I own basses with both quarter sawn and flat sawn necks.
To me there is absolutely no difference between the two as far as playability and feel are concerned.
I have never had a quality made flat sawn neck twist, warp, or fail in any way.
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Neck Quality
- Thread starter Mike Brown
- Start date
I own basses with both quarter sawn and flat sawn necks.
To me there is absolutely no difference between the two as far as playability and feel are concerned.
I have never had a quality made flat sawn neck twist, warp, or fail in any way.
I have seen this as well. Some builders feel that the way the grain runs in quartersawn necks makes the neck more rigid and less prone to warping.
There has been some discussion about fret dressing and fret ends. Does anyone know the actual facts here? Once you drop below a certain pricepoint, does "fret dressing" consist of any more than pressing the frets into the fingerboard and clipping the ends? Once you rise above a certain pricepoint, do you get more actual attention to fret ends, leveling, etc.? Or do they all see approximately the same amount of labor and attention? Does anybody actually know, or are we all just guessing?
I have no clue at all, all I know is generally, whenever I play a new Squier, the fret ends tend to be rougher/sharper/less well finished than when I pick up a new American Standard. It's not a big deal, I've owned a number of Vintage Modified basses that are great, and I'm not going to look to spend an extra grand on a job that'd take a tech no time at all to do... but I've noticed it.
I say generally, because Classic Vibe models are always the exception. I've never owned one, but whenever I pick one up, the fret ends are always smooth. Whether it's a Jazz, Precision, Tele or a Strat, I've not played one with edges I'd want to file down before gigging (out of probably 10-12 different instruments). I don't know for sure, but experience leads to believe they have to be to paying more attention than, say, the VM line gets. Don't the CVs have smaller, vintage size fret-wire? Could be related to that somehow.
Your thinking is similar to mine, but I'm not sure if differences I notice in the sharpness of fret ends is more about the attention to the ends in the first place, or about the wood itself. I will say, I have a Sub Ray5 that is an impressive bass for the money, but the corners cut on the neck are obvious: cheap wood that was quickly cut and sanded (burn marks!), a cheap grade of metal used in the fret wire, plastic nut and cheap machine heads, and frets that don't look to have had any more attention than being pressed and clipped. Regardless of all that, though, it plays remarkably well.
Here is what wiki says about quarter sawing.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_sawing
Does say quarter sawn lumber is more stable. Additionally, it brings out better grain patterns. I can belieive that. The back of some of my plain maple quarter sawn necks have the most beautiful grain patterns. The flat sawn I have owned had barely any markings of any kind.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_sawing
Does say quarter sawn lumber is more stable. Additionally, it brings out better grain patterns. I can belieive that. The back of some of my plain maple quarter sawn necks have the most beautiful grain patterns. The flat sawn I have owned had barely any markings of any kind.
I believe that these things are true. However, for me, the real question is whether or not it makes any difference in the real world?
I have found it not to make much difference at all. I think that the fact that bass guitar necks are relatively short contributes to this.
A four-foot piece of high quality, properly cured, half sawn maple is a remarkably stable piece of wood. Especially when fitted with a truss rod and capped with a fingerboard.
If bass necks were 10-15 feet long it might make more of a difference.
Hey careful now! Some of us are just as worried about the difference it makes to our rock n roll fantasy!
Here's a good piece about quartersawn v. flatsawn necks:
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Two of my G&L basses have quartersawn necks, and they are very stiff. The also resonate a little differently, which I can feel while playing. Of course I'm looking at a tiny sample size, but the quartersawn necks seem to add a little focus and clarity. Really can't be sure though. Over on the Fender Forum, I've read that some Strat players avoid quartersawn necks, because they make the guitars too bright.
my go to fender bass is an 84 japanese squier jazz, which plays better than some mia basses, but probably not all of them
it's pretty cool that when setup it plays almost as well as my 2011 mia g&l, which was quartersewn, shimmed, and plek'd
it's pretty cool that when setup it plays almost as well as my 2011 mia g&l, which was quartersewn, shimmed, and plek'd
Quartersawn necks I have used over the years have been much more stable. So stable, in fact, that I have never had to touch the truss rods, despite severe fluctuations in humidity, and occasional changes in tuning and string guage (though not extreme changes). Flatsawn necks in the same conditions were greatly affected. The same goes with wood planks used for building. Flatsawn boards tend to cup, and twist, to a significantly greater degree.
