Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

[dudesta559]

I am going to have a guitar built for me, but need opinions for the best wood to choose for the neck. I have the following 3 choices to choose from.

Birdseye flat sawn

Birdseye Quarter Sawn

Curly Maple.

What are the benefits, pros, cons, what should i be looking for to make my decision? I am not an expert on creating guitars, and the best wood for it so i would like some opinions from some more experienced ones please.

I have been looking through various online links for answers but i am getting some contradicting answers.
For example, im told that Quarter Sawn is best as far as tone and durability and it is least likely to warp.
but then i look at different websites that are selling quarter sawn vs flat sawn and some times the quartersawn is cheaper then flat. How can that be if its suppose to be better? doesnt make logical sense to me.


My question is if its an electric guitar, how does the type of wood effect the tone if they use pickups?

Also i live in california in place where its hot in summer and cold in winter, pretty average place, do i really have to worry about the guitar warping? i play with friends and small gigs now and again but i dont leave my guitar in the sun. its usually on a guitar rack in my music room. never left in a car or outside or near a window.

advice please?

 

[wolf5150]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

I am absolutley in love with Q/sawn maple with a pau ferro fingerboard.
Have it on my recent Warmoth build and it's fantastic.
Never moves and has the snap of maple with the mids of rosewood.

 

[LedSabbath]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

1/4 sawn maple.

 

[Bfeeney]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

Can you dye figured necks to match the body?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

G&L state that birdseye necks are not that stable in the grand scheme of things, so if you can get birdseye quartersawn, I'd go for that.

Did you make those router templates? If so, nice work.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

G&L state that birdseye necks are not that stable in the grand scheme of things, so if you can get birdseye quartersawn, I'd go for that.

Did you make those router templates? If so, nice work.

Which is funny right on Warmoths website they state that its a recurring rumor and there is no issue with the stability of birdseye maple. Considering the the number of high end custom shop guitars ive seen with them over the years if there really was a stability issue why would any custom shop risk using it?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

For one reason, because people want it and will pay a premium for it. Also, some high-end guitar makers don't use it, and won't use it even if you request it.

G&L offer it. They simply say it is less stable than regular maple, and don't recommend it for "touring." That is not to say that it is unusable, or that every birdseye neck out there is going to turn into a pretzel. Just that on the whole, it is less stable than regular maple. Makes sense when you think about what figuring really is in the biological and structural sense.

Here is the G&L quote:

"Bird's Eye Maple is beautiful but customers should be aware that it is not as stable as Hard Rock Maple or Quartersawn Maple. Not recommended for touring."

And the Warmoth one:

"There seems to be a recurring rumor that Birdseye maple is unstable and not suited to guitar necks. Having made tens of thousands of Birdseye necks, we can assure you that it is no different in stability than plain maple."

And maybe it is the cynic in me, but I find G&L's statement to be more believable than Warmoth's. G&L's statement can only hurt their bottom line, so why would they make it without fully researching it?

Suhr guitars with birdseye necks are only guaranteed for 90 days, unless the maple is roasted. G&L also has a shorter warranty period on their figured necks.

 

[dudesta559]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

no i didnt make them myself, but if your interested, look at my latest post. it shows whats nearly finished.

 

[DonP]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

What about the tone of birdseye? If it sounds like a turd...

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

I've got a parts-o-caster with a beautiful birdseye neck. It's the least stiff neck of all my guitars by far. Not saying it doesn't work properly just that it's not as stiff.

 

[tonechaser]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

I've never had a problem with figured maple but I like a thick neck so that could help with the stability. There are many people who have had them for years with no issues. I'd think there probably as strong as flat sawn at least IMO.

 

[marvelous_seven]

Re: Neck (best opinions of wood choice please)

Looks like we have a Muse fanboy here. I'd definitely go for quartersawn, whatever the wood.