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Wenge Neck

#67
Delsan said:
I dunno about putting beeswax on the neck tbh. That's a surface polish that restores wood vibrance, I don't know that it provides any real maintenance properties.
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Like any piece of wood that is not sealed, it will become dry (or damp) depending on the properties of the surrounding environment. Beeswax will absolutely refresh it. How often it needs it will depend on your climate. If generously applied to any piece of wood and left overnight, it can penetrate up to, and in some cases, more than, a quarter inch into the wood.
 
#69
Wenge.......

SJ55.jpg
 
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#70
Venturella said:
I've never own a bass with wenge neck but I did play it when i was getting a new bass like a year ago. It was a warwick corvette 5 string and I really enjoyed how it wrapped around my hand and the overall texture of the wood. But the luthier who sets my bass up didnt recommend wenge necks. He said that they will turn in some weird shapes rather than taking a little bow shaped curves like maple necks if they arent treated right. So here goes my questions.
How are wenge necks in general?
Is it true that wenge necks will turn in odd ways instead of a bow like curve? If yes, how do i avoid it?
What are the treatments for the wenge necks that my luthier talked about?
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I used to build acoustic guitars for quite a few years. I've never had an issue with wenge other than it tears up your tools pretty quickly, because it's so hard. Very stable.

And for what little my opinion is worth, I think it's hands down the best material, outside of carbon fiber, for a bass neck. Stable, feels good in the hands, and a tone that I love.
 
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#71
I have a well-played 98 Warwick Streamer LX with a 3-piece laminated wenge neck, which I believe also has the steel in it. It also is quite slim, as opposed to the chunkier Warwick necks I've played, and it's a rock-solid neck. Whereas my Fenders take adjustments rather rapidly, I have to wait for them to take on this thing. The feel of the wood is also a really good thing. I'm definitely a fan.
 
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#72
I had a fantastic custom made Kinal DK5 with a mostly wenge set-in neck that I sold on TB a while back. Only reason I sold it was due to the size and weight of the bass, but it was a fantastic instrument. My current Kinal PJ5 has a roasted maple neck with a wenge center. It's super stable. I think wenge adds weight to a bass. Roasted maple is one of the best bets for neck material As it's lighter and more stable than regular maple. But I love wenge so much I asked for a roasted maple/wenge neck. It turned out great!!!
 
#73
Venturella said:
I've never own a bass with wenge neck but I did play it when i was getting a new bass like a year ago. It was a warwick corvette 5 string and I really enjoyed how it wrapped around my hand and the overall texture of the wood. But the luthier who sets my bass up didnt recommend wenge necks. He said that they will turn in some weird shapes rather than taking a little bow shaped curves like maple necks if they arent treated right. So here goes my questions.
How are wenge necks in general?
Is it true that wenge necks will turn in odd ways instead of a bow like curve? If yes, how do i avoid it?
What are the treatments for the wenge necks that my luthier talked about?
Click to expand...
I don't think so. Look at all the for parts Warwick basses on eBay. Every one that has a bowed neck or twisted neck is a maple neck from what I see. I personally think the neck design is more important when it comes to this kind of thing. For example my 6 string thumb bass that's my current main player and the Conklin gt7 I had are as stable as it gets. But they have a lot of lumbar in the necks. I've had other basses that I had to tweak the neck monthly including maple necks.
 
#74
Delsan said:
I dunno about putting beeswax on the neck tbh. That's a surface polish that restores wood vibrance, I don't know that it provides any real maintenance properties.
Click to expand...
Feed-N-Wax Wood Polish & Conditioner | Howard Products THIS! I used to use "Lemon Oil" on my fret boards and several mahogany tables. I was put on to Feed-N-Wax on another luthier site. After trying a small bottle from a luthier supply, I found the large economy size at Lowes for about what I'd paid for the small bottle. It makes the fret boards shine. The tables are so much darker and lustrous, yet don't need the attention as often as before.

Any wood that isn't sealed (lacquer, poly, whatever finish) will need some sort of conditioner to keep it from drying out.

Generally wood that warps was not allowed to sufficiently age before it was cut into useable sizes. And once it changes, good luck convincing it to go back.

I will say this, in spite of the general agreement that wenge is a great neck material, I'd tend to avoid a multi wood neck with wenge. Gluing any wood that is on the oily side, especially to another species, is a long term gamble. I have a boken that is a lovely stack of cocobolo and maple. A fellow martial artist and wood worker looked at it and told me that the glue joint would fail. I rejected this notion since I'd already had the piece for several years. Sure enough, a year later it pulled apart right down the joint. And, yes, wenge is considered to be in the oily family.
 
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#76
I do not read all posts.

I have two MIA fenders, one japan Fender and one custom fretless, all of them have maple necks and also I have warwick corvette 6 team built that has 5 pieces wenge neck. Corvette's neck is most stable neck I ever own. I really love neck's very low maintenance requirements. Also wood quality/feeling and finish are perfect.

Edit: I realise, actualy remember, that my warwick has ovankgol neck with wenge fingerboard. Sorry for the wrong information. but still most stable neck :)
 
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#77
Joe Nerve said:
I only have experience with Warwick wenge necks, and the neck on my Fortress might just as well be made out of steel. I don't think I've ever adjusted the neck on that bass since I bought it over a decade ago. I own lots of basses, and I have to adjust all my necks when the seasons change.
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I used to have a Fortress with a Wenge neck. It NEVER moved. I used to use it to learn songs because I could tune down, back up, etc. and it still never moved. I just ordered a Dingwall and went with the Wenge neck upgrade.
 
#78
Fender_Bender said:
I always look at the grain of the neck of any bass or guitar I'm interested in purchasing. The last 3 or 4 i was interested in I had to reject because I identified swirly/poor/fast growth grain that I wasn't going to take a chance on. One of them was an American Fender.
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i think that might still be okay - I recently did a session with a chamber orchestra, the other bass player ( i know im in the BG forum, bear with me guys) had a very fine italian bass estimated to be from the 1840s-50s. the spruce top had some of the wackiest, least-straight grain i've ever seen in a musical instrument - and the top was free of cracks, and he's owned the bass for 10 years with no open seams (i asked right away).

so, i don't think grain/wavyness/visual stuff will tell you all that much. maybe. i dont know. i think it's really more about how the wood was dried. i might be wrong and perhaps that italian bass was the exception, maybe more luthiers can weigh in on this.
 

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