Question to the Luthiers - Closest Sounding Alternative to One Piece Maple Necks

[darkbluemurder]

Hi,

I have a guitar which has a swamp ash body and a one piece maple neck. Unfortunately the neck has gone bad through the years and is no longer stable. I want to replace it but am wary of going one piece maple again due to the fear of instability. Which alternative would sound most closely to one piece maple

1) roasted maple
2) maple neck w/ ebony fretboard
3) maple neck w/ pau ferro fretboard
4) other?

Thanks and kind regards,
Stephan

[Attica!]

How about a Pau Ferro neck? With maybe Ebony or Pau Ferro again?

[darkbluemurder]

How about a Pau Ferro neck? With maybe Ebony or Pau Ferro again?

Have not thought about that but it's worth considering. The only concern is that the guitar body is swamp ash which is extremely light. I don't want the guitar to become head heavy.

Cheers Stephan

[Attica!]

How about a Pau Ferro neck? With maybe Ebony or Pau Ferro again?

Have not thought about that but it's worth considering. The only concern is that the guitar body is swamp ash which is extremely light. I don't want the guitar to become head heavy.

Cheers Stephan

It's actually not that heavy. It feels around the same as maple. With exotic woods, there's always Canary also which is more of a vintage maple colour. Or how about Quartersawn Maple

[Twinfan]

I'd just go for maple again, but make sure it's quartersawn as suggested above.  I'd also make sure it's not wafer thin like an Ibanez Wizard.

Loads of guitars have one piece maple necks with no issues.

[darkbluemurder]

I'd just go for maple again, but make sure it's quartersawn as suggested above.  I'd also make sure it's not wafer thin like an Ibanez Wizard.

Actually the neck is not a thin one. It is a flamed birdseye neck.

Loads of guitars have one piece maple necks with no issues.

The only guitars I have had issues with are one piece maple necks - I am sick of that. I had one replaced with a roasted maple one. At least this one is stable.

I have also found out one more thing I dislike about one piece maple necks (even if they are stable otherwise) during the time when I played gigs with four 45 min. sets. The guitar sounds brilliant at the soundcheck and during the first set. It still sounds OK in the second set but by the beginning of the third set the low strings sound like rubber bands. This does not happen with rosewood or ebony boards (no experience with pau ferro as of yet).

Cheers Stephan
 

[Philly Q]

As a general point, I would guess any neck with a separate fingerboard will be that bit stiffer than a one-piece neck, just because the different grains/tensions will fight any tendency to warp in a particular direction.

So you could consider, rather than one piece maple, a maple neck with a separate maple fretboard?  Like a Warmoth Pro neck...unfortunately the double expanding truss rod adds extra weight.

[PhilKing]

I have a 57 strat where I have to adjust the neck for different seasons.  I had a friend with the same problem with his 58 (except his was more extreme - it would twist too).  In the end he had a replacement neck made for it.  It seems like they absorb water from the air more, probably not helped by the fact that most of the lacquer has worn off.  In New York the humidity changes from very low in winter to very high in summer.  If you don't want one piece maple, then I like maple with ebony fingerboards, but I have other maple necked guitars which don't have this problem (like my 58 tele, which is really stable).

[blue]

flamed maple will be somewhat less stable than plain maple.  although i think that a flame neck with a seperate maple fingerboard will be stronger. 

Wez and, i think, Jonathon both make 3 piece laminate necks, which should sound just the same but be much stronger.

[clivey]

flamed maple will be somewhat less stable than plain maple.  although i think that a flame neck with a seperate maple fingerboard will be stronger. 

Wez and, i think, Jonathon both make 3 piece laminate necks, which should sound just the same but be much stronger.

I'll add my support to three piece necks - I'm a big fan of Vigier guitars, they use fantastic looking flamed maple for their necks, but insert a solid strip of carbon down the middle, effectively turning what would be a one piece neck into a three piece. You end up with the sound and looks of a nicely figured maple neck without any of the instability: these necks are solid! I've been able to throw my guitar in a gig bag, take it on a two hour flight from London to Glasgow in the middle of winter, get home and find the thing's still in tune.

I don't mean that to sound like an advert for Viger btw, just that I can attest to the benefits of a laminate neck...

[Philly Q]

I think I'm right in saying Vigier don't actually use a truss rod?  So they're very confident that the carbon fibre strip will keep the neck stiff.

Thinking about different manufacturers' techniques, on Music Man all-maple necks they slice the fretboard off, insert the truss rod then glue the same piece of wood back on, so you can hardly see the join.

And I think G&L cut the neck in half lengthwise, through the middle of the fretboard, then stick the two back together.

Presumably both techniques affect the subsequent stiffness of the neck, even though both necks start out as single pieces of maple.

[clivey]

I think I'm right in saying Vigier don't actually use a truss rod?  So they're very confident that the carbon fibre strip will keep the neck stiff.

Yep, should maybe have pointed that out in my post - no truss rod, just a maple/carbon/maple construction. I can't say for certain if the carbon affects the tonal qualities of the wood, but it certainly makes for a very strong neck.

I'm pretty certain a number of other manufactures use thinner carbon rods alongside a truss rod to achieve a similar result, yet still let you adjust the neck relief. Can't think who they were offhand, though...

[Philly Q]

I'm pretty certain a number of other manufactures use thinner carbon rods alongside a truss rod to achieve a similar result, yet still let you adjust the neck relief. Can't think who they were offhand, though...

Fender use them in their "modern" USA basses.  I'm sure many others do too.  :)

[gwEm]

I'm pretty certain a number of other manufactures use thinner carbon rods alongside a truss rod to achieve a similar result, yet still let you adjust the neck relief. Can't think who they were offhand, though...

Fender use them in their "modern" USA basses.  I'm sure many others do too.  :)

steinberger synapse and our very own WezV :)

[clivey]

steinberger synapse and our very own WezV :)

I thought I'd seen WezV mention that on here before - didn't want to name drop and get it wrong!

Anyway, didn't want to de-rail the thread for the OP, but:

I want to replace it but am wary of going one piece maple again due to the fear of instability.

If you really like the one piece maple, perhaps looking into to someone who does carbon re-enforcement of some sort would be a good idea?