Neck Woods: Looking for a Maple Alternative

[TonyP-]

Great thread

I can hear the differences as well.

Puduck is real similar to maple with a slight bump at 400 (slight but there)

It matches with an ebony board real well to keep that upper end there.

No finish and it feels great.

 

[gpx1200]

my favorite neck that I own is bubbinga w/wenge stringers/ mac ebony frtbord, it has the bright articulated highs like maple but with slightly more defined mids and a very strong tight punchy bottom.
all these woods can be played raw and are beautiful to look at

 

[Doug Parent]

roasted maple (per Warmoth) requires no finish. I cannot verify.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Mahogany?

 

[punchdrunk]

Morado is what you're looking for methinks.

 

[bikeplate]

Fodera does a few ash necks

 

[anavar]

why not purple heart? common use for Conklin basses as necks and fretboards as a maple substitute.

here are the stats.

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Vs Maple

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looks amazing too

 

[TonyP-]

Can anyone describe the tone of ash compared to maple? (Neck wise)

I think puduck is going to be your closest bet. It is not compressed sounding.

 

[Laurent]

Walnut with an ebony fretboard is a great combination.

 

[Dan Bass]

KOA, WENGE, BUBINGA,JATOBA, ASH..

 

[Feral Feline]

+1 to Laurent's suggestion, Walnut w/ Ebony FB.

More importantly, does mahogany sound like maple? No.

I need to try this again: What wood has the closest sound qualities of Maple but isn't Maple?

Have you consulted the Janka hardness table yet?

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GORGEOUS! Got any more pics? It's not a total derail, it'd be on topic to post more pics of this, wouldn't it?

Brazilian "Walnut", Ipê, fretboard and a California Walnut neck.

Alternative Tonewoods
"It is hard to find an alternative to maple though tonally, many have had similar results with Californian walnut. Walnut is primarily dark gray in color and can also exhibit dramatic figuring. Myrtlewood (also from the Pacific Northwest) has many maple-like qualities in tone and appearance, though generally the sets are more varied as far as color is concerned, with brown, gray and greenish vertical streaks being common. "

Queensland Maple or maybe even consider Australian Blackwood (from Acacia family, IIRC, and similar to Koa which tonally is closer to mahogany, alas)

Yeah, Ipê FB with California Walnut Neck.

 

[Double E]

Walnut, like maple, requires a finish...something that the OP has cited as one of his main reasons for looking for an alternative to maple.

In case you haven't checked this yet, here is a nice reference of some common tonewoods from Warmoth:

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[Fenris wolf]

Personally I really dig ovangkol necks but another not worthy neck wood to consider is bubinga

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I know you said "don't tell me how to fix maple", but.... Would it be possible to add a wenge laminate to the back of a maple neck blank before it is shaped? That would give you a fairly wide stripe of wenge where your thumb would hit most of the time. Use roasted maple and you don't need to finish the neck. End result - feel of wenge, tone of maple.

 

[groovaholic]

How about walnut? It might not be quite as be quite as bright, but it's fairly similar to maple and can be played raw.

 

[bassvirtuoso]

Have you consulted the Janka hardness table yet?

I'm very aware of it, but in all honesty, how does that tell me the about of "compression" the neck wood will add to the tone? More hardness = more compression?

Wenge and Maple have much different ways of developing a note with Wenge compressing and focusing it, while Maple lets the note breathe and be more open sounding.

In case you haven't checked this yet, here is a nice reference of some common tonewoods from Warmoth:

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I have, I know of alternative woods and Warmoth's descriptions, but I don't trust them. The way they list Padauk has been different than a lot of accounts that I've read on Talkbass over the years.

Anyone have a real world experience with either Ash or Paduak in relation to Maple? I know @TonyP- had a thread about Padauk before and has chimed in, anyone else?

 

[TonyP-]

I have done some experimenting, had some in-depth discussion with Mike Lull and I have Paduak neck J bass right now (for whatever its worth). If you don't mind that little mid bump then you will be good...
Not a lot of info out there on Ash (for a neck)...You might want to shoot Marco over at Marco basses an email. He is very nice guy and I believe He has used the alternative woods before.
(I love this geeky stuff...Share the stoke).

 

[bassvirtuoso]

Hey @Just Thumpin' - how do you guys describe the tonal difference of your Ash necks when compared to the maple necks you usually use at Fodera?

 

[Hopkins]

Shouldn't this thread be moved somewhere other than Luthiers Corner, it has nothing to do with actual bass building.

 

[Feral Feline]

How about walnut? It might not be quite as be quite as bright, but it's fairly similar to maple and can be played raw.

How about walnut? Great suggestion! Played "raw"? Not according to this guy:

Walnut, like maple, requires a finish...something that the OP has cited as one of his main reasons for looking for an alternative to maple.

In case you haven't checked this yet, here is a nice reference of some common tonewoods from Warmoth:

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'Course, there's different ways to "finish" a neck.

I'm very aware of it, but in all honesty, how does that tell me the about of "compression" the neck wood will add to the tone? More hardness = more compression?

Wenge and Maple have much different ways of developing a note with Wenge compressing and focusing it, while Maple lets the note breathe and be more open sounding.
...

I just thought the Janka table might help find a few more woods similar in density to maple; just trying to find more options for you to try.

Good luck with your quest.