Neck woods

djangoisgod

What are tonal characteristics of different neck woods like maple, walnut, and mahogany?

Mehran s

well i dont know about different of tonal characteristics,but
JP Favino told me that:
I use generally maple or mahogany , no walnut which is not stable enough in the time.

Bones

Also, there are different types of maple, mahogany, etc. and even variations within a particular type. Ideally, stiff and lightweight. Rock maple is generally very stiff and stable but not light. There are types of mahogany that are stiffer than others. I have no experience with walnut but I would guess it is pretty stiff.

klaatu

Rodrigo uses walnut quite a bit, and I don't think his necks are going to move around.

noodlenot

IME tonal impart of necks wood is very subtle (less so if it´s an electric, but still...). The usual reasoning correlates heavier neck wood with longer sustain, but there are lots of other variables to consider (and the interaction between those variables), IME most of them are more serious contenders as "tone shapers".
It´s hard to isolate a single characteristic and compare it between several guitars. That said, Friederich would only use dense mahogany for his necks as he felt lighter woods affected the balance of his guitars and Romanillos only used spanish cedar because only cedar gave him "the spanish sound".

While mahogany is certainly one of the more stable woods available, most literature values for stability and stiffness i´ve checked put walnut on par (or slightly above) most maples. Certainly so if you compare euro walnut (J. regia) with euro maple (A. pseudoplatanus), which would be the most obvious candidates for selmer copies. Of course each piece of wood is not an abstract generalization and you have to take it from there.

Bohemian

A. pseudoplatanus is a sycamore or sycamore maple.

Norway or true European maple is A. platanoides.

It would be important to know which timbre. The names are often interchanged and makes it confusing.

I do not care for walnut. I prefer mahogany or true maple or even "Spanish cedar".

noodlenot

c´mon... there´s no true euro maple, there are at least half a dozen native maples here, A. campestre being the more widespread.
euro maple, as understood in the context of music instrument wood is the usual name for A. pseudoplatanus .

Bohemian

The "true " european maple that comes to the US via Nagle and other musical instrument timber suppliers is , according to them, not the A.pseudoplatanus.

Don't tell me it's not confusing, you just proved it. : )

It is easier in the US as our sycamore is different... by evidence of the leaves and the bark, and the wood itself.
I am in western soft maple territory. I have quite a stash, most of it quilt.

Correction:

I called LMI and asked what european maple they carry,

" Are you looking for a botanical name? "

Yes.

hold..............................hold...........................hold...................hold..................

"er um It comes from southern France."

Which maple is it...
"oh..."
hold...........................hold.....................hold,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Pseudoplatanas"

Oh then you have european sycamore maple

"No, its European maple"

OK, Thanks

Conclusion, they looked up a name and really don't know.

I'll call Gilmer wood.

noodlenot

Bohemian wrote:

I am in western soft maple territory. I have quite a stash, most of it quilt.

cool, quilt is one of my favorite figures - harder to find in euro maple . if i go out of it, i can always call you...

re: maple - here in europe, the maple that dealers sell for violins and guitars (both backs, sides and necks) is labeled A. pseudoplatanus (here, for example: http://www.madinter.com/wood/backs-and- ... e-set.html), it´s pretty much the standard traditional wood - but to be honest i never handled any A. platanoides that i´m aware of so i don´t know if there is much difference between the two. hard to find specific info on A. platanoides.

it does go by a lot of names: sycamore, maple, plane, sycamore maple, ...

Al Watsky

When and if they ask ?
Its Gi'ttar Wood.
Ain't it purty.

Unless your milling your own logs from trees that you planted or something ?
Taxonomy ?
:roll:
Call the supply house and order what you need and build as you see fit.
Most builders have their own formulas and build methods.
They can decide on wood type by price point or profit margin or sound.
There are sound differences but they are very subtle.
Ask your builder what they would like to use.
Then let them use it.
If the guitar is already built ?
"You pays yer money and you takes yer choice"
If your really want to know what different woods sound like , build some instruments with the same woods for body and board and select a different species for each of the necks and then you will be able to make some generalizations. Or you can work for a manufacturer and write production reports. You will learn a few things that way.
Give that a try.
:idea:
FWIW IMO Maple tends to favor highs if they are present in the build to begin with , mahogany tends to the mid peak, and walnut seems to be a neutral combo of the two. I hear walnut as being rather neutral but not many guitars use walnut apart from some lower end things. The GJ guitars on the other hand walnut is a more traditional choice. Spanish cedar ? It allows for the correct balance point for use in a classical guitar.
For GJ guitars. I would prefer Maple or walnut. My personal preference is for 3 piece maple that has opposing quarter sawn segments. I also prefer an ebony board though I would rather work rosewood. The use of maple and ebony comes at the expense of weight and balance. A maple neck is always rather heavy in the hand on an acoustic , unless your talking about a carved arch top type.
The inclusion of any form of metal truss rod mitigates against the timbral effects of neck wood species.
IMHO , ho, ho, ho.

spatzo

I agree with you and also I think that a neck is more a shape than a wood