GuitarMaestro Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hi! I am currently planning a guitar arround a nice piece of spalted maple. In terms of look a striped neck made from macassar ebony(with nice stripes) would be very cool. I know Ed Roman uses that stuff for necks and PRS sold a series with ebony necks. Can anyone tell me how it sounds as a neck wood? I guess it's even denser and harder then rock maple, so I suspect it will sound even brighter? Right? Thanks, MK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 It's Ebony Marcel. It'll sound just like a typical Ebony fretboard. Hey, you ever hear of Jukka Tolonen? He's a German jazz-fusion guy from the late '70's, I've been listening to his stuff for over 20 years now, but haven't kept up on his career of late, thought maybe you had heard of him. I seem to remember the disc 'A Passenger To Paramibo', or Paramaribo, or something like that. I love jazz-fusion stuff. Tasteful player from back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Hehe....I never heard a ebony fretboard alone....I only played necks with ebony fretboards so far. But I do not know what an all ebony neck will sound like.... Brighter or darker than maple? Concerning that jazz guy: I like fusion & jazz very much, but I never heard about that guy. Are you sure he is german? The name definateley is finnish or swedish and not german.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 darker than maple...very focused tone... the wood is heavy though...your guitar would be neck heavy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 darker than maple...very focused tone... Interesting....what do you mean by focused? Did you play such a guitar? the wood is heavy though...your guitar would be neck heavy Good point....I will have to use a heavy body material then and place the pins accordingly.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 My apologies, I thought you were referring to just the fretboard alone. Yeah, it'll be heavy all right, maybe you like thin, shaved necks? Pretty sure he was German, but I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyunsu Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 hi.. i think.. wood material and make neck & body.. final sound is some same wood's sound.. so if you have ebony neck material.. knock .. and listen wood's sound.. this sound will make your guitar's neck sound.. i think.. ebody will make powerfull sustain & powerfull middle .. but i think.. valance is more important.. and ebody is not suitable.. i think rosewood is more good for neck.. bye.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Thanks guys! I'll try and see.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 I bought a neck from warmoth. Koa neck macassar ebony fretboard. Guitar sounds so awesome, bright sounding but still holds the bass tones. Was going to resell this neck and now its a keeper. I would use macassar ebony its pricey from my supplier but very snappy tone. I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 In this neck they used ebony laminates. Great looking guitar. http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_fullspectrum.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Wow....that is a noble guitar!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeli Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 That is a Finnish name, I know because I am Finnish. I don't live in Finland though and he didn't hit my time, so I haven't heard of the guy. Go for the ebony neck I would say. It will probably play great. You won't finish it with anything apart from oil I hope? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeli Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 Did some research... He was born in Helsinki in 1952. He formed the well known Finnish band Tasavallan Presidentti (The President of the Republic) which consists of saxophonist and flutist Juhani Aaltonen, bassist Måns Groundstroem, vocalist Frank Robson and himself. He is Finland national guitar hero. He recorded in many styles, such as rock, blues and fusion jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 Interesting....and I was right And yes I will finish the oil with Birchwood Casey Gunstock Oil/Wax.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 I'm with Wes.. that neck would be killer heavy, and the cost would be really high also. Have you ever picked up a big piece of ebony before, it's weighs a ton.. lol No matter what quality sound it makes sometimes it comes down to weight issues. I made an earlier guitar out of Ash which I been told was Swamp Ash, but later after the guitar was put together I found out just how heavy it was and scrapped it. The only reason I found it was a concern is that everyone I showed it too said, "it's nice, but no way I could play that all night". I quickly learned that the woods you pick should not only be a good tone wood, but also not so heavy that it makes playing the guitar painful. Also, your right, if you use a heavy neck wood like Ebony, you better use heavy wood for the body or it won't balance correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 I'm with Wes.. that neck would be killer heavy, and the cost would be really high also. Hmm....I cannot agree with both of you here. Rock Maple has a specific weight of 755 kg/cu.m Ebony has a specific weight of 960 - 1120 kg/cu.m A common Strat neck made from maple has a weight of approx 1, 5 KG. That means that the same neck would be 2, 25KG if made from Ebony in the WORST case and without taking the hardware and fingerboard into account. Additonally the guitar will have a bolt on neck which means not much neck wood. Who cares if a guitar weights 0, 75 KG more or less? I bet my Spalted Strat with this neck is still way lighter than a standard Les Paul. Concerning the cost: Macassar Ebony is way cheaper than most highly figured woods. I will get the neck blank for 80$. I payed 140$ for the 5A flame maple neck blank I used for my 7-String. Now it's your turn.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 make the upper horn longer to account for the increased neck weight so it doesn't take a nosedive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samoht Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 yes.. jukka tolonen is finnish and a great guitar player. he's not that famous here in finland though i think most musicians know him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 make the upper horn longer to account for the increased neck weight so it doesn't take a nosedive Will do....good suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 True Mastero, Ebony, isn't as high as some 5A figured wood, but then again, I'm was just comparing it to standard neck material, Maple or Mahogany. I wasn't trying to discourage you from using it, just giving you some things to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 I wasn't trying to discourage you from using it, just giving you some things to consider. Sorry if my post sounded agressive. I am thankful for every help and your post made me think about the weight issue again. But as you see it's not as terrible. Concerning the price: You're right here. In comparison to standard neck material it IS expensive. But why build guitars I could buy in the next music store anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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