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Neck Woods: Looking for a Maple Alternative

bassvirtuoso

bassvirtuoso

My God, it's full of chrome!
Feb 28, 2006
3,345
14,079
Nebraska
#1
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT looking for a tonewood debate here. I can hear differences between different woods and that's why this post exists. Thank you.

The Story: I'm having another custom bass built by my good friend and amazing luthier @Drake Custom. Drake and I have collaborated on 3 basses in the past and we have a great working relationship. I am a huge Wenge proponent as the feel of the raw neck works better for me than finished maple does (sweating issues on stage equals getting "hung up" on a finished Maple neck). I want this newest bass to have a tonal quality similar to my Fender basses: when A/B-ing between my Wenge necked P and a new to me Maple necked P, I can hear the compression of Wenge causing tonal issues that I don't want on this newest bass.

So in short: I'm looking for neck wood suggestions that'll let me keep the raw feeling of exotic woods, but the same open tone that Maple neck instruments have.

The list as it sits today:
Wenge - gold standard of feel but I won't use on this build
Maple - don't like the feel, but want this tone
Padauk - suggested by me because of feel, I had a Warmoth neck once but can't remember the tonal signature when compared to Maple
Ovangkol - suggested by Drake as he has some in stock, feel should work for me, but unsure on the tone of this wood

Any other suggestions or input? I'm just trying to see what else is out there with a tonal signature similar to Maple...please don't suggest how to "fix" my Maple issues.

Thanks in advance!
 
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#3
Will_White said:
Have you tried roughing up a finished neck with sandpaper, not enough to go through the finish but enough get all the glossiness off, that solved my sticking problem with finished necks, then you could just use maple.
Click to expand...

It's an idea I'm playing with, for sure. I'm just trying to see what else is out there with a tonal signature similar to Maple...
 
#4
padauk is heavy and dense tight grained I imagine when finish sanded the feel won't be much different than maple unless maple is lacquered and padauk isn't. I would would be concerned about neck weight as well. I love wenge necks to me there is nothing better feeling in my hand other than something female. I love the compression of it too but I would strongly suggest ash.

Ash with straight tight grain will be punchy and bright and focused and much more open than wenge. My good friend just aquired a USA MTD ash body and ash neck with a maple fingerboard and it freaking kills! Articulate fast bright aggressive punchy and open more akin to maple. Walnut would be my next suggestion. Ovangkol I have mixed emotions about I am a die hard German Warwick fan and have owned more than 15 Warwicks with Ovangkol and although not many issues I have had some. We did work on a neck that needed a truss rod installed and after the truss rod and fingerboard were off it was hard and dense but not stiff. My guy at the time who did my work back then when I couldn't showed me how easily that particular piece bent easily. he showed me the neck and a maple neck between two chairs and we just did a comparison and the maple was twice as stiff as the ovangkol. I'm no expert but heavy and dense does not alway equal strength. In fact he said he would never work on one again and called it rubber wood FWIW. Every piece of wood is different of course even within a single species.

One who can't hear the difference between woods bass to bass is lucky in my book as I can hear the difference in a big way and this is a more expensive lifestyle for me anyway.
 
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#6
I say Ash too, not for any tonal benefits (though they sound great), just because it's a suitable alternative and looks great with a contrasting grain fill. Here's a bass and a guitar I did with Ash necks.

Guitar, 1 pc Ash body and neck:

MantonCustomsEchoGuitarTeleInspired7Main.jpg


MantonCustomsEchoGuitarTeleInspired9Main.jpg


MantonCustomsEchoGuitarTeleInspired6Main.jpg


Bass: (no picture of the neck though :oops:)

Echo.png
 
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#13
Edited the first post to include this: I'm just trying to see what else is out there with a tonal signature similar to Maple...

I'm aware of Maple and how to get around it, I want discussions on alternatives to the wood itself.

I've looked into Ash before...and know that Mike Tobias likes it as an alternative to wenge, so I'll consider that too. Thanks to all for that recommendation.
 
#15
Just wondering wouldn't an ebony neck be heavy and cost a bundle? I bet it would sound great though. I have picked up solid pieces of ebony of various origins at my two different wood suppliers and it was like lead weight wise and that and cocobolo were crazy expensive compared to other woods by a good bit. I wanted to buy some so bad I had to settle for iPhone pics.:crying:
 
#18
Means2nEnd said:
They look amazing Manton Customs beautiful finish on the guitar.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much :)

And yes, an Ebony neck wouldn't be too practical weight wise, so some thought would need to be given to balance. Gaboon Ebony would also make a very bad candidate due to it's susceptibility to checking in large pieces.
 
#19
I have owned a P bass with a macassar ebony neck. The most beautiful and amazing neck I have ever seen/played, but it was heavy as hell...

You could try the new roasted maple as it can be played raw. This will keep the maple tone for sure...

Or a ligher alternative to the ebony could be pau ferro, still quite dense and heavy, but not as bad as ebony.
 

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