Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

[quiksilver]

I'm thinking of getting a Warmoth neck for a project guitar, and I'm thinking of getting something unusual, like having the neck made of rosewood or canary, with an ebony fretboard. The reason is these woods do not require any finish, per Warmoth. Anyone have any experience/opinions with exotic wood necks like these? One question I have is whether a rosewood neck would be inordinately heavy? The body on this guitar is lightweight swamp ash, and I don't want to make it unbalanced.

I was originally planning to go with maple/maple, but then I'd have to finish it or have Warmoth finish it (which costs $50 extra, almost bringing it up to the price of an unfinished rosewood/ebony neck).

[dinkyjacksonman]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

I had a Rosewood neck with Rosewood fingerboard PRS McCarty.
I think it had oil finish on it.
GREAT playing neck and felt nice.
Yes it felt heavy and it would be nice to have balanced body to the neck.
Maybe Mahogany body would be cool and I don't think light Swamp Ash will work.It would be too bright sound.
IMO.

[shred4Him]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

I have seen a few builders answer this question (Melancon and a few others) They mostly seem to agree that the weight difference between rosewood and maple is not that noticeable. The bigger issue is what tuners you use. If you use low mass tuners like Sperzel then you will save a lot of weight at the headstock.

[quiksilver]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

Thanks for the interesting comments.

I hadn't really considered the sound difference that much (and to be honest, I didn't even know swamp ash was bright, I thought it was similar to mahogany - shows what I know) [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. The body is swamp ash with a 5/8" carved maple top, 1H, with a Floyd, so I guess it will be kinda bright, though I suppose I can address that with my pickup choice. I have an extra EMG that I might put in it, though I'd also like to try out a DiMarzio Tone Zone. I guess if it's too bright, I can put in a SD Custom Custom. I have one in my EVH replica guitar, which I guess would tend to be bright, as it is all-maple-all-the-time (maple body, maple/maple neck), and it sounds great in that.

I'm glad to hear that some have said it is similar in weight to maple. I was hoping that might be true, both of them being such hard, close-grained woods. I'm planning to use regular Schaller mini-tuners, with a Floyd nut, as I have a set of Schallers just waiting to be put into a guitar.

[shred4Him]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

Rosewood is a heavier wood, there is no doubt about that. But the weight becomes more noticeable when you have more wood. If you had a maple body and a rosewood body you would be able to notice a larger difference. The size of the headstock and the weight of the tuners will have a great impact on the weight of the neck. A huge headstock and heavy tuners will make most guitars become neck heavy. That is specifically why Parker guitars uses Sperzels and has a skinny headstock. Makes the guitar balance better. If you have a really heavy body then it may not really matter what the neck is made of or what tuners you have. Swamp ash is a very light weight wood, so you need to keep an eye on what you use for the neck. There are other options out there. Pau Ferro and Goncal Alves come to mind. Just find out if you can get a light weight cut of whatever wood you use for the neck. Most places will do that for you.

[Endrik]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

What about Pao Ferro(brazilian hardwood)? I've heard it has a amazing sustain. Reab Beach signature Suhr's neck and fingerboard is made of it.

[quiksilver]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

That could work. I'll read up on those. What about Canary? Warmoth has it listed as an option. The thing I like about it is that it doesn't need finish, and it's kinda yellow, more like maple. I could just go with maple, but I'd like to keep it unfinished if possible.

Incidentally, the headstock will be Strat style (small, not '70s era).

[mm2002]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

I have to ask, what's wrong with unfinished maple? It does get a little dirty looking over time but that just adds to the mojo! I love maple with NO finish.

[quiksilver]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

Unfinished maple would be GREAT, except that Warmoth warns against it, saying that it tends to warp without a hard finish. Here's the warning from their site:

<font color="yellow">All our necks are dipped in an oil based penetrating sealer which is compatible with virtually all secondary finishes. This provides enhanced stability; however, it is not adequate protection for playing. We strongly recommend you apply a hard finish to all Maple, Mahogany, and Koa necks. Oils do not validate our warranty requirements.

We understand the attraction of raw or lightly oiled necks. They feel fast and are not sticky. Unfortunately, they are much more susceptible to moisture related warping and twisting. Our experience is that hard finished necks seldom warp. Less than 1 out of 200 (0.5%) are returned for warpage. Raw or oiled necks don't fare as well. About 10% are rendered useless from the torture. The more acidic your perspiration, the higher the odds are against you.

If you must play a raw neck, that's cool; it's ok. A neck is just a tool. Just be aware of the risk. If yours does the pretzel act, we don't want to hear about it.

For a valid warranty, a hard finish must be sufficiently thick to completely cover the wood. That means no wood is exposed and you are actually playing on the finish, not the wood. Now, it does not matter to us who applies the finish. Of course we would like to do the finish for you, but if you choose to do it yourself or have it done elsewhere the warranty is still valid. </font>

[quiksilver]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

On the other hand, if I decide to save some major cash, anyone ever hear of TNT Guitars (now calling their site Guitar Shop Supply.net)? They have some extremely inexpensive necks (and other parts, but I need a neck). HERE'S A LINK.
Of course, I'd still have to get a Floyd nut slot cut, and sand the backshape if it was too thick. But $90 for satin finished birdseye maple seems pretty cheap!

[mm2002]

Re: Opinions sought RE: exotic wood necks

I'm sure Warmoth has to put that warning on their stuff for warranty reasons, and I can totally understand that. Three of my guitars are at least 15 years old and have unfinished maple necks(lightly oiled though), and they aren't warped or twisted. I think the quality and cut of the maple have more to do with stability than the finish.