Unfinished stability

JD0x0

Junior Member
Messages
82
Aside from quartersawn roasted maple, which wood species would typically be the most stable in different environments, when left unfinished? Do you think Warmoth could/would do quartersawn exotic woods? I know for certain species it may be not possible, or too pricey, but how about woods like Bubinga? Apparently, it's not hard or expensive to get large pieces of Bubinga.

I know it may seem over the top, but I'm planning on building another touring instrument, and while my pau/pau neck holds up really well in diverse conditions, I'd like this built to be an improvement over the last.  :bass:
 
Do you mean Pau Ferro? Not pau pau?

Wenge does well unfinished, as well as bubinga. Mahogany is very stable, but doesn't do well without a finish. The grain is just a little too open, and not waxy enough.
 
AirCap said:
Do you mean Pau Ferro? Not pau pau?

Wenge does well unfinished, as well as bubinga. Mahogany is very stable, but doesn't do well without a finish. The grain is just a little too open, and not waxy enough.

'Pau/Pau' was my abbreviation for Pau Ferro neck and Fretboard, sorry for the confusion.

If it makes any difference, I will be burnishing the back of the neck.

How do Wenge and Bubinga compare against Bloodwood and Pau Ferro, as far as stability and reaction to humidity changes. I really like bloodwood, but it splinters easily when working with it.
 
Cannot comment on bloodwood - never had the pleasure of working with it. Pau Ferro - my only experience with it is as fingerboards - not whole necks or bodies. Wenge is exceptionally splintery.... But it makes a great neck or fingerboard.
 
I've had/have many of the exotics Warmoth sells and have never had an issue with any of them. This is in Michigan, which doesn't hit desert/arctic/rainforest extremes, but still has some pretty widely variable weather.

I would venture to say that if Warmoth is willing to say a species doesn't need a finish and still offer a warranty on it, that it's a pretty stable wood. They've got money on the line, so they're motivated to tell the truth there.
 
I have a bloodwood / ebony and it's very stable. I've had it since 2015 and it's never needed a truss rod adjustment since the first setup.
I just got a Pau Ferro / Pau Ferro a few months ago and so far I'd quess it's as stable as the bloodwood.
They're both boatnecks.

I also have a Padouk / Bloodwood '59 round back assembled in 2009 and it's very solid also.
I set the truss rod once when it was built and it's never needed and adjustment.
 
I have an all Bubinga neck in the Pacific Northwest and this year is the rainiest on record. No issues with the neck. (not quartersawn, by the way) Guthrie Govan has raved about the stability of roasted maple for a few years now and he actually is traveling to fly in gigs from the rainy UK to India to South America.
 
If you buy a neck from Warmoth and have it made with their 'Pro' construction, which features a ridiculously heavy truss rod, I'd say that any wood other than maple and mahogany are fine to be used unfinished. (And even then, I'd be tempted to risk it with quartersawn maple.) That truss rod keeps everything completely rock solid. Though I'm not a fan of it for tone & weight reasons, it sure does make for an unbeatably stable neck.

If you buy a neck from other companies, look out for options to have graphite bars installed. Several companies offer this and it helps tremendously. It essentially does what the Warmoth double truss rod does. There's so much solid mas in the neck it can't warp at all.

Other than that, the main thing I've noticed for neck stability when using either a thin finish or no finish is the thickness of the neck. A 1" fatback doesn't shift anywhere near as much as a medium C, which in turn doesn't shift anywhere near as much as a thin 'Wizard' style neck.
For example, I have a raw one-piece rosewood neck which just has a regular truss rod, and it's 0.88" thick at the 1st fret and 0.93" at the 12th. It's had 0.009 strings tuned to Drop Db and it's had 0.011 strings tuned to E Standard, and in three years of that constant shift in tension and all the seasonal shifts, I've never had to adjust the truss rod. Not even slightly, not even once.


So if you have a big truss rod, reinforcement bars, or simply a very thick neck, do not worry about seasonal shifting or warping.

If you want a thin neck and do not use any kind of reinforcement bars or heavier truss rod then I would stick to the densest woods possible, such as ebony and purpleheart.
 
Speaking of Ebony, Warmoth is selling Brazillian Ebony necks now. They're not quite as heavy/dense or black/variegated as the Gabon/Macassar versions we're more familiar with, but it's still a premium piece of timber that's surprisingly attractive price-wise. Also, Bloodwood is very dense and heavy, sorta like a red Ebony that ages into an auburn shade. Finally, Pau Ferro is very dense and heavy, in addition to being extremely attractive. Those two aren't inexpensive, but when burnished up they feel like sex on a stick. Just marvelous necks to play, with a feel unlike anything you'll find in the OEM market.

As to truss rod or reinforcing rod weights, I don't think they're significant contributors. Certainly for as much stability as they add, the 3 or 4 extra ounces you'd have to carry are repaid in spades. I've got necks here with the dual-action truss rods that haven't needed adjustment since they were installed as many as 8 years ago. They live in a basement in Michigan, so you'd think they'd move on you, but they don't.
 
    I have a warmoth Jazzmaster with a padouk neck that is 19 years old. It stated in Washington state and then to Saudi Arabia and then it was out of my hands for a while and now it is in my hands in Erie PA. My friend Terry I thin kept it in Tennesee but I am not sure I have it back now. He still has my SG (18 years old) to my knowledge it works fine it has a Bubinga neck and it has been To Saudi too and Iraq and Bulgaria and Nigeria. They got around and got subjected to a lot of extremes and did fine. Not all my guitars have fared that well.
 
I've got a mix of necks, all raw, unfinished and they're all stable with no issues so far, and I'm in miserable wet England, where we get the occasional ridiculously hot day, where it's not the neck that's a problem, but my hot hands...

The necks I have are all Warmoth Pro construction, fatback profiles - shaft/fingerboard:

Pau Ferro / Ebony
Pau Ferro / Pau Ferro
Roasted Maple - Quarter sawn
Bubinga - Quarter sawn

I can vouch for quality and stability in the UK!
 
Back
Top