Now, one must also consider the fact that the quartersawn necks were on higher-priced instruments. So, I can't say that the stability was solely due to the grain orientation. Conceivably, there was more attention given to wood selection, curing, construction, and finishing in the quartersawn instruments. Had the luthier used flat, it might have resulted in similar stability, all other factors being the same.
Given the option, though, I still feel a bit more confident with quartersawn necks.
Now, one must also consider the fact that the quartersawn necks were on higher-priced instruments. So, I can't say that the stability was solely due to the grain orientation. Conceivably, there was more attention given to wood selection, curing, construction, and finishing in the quartersawn instruments. Had the luthier used flat, it might have resulted in similar stability, all other factors being the same.
Given the option, though, I still feel a bit more confident with quartersawn necks.
Means2nEnd
Supporting Member
The neck pictured above is plain or flat sawn. There as far as I have heard from guys with a ton of experience no real swing in numbers as to warping issues from flat, rift, or quarter sawn if the wood was dried properly and was clear and good quality. Flat sawn sugar rock maple that has rested for a year or more and given time to rest throughout the process of building the neck should be as good as anything. In fact many multi laminate necks have a flat sawn piece in the middle where the stress from the truss rod would be if adjusted so as to make sure it would never separate the wood and come through the back. If it’s pressing on flat sawn wood there is less likely of a chance for any cracks.
There are so many factors that go into a great quality neck starting with the quality of the wood it’s made from. If you say maple or mahogany just remember that’s like saying red or white wine there are many species of each from different parts of the country of origin, old growth, new growth, from the top of the tree or the base it goes on and on. To me 90% of what makes a bass great is the neck and 90% of what makes a great wood neck is proper wood choice when making it. Everything else is a matter of preference or opinion.
There are so many factors that go into a great quality neck starting with the quality of the wood it’s made from. If you say maple or mahogany just remember that’s like saying red or white wine there are many species of each from different parts of the country of origin, old growth, new growth, from the top of the tree or the base it goes on and on. To me 90% of what makes a bass great is the neck and 90% of what makes a great wood neck is proper wood choice when making it. Everything else is a matter of preference or opinion.
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Don't most if not all the newer MIA necks since 1995 have the graphite reinforcements? I know the MIM or Squier basses don't. Just having a more stable neck is certainly a plus in my book.
This is an interesting question
I own 2 MIA Fender Jazz and PJ, 1 MIM Jazz and a brand new Squire Tele.
Tonight I picked up the CHEAP Squire Tele and did some recording with it.
Loved the feel. It is a gloss neck.
MIA have nicer fret work and a softer feel but for 1000 to 2000 difference I'm digging the Cheap Squire.
It sounds good, not great, but just go play a few an see for yourself.
The more expensive the nicer the ride and feel. Can you tell the difference? Up to you.
I own 2 MIA Fender Jazz and PJ, 1 MIM Jazz and a brand new Squire Tele.
Tonight I picked up the CHEAP Squire Tele and did some recording with it.
Loved the feel. It is a gloss neck.
MIA have nicer fret work and a softer feel but for 1000 to 2000 difference I'm digging the Cheap Squire.
It sounds good, not great, but just go play a few an see for yourself.
The more expensive the nicer the ride and feel. Can you tell the difference? Up to you.
I have an American Deluxe Jazz V and an Affinity Squier Jazz 5 - and from a players perspective there is no memorable differences in the two necks. Both have great fret work, both are very stable, both have a similar comfy shape and both look great. You could blindfold me and let me play both and with the exception of the sound of each bass I couldn't even begin to tell you which one was which. Do they have differences? Yes, but nothing that truly impacts the playability, feel or sound of the bass.
Means2nEnd
Supporting Member
No worries warrplayer, and there is absolutely nothing cheap or wrong with a flat sawn neck there are builders and players who prefer it actually. Straight grain is usually a good sign it's gonna stay that way no matter the grain orientation.
The pro's and cons of quarter sawn and flat sawn are that necks made from quarter sawn wood are stiffer which can be a plus and a minus. Truss rod adjustment can be a bit more difficult with QS necks where as Flat sawn are easier to adjust. Conversely one may warp quicker than the other ….flat may warp quicker but be adjusted easier.
I've heard the opposite as well and since then decided to keep out of these kinds of discussions
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