Something besides Roasted Maple

[rookosu]

So I've got 4 necks from Warmoth now, all Roasted Maple, and there's a reason they've all been the same.  The unfinished feel.  It was my first time to play on an unfinished neck and it's a dream.

But, it's also the only wood I've played that's been unfinished.  So I have no comparison.

That being said, I'm starting to put the plans together for my next guitar, and it's going to be a solid black tele, black guard, white binding with chrome.  As such I'm curious about some of the darker woods that can also be unfinished, for the aesthetic.  So two questions :

1) Those who have experience with unfinished woods besides Roasted Maple, are there any you would recommend that are similar in feel of the darker variety?  i.e. Macassar Ebony, Rosewood, Wenge, Ziricote...    If the answer is "nothing will feel like RM but RM" that's cool too, but just wanting to ask for sage advice.

2) Any pics around of black guitars with the above woods?  Inspiration, or your ideas of what would look awesome?

Thanks!

 

[Cactus Jack]

Like you, I have several roasted maple necks. I love raw wood, especially burnished, and will never go back to gloss no matter what.

Besides maple, I have a Rosewood and Wenge necks too. To me Rosewood is awesome. After burnishing it the neck feels slicker than my maple necks, looks stunning, and overall feels amazing. Unlike others, my ear isn't good enough to hear tonewood variations, but what I can do is feel the difference in my hands. In contrast to my maple necks which feel vibrant and sparkly, the Rosewood is smooth and rich...basically, it feels like it looks. Considering all factors, my Rosewood neck is my favorite neck that I own.

My Wenge neck was part of a purchase I recently made. I actually bought the guitar for the body and electronics and viewed the neck as a bonus. After playing the Wenge for a while I can officially say I'm not a fan. More specifically I'm not a fan of either the look or feel. Wenge is very porous and the raw feeling in my hands is a distraction. Also, the neck is very heavy and by comparison to my other necks feels flat and dead. Now, I could burnish it and close the poures, but I prefer Maple and Rosewood so much more I've decided it's not worth the effort. This is obvioulsy a personal preference as more folks than not love Wenge, it's just not for me. 

Other woods I've been interested in include the Ebony variations, but I've heard those often run heavy. After playing the Wenge I know for a fact I don't want heavy necks. However, they do look fantastic and burnished I bet they play like lighting.

Hope this helps and good luck on your search!

 

[rookosu]

Thanks!  That's great feedback.  The weight is something I hadn't previously thought of so I'm glad you brought that up.  Something to consider for sure.

 

[spe111]

I have roasted maple, wenge and Brazilian ebony. None are burnished.

The Brazilian ebony is very smooth and not porous, it's also easily the heaviest. It feels good, but it's too heavy for me. Definitely an oily type of wood. I think you could make a good bowling ball out of Brazilian ebony.


Wenge has a very porous feel as mentioned above, it feels the best to me. It's very heavy, but not as heavy as the Brazilian ebony. Also, an oily type of wood. Out of the three, wenge is probably my favorite overall. 

 

[rgand]

I have been buying roasted maple necks. Like you, I have four of them. Each time I order I go through the 'what'll I get this time' process. I keep landing on RM because not only doesn't it need a finish, but it's roasted, too. That makes it more stable and less prone to shrinking over time or in dry weather. If there was a good roasted alternative, I'd give it a try. I'd love to see roasted mahogany or roasted koa. Meanwhile, I'll keep ordering those RM necks.

 

[Cagey]

For similar feel, I like Ebony over Pau Ferro, but it's heavy and expensive. Same with Ebony over Bloodwood.

 

[rookosu]

For similar feel, I like Ebony over Pau Ferro, but it's heavy and expensive. Same with Ebony over Bloodwood.

What about rosewood necks.  Got any thoughts about that vs. RM?  weight etc?

 

[JaySwear2]

For similar feel, I like Ebony over Pau Ferro, but it's heavy and expensive. Same with Ebony over Bloodwood.

