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wenge experience needed

eddododo

eddododo

Apr 7, 2010
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#1
I am seriously considering a wenge/wenge neck to go with a nice cocobolo-topped j-body i just bought. It will be fretless; heres the question: will the coarse grain of the wood interfere with fretless technique/sound vis-a-vis buzz and general "lumpyness"?
I know its not lumpy, just being colorful.

Anyone experienced?
Anyone want to see the hot cocobolo pron?
 
#2
I've had a Wenge fretboard, albeit fretted. From what I see/feel, despite the coarseness of the grain, it should not adversely affect fretless playability, unless you're using guitar strings =P Then again someone with more experience might want to chime in.
 
#4
yeah, but the problem (in my theory) with [myself] coating the neck is that that deep grain will trap air and finishing it would, in that case, ruinnnnn the beautiful grain



cmon, i know SOMEONE owned one!
 
#6
It's been used often, but more as a board material, not necessarily a neck material. It became popular when Warwick standardized on it for part of their line. Before that it was pretty much ignored although it is a great tone wood. It's a lower cost alternative to ebony, more open grained and lighter in weight. I think I'd want a more closed grain tone wood for the neck. Here are some comments from another popular board: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#7
Wenge is a killer tone wood and has a great raw feel . I doubt it would affect it , it's not like the string would slip into a rut or something like that . Having said that I'd go with a Ebony board on Wenge . Either Fretted or Fretless , well I did anyway :)


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#11
I'll keep this simple. Wenge is a very hard wood and has been used as a fretless board before. A thin epoxy coating can be applied as a grain filler, not that one is needed. It will also protect the board from wear, again, not that it's needed. It will sound like a fretless bass. The stings, playing technique, amp, pick ups, etc, etc... will have WAY more affect on the sound than the epoxy coating or what type of wood is used. Remember, wenge is a VERY hard wood.
 
#12
I can not remember the exact specs, but I once owned a Warwick Corvette Standard in 2002 with a Wenge fingerboard. I personally did not like the finger board because my fingers would stick to it too often. I was very clumsy playing it. If this issue did not exist, I would probably still have the bass. It was probably just me, but it is something to consider.

Have you tried out the Wenge fingerboards before?
 
#17
tycobb73 said:
I hate wenge necks becuase you can feel the grain with your thumb. Have you considered this?
Click to expand...

I've never notice this before. All the wenge necks I have played feel beautiful under your thumb. It looks rough and porous, but in reality, feels very smooth. It's been used on Warwick's and MTD's for many years.
 
#18
I have a Warwick wenge/wenge thumb bass (fretted) and it plays great. The small gaps and pores inherent in the wenge allow your hand to travel on it much faster than say a high gloss maple neck - less drag. Wenge for the neck material would be great. However on a fretless I'd still recommend an Ebony fingerboard. I have no real experience with wenge for a fretless fingerboard but I would be a little concerned about roundwound strings biting into it over time. If that should happen you could potentially raise some of the wenge grain - then watchout cause those darn wenge splinters are like needles and they can cause some nasty infections.
Wenge/Ebony would be my choice for a unique fretless tone monster.
 
#19
R Baer said:
I've never notice this before. All the wenge necks I have played feel beautiful under your thumb. It looks rough and porous, but in reality, feels very smooth. It's been used on Warwick's and MTD's for many years.
Click to expand...

I had a German Corvette Standard 5 a couple of years back (2000?) and it felt like a piece of freshly ripsawed lumber to my hand. I never cared for the feel, although the bass truly did have a unique sound.
 
#20
stepswork4me said:
I don't believe that an experienced luthier will have an issue.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, although I'd be a little leery of wenge as a fingerboard if it were my money. I certainly don't mind it as a neck wood, although most of the examples I've seen and played were noticeably more coarse than other woods, even on the same instrument. Epoxy could fix this, but if you're going to add the cost of epoxy, some of the inherent fingerboard wood tone is lost and ya might as well get something cheaper and more practical in the long run.
 

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