my terrible experience w roasted maple necks are the low visibility/contrast of the fretboard side dots, i.e. EBMM Sterling, Ibanez EHB, Sadowsky SMX.
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Roasted Necks on basses
- Thread starter Pep
- Start date
Necks and fingerboard are being referred to as if they were the same thing. Not a huge fan of roasted fingerboard, but love the necks. They should be mandatory.
I prefer a nice dark, dense piece of rosewood for a fretboard, if I have to state a preference, but honestly I don't care how upscale or downscale or common roasted necks are. The instruments I have them on, seem to be quality instruments with no ownership or playability issues whatsoever, and that works for me.
But yes, a lot of people have stronger opinions than I do fretboard types. I might be an outlier rather than a norm.
I love them. For me it's artificial aging for either replacing a vintage neck or building a new old style bass.
I like the look of roasted maple necks, and then realized it's because they look like the maple necks i've been playing for a decade or more.
About 10 or 12 years ago, I built my first bass with a roasted neck. I've built a couple dozen at this point. No, I am not getting tired of stiff, light, resonant necks that are very stable with changes in weather.
If the process is cheap now, OK, I have no problem with that either.
If the process is cheap now, OK, I have no problem with that either.
If the idea of roasting a maple neck gives it more rigidity and stability against warping, great. As others said, if it can hypothetically make a one-piece neck as rigid/stable as a regular/non-roasted multi-laminate neck, great. And lighter weight along with the rigidity? Hell yeah!
But is there a window where a little too much roasting will weaken the neck? Kinda like how you need to get your rice or pasta off the pot during that "sweetspot" window or it'll be undercooked or overcooked, both of which are not good. Just like cheap basses don't carefully select the best lumber, they probably don't put in the painstaking care to roast the necks to their best quality? I don't know.
But is there a window where a little too much roasting will weaken the neck? Kinda like how you need to get your rice or pasta off the pot during that "sweetspot" window or it'll be undercooked or overcooked, both of which are not good. Just like cheap basses don't carefully select the best lumber, they probably don't put in the painstaking care to roast the necks to their best quality? I don't know.
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Multi piece necks try to achieve stability by warping against themselves - the hope is that the stresses in the wood (when they decide to relieve them selves), will fight each other. It works OK much of the time. Roasting a neck removes those stresses - that strategy works all of the time. The lighter, stiffer, and more resonant part of the equation tips the comparison firmly to the roasted camp.
The most stable necks are those with roasted maple as the neck and fretboard - with neither piece having any stresses, and no differential dimensional changes, you get a neck that just doesn't move with the weather. A roasted neck with a rosewood board gets close after a few years, but it's never quite as good as an all roasted maple neck.
Despite the common lore, a 3 piece neck, while it can (if the grain is oriented right) be more stable than a one piece neck), it is not more stiff. If the wood gain is all straight, they are the same stiffness. If there is runout, the laminate neck is actually a bit less stiff.
Feels odd to have a discussion about overused cosmetic trends in a community where people will block you for daring to say that sunburst and tort should have been abandoned 40 years ago. Ugly and overused!
Most of the necks I have are multi-piece, often walnut with roasted maple, and I like that vibe. For fingerboards I have some plain and some roasted - to me it comes down to the color of the body and the figuring on the fingerboard.
As someone else said, seeing some of the semi-custom builders charge a few hundred dollars more for roasted is laughable at this point.
Most of the necks I have are multi-piece, often walnut with roasted maple, and I like that vibe. For fingerboards I have some plain and some roasted - to me it comes down to the color of the body and the figuring on the fingerboard.
As someone else said, seeing some of the semi-custom builders charge a few hundred dollars more for roasted is laughable at this point.
