I posted this under basses and then realized it's better here. I'd like to know, for a neck/fingeroard combo, what (in general) is lighter-wenge/wenge or maple/maple? Is the difference minimal or significant in the context of a 5-string bass? If there'd likely be a 1/4 pound difference, it'd matter to me.

Maple hands down.

Maple is lighter than Wenge. If you compare a Maple/Maple neck to a Wenge/Wenge neck, you'll definitely get more than 1/4 pound weight difference. More likely a pound. How can you see the difference in a 1/4 pound weight? That's the weight of a cheeseburger, not heavy at all. I don't think your shoulder would complain much because of the extra weight of a quarter pounder. :D

i work at a kitchen and bath showroom so i know a bit about woods. wenge is a very heavy species of wood and it is has a very strong hardness. maple on the other side is significantly lighter and has a moderate hardness.

I go through quarter pounders like they are going out of style! lol :p

Thanks!

Ive seen some pretty heavy maple but Ive never seen any light wenge!

Ive seen some pretty heavy maple but Ive never seen any light wenge!

Amen to that!

That's the weight of a cheeseburger, not heavy at all. I don't think your shoulder would complain much because of the extra weight of a quarter pounder. :D

I guess McDonald have a hamburger called like that in US?

Maple is lighter, but wenge is nicer :)

Speaking practically and from experience the two woods are closer in weight than you might think. I had some neck blank laminates equal in size, one hard maple and the other wenge and the wenge laminate was only a few onces heavier.

Here are some numbers, courtesy of "World Woods in Color" by William Lincoln; Linden Publishing 1986; ISBN 0-941936-20-1


Soft Maple 39 Pounds per Cubic Foot, specific gravity .63

Rock Maple 45 Pounds per Cubic Foot, specific gravity .72

Wenge 55 Pounds per Cubic Foot, specific gravity .88

I guess McDonald have a hamburger called like that in US?

Absolutely correct!

But I can't stand McDonald's anymore! :D

Maple is lighter than Wenge. If you compare a Maple/Maple neck to a Wenge/Wenge neck, you'll definitely get more than 1/4 pound weight difference. More likely a pound. How can you see the difference in a 1/4 pound weight? That's the weight of a cheeseburger, not heavy at all. I don't think your shoulder would complain much because of the extra weight of a quarter pounder. :D

don't you mean 113 grams? ;) For fun, try ordering a "113 grammer" at McDonald's and see what you get. (Probably a confused look ;) )

Royale with cheese......:hiding:

Royale with cheese......:hiding:

Ohhh ... the quarter pound McDonalds is the one called royal here?? I hate McDonalds :D

Royale with Cheese (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=royale+with+cheese&search_type=)

It really depend on the sensitivity of the player to weight, but using wenge for a fingerboard should not make much noticeable difference. If you use wenge for a neck you might need to make sure that your body is heavy enough to prevent neck dive (or certain designs also help too, like a long upper horn, or very heavy bridge.) If you have a wenge body then you are going to have a very heavy bass by anyone's standards. The only way around that would be to have a smallish thin body.

small pieces of wenge like a fingerboard might only make a couple ounces of difference but a body could be a couple lbs. difference. A neck is somewhere in between and has it's own extra issues.