What Do You Think Of This Idea For A Laminated Neck?

[fyb]

I'm making a strat-style guitar out of hard ash, and I plan to stain/dye it a translucent colors (probably green). I got a nice piece of flamed soft maple today dirt cheap (1" x 6" x 5' for $3!!!!!!!!!) and I was thinking of using it for a laminated neck for the guitar. I was thinking of using 1 or 2 ash pieces in the laminated neck, and I want to color them to match the body.

I know hard maple is preferable for i or 2 piece necks, but soft maple should work with some laminations, right? Do you think this will work? Hard ash is the same stuff as in baseball bats . . . so it should be pretty strong right?

Help!

[low end fuzz]

dont use ash;

i personnally beleive that will kill the ''instrument''

even a multi-lam neck; stick to your hardwoods; straight quartered pieces

you need your neck to be as solid as possible ;woods with crazy grain are gonna pull every which way

my favs are hard maple, purpleheart lyptus and ebony

and please dont make a 2 laminate neck; it defeats the extra work even with straight grain hardwoods they could pull at certain spots that are joined with a weak grain and its not enuff to hold it back

and even just for looks stay with uneven # of laminates 1,3,5,7,9 etc.

hope that helps, but it problly means you have to spend mo' money

i read your msg again and i get why you wanted to use the ash in the neck ;so it looks all funky cathedrals and what not in the neck; but theres no excuse to use 'soft' maple; that would be a waste of your time;

but died ash would be a cool idea for the neck, if it was show piece you dont plan on playing

[Setch]

I entirely disagree.

Ash *is* a hardwood. So is soft maple. Both are much harder than mahogany (the most widely used neck wood there is!), and both are prefectly acceptable neck woods. 2 piece laminated necks are also fine, G&L guitars use them exclusively.

[fyb]

I guess I was not as clear as I intended in my first post. I know that hard maple the the preferable wood for 1 and 2 piece necks (by this, I was thinking of fender style necks). I don't want to take any chances with soft maple for a traditional strat neck.

What I'm thinking of doing is a 5 ply neck of soft maple/ash/soft maple/ash/soft maple. I want to keep the maple parts natural and somehow (this may be the hard part ) dye the ash the same green as the ash in the guitar body.

Hope this helps!

Do you think this is feasible??

Edited July 31, 2006 by fyb

[low end fuzz]

obviously setch thinks its a good idea; personnally i avoid anything in my neck that isn't quartered and straight grained;

i know people use mahogany with great sucsess, but it dosent seem right if its not an acoustic

i guess im stubborn with my ways, but i find my best projects are when the neck is hard as possible and

the body is mixed;

*stained (dogfart/heartwood) birdseye makes the best (hardest) fingerboards, and everyone is afraid to use it!

[Setch]

i know people use mahogany with great sucsess, but it dosent seem right if its not an acoustic

Or a Les Paul, an SG. a PRS McCarty,or an Explorer,a Flying V, a,,,,,,,

I could go on

Quartered is only an issue in regards to dimensional stability, and there's nothing to stop you using flatsawn if you have a bit you like. My LP has a dead flatsawn neck, and it's a champ. Hundreds and thousands of Gibsonsare out there with flatsawn necks, and even more fenders with flatsawn necks.

Given the choice, I'll pick quartered stock, but if I see a pretty piece which is flatsawn, I won't let it put me off, provided it's suitable otherwise. If flatsawn is what I happen to have, that's what I'll use and I won't loose any sleep over it.

[fryovanni]

I am absolutely in agreement with Setch on this.

[Mattia]

What Setch Said.

(...and all my completed necks to date are some form of mahogany, or chiefly mahogany with a bit of laminated stuff. