Roasted necks and bodies

[Tim1]

Having had my Fender custom shop roasted jazz for six months now I feel it is time to post an educated opinion. I have owned a heap of vintage and newer Fender jazzes over the past 40 plus years so I have a reasonable appreciation of them. So here it is: the neck is absolutely rock solid and the tone is a tad darker than what you normally expect from a jazz. For me these are both pluses, I simply have not had to adjust the truss rod regardless of temperature and for some reason that makes the neck feel more comfortable. The slightly darker tone is great, I had been considering putting a jazz neck on a precision but this seems to do the trick for me and the midrange punch that I get is a joy - again, I assume that this is due to the roasting process. I AB'd the roasted bass with a standard custom shop I owned earlier and there is a difference with the standard custom shop being more open but less punchy.
Started this thread because I think the whole roasting process makes an interesting discussion, YMMV of course.

 

[foal30]

I'm a big fan of Roast Potatoes Tim

 

[eastcoasteddie]

After I got a Roasted neck for my fretless build, I am definitely a “fanboi”

My next one will definitely be roasted as well...

 

[Ghastly]

So let's see what yours looks like, Tim.

 

[user362432]

Roasted chickens are fine for me.

 

[G On Bass]

The bass in my profile pic is a roasted body and neck. I've had it for several years and never have to adjust it. Sounds great, feels great (it is a Wilkins bass after all...) and weighs less than 8 pounds.

 

[bass40hz]

Forgive my ignorance but I am a newbie, only playing for 35 years...is the "roasted" just a finish description or is it actually a treatment to the wood.
Thanks and Rock on.

 

[BruceWane]

Forgive my ignorance but I am a newbie, only playing for 35 years...is the "roasted" just a finish description or is it actually a treatment to the wood.
Thanks and Rock on.

"Roasting" is slang for torrefaction. It's a treatment that affects the wood completely, not just the surface. Basically, the wood is baked in a vacuum chamber at 200-400 centigrade.

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[Turnaround]

There are great advantages to "roasted" wood, especially for the necks of string instruments. First, roasted wood tends to be more rigid that unroasted, and that's a big plus for a neck. Secondly roasted wood reacts a lot less to changes in humidity compared to regularly dried wood. That means more stability - fewer trussrod adjustments.

The roasted wood will be lighter than the equivalent unroasted. That may be significant for instruments with neck dive.

Many folk, myself included, like the deepened colour of roasted wood.

But there will be a sonic difference. Some may like it, some not.

 

[JRA]

BruceWane and Turnaround : thanks!

good to know!

 

[Robert Darby]

Thats my all roasted Warmoth on the left. Roasted necks are so special. She is light and smells so nice!

 

[Tim1]

There are great advantages to "roasted" wood, especially for the necks of string instruments. First, roasted wood tends to be more rigid that unroasted, and that's a big plus for a neck. Secondly roasted wood reacts a lot less to changes in humidity compared to regularly dried wood. That means more stability - fewer trussrod adjustments.

The roasted wood will be lighter than the equivalent unroasted. That may be significant for instruments with neck dive.

Many folk, myself included, like the deepened colour of roasted wood.

But there will be a sonic difference. Some may like it, some not.

This pretty well exactly sums up my own feelings, but said with more authority and experience. I had neglected to mention the lighter weight and more appealing (to me) appearance.

 

[Iridescentone]

But there will be a sonic difference.

In what way, exactly?

 

[Turnaround]

In what way, exactly?

The density of roasted maple is less than that of unroasted. As such the resonant frequency and likely the overall resonance will be different. It will reflect/absorb frequencies differently. I have found it to be more lively with enhanced mid frequencies. Others have found unroasted "more open but less punchy" (post #1).

 

[Turnaround]

Having done some work with roasted maple, I have found that there are some drawbacks. I got a big surprise when working a piece of roasted maple to find a lot of internal checks (small splits). And despite the claim that roasted maple is more stable than unroasted, the cracks grew as they were exposed. This was not likely because more internal moisture was being lost as I opened the wood, but that the internal stresses from the drying process were settling out as I removed wood. The care taken in the drying process is tantamount to a quality product. And to ensure the requisite quality control in the roasting process will add significantly to the cost of production. So I would expect to pay a premium for roasted wood and for the instruments made from it.

Just something to be aware of.

 

[Robert Darby]

I take care to drill any holes just slightly larger in roasted than a non-roasted part. For some reason if you don't screws just seem to tighten to early. Thats been my experience.

 

[Turnaround]

I take care to drill any holes just slightly larger in roasted than a non-roasted part. For some reason if you don't screws just seem to tighten to early. Thats been my experience.

Waxing the screw threads is highly advised. There's a lot more friction in the roasted maple.

 

[Dincrest]

I've been wondering about roasted necks/fingerboards, since I've been seeing them as specs on a lot of instruments lately. All I was able to discern from the Google was that apparently roasted necks were more rigid yet also more brittle? But, my nightly login to TalkBass has given me more comprehensive information than I was able to find on my own.

You guys rule!

For me, though, I prefer the look of un-roasted maple. A "blonde" bass with a swamp ash body and maple fingerboard just looks sexy to me.

 

[Devnor]

"Roasting" is slang for torrefaction. It's a treatment that affects the wood completely, not just the surface. Basically, the wood is baked in a vacuum chamber at 200-400 centigrade.

Roasted wood is baked at lower temperatures. Torrefied wood ends up a chocolate color. Torrefied wood is more brittle - harder to machine in CNC. I don't see it used much. I have a Suhr guitar with a torrified neck. At that time they called it vulcanized wood. Guitar almost 10 years old and it's never had a neck adjust. Suhr went to roasted wood later on. He said there was no difference in stability/tone and it was easier to use. Tom Anderson still offers it I believe, chocolate maple.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I've had roasted, quartersawn, & Titanium reinforcement.
All in I prefer the Titanium reinforcement, but the roasted wood is brittle. You could easily break the headstock just replacing the machine-heads.