Walnut for body and/or neck

[rauchman]

Greetings,

I see walnut offered as a neck / body wood. I know zero on this wood for guitar building, outside of it's a beautiful wood.

For a neck, does it need to be finished?
How relatively heavy is it for a body wood?
How does it affect sound?

 

[JacobJames]

It's not a heavy or dense wood. Fairly soft and light, but stable. I would compare it to Mahogany or Korina as far as tone goes, but I am no expert in comparing tones. It cuts well and has a good smell to it.

 

[teleme01]

I find it heavy, lighter than maple, best for thinline or chambered body, in fact my favorite for thinline, (no filler needed) and lastly, I have no experience with it as a neck wood.

 

[u.9]

I had a Warmoth VIP body many years ago (back when you could get a carved top *without* binding ), walnut with maple carve top. It was on the heavy/dense side, though not quite as heavy as my all maple strat body. Never got to hear its tone as I had to sell it after being laid-off.

I just got a new guitar today with a black walnut fretboard (on maple shaft; not Warmoth) and haven't had a chance to explore its tone yet but unplugged it is bright, clear, with fast attack like a maple/ebony setup.

Warmoth and others seem to agree walnut is much like maple tonally, and structurally as neck meat, and as yet I can't quibble with that.

 

[stratamania]

You would be best advised to use a finish with a walnut neck.

 

[JacobJames]

This is directly from the Warranty - Necks with shafts of Rosewood, Ebony, Pau Ferro, Bocote, Ziricote, Bubinga, Purpleheart, Padouk, Goncalo Alves, Satine, Roasted Maple or Wenge do not require a hard finish.

Agree with Stratamania, Walnut is not on the list.

 

[aarontunes]

Yep to pretty much all above.

I think of Walnut as being very similar to maple in most respects, but dark. Which makes a little bit of sense, as it's a North American species, unlike all the other dark woods that grow in more exotic places.

As far as necks needing a finish, I categorize it similarly: if it grows in the US it needs a finish, aka Maple, Walnut, Koa. If it grows somewhere else it doesn't.

 

[stratamania]

If it grows somewhere else it doesn't.

Probably for the woods Warmoth sells this works; however, there are European and English woods such as Walnuts and Sycamores, for example, which would also need a finish.