Most stable neck material?

DankStar

Her Little Mojo Minion
What's the best neck material/wood to insure it never warps, bends, bows, shrinks, and all that crap?

I need at least one guitar I don't have to continually get fixed or worry about the dumb neck doing weird things.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

Baked maple, Graphite/Carbon fiber, a neck with graphite rods installed, or a neck with a double expanding truss rod like the ones from Warmoth. The Blood wood neck I have from them hasn't shifted at all which could either be the wood or the double truss rod.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

as far as non-natural, definitely graphite or carbon fiber.

as far as natural, a multi-piece laminate with alternating grain directions.

as far as single woods, any sufficiently stiff, dense wood will make a good stable neck, especially if using a nice straight grained quartersawn piece and likewise if baked.

and of course, any of the wood ones can be made even more stable with the addition of stabilizing graphite rods.

single expanding vs double expanding truss rod makes no real difference to stability, but there is a huge difference in adjustability.



mind you, just because it's extremely stable, doesn't necessarily mean that it sounds good.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

Guthrie Govan swears by the stability of the baked maple necks on his Charvels.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

^That or what Suhr recommends: baked maple NECK.

They do move around a little. I guess it could be attributed to in part in to the rosewood fingerboard I have on mine.

My vote is for laminated (not considering tone). The above is in a way laminated though. I'm thinking glued up plus of wood, like the old Framus necks.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

Stratabond. Plywood laminate. Martin uses it. The stuff doesn't move.

If you want to overkill, insert titanium rods like Ibanez does.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

Kramer, I think it was, used to make guitars and basses with graphite necks back in the early 80's. I wonder how it affected the tone. It'd be a GREAT feeling to not have to worry about the neck bending/warping/twisting. Sometimes I even worry about it when I'm just stretching my strings.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

A quartersawn baked maple neck will be as stable as you can get without resorting to laminates or made made materials.

Further, a thicker neck is more stable than a thinner one.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

It should also be mentioned, necks that are too stiff are more prone to cracking and even splintering and snapping when making certain adjustments. Pick a stable neck but also make sure it is flexible enough to adjust properly. And like CTN said, the most stable neck might not sound the best in the end.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

I had used graphite necks for years, and they don't move. You can put them between 2 chairs and stand on them, or row your canoe with them. They sound no brighter than an all maple neck.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

They do move around a little. I guess it could be attributed to in part in to the rosewood fingerboard I have on mine.

My vote is for laminated (not considering tone). The above is in a way laminated though. I'm thinking glued up plus of wood, like the old Framus necks.


But... Rosewood is more stable than maple...
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

A quartersawn maple neck is about as far as you need to go really , put a hotrod dual action truss rod in it and you should be just fine. Won't break the bank either. Really want to get crazy you can add some rods to it of whatever material you can afford. My Steinberger neck was graphite and that thing was flat out amazing , you can get graphite necks but they are beyond pricey.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

Neck profile and thickness matters, too. My RG Premium's neck is a 5 piece that's reinforced with a titanium dual action truss rod. However, its profile is identical to that of a Charvel. That thing noticeably moves when I use the whammy bar and whenever I shake the neck. It *does* return to shape *every* time, though.
 
Re: Most stable neck material?

A quartersawn maple neck is about as far as you need to go really , put a hotrod dual action truss rod in it and you should be just fine. Won't break the bank either. Really want to get crazy you can add some rods to it of whatever material you can afford. My Steinberger neck was graphite and that thing was flat out amazing , you can get graphite necks but they are beyond pricey.

There's something about the aesthetic of a quarter sawn neck that's special to me. Probably that its understated.
 
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