Stable Neck Woods

[thumb55]

I'm in the planning stages for a build that will be tuned to Drop C with heavier strings.

I like the Warmoth Standard thin neck, is there a wood that is more stable than others?

I know that quartersawn maple would be the best but I'd like something a little more fancy.

I was thinking Wenge or Rosewood (Raw) any thoughts?

 

[dudesweet157]

If you go with the Pro construction, neck wood would really be an afterthought with the double expanding truss rod.  Seriously, my Strat got an initial tweaking when I first slapped it together, another after it had settled a bit, and one more when I switched string gauges and that was a year and a half ago. 

FWIW, I LOVE wenge.  Looks great, sounds great, feels great.  What's not to like?

-Rose

 

[thumb55]

when I finished my korina strat I had it in drop c for a while (about 3 weeks) it has a birdseye maple neck (Warmoth Pro) with an ebony board that I finished with tru-oil.  I had to tweek it a little. (string guage 12-50 then 10-46 now)

my rule has always kinda been that as long as you leave the guitar with that tuning and aren't always going back and forth you should be ok.

I'd rather not change the neck profile but I could (59 roundback?)

I have a Warwick Thumb Bass that has a Wenge fretboard and some also in the neck (it's laminated with bubinga) and nothing can touch the way that bass cuts through a mix.

 

[SkuttleFunk]

I know that quartersawn maple would be the best but I'd like something a little more fancy.

just curious how you "know" that quartersawn is 'best', could you share more?

for reference, there are numerous builders who would say that a flatsawn grain orientation with hard maple is actually best for guitar neck building due to how this wood responds (expansion/contraction) to variations in humidity

all the best,

R

 

[thumb55]

my bad....I have no idea if quartersawn is the best.  And I can't really point to any one place that would tell me that either.

And I cannot recall where I might have heard that birdseye maple isn't the most stable.  I'd love to go with birdseye again but that's just a personal thing, I love the way it looks. 

 

[Mor Paul]

And I cannot recall where I might have heard that birdseye maple isn't the most stable.  I'd love to go with birdseye again but that's just a personal thing, I love the way it looks. 

Just Do It.
  (c) Nike

:icon_thumright:

 

[tfcreative]

Bubinga is stiff like all get-out. I've also got a Goncalo bass neck that is very stable.

 

[thumb55]

I have a Ibanez 7 with a bubinga strip down the back that I'd always assumed was for reinforcement.

I'll check into those (Goncalo/Bubinga)

Anybody have a rosewood neck?

 

[willyk]

I have had no issues with stability with any of my Warmoth necks. I have maple necks, both birdseye and plain on guitars (std thin pro's and 1 boat-vint mod) and basses. I also have an all rosewood std thin pro, bubinga/kingwood, canary/ebony, padouk/ebony and a couple of boats made from all bubinga and all pau ferro. Don't worry about the stability issue Thumb just go for what you feel right with. The rosewood feels great, very slick and organic feeling. If I had to pick a favorite though I would probably go with pau ferro.

 

[kreig]

I've never had a neck problem in 30 years and 10 guitars ! maple, rosewood, mahog.

 

[Sixbender]

I've got two birdseye maple Warmoths, have owned one for many years, the other one a year old...
no stability issues whatsoever. Truss rods never need a tweak now that they've settled in.
My rosewood Warmoth neck, same thing...but a very different tone.

 

[thumb55]

well I do have a tendency to worry alot.  :-\  I'm probably making too much of this.

What I'll probably do is go with either a Goncalo/Pau Ferro or Wenge/Macassar std thin.

If I stick with birdseye I might do a 59 roundback or do a Poly finish instead of tru-oil. (or both) But I still have some time to think about it.

Really it comes down to setting up the neck right dosen't it?  Some of you people out there are using heavy guage strings and tuning to E or down only a half a step. 

 

[koshersteel]

I know that quartersawn maple would be the best but I'd like something a little more fancy.

just curious how you "know" that quartersawn is 'best', could you share more?

for reference, there are numerous builders who would say that a flatsawn grain orientation with hard maple is actually best for guitar neck building due to how this wood responds (expansion/contraction) to variations in humidity

all the best,

R

SkuttleFunk, who are these builders who prefer flatsawn necks for their expansion/contraction qualities? I know many builders who prefer it for its price point but they all seem to think that quartersawn is better due to the vertical winter grain.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I doubt the profile would matter much with the truss rod, as has been said.  If you are going to go with a Dropped tuning, to C you said, I would look into the woods used in bass necks for another reason.  It is my opinion that the dropped tunings are much more apt to having the sound become sludge-like and not really cut through.  The woods like Wenge or Bubinga are, how do I put this, well tend to be rich in mids that tend to push you to the front of the mix.  If you are going to tune low it might be nice to compliment that with a wood choice that tends not get buried.  I have no real evidence for this other than it makes sense to me and that basses use these woods to claw out some space, but any reason to get a Wenge neck sounds like a good idea to me.
Patrick