Wenge neck stability issues?

[Rallinger]

Hello, I'm planning a built for a 5-string Jazzbass. I love the tone of wenge necks but I was told that one piece wenge necks sometimes tended to move which were the reason that many companies building necks with wenge would combine them with other woods in a laminate. And in fact if you see a Wenge neck out there it mostly is laminated. Warmoth seems to be the only company to offer a one piece Wenge neck, as far as I know. Well ... Warmoth necks have stiffening rods which could be problem solving ...

I'm a little bit concerned about that since 5 bass strings are pulling a lot ... anyone out there with a 5-string Wenge neck and longtime experience with it? Thank you!

 

[musicispeace]

I just got a Wenge tele neck for a guitar project and Warmoth did that as two piece, neck shaft and separate Wenge fretboard. I have not come across any comments indicating a stability issue but I know bass necks are a little bigger of an engineering project. You should get some responses here but if for some odd reason not I would PM Cagey and maybe DoubleA. Wenge is considered a very hard wood and a little heavier than maple. I can attest my Wenge neck is a tad heftier than the roasted maple one I also have in awaiting project funding. If you've played on Wenge you already know how it feels. For all that sometimes gets asked about the feel of it as a comparatively porous wood it feels fine to me. 

 

[Rallinger]

Thank you very much. Well, no replies could mean that there's no one out there that can confirm my concerns. No news are good news. I absolutely loved the wenge necks I played for their feel but more again for their sound. But they were all 5 piece laminated necks. I always thougt that was a question of costs so I was excited to see at what price Warmoth does offer an entire neck made of that lumber. Well, I don't mind adjusting bass necks time by time. And then, wenge necks are quartersawn + stiffening rods + ebony fingerboard. That should do the trick. However I would be easier if some fivestring player would confirm not having had such problems at all (even if no two pieces of wood are the same). A Tele neck is one thing, but here we're talking about +8inches more lever and a .130 String on top. There's more wood also but, well ... There's no doubt that Warmoth parts are reasonably priced and I have no concerns about built quality but with EU's custom duties I'd pay more than 1000$ for two pieces of well crafted wood but with noting on it. Should be gorgeous at this point ...

 

[Cagey]

Warmoth warrants raw Wenge parts for 2 years, so it would seem they're not too worried about it moving around much.

 

[AllHailDIO]

I may be the odd ball out... My Wenge neck seems to need more adjustments than I anticipated after being told Wenge was more stable than Maple.  I adjust it as much, if not more, than I would my Mahogany neck on my Gibson.  I did a full setup of it a few days ago and cured my fret buzz.  Now it's buzzing again... Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the neck to set... Who knows?  I gotta adjust it again; I'll let you know how it goes.  Anyway, maybe I got a structurally bad one.  Nevertheless, feels, plays, and sounds amazing. 

My Roasted Maple neck is much more stable than my Wenge neck.  Only adjusted it once for initial setup and never since... Has been several months. 

I keep all of my guitars in ABS hardshell cases which are stored in my closet.  Temperature and humidity seems consistent here in Northern California, for the most part. 

 

[Cagey]

Is it a modern, modern/vintage, or vintage construction? Modern is very stable, no matter what wood you use or where you live. The other two, not so much. Not sure why they even exist. Are there people who want to adjust their neck every time the environment changes?

 

[bbl4ck]

I don't own a bass Wenge neck, but my first Warmoth build was a V with a Wenge neck.  That neck is now 5 years old and have never had any challenges with it.  I don't do anything special for storage, it just sits on the stand in a sometimes hot sun room. 

In fact, I can attest that the stuff is tuff as nails!  I once accidentally stuck the headstock into a moving ceiling fan and it did nothing except an itsy, bitsy dent that you have to look for to notice.  Undoubtedly one of my favorite necks...

 

[AllHailDIO]

Is it a modern, modern/vintage, or vintage construction? Modern is very stable, no matter what wood you use or where you live. The other two, not so much. Not sure why they even exist. Are there people who want to adjust their neck every time the environment changes?

It was a Showcase... Tiltback Gibson scale with truss rod adjust at the top. Uses nut wrench rather than Allen key. Not sure which construction...

 

[Cagey]

That's a "Modern/Tiltback" construction, which uses a double truss rod adjustable at the headstock. Should be very stable, especially with Wenge. If you've never had the frets levelled and your strings action is fairly close, it may be that it only requires the tiniest movement for a string to start hitting a particularly proud fret. It doesn't take much.