i was wondering if anybody knows if cherry wood can be used to make a bass neck. ive heard it sounds like mahogany but i dont know about the strength and stability of it. anybody also know where i could find somebody that could make one with a bc rich beast headstock and bloodwood fretboard. ive got a mahogany bc rich warlock body that i have alot of sentimental attachment too that im trying to restore and customize and i figure cherry would match the mahogany and be cheaper. i could use other wood but the bass was the last thing i have left from my dad and we both loved cherrys so i figured that would be a cool and unique memorial.
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Cherry wood neck?
- Thread starter Pillgrimm13
- Start date
mikeyswood
Inactive
Cherry sounds like Cherry. Search the Tone Wars to learn more. In my area Cherry and Mahogany are about the same price. You can search the Who Are You thread to find a builder that matches your needs.
I'd think a Cherry neck might be too soft...but a cherry topwood could be very cool - though the color changes over time, as I recall... something about oxidation in the wood...
- Aug 14, 2008
- 698
- 12
- Disclosures
- Owner and Operator, Xylem Handmade Basses and Guitars
I've seen a couple of cherry necks on basses, one was on a fretted six string even. I've never used one myself but I'll bet you'd be OK as long as you made sure that the piece you were using was quartersawn. Couldn't tell you about the tone though...
As extra insurance you could use a very stiff wood for the fretboard and truss rod spline.
As extra insurance you could use a very stiff wood for the fretboard and truss rod spline.
+1 to this, if it's been done before, it can be done again. but cherry is a pretty soft wood, so you'll need reinforcements
Not a builder myself (yet) but my doublebass has a lovely jatoba (Brazilian cherry) fingerboard, nut, and tailpiece) on it. I love the tone from that one. Great looks too. People give it a double-take.
mikeyswood
Inactive
would bloodwood be stiff enough for a fretboard? what about combining cherry with other wood in the neck like adding bloodwood strips up the back would that help strenghen it? ide hate to pay that kind of money and have it warp. thats the reason im looking for a new neck now. im in the middle of trying to decide if i want a cherry neck which would be beautiful and have some meaning or a graphite neck which ide like and would last but i think the cherry would be more personal.
carbon fiber rods stiffening rods are a good idea. Also lighter gauge strings produce less neck tension so you can get away with a softer neck wood. I made a neck out of red cedar with 2 pieces of 1/8'' x 3/8" aluminum bar stock for stiffening. Not the stiffest neck but it works wonderfully
- Aug 14, 2008
- 698
- 12
- Disclosures
- Owner and Operator, Xylem Handmade Basses and Guitars
Bloodwood is pretty stiff...I don't have my wood encyclopedias with me at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that it is stiffer than wenge (which is generally accepted to be stiff enough to be used as neck wood). Again, you'll want to make sure that both the neck and fretboard woods are quartersawn (that'll help with future refrets of the fretboard too) regardless of the species.
Adding stiffer stringers of wood to the cherry neck would also make it a bit stiffer. I like to add stringers down the outside edges of the neck, following the taper (I feel like it's a little more stable that way), but lots of excellent luthiers use stringers in the cores of their necks too.
I also agree with powerbass' points about the carbon fiber rods and lighter string gauges. Personally, I generally avoid carbon fiber in necks (I've had to fight the carbon with the truss rod to get the right relief on some necks) but, again, there are lots of very good luthiers out there that have great results with carbon fiber reinforcement.
Are we talking a 4-string bass here? What scale length?
Cherry doesn't sound like mahogany. Cherry is brighter, tighter and has a bump in the low mids. It's maybe a cross between mahogany and maple. I have a six string with a cherry body/top. One of the best basses I've ever heard had a cherry body/maple neck/kingwood fretboard. Great combo. Not sure how well it would as the sole neck wood. I've seen it used as stringers in a neck.
I built a 33" scale 4-string with a one piece flat sawn cherry neck with carbon fiber rods.I'm using 40-100 gauge strings I haven't had any problems.The neck is kinda bulky but thats the way I like it
Personally, the pitch or whatever blotches I've commonly encountered in Cherry make me not want to use it for structural purposes such as bass necks. Those black blotches.....voids or whatever. Maple just works better, as do many other more beautiful woods.
mikeyswood
Inactive
I'm currently building one with cherry and one with maple and I'd say Mikey is about dead on with what I'm seeing. Also the cherry does seem to have a lot of inclusions which are annoying but if it's coming from Warmoth or a similarly reputable builder then they've already dealt with any bad spots they may have shown up and I wouldn't worry about it. Also the bloodwood is very very stiff. I don't have a way to measure it but of the stuff I've been working with, it's a whole lot stiffer than maple.
A cherry neck with a bloodwood fretboard should be structurally fine and might have some nice character.
Strength properties @ 12% MC
------------compression--------------------------tension---------------- sheer
---------ll to grain--ll to grain--perp to grain-----perp to grain------------ll to grain
-----------fspl---------mcs-------fspl------------- mts------------------ mss
Bl.Cherry--5960--------7110-------850-------------560-------------------1700
Sug.Maple--5390-------7830------1810-------------na--------------------2330
------------compression--------------------------tension---------------- sheer
---------ll to grain--ll to grain--perp to grain-----perp to grain------------ll to grain
-----------fspl---------mcs-------fspl------------- mts------------------ mss
Bl.Cherry--5960--------7110-------850-------------560-------------------1700
Sug.Maple--5390-------7830------1810-------------na--------------------2330
Specific gravity varies pretty wildly in sugar maple(reports ranging from .56 to .72) and Black cherry seems more consistent(reports ranging from .47 to .56)
