michael saulnier Posted October 3, 2001 Share Posted October 3, 2001 Rosewood, Maple, Ebony? More exotic that this? Do you have a favorite fretboard? What about neck shape, scale length, radius, or nut width? For humbucker based guitars, Les Pauls, ES-335's, PRS's and so on, I prefer Rosewood, then ebony. Sometimes ebony can be a little TOO bright. On strat's I'm probably leaning a bit more toward rosewood, but I like the "snappiness" of maple fretboards. I hate the heavily laquered ones though and prefer a more "natural" feel. In terms of neck shape, I think the best Fender neck is the current one on the American Deluxes... it just feels "right" to me. Not too thick or thin... On humbucker guitars the PRS McCarty neck is so "easy" to play... it's almost cheating. On acoustics, I LOVE TAYLOR necks. Easy to play, low action, well finished... The only wierd thing they do is to NOT dye their ebony necks to be consistantly black, and instead allow the natural grain to show. It doesn't effect the sound, but I think it can make someone think it's lesser quality... What are your preferences? guitplayer I'm still "guitplayer"! Check out my music if you like... http://www.michaelsaulnier.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted October 3, 2001 Share Posted October 3, 2001 Rosewood, Maple, Ebony? More exotic that this? Do you have a favorite fretboard? I like solid Rosewood necks. I've got two and they never ever need adjustment. What about neck shape, scale length, radius, or nut width? I like almost a 'boat' so there's plenty of meat to the neck for stability. I don't notice slim necks playing any faster personally. I can handle Fender or Les Paul scale. I keep my stings high enough that the radius isn't that important for bending, altho the Warmoth compound radius is very cool. The very skinnyest nut I can handle is 1 & 11/16" but I prefer 1 & 3/4". Oh, I like the feel of lacquer on electrics so I epoxy seal my necks and then put around 9 coats of nitro lacquer on em. I've sealed up ebony too. Once I start to sweat a bit, the neck is fast as can be. My acoustics are just bare rosewood. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted October 3, 2001 Share Posted October 3, 2001 I don't know how you guys play with some of those heavily lacquered fretboards. I used to have a '75 Les Paul Black Beauty Custom, with an ebony fretboard, and even though it wasn't lacquered, ebony is such a hard wood that whenever my hands would start to sweat, my fingers would slip off the frets! My '52 Paul has an unlacquered rosewood neck and that's much better, thank you! I like my maple neck Tele too, and it's old enough that much of the lacquer has rubbed off and it's mostly natural, which is fine with me! --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted October 4, 2001 Share Posted October 4, 2001 Maple neck with ebony fingerboard, no markers on top, just on the side. Oil finish on the back for a slippery feel. Wide, shallow feel (large radius). I have a couple of rosewood fingerboards, too, but I like ebony the best. I've never cared for maple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott from MA Posted October 4, 2001 Share Posted October 4, 2001 Maple with rosewood fretboard. "U" shape (like a 60's Fender), 25.5" scale, 12" radius, 1 11/16" at the nut. I have a few with maple fretboards... they play nice, and have a great tone, but I can't play them for long, especially once my hands start sweating. Just not as comfortable as rosewood. I've had one guitar with an ebony neck, and I didn't really care for it. Scott (just another cantankerous bastard) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froggytwanger Posted October 4, 2001 Share Posted October 4, 2001 Originally posted by guitplayer: Rosewood, Maple, Ebony? More exotic that this? Do you have a favorite fretboard? What about neck shape, scale length, radius, or nut width? For humbucker based guitars, Les Pauls, ES-335's, PRS's and so on, I prefer Rosewood, then ebony. Sometimes ebony can be a little TOO bright. On strat's I'm probably leaning a bit more toward rosewood, but I like the "snappiness" of maple fretboards. I hate the heavily laquered ones though and prefer a more "natural" feel. In terms of neck shape, I think the best Fender neck is the current one on the American Deluxes... it just feels "right" to me. Not too thick or thin... On humbucker guitars the PRS McCarty neck is so "easy" to play... it's almost cheating. On acoustics, I LOVE TAYLOR necks. Easy to play, low action, well finished... The only wierd thing they do is to NOT dye their ebony necks to be consistantly black, and instead allow the natural grain to show. It doesn't effect the sound, but I think it can make someone think it's lesser quality... What are your preferences? guitplayer My Fav. has to be a 61 Rosewood Fretboard neck on my Melody Maker, Such Tone and sustain, What more could a guy ask for ? Remember, a Guitar can be related to the Opposite Sex, The More Time You Spend With Her, The Better You Know Her, and " The Sweeter The Music ", The Frog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WFTurner Posted October 4, 2001 Share Posted October 4, 2001 Rosewood.... for some reason my fingers always feel like they're out of place on anything else of the Les Paul, ES335 type of variety. I can with a little effort get comfy with a strat, rosewood neck. ------------------ William F. Turner Songwriter turnermusic This message has been edited by WFTurner on 10-04-2001 at 12:23 PM William F. Turner Songwriter turnersongs Sometimes the truth is rude... tough shit... get used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Posted October 4, 2001 Share Posted October 4, 2001 I've always liked ebony, rosewood and pauferro, which is sort of like a cross between rosewood and ebony. I'm not a fan of lacquered fingerboards. I definitely prefer the feel of raw wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip_dup1 Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 I grew up on rosewood, still love it. Got an ebony Charvel next. I like the rigidity of it, nice for harmonics but a bit lacking in personality. I just recently got a maple neck electric, I was just getting to know it but had to leave it stateside after summer break. Don`t care at all for the Steinberger type composites. TOO rigid. I believe Parker uses that stuff on some guitars too. I`ve always wanted to try Jacaranda, haven`t had a chance yet. In terms of width, I have long fingers so I don`t care for slim necks, they feel crowded to me. I`m not too up on the numerical scale length values but a somewhat longer reach is good for me. I like at least a minimal laquer presence, mostly for protection from the elements, beer, sweat, etc. Same pretty much applies for acoustics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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