Your experiences with Quartersawn and Roasted maple necks?

[pantshappened]

Hey all! I tried searching this and couldn't find anything. Looking to do a build (HSH rear rout strat) with a maple neck and fretboard and getting a neck that's roasted, quartersawn or both roasted and quartersawn seems like a great idea in theory. Mainly wondering people's opinions on each type of construction. All that I've really heard about either is that the process makes the neck more stable, which is what I want since I live in New England. I've also heard roasting makes the neck resonate differently but I've also heard that's untrue. But who can really know. So who has used roasted maple necks? Quartersawn maple necks? And roasted-quartersawn maple necks? How did you find they differ from a standard maple neck if at all? Thanks so much!!

 

[DavyDave53]

I have a roasted maple neck with a rosewood fret board.

I didn't really notice any different or special about the tone of the neck from what I expect from a maple neck.

But, the neck has a smooth silky feel about it which is really nice.

If you are worried about stability of the neck get a fatback pro.

I went from 10's to 8's on a fatback pro and I didn't have to adjust the truss rod.

Someone with a maple on maple neck may have a better idea about the roasted maple's tone.

 

[Surf n Music]

I got a roasted maple neck that is quartersawn. I got quartersawn just because I wanted the straight grain. I got roasted because I wanted it raw. I burnished it and it is super slick. The fretboard is ebony, don't really now about tone. I like the way it sounds A LOT! But that is probably due to the sum of all the parts. One bonus is that is smells sooo good.

 

[musicispeace]

I have a quartersawn maple neck on my first Warmoth strat and its been absolutely stable. I was talking with someone recently about the roasted maple and quartersawn idea and they responded that they felt the roasted maple is plenty stable regardless of cut. Given where you live, if it were me I'd go with roasted. If you wanted to pay for both aspects in one neck include a chat with the guys at Warmoth over the phone to see what they have found in terms of customer feedback on necks already out there in the world. Several on this forum use the Warmoth Pro neck with the dual acting truss rod and swear it adds to keeping necks rock solid. So it looks like you can factor in a couple features and have a very stable neck. I am in Western Washington and we get all the seasons sometimes in the same day. Again, my quartersawn regular maple neck has been golden.

 

[misterfinn]

Roasted maple on my swamp ash Jazzy (Pau Ferro fretboard) sounds like maple and feels really, really smooth to play. I don't know how I'd go back to a nitro satin finish.

 

[stubhead]

I am eventually coming to the opinion that a Warmoth double rod on a BALSA neck might be plenty stable.... I like big necks anyway, and one time WAY BACK when I had just clubbed a wooly mammoth & was feeling flush, I wanted all top-line stuff, so I got a Q-sawn maple boatneck Warmoth double-trussrod with a SCALLOPED ebony board, 6100's.... to give you an idea, this was before exotic woods, (thankfully?) before Warmoth's odd Gotoh... thingie, even before stainless steel frets! Einstein was president if I remember right and Babe Ruth had just eaten Long Island. 1998? Something like that.

And I live in a swamp but an electrically-heated one, it can go from the (current) 40% perspiration to (honest) a full 99% humidioty every goddam summer night. Anyway - I just adjusted the trussrod! Again! A whole 5/32 of a turn! This was the.... 4th time? Maybe the 5th. What a P.O.S. huh. Bury me with my allen wrench, it may need a 6th one round about 2025'r so....

 

[frown]

Well this thread has just confirmed my future plan for a Warmoth Pro Warhead in quartersawn roasted maple with fatback profile!

I was thinking the quartersawn cut made the grain straighter and plainer, which is what I'm after [to compliment a flame maple body I got recently].

I love it when my ideas pan out well...

 

[rgand]

I just got my roasted maple/roasted maple neck and am now trying it out. The tone improved dramatically over the standard maple/rosewood neck that came off, but I expected that anyway because of the tonal qualities of the rosewood. How much different it is to a standard maple neck I can't say. My other guitar has a varnished maple neck on it and I may change that and have a good comparison.

Surf n Music mentions burnishing his. What would be a good tool for that? I have an old steel tool burnisher and I also have a piece of cotton fire hose. Any suggestions? I know that over time it will get burnished just from use but I'm open to new ideas.

 

[Cagey]

It's not a tool, per se. It's a series of abrasives that go beyond what you'd normally use on wood. Warmoth's parts are normally sanded to 220 grit, which is fine as far as it goes. But, if you want the ultimate finish, you move from 320 to 2000 grit in stages on a raw wood neck. The farther along you go into the higher grits, the longer it takes to make a difference, but it's well worth it. Figure on spending an hour or better doing it. Once you're done, it's a satin finish like you've never felt, and it stays that way, unlike an artificial satin finish. There's a thread on it here if you're interested.

Be aware that you can't do it with any wood - regular Maple, Mahogany, Koa and probably one or two others I can't remember won't tolerate being naked. They'll twist up on you and make you so angry you could pinch them. But, many of the exotics and the roasted Maple are happy to frolic unencumbered by any sort of artificial finish.

 

[rgand]

Thanks for the information, Cagey. I'll check the link you provided. I've polished aircraft windshields and still have the stuff to do it. I can go up to 12,000 grit if need be. On that stuff, the back is rougher than the grit side. It sounds much like what I've done with lexan but I can stop sooner.

 

[Cagey]

If you have stuff like that lying around, it works wonders on frets. Particularly stainless. Take 'em to a mirror finish and you won't be sorry. Best neck you'll ever play.

 

[Surf n Music]

Surf n Music mentions burnishing his. What would be a good tool for that? I have an old steel tool burnisher and I also have a piece of cotton fire hose. Any suggestions? I know that over time it will get burnished just from use but I'm open to new ideas.

Ya I followed Cagey's little tutorial/thread on the burnishing and polishing of frets. It was a dramatic difference for me in the smoothness of the back of the neck and how good the ends of the frets now feel.

 

[rgand]

If you have stuff like that lying around, it works wonders on frets. Particularly stainless. Take 'em to a mirror finish and you won't be sorry. Best neck you'll ever play.

Ya I followed Cagey's little tutorial/thread on the burnishing and polishing of frets. It was a dramatic difference for me in the smoothness of the back of the neck and how good the ends of the frets now feel.

I was intending to polish the frets at the first string change. Now I'll burnish the neck at the same time. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[rgand]

OK, I read the thread on polishing necks. That is definitely the hot ticket. Next string change it'll happen.

I may have to go watch Eight Legged Freaks, too.  :toothy12:

 

[Cagey]

I may have to go watch Eight Legged Freaks, too.  :toothy12:

Hehe! Don't bother. It's bad in a non-entertaining way. I'd suggest...

THEM!​

 

[rgand]

Hehe! Don't bother. It's bad in a non-entertaining way. I'd suggest...

Yeah, I suspect you're right.