stiffest, most stable woods for gecko fretless

[kimbass]

I am planning a Gecko bass, and want to use the stiffest most stable woods possible... would that be wenge with an ebony fingerboard, or perhaps bloodwood with a bloodwood fingerboard, or something else? I've heard that while ebony is very hard, it can be somewhat unstable. Appearence and weight aren't issues.

 

[dbw]

I've never, ever heard of a Warmoth exotic neck warping.  Even if it happens, you can get it replaced under warranty.  So don't worry about stability... just pick the wood you want to play.

 

[Wyliee]

Can you tell us the source of where you heard ebony being unstable?  I've had several necks with ebony board and never, ever had a stability issue. 

Ebony board on wenge would be fine.

 

[kimbass]

Thanks very much for your replies. I read about some properties of ebony here:

http://www.jthomasdavis.com/ws3.html

I do understand that ebony has a long history in musical instrument construction, it's just that since I will be ordering something to use in a custom bass, I might as well try to get all the info I can on the materials involved. I don't even know if Warmoth would build a bloodwood/bloodwood neck. I was thinking that using 1 kind of wood would be the most stable, even in a laminated neck, and the bloodwood has a Janka harness rating very close to ebony. In any case, perhaps the next step is to just call them and ask.

 

[dbw]

Yes, they can do bloodwood/bloodwood.  I think there are some on the showcase as a matter of a fact.  I've never seen bloodwood in person so I have no clue what it's like  :dontknow:

I can't imagine ebony ever warping.  Super-smooth, super-hard, and very tight grain.  It's just the best fretboard wood IMO... I know Orpheo agrees and he's tried every wood on the planet!  It would probably be a great neck wood too if it weren't impossibly heavy.  Plus all-ebony necks are an ugly brownish color.

However since you said you don't care about looks or weight... maybe an ebony neck is for you... :dontknow:

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I have to disagree on all ebony necks being an ugly brownish color.  In general they are black, just like the fingerboards.  The macassar ones have streaking, but that is why people want them.  They look good.  My all ebony guitar neck is black, not brown, and it is really a fun neck.  Very fast.
Patrick

 

[dbw]

I have to disagree on all ebony necks being an ugly brownish color.  In general they are black, just like the fingerboards.  The macassar ones have streaking, but that is why people want them.  They look good.  My all ebony guitar neck is black, not brown, and it is really a fun neck.  Very fast.
Patrick

Thanks patrick, I've actually never seen one in person!  Let me show you why I think they're brownish... this is the front of the neck I posted earlier...

You can see the ebony board is much blacker than the ebony headstock.

I've hefted some ebony timers and HOLY SHIT.  That stuff is so heavy.  I love my ebony fingerboards but I really hate neck dive, so I'm gonna stick to other woods for the back.  But for the OP who doesn't care about weight OR looks.... ebony is perfect dude!

 

[Patrick from Davis]

They are heavy, but if you have a "Strat" shaped body the upper horn should balance it out.  I have one on a Basswood body and it is balanced.  Teles and LP's the upper horn is not nearly as far out or as "Balanced" as the strat body shape.  The ebony necks are heavy, solid and fast as lighting.  Can't comment on how it would work on a bass, I'd imaging that the tuners would also be a large factor in the neck dive equation.
Patrick