and what not are part of that equation.

Lastly, neck profile.  On my last build, I had found a Wolfgang profile in the showroom.  I've become aware I am a fan of the asymmetrical profile neck, but am not exclusive to it.  Having said that, I think the bit more meat on the neck vs a thinner profile adds to the heft in sound and sustain.  Have any of you compared the standard thin to a meatier profile in terms of sustain and "thickness" of sound?  I've had a couple of Ibanez guitars with their Wizard profile and found the tone a bit thin.  I know this is a very nebulous question, but the offerings of Wolfgang profiles are nowhere near as plentiful as the standard thins in the showroom.

Mucho appreciated!

 

[Rick]

You forgot Goncalo Alves, a nice oily wood.  In terms of feel, I like Wenge Shafts, to me it's a very slick neck, and I'd probably mate that with an ebony board.  Touch is a funny thing, we all perceive it differently. 

The best sounding neck shafts I've found to be Mahogany, korina and Maple.  But all the others are good too.  It's a hard decision.  Start with what looks best, probably pick three shafts and three boards, and then whittle it to the one you like.  Try something different.

In terms of neck dive, it's more a matter of geometry, but weight does affect it.  A strat will neck dive less than a tele, a jazzmaster, even less, all things being equal.  If you don't want neck dive, try a jazzmaster or a VIP.

I've tried lot's of profiles and go thru phases.  My least favorite is the fat profile.  Currently, I'm liking the 1 7/8 width with a wolfgang, but I think that might be good with thin profile.  Just gots to try them.

 

[Cagey]

Roasted Maple will spoil you bad for feel. The only other thing that feels quite like it is Pau Ferro, but it's tough to get (and pricey). Bloodwood feels like it, but it's sorta like Ebony in that it's heavy (and pricey). Sound-wise, they're all similar, in that their density and low elasticity makes 'em kinda bright.

 

[musicispeace]

I have an all Bubinga neck on a guitar that Cagey burnished for me when he fretted it. Smooth as glass. If I was going to even try to describe what I subjectively think it adds to the sound of the guitar I would say it seems a little rounder sounding than a maple neck. One thing to consider too though is how any of the exotics age in terms of color. I tend to like lighter color woods but some darken with age. That darn nature!

 

[WindsurfMaui]

I know this is an old thread but this is the right thread for my question. I am a convert to roasted maple necks and want to order another one but I think there may be other combinations that are just as good if not better. In a perfect world if the Goncalo Alves doesn't feel too oily I would like to get a one piece Vintage/Modern quarter sawn Goncalo Alves neck. This way I would have an unfinished neck that would have a warmer tone than the roasted maple. But this isn't a perfect world so I'm torn between a one piece Vintage/Modern roasted maple neck or a Modern build with a Goncalo Alves fret board on a roasted maple shaft. So I have two questions. I like the dry smooth feel of the roasted maple burnished shaft. Many have said the Goncalo Alves is oily feeling. I'm not sure I would want an oily feeling shaft. Does the Goncalo Alves shaft leave an oily feel on the hand when you are through playing or is it just that the Goncalo Alves feels slippery? Second, I don't like the feel of a rosewood fret board but if I want a fret board with a warmer tone I could put a Goncal Alves fretboard on a rpasted maple shaft. Is the Goncalo feel more like maple and ebony or more like rosewood? Any other ideas are welcome. Thanks.

 

[Cagey]

Rosewood. You might want to look at Pau Ferro.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

The website says the tone from Pau Ferro is very bright. I'm trying to get a warmer tone and raw wood which is why I was looking at Goncalo Alves.

 

[Cagey]

That's going to be a characteristic of most dense hardwoods. If the whole thing was made of it, neck meat and all, I'd be a lot more concerned than I would about just the fretboard.

 

[MikeW]

So I have two questions. I like the dry smooth feel of the roasted maple burnished shaft. Many have said the Goncalo Alves is oily feeling. I'm not sure I would want an oily feeling shaft. Does the Goncalo Alves shaft leave an oily feel on the hand when you are through playing or is it just that the Goncalo Alves feels slippery?

In my experience, Goncalo Alves, Wenge, and Canary have a particular feel to the wood itself. It's as if the wood fiber was "waxy" or "oily". None of them leave a residue or feel like they leave a residue on your hand, and it's not that they are sticky or feel sticky to the touch. It's that the wood itself has a particular property of feeling a bit oily in comparison to what we commonly find in use for guitar necks. Also, these woods have more "openness" between fibers which leads to interesting colorations in Canary and Goncalo Alves but also that "coarseness" that some people describe.

On the other side of the spectrum, Maple and Pao Ferro feel very dense and dry to the touch. Without the openness to the fibers, these woods burnish super well, as you know.

Second, I don't like the feel of a rosewood fret board but if I want a fret board with a warmer tone I could put a Goncalo Alves fretboard on a rpasted maple shaft. Is the Goncalo feel more like maple and ebony or more like rosewood?

I think of Rosewood as in the middle between the denseness of Maple and the openness of Goncalo or Canary. I thiink Cagey is dead on when he recommended Roasted Maple/Rosewood. I have two Roasted Maple necks on my guitars currently and have a friend with another. Mine are RM/RM and RM/Rosewood and his is RM/Ebony. They are, as you'd expect, RM/RM being the brightest and RM/Rosewood being the warmest with RM/Ebony in the middle (probably a shade to the brighter side). When I say RM/Rosewood is the warmest, I don't mean that in the Mahogany/Mahogany LP type sense of "warm". It's still got a ton of bright and high-mid to it, but it has a rounder bottom end that the RM/RM just doesn't have.

... so I'm torn between a one piece Vintage/Modern roasted maple neck or a Modern build with a Goncalo Alves fret board on a roasted maple shaft. ...

I'd say you can't go wrong with a RM/GA neck in Modern construction. That sounds like the best of all combinations. I think your only questions then are going to be fret size and profile.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

guess I will have to wait a few weeks until the guitar stores open after quarantine and go in and feel Pau Ferro and Goncalo Alves if I can find them in the store. My default is the 1 piece RM but I see that there are sometimes quarter sawn Goncalo Alves with Goncalo fret boards in a 2 piece Vintage/Modern build. If I like the feel then I may go for the GC/GC for a slightly warmer tone.

I really like Strats. they are like chevy's used to be, They are so common everybody makes parts for them so you can pull them apart and put them back together in any way you want. Makes them more fun for me than a set neck high priced guitar.