What about rosewood necks.  Got any thoughts about that vs. RM?  weight etc?

I had a purpleheart neck with an ebony fretboard that was awesome! Was lightweight. Don't remember cost. I honestly bought it just because I was so curious and wanted to try it out. Very hard wood without too much grain, very smooth. It was... purple. It looked great but kind of clashed with other stuff. I'm sorry I ended up selling it, would have been a great excuse to build a purple body!

 

[Cactus Jack]

For similar feel, I like Ebony over Pau Ferro, but it's heavy and expensive. Same with Ebony over Bloodwood.

What about rosewood necks.  Got any thoughts about that vs. RM?  weight etc?

My Rosewood neck is Modern construction and is heavier than my Vintage Modern roasted maples. However, I attribute that to the design rather than the wood. My guess is like to like contstruction the weight would be within a few ounces of each other. Rosewood is awesome. 

 

[Cagey]

I go through a lotta necks here, and really the whole range for guitar necks seems to be from 16 to 34 ounces with very few on the high end. It depends on the wood. The modern vs. vintage construction doesn't seem to make an appreciable difference, nor does using locking vs. non-locking tuners. I mean, there certainly has to be a difference, I'm just saying it's nothing to base a decision on. The wood's the thing.

 

[rauchman]

interesting subject. 

Like a few others here, my one and only Warmoth build has a roasted maple neck.  No complaints against it.  Actually, for the Tele build that was made, this worked very well.

What about other woods like Canary or Padouk?  How is their weight, tonal response, smoothness, etc.

Regarding a Rosewood neck, is the discussion based around an all rosewood neck, or with a fretboard....ebony maybe?

 

[rookosu]

After listening to you guys, I think it's between rosewood and wenge.  I like the cost of Wenge better, but I really wish I could play it first, as some cite the grain feel as awesome and others not so much.  Might have to go find some exotic boutique guitar stores.

This is what I'm designing.  Simple, but elegant.  She will be mine.  Oh yes.  She will...be mine. 
(party time, excellent....and all that).

 

[rgand]

Both wenge and rosewood will look great on that Tele. Looking forward to seeing what you select.

 

[Cactus Jack]

Awesome Tele. Honestly, you can't go wrong and from a cost perspective, Wenge is the winner. Also, I'm 100% confident that if you don't like the feel of raw Wenge you could burnish the neck and it would feel like glass. After spending HOURS burnishing necks, leveling, crowning, and polishing frets on all of my necks, plus completing 3 builds simultaneously (pics coming soon), I'm just too lazy to take on another project. I say go for the Wenge, chances are you'll love it.

 

[DangerousR6]

Wenge/ziricote is a great combo, I have two. Also canary/ziricote.. arty07:

 

[Rick]

The only to know what you like is to try them.  I recommend you check out the descriptions on the warmoth website which are pretty good.  In terms of feel I like the slickness of the wenge. But goncalo is wonderfully oil, my advice is go with what looks visually most appealing to you.

 

[BroccoliRob]

+1 for goncalo, my turtle. It's the dankest wood and i wanna get a another one. Sometime it s hard to describe why u like something and there's nothing wrong with sticking to what werks and twerks for you. like when I was eight (years) i wore a scarf for almost a year, regardless of the temperature, because someone told me it looked bohemian. I had no idea what Bohemian meant but i knew it had something to do with the band Queen and the movie Flash Gordon was very popular at the time

 

[new-killer-star]

I have both roasted maple and rosewood, both burnished. I love them both but I love the way my rosewood neck feels even more, I would not hesitate if forced to choose.

 

[frown]

While my necks aren’t burnished, Bubinga is the closest to the feel of Roasted Maple going off my own experience. I actually like the lightly textured feel of their default state.

Pau Ferro is just a level above for smoothness, being so densely grained - again non-burnished.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

If you can afford it burnished bocote is AMAZING not to mention beautiful.  It darkens quite a bit as it ages.  Anyone who's ever held/played my Tele has commented on the neck and several have tried to buy it off me.