Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

[JOLLY]

You know, you always see most guitars with rosewood/ebony necks with binding. However, you rarely, if ever see maple guitar necks with binding?

What am I missing here folks? Is it something about the wood of rosewood/ebony that seems to dehydrate, and then rehydrate itself, and therefore needs a binding to help with the tangs and frets? It maple a more constant would that doesn't shrink and such because of humidity?

I've never understood this. However, after playing Gibsons for most of my guitar playing life, I can feel the difference between a rosewood Gibson Les Paul with binding, and a Flying V/Explorer without binding. Yet, now that I play Charvels primarily now, those having maple fretboards and no binding, I can't really tell that much of a difference between them and their maple boards and no binding, and a Les Paul per se with a rosewood board with binding.

Is it a cost thing, is it an aesthetic thing, or what?

I've always wondered this.

Thank in advance,

Jolly

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

and a far as the rosewood/ebony thing.....let's just say darker woods that are used for most fretboards..

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

The main reason you don't see bound maple is simply tradition. Guitars before Fender were adorned with inlays, rosewood, binding, gold and so on. Leo wanted to stripped down, inexpensive working man instruments. The original idea was the bolt on necks would be disposable and therefore did not warrant such decoration.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

Yep, tradition.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I've always like the look of the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that has the maple neck, black block inlays and black binding

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I don't think Fender was doing b&b necks until the late '60's or early '70's. Even then it was not common.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I always thought it was because Maple tends to be a solid piece of wood, as opposed to Mahogany which has the Rosewood/Ebony glued on top of it.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I don't think Fender was doing b&b necks until the late '60's or early '70's. Even then it was not common.

Fender started doing neck binding in 1966.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

Fender started doing neck binding in 1966.

Yes, the Strat and offset models had dots and binding in '66, and the blocks came by '68 for the offsets. Was that the same for the Jazz?

 

[dystrust]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

Yes, the Strat and offset models had dots and binding in '66, and the blocks came by '68 for the offsets. Was that the same for the Jazz?

That sounds right, but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

This plays into Jolly's question as Fender viewed the offsets as "classier" models than the Strat and Tele, so they got binding.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

What is the purpose of binding? It's a carpentry thing. Doesn't it protect the end grain and the join of the two woods? So it is protective, as well as cosmetic, yes?

But the single-piece maple neck has no join, so it's really just cosmetic on these guitars.

Bill

 

[Plessure]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

Single piece maple is pure elegance

 

[Coma]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I may be wrong here, but I do believe most guitars with a maple fingerboard has the neck build from one solid piece, with the truss rod inserted into its channel from the back of the neck (thus the skunk stripe on the back of most Fender necks). No fingerboard/neck joint means no line to cover up with binding. Still, binding comes at a price premium, which explains why you still see a lot of instruments with a separate fingerboard still being built and sold without binding.

 

[Artie]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

This forum is like a spicy taco stand. Everywhere you turn, something gives you GAS.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I think there are just more darker-wood necks sold. Many of those have binding. There is a smaller percentage of maple necks sold, and other than Fender (who has a history with binding maple on their basses), other companies just don't do it. Maybe it doesn't sell. Maybe people who like maple like traditional necks. If Clapton's 70s Strat had binding, or EVH's Kramer, you'd see it all over the place now.

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I had a Vintage Kramer "American" Pointy Lefty Maple Fretboard that was fully bound and loved the look and feel of it. Can't say I notice a difference between the bound/unbound factor with necks so much as what kind of finish they have on them...raw, satin, nitro or poly...nothing worse than a "sticky" neck. I will say that I do love and notice rolled edges on maple boards though.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

Not all maple necks are solid maple. I'm not about to say "most", but a lot have maple fretboards on maple necks. I think all of the Fenders I own but one have maple/maple necks.

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I guess I never really thought about it much before, but I guess you’re right. The one guitar I have with a maple board is bound, though, and it looks and feels great.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Can Someone Please Answer This For Me?

I may be wrong here, but I do believe most guitars with a maple fingerboard has the neck build from one solid piece, with the truss rod inserted into its channel from the back of the neck (thus the skunk stripe on the back of most Fender necks). No fingerboard/neck joint means no line to cover up with binding. Still, binding comes at a price premium, which explains why you still see a lot of instruments with a separate fingerboard still being built and sold without binding.

Most of the maple boards I've seen have been two pieces. Original 50s Fenders were built the way you describe, but Fender switched to two-piece construction with fingerboards glued on the top when they resumed doing maple boards in 1966. Recent American Standard guitars are built the same way, as are the 1980s MIJ Charvels I have.