Wenge, Bubinga or Rosewood neck?

[Failtastic]

I'm looking to build a guitar for myself in a few minutes, and I've got to whole body worked out but the neck wood is what's confusing me.
I'm debating between Rosewood, Bubinga or Wenge. Something raw, but I still want a sound with a nice mid range and warm, but not to warm. It would be going on a Les Paul body made of Korina with a Flame Maple top.

So, from what I've gathered Wenge has coarse grains, a good defined mid range, big lows and trims off some of the highs a bit because of the grain.

Bubinga is like a smoother Wenge I believe, but wouldn't trim the highs like Wenge because it has really tight grains.

And rosewood is smooth and somewhat oily feeling, trims the highs and sounds pretty warm. I'm not sure I want that though.

Anyone wanna lend me a hand here? Thanks! I'm more leaning towards Wenge or Bubinga at the moment. Not sure about the fretboard, though. Probably rosewood or ebony.

 

[Mor Paul]

The openness of the grain does not impact sound  :icon_thumright:

 

[Patrick]

do you want a neck of all the same wood? would you be opposed to the idea of an ebony fretboard on the rosewood so you get the best of both worlds tonally?

 

[tubby.twins]

Bubinga is probably going to sound brighter than Wenge.  Denser and heavier woods usually sound brighter.  Plus, the raw Bubinga is going to feel incredibly smooth to the touch.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Rosewood feels like flannel to me, and ebony feels like silk.  Well it's the best metaphor I can give.  Wenge is fast, really fast, and has an oily feel, but not.  Very hard to describe.  I like it the best of the bunch.  The unfinished necks come with a coat of sealer on them, and this can make the necks feel a bit gummy for a while until it is gone.  Or you can do a light dusting with 320 followed by a rubdown.  Light dusting, not competitive sanding...  Once it is gone and you get the neck worked in, they are hard to put down.  I have two Ebony's, one Wenge, one Bocote (rosewood like) and a Pau Ferro.  They all have their charm.
Patrick

 

[dNA]

from the sound of your description, I imagine you would want wenge. a rosewood neck would definitely be too warm for you. Bubinga's brighter and would probably be just as good of a choice.

 

[NLD09]

from the sound of your description, I imagine you would want wenge. a rosewood neck would definitely be too warm for you. Bubinga's brighter and would probably be just as good of a choice.

+1

 

[m4rk0]

It has been hard for me to decide what my favorite neck wood is... I am torn between Wenge and Rosewood. I like Boobinga too, great feel, great tone, but Rosewood feels and sounds even nicer to me! and yes, it sounds warmer than Wenge, but it goes really well with an Ebony FB, which brightens it up a little.

Wenge is great too, totally different feel, but also a great choice!

 

[AprioriMark]

The unfinished necks come with a coat of sealer on them, and this can make the necks feel a bit gummy for a while until it is gone. 
Patrick

I didn't know this until recently, and it really bothered me thinking that my necks were gummy.

-Mark

 

[Failtastic]

So wait, let's limit it down to Bubinga vs Wenge.

I know the feel difference, but how do they sound compared to each other? Which one has more mids, or are they pretty much the same? I want a sort of hard rock, metal sound of the guitar. Thanks guys.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

If those are your choices, I'd head off to the closest store that had expensive basses.  Both woods are used in bass necks on off the shelf models.  I found Wenge by playing a couple of Warwick basses.  Ended up getting one a bit later.  It is hard to describe without playing it.  As far as sound both woods are in the same general area of the tonal world.  While I wouldn't go so far as to say that they sound alike, they will have a good bit of mids in there to cut through.  It becomes more a question of closed grain or open grain, and general color of the wood.  Still, if you can try one out, it should make it a lot easier.
Patrick

 

[fourdogslong]

It has been hard for me to decide what my favorite neck wood is... I am torn between Wenge and Rosewood. I like Boobinga too, great feel, great tone, but Rosewood feels and sounds even nicer to me! and yes, it sounds warmer than Wenge, but it goes really well with an Ebony FB, which brightens it up a little.

Wenge is great too, totally different feel, but also a great choice!

For a LP, would you choose a rosewood or a wenge neck to get those punchy lows but still get a nice top end, sort of in between a les paul custom and a les paul historic reissue.

 

[Orpheo]

wenge+ebony for a les paul will result in an LP custom+ tone. rosewood with ebony is a R8 + tone (with the plus being everything more precise, more tight, more dynamics).

rosewood as flannel is a nice way to describe it but I'd say ebony isn't silk, its glass. bubinga has that same feel to me. and wenge is like a candle, but less waxy.

wenge is indeed a bit in between bubinga and rosewood, but imho, rosewood will never get mushy, as mahogany or korina.


a nice one is canary. it has that warm feel of wenge, but the power and brightness of bubinga. its not my favorite, but its a great one too.

 

[back2thefutre]

korina body= you must get a wenge/ebony neck :icon_thumright:

 

[fourdogslong]

korina body= you must get a wenge/ebony neck :icon_thumright:

why in your opinion?

 

[Jeremiah]

wenge is like a candle, but less waxy. 

So wenge is like wax, but less waxy? :icon_scratch: :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Steve_Karl]

rosewood with ebony is a R8 + tone (with the plus being everything more precise, more tight, more dynamics).

Orpheo ...

Can you clarify the term "R8"? ... and also that you're speaking of Indian Rosewood ... or are you speaking of Brazilian Rosewood?

And can you compare rosewood / ebony that is standard thin VS rosewood / ebony that is fatback or '59 round back?

Thank you!

Steve

 

[swarfrat]

Or Wenge/Wenge.  I did consider Bubbinga, think it would work well, but for that THIS guitar is for, I think wenge is required by law.

I'd kinda like a Warmoth logo on it, gold metal on the headstock would give it some interest up there but... that requires a finish to lock it down, and ... oh well, bare it is I suppose.