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Learning Curve Question

#2
One advertisement states:

"Full, rich, clear, focused & warm tone, combined with excellent swell & sustain, a strong fundamental, increased & even harmonics, predictability and stability."
 
#4
jackajesusfreak said:
What are the advantages and appeals of a graphite neck?
Jack
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Graphite necks don't change when the humidity changes & change very little with temperature. That means the set-up doesn't change much & they stay in tune or near pitch, longer. OTH, even necks with a truss rod are never much different than their out of the mold shape. As with wood, each one has it's own personality.

Some players can hear a difference in the sound of a graphite neck. I think the bolt on mount, bridge, nut, strings & pick ups affect sound much more than the neck material. YRMV
 
#6
F-Clef-Jef said:
I think most (if not all) replacement graphite necks (Moses, Status) these days have a truss rod.

My 1985 Steinberger doesn't though...
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I don't know about "all" but necks do come in two types. One are the thick solid ones with no truss rod, like the one on my Modulus. They are UBER stable. But have the disadvantage that the relief has been set permanently at the factory and can't be changed. So if you love the setup with it, you are home free. If you would like to change the relief to create a different setup, you can't.

So people started making graphite necks with truss rods. Well, if you are going to bend a graphite neck, it's got to be made a LOT thinner! So these necks while quite stable and unaffected by weather are still less stable than the ultra strong ones. Still they are more stable than the wood necks with just graphite inserts as then you still have some wood that can react to weather changes etc.

Some people hate the cold glassy feel of a graphite neck, but personally I love it. Maybe it's just me, but they always seem "faster" to me.
 
#7
I have owned two basses with Status replacement graphite necks. They are the ultimate in finish and playability and have a very effective dual action truss rod system, but the tone is quite unique - needs to be carefully listened to before deciding.
 
#9
Not sure why you headed your post "learning curve question".
There's no real "learning curve" for a graphite neck. It's just another neck material - like going from a maple neck to a walnut or mahogany or wenge neck. You'll have more to do (IMO) adjusting to the particular neck size, profile, etc. than to the neck material.

And yes, them's that likes graphite tend to love it, and them's that don't, tend not to. :D
 

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