Wenge/Ebony Neck?
- Thread starter mystique1
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Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
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Same neck on 2 different basses:
This combination actually seems to be more popular on Bass guitars. I know Warwick used it for quite a while. The one I've ordered actually worked out cheaper than a regular Maple/Rosewood variety with a finish. Love the Bloodwood skunk stripe and truss rod fillet. Will post pics when its installed. Hey STDC, how do you find the tuning stability on your 2 Basses?
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
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Tuning stability because of neck wood, or because it's a bass? Not sure how to answer. It requires retuning more with new strings and changes of temperature. Generally though, bass playing has more of a vibrato style and less of a bending to pitch style one might play on guitar. It tends to stay in tune for a 1 hour set.
***spoiler alert***
I'm not the fan boy of raw exotics others on the forum are. I find the feel of Wenge to be awesome, but my favorite necks are still finished maple with a rosewood board. I like the brightness of a maple and relatively soft feel of rosewood. I tried the wenge/ebony combo because this forum raved about it, and I'm up for new things and not content with the same old same old. Low and behold, I like the same old same old. I've had that neck on 2 basses and will probably try it on a 3rd. It is the least played of my 4 basses.
***spoiler alert***
I'm not the fan boy of raw exotics others on the forum are. I find the feel of Wenge to be awesome, but my favorite necks are still finished maple with a rosewood board. I like the brightness of a maple and relatively soft feel of rosewood. I tried the wenge/ebony combo because this forum raved about it, and I'm up for new things and not content with the same old same old. Low and behold, I like the same old same old. I've had that neck on 2 basses and will probably try it on a 3rd. It is the least played of my 4 basses.
Patrick from Davis
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I have a Wenge Ebony Bass neck, a Wenge Ebony Guitar neck, and a Wenge Rosewood guitar neck. I like Wenge, it is a real mid forward sound. A lot of that is because I have a lot of friends with scooped mids rigs, and this gets me back to normal-ish territory. But the feel and the sound are complimentary to my tastes. I have noticed that it will go out of tune with swings in temperature (35 F swings from night to day where I live), but this doesn't really strike me as something that is odd. As far as the rosewood vs ebony? I like Rosewood better, because I like rosewood better than ebony. I can't really tell a difference with the sound, I just like the looks of Rosewood. But, and this is a factor to me, I have found if I like the appearance of one guitar better on comparable instruments, I will like playing it more. It is the little things that make ya smile, and that translates to having more fun for me.
Patrick
Patrick
I've got a Wedge/ebony neck and the feeling everytime you touch it is awesome . The sound is balanced with more focus in mids . I agree with Patric from above , sometimes when the air is really humid , you can feel it on wedge . I'm going to finish it with tru oil in a few days , hope that this will work .
elgravos
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I just received one last week. I'm re-purposing my jazzmaster and figured I would give the combination a shot. Might be a while before I actually get around to mounting the thing as I'm feeling exceptionally lazy at the moment and I also plan on trying out the polishing process that's described elsewhere on the forum. I'll post a pic or two if I find some time. From a visual standpoint: it looks absolutely stunning (I went for Wenge and jet black ebony). The feel of the wood is really something else - everything they say about it here is true - though it's perhaps not quite as coarse grained as I expected from what I've read on the forum.
S
swarfrat
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Yeah, love it - apart at the moment waiting on electronics, and threaded inserts
Patrick from Davis
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I wouldn't call it coarse grain, well, not if I'm thinking about it. However, it is strikingly open grained. With the polishing procedure it becomes really slick, to the point you have to remind yourself to get a firm grip before lifting up the guitar.elgravos said:
Patrick
mrpinter
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I love wenge, but I like it as a fingerboard wood. I had a Novax Fanned Fret guitar with wenge on maple, and it was a fantastic feeling and sounding guitar (sadly I no longer have it). So, with that in mind, I ordered my last Warmoth neck with wenge fb on goncalo alves - another favorite neck wood for me. I'm quite happy with the neck, the wenge has a great feel to it, and I'm sure it contributes to the nice tone of the guitar.
Here is a shot showing the open grain of the wenge:
Here is a shot showing the open grain of the wenge:
Thanks to all. I've got the neck installed and strung, and it really does feel very different, but much better than the laquered necks I'm used to. :headbang: Can really hear the difference in tone too, even unplugged. I'm in the UK and hope the tuning issue doesn't effect my live gigs as described by PFD.Where are you btw? Will take pics at the weekend in daylight, and post in the Strat section.
mrpinter said:I love wenge, but I like it as a fingerboard wood. I had a Novax Fanned Fret guitar with wenge on maple, and it was a fantastic feeling and sounding guitar (sadly I no longer have it). So, with that in mind, I ordered my last Warmoth neck with wenge fb on goncalo alves - another favorite neck wood for me. I'm quite happy with the neck, the wenge has a great feel to it, and I'm sure it contributes to the nice tone of the guitar.
Here is a shot showing the open grain of the wenge:
That looks really nice with the black and white.
Patrick from Davis
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The tuning thing is not such an issue for me, other than it gets to 100F (38 C) in the days, and drops to 60-65 F at night (16-18 C) here in Northern California. I expect it to lose the tuning at that point. But once I get it back in tune, it is solid. The bass I have with a Wenge neck I have owned 17 years, and it is stable as can be. Wenge also seems to be a very elastic feeling wood. After a Month or so, I didn't notice as much. Can't say if the tension on it caused it to settle down, or I just got used to it and didn't notice. Oh yeah, Warmoth necks are dipped in a sealer, which can feel gummy depending on conditions. It will wear off in time, but... Another reason to polish them up.mystique1 said:
Patrick
Patrick from Davis said:
That's a relief. :icon_smile: The temperature in the UK where I am usually doesn't swing more than 10C day/night all year 'round. I've never owned a Wenge neck before so its all new to me. Have to say I love the feel, and look of it. Do you polish it with regular guitar Polish, or again something more specialised? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Patrick from Davis
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This pretty much covers the polishing. I go to 1500, because that is what the hardware store had at the time, but it does make quite a difference. Be care fulr when you pick it up after that. Several times I have had that very light stomache, "Oh Crap" feeling because I needed to grab it better.
Patrick
Patrick
