Full Rosewood Necks

Drunken Bowling

Drunken Bowling

New member
I was just looking at some of the Ernie Ball/Music Man guitars, and the Albert Lee model has a rosewood neck and fingerboard.

Wouldn't a rosewood neck be more prone to warping, shrinking, etc. due to the porous nature of rosewood itself?

Does anyone own one of these guitars, or any guitar with a rosewood neck? If so, what are your thoughts (any at all, positive or negative)?
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

I can't comment on the longevity of rosewood necks, as I've only played them before, never owned one. That said, I think they're fantastic. They feel INCREDIBLE under the hand, and I've got no complaints about the tone. I actually want to go back to my local GC and play the rosewood necked Luke III they have there just to hear how it sounds again.

I'm actually having a guitar build with a rosewood neck (not rosewood fretboard though) so I should be able to tell you more about them from an owner's standpoint when I get the guitar later this year.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

I have 10 guitars with a solid rosewood neck (brazilian and indian) and it feels amazing. Why wouldn't they be durable? The wood may be a bit more porous but it has a much higher oil content. oil and water don't mix ;) My oldest rosewood neck is by the way 20 years old. Straight as an arrow. But maybe that's because warmoth's got great woods across the board?
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

Orpheo nailed it. The oil content of rosewood is the key to it working without a finish.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

Zero durability or warping issues. In fact, because rosewood is so dense and stable, it would be less likely to warp on you. Throw an ebony board on top and your neck will literally always be arrow straight....or however you set it up. I have two PRS's with rosewood necks; a McCarty and singlecut. They feel amazing, but in my opinion, a full rosewood neck really impacts the tone of a guitar much more than say, going from a mahogany neck to a maple neck (all else being equal). Rosewood I find expands the top and bottom end with the effect being more pronounced in the low-mids and lows. I would definitely recommend someone thinking about getting one to really try it out first. Again, my personal opinion, but I think my rosewood neck guitars excel at clean to mid-gain stuff....high gain, my guitars with maple/mahogany necks sound more focused.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

There is also wenge, prominently used in the good years of Warwick basses. They went back to full wenge a couple years back. What's that, a guitar company that reverts sound-limiting decisions without instead introducing a new more expensive product line to give the old stuff back?

Anyway I have a Corvette with full wenge wood and it is really good. One of my favorite necks. Same as rosewood, porous, unpainted, dark and heavy.

I wonder what rosewood and wenge do differently. Never had a guitar with full rosewood.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

I live down here in Florida, and have quite a story to tell about rosewood. About 50-60 years ago a bunch of Indian Rosewood trees were planted around the Tampa Bay area. Once they get big they have a habit of dropping huge branches. They usually end up on top of cars and such, so tree companies are always cutting them down for the insurance companies. I am friends with a company called "Viable Lumber." They tell the tree cutting companies to NOT take the cut up trees to the dump. Instead, bring it to them (V.L.) and they will cut it into boards and such, and then sell legal, local, chain of custody rosewood domestically.

So now, I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with your question. Well, I've handled a LOT of rosewood. And let me tell you, it is frickin hard. I mean, beyond maple, almost into ebony territory hard. I would be more than happy to have a guitar with a rosewood neck. I would know it would never, ever warp or budge.

On a side note, a few years ago I got a big honkin' piece of rosewood from Viable Lumber, and made a one piece Telecaster body out of it. It's crazy heavy, but it's pretty nice looking. I'll see if I can find a picture of it for the forum.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

I've lived in this area for over 20 years, and didn't know this. I learned something today.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

Over on another forum I'm a member of, a fellow member built a PRS clone with a rosewood neck. He raves about the thing and seems to be getting along with it well.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

I have 1 guitar with a rosewood neck and it's simply amazing, it feels great as well as looks killer. As already said it's very very hard and to my ears adds a lower mid honk and with buckers falls between a thcker Tele sound and a LP.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

Mincer said:
I've lived in this area for over 20 years, and didn't know this. I learned something today.
Click to expand...

Feel free to check these guys out. http://viablelumber.com/

Just last week I came across a SOLID piece of rosewood you could carve a Les Paul body out of. Seriously, it was three inches thick, 15 inches wide, and 25 inches long. It got cut into handles for beer taps. I hated to see a piece of wood that big and thick get cut into smaller wood blanks, but that's what was ordered.

When the second picture rolls by on the website, the guy in the white shirt standing next to the HUGE slabs of red eucalyptus is my Dad. Those slabs are really that red in real life.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

Ive had a rosewood neck for several years. That guitar never, ever needs adjusted. I hardly ever even have to retune it. That said, I think the tone is very warm and lacks high end sparkle. Super strong low mids as mentioned before.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

I Haz a Superstrat w/ a Rosewood shaft, but it has a "Ziricote" fingerboard.Ziricote is sort of a Brazilian Rosewood style tonewood, and maybe a littel more lush sounding than Indian Rosewood. Not sure , I'd probably go with a one piece rosewood over that. The feel is very similar.
 
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Re: Full Rosewood Necks

Wow, some of those pictures are amazing. There are a few guitar makers in this area...Some who use local woods- I wonder if they know about this.
 
Re: Full Rosewood Necks

VHTJay said:
Zero durability or warping issues. In fact, because rosewood is so dense and stable, it would be less likely to warp on you. Throw an ebony board on top and your neck will literally always be arrow straight....or however you set it up. I have two PRS's with rosewood necks; a McCarty and singlecut. They feel amazing, but in my opinion, a full rosewood neck really impacts the tone of a guitar much more than say, going from a mahogany neck to a maple neck (all else being equal). Rosewood I find expands the top and bottom end with the effect being more pronounced in the low-mids and lows. I would definitely recommend someone thinking about getting one to really try it out first. Again, my personal opinion, but I think my rosewood neck guitars excel at clean to mid-gain stuff....high gain, my guitars with maple/mahogany necks sound more focused.
Click to expand...

Good description.

That said, I think the tone is very warm and lacks high end sparkle. Super strong low mids as mentioned before
Click to expand...

I first tried my RW neck with a basswood/maple top body, but didn't like it. Too dark. So I tried a swamp ash body and that worked out great.
 
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