Would this be neck heavy?

[Goober]

I am near ordering some parts for my dream Stratocaster for my first build

I would like a chambered swamp ash body which I guess is quite light, but i want this combination for sonic reasons. I have in mind the Angled Warmoth Pro neck which has a double the weight double expander truss rod. Do you think this combination is in danger of being neck heavy? In my 30 years of playing I have never liked neck heavy guitars. If so I would choose not to chamber the body which would be enough i hope not to make it neck heavy?

Cheers

Goober  :rock-on:

 

[Cagey]

I have two Strats with chambered swamp ash bodies, both with maple tops. They're not particularly heavy or light, probably heavy 3 or light 4 pounders. One has an ebony over maple neck, the other an ebony over koa neck, both "Pro" versions with the attendant dual-action truss rods. They also both have locking tuners on them. Neither of the two is neck-heavy at all. Actually, I can't recall ever hearing of a neck-heavy Strat.

Incidentally, the chambering does very little for tone; it's for weight reduction. If you're ready to pay the premium in the expectation of some magical resonance out of the thing, fuhgeddaboudit. By Warmoth's own admission, even when they open the chambers up with F-holes it doesn't make much difference. The F-holes are just for stylistic reasons.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

+1

I have 3 chambered bodies.  2 Swamp Ash J-Basses, and 1 Hard Ash Tele.  Sorry no Strat, but I'd reiterate that I've never heard of a neck heavy Strat.  The basses because of the longer scale length, I opted for lightweight tuners to counter any neck dive.

You can spec and extra light body for a little more $.  It might be a safer bet because with chambering, they don't know if the customer is wanting it for sound or weight reasons.  They might chamber a lighter body thinking you want a light body or they could also chamber a heavy body knowing it would be lightened up.  You never know.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

The upper horn on the Strat body design spreads out the strap making it much less prone to neck dive.  I put a full ebony neck with the double expanding truss rod on a basswood body strat, and it is balanced.  Close to diving, but still holds balance.  Now on the SG shape, and even the Tele, it can dive easier depending on how much weight you put out there.
Patrick

 

[Telenator]

I guess I'm going to be odd man out on this one.

Personally, I like bodies that weigh 4 to 4 1/2 lbs. In the past I have played one or two ultra-lightweight guitars that were indeed exemplary while the others were lacking bite and projection.

In the 30 years I've been building I have found that I get the most consistant, most toneful results from bodies in the 4 to 4 1/2 lb range. As the bodies get lighter, the percentage of duds vs good ones increases dramatically for the way I play and use guitars.

In my experience, the touted equation of "Light-weight = Uber Tone" is a myth at best. In fact, my experiments have proven the opposite.

When I scratch build Thinline, or semi-hollow body guitars, I often start with heavy wood so the body will end up in that 4 to 4 1/2 lb range, and I alwyas leave the area behind the bridge solid. Fender, Warmoth and others route a pocket back there that I feel robs the guitar of cut and sustain.

For recording and home use, the light bodies, (in my experience) have worked well. But on a gig, I find that a light guitar just plain bounces around too much and the sound most often doesn't project more than 10 feet from the band. If you're micing the amps it's not a problem.

I like a guitar to sit firmly in front of me as a stable platform where I can apply my trade without having to support the neck or keep the dang thing from wiggling around alot. That requires a little bit of weight.

And in the end, we all like something different. So, that's my 2 cents.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The route behind the bridge for Warmoth is optional, BTW.  Unrouted is a must if going the Bigsby route.

 

[line6man]

Why has no one questioned the neck woods yet?

 

[Cagey]

I pointed out what my necks were in my first post, in order to contrast them with the bodies and show that even moderate-weight necks aren't a drag. They're not as bad as some necks - for instance, my ebony over pau ferro Pro neck w/ lockers is a heavy little bugger - but they're not lightweights, either.

Speaking of the heavy pau ferro neck, that's on a very light swamp ash body (3lbs, 6oz) that's even lighter than the chambered bodies, and there's no hint of neck dive on that, either. As someone already pointed out, the Strat design is such that neck dive really just doesn't happen. The upper horn places your strap button far enough forward that they're always balanced in favor of the body.

 

[tfarny]

I have a 3 lb 0 oz strat body, as light as they come, it has relatively heavy schaller locking tuners and it is not neck heavy in the slightest, in fact it is perfectly well balanced. And I agree that chambering is not a magic tone enhancer.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Why has no one questioned the neck woods yet?

Why haven't you asked what they are instead of asking why no one's asked?

 

[line6man]

Why has no one questioned the neck woods yet?

Why haven't you asked what they are instead of asking why no one's asked?

The OP should be inclined to tell us after reading the question, so I really don't have to directly ask it.