Solid Rosewood Neck?

[crguti]

Is a solid Rosewood neck brighter than all Maple? Is it heavier?

[marcospadaaro]

rosewood's density is a bit higher than maple so yes it's probably gonna be a bit heavier.
in theory it should be a little brighter sounding and extremely more expensive too it's typically more of interest for looks and novelty other than tone.
you are never ever gonna ear a guitar and say "oh wow that sounds like a rosewood neck", especially on an electric guitar

[Chistopher]

Also it is considerably harder to get your hands on rosewood these days

[GuitarDoc]

Actually, I think maple would be brighter than rosewood. But true rosewood is so expensive it would not be feasible to use for the neck. Use mahogany neck with maple or ebony fretboard

[Mincer]

I think maple would be brighter, and rosewood would certainly be heavier. So if I was planning a rosewood neck, make sure the body will balance it (making it a heavier guitar) as it is likely to be neck-heavy otherwise.

[RanchManSandy]

Actually, I think maple would be brighter than rosewood. But true rosewood is so expensive it would not be feasible to use for the neck. Use mahogany neck with maple or ebony fretboard

????

You can order an all RW neck from Warmoth every day of the week

prs has been doing full RW necks for a long time too

[Lake Placid Blues]

In my experience it usually comes across as darker-maybe a little filtered in the upper mids. I think it' more articulate than a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard, though.

[soulforger]

I had a PRS McCarty with a rosewood neck about ten years ago, I can't remember if it differed much from the mahogany neck tonewise but I probably wouldn't have called it bright, weight seemed to still be nicely balanced with the guitar, I don't know if they had used an oil or wax to finish it at all but it was raw rosewood and you could feel the grain in it. It did however have the most wonderful feel to the touch that was like nothing else.

[GuitarDoc]

????

You can order an all RW neck from Warmoth every day of the week

prs has been doing full RW necks for a long time too

It depends on the type of rosewood.

Notice that in my post you are responding to I did say..."But true rosewood is so expensive it would not be feasible to use for the neck". There are dozens of types of "rosewoods", most of them are not "true" rosewoods and can only cost $50-100 per board foot. A "true rosewood" like Brazilian Rosewood can cost $5000 per board foot. That's up to 100 times the cost of most "rosewoods" used in guitars.

So, yeah you can buy full rosewood necks, but what type of "rosewood" is it?

[beaubrummels]

FWIW I have a fully rosewood Telecaster and an ash body / maple neck Telecaster (so I can't compare just the neck alone, but) the two guitars are very similar on the top end, same amount of brightness, but down in the lower mids and lows the rosewood has a touch more fullness and sounds more "complete". The ash/maple is thinner sounding. The ash/maple is also a bit snappier, the rosewood guitar, while having the same brightness on the top end, it doesn't have quite the snappy/twangy characteristic (a little bit, but not identical), if that makes sense. The rosewood guitar is pretty heavy, despite being chambered.

[RanchManSandy]

It depends on the type of rosewood.

Notice that in my post you are responding to I did say..."But true rosewood is so expensive it would not be feasible to use for the neck". There are dozens of types of "rosewoods", most of them are not "true" rosewoods and can only cost $50-100 per board foot. A "true rosewood" like Brazilian Rosewood can cost $5000 per board foot. That's up to 100 times the cost of most "rosewoods" used in guitars.

So, yeah you can buy full rosewood necks, but what type of "rosewood" is it?

This is the kind of bizarre gatekeeping that makes guitar enthusiasts seem like elitist weirdos.

The Big W and PRS are probably using Indian rosewood, but pray tell what makes it any "less" rosewood than any other? It's part of the Dalbergia genus, same as Brazilian.

Is it only "true" rw because it's expensive, some specific luthier used it during a time when it was more plentiful (or when conservation efforts didn't exist)?

Is Honduran the only "true" mahogany?

[solspirit]

This is the kind of bizarre gatekeeping that makes guitar enthusiasts seem like elitist weirdos.

The Big W and PRS are probably using Indian rosewood, but pray tell what makes it any "less" rosewood than any other? It's part of the Dalbergia genus, same as Brazilian.

Is it only "true" rw because it's expensive, some specific luthier used it during a time when it was more plentiful (or when conservation efforts didn't exist)?

Is Honduran the only "true" mahogany?

Yes

No

[GuitarDoc]

This is the kind of bizarre gatekeeping that makes guitar enthusiasts seem like elitist weirdos.

The Big W and PRS are probably using Indian rosewood, but pray tell what makes it any "less" rosewood than any other? It's part of the Dalbergia genus, same as Brazilian.

Is it only "true" rw because it's expensive, some specific luthier used it during a time when it was more plentiful (or when conservation efforts didn't exist)?

Is Honduran the only "true" mahogany?

This is the kind of bizarre weirdo response that I would expect from someone before he takes his blinders off and opens up his narrow mind.

No, there are many kinds of "true" rosewoods. I was obviously giving two extreme examples. Did you NOT read any of my posts?! I said, some rosewoods (not true rosewoods) can cost as little as $50 per board foot, and..."A 'true rosewood' like Brazilian Rosewoodcan cost $5000 per board foot".

Yes, East Indian Rosewood is a true rosewood and is very beautiful and only costs less than $200 per board foot.

[GuitarDoc]

PS: If you want a similar tone to an all rosewood neck, like I said, you could use mahogany with maple or rosewood fretboard and save a few bucks in the process.

[RanchManSandy]

you said "true rosewood is so expensive it would not be feasible to use for the neck"

But now agree that Indian is both a "true" RW and is inexpensive enough to be feasible for a full neck.

make up your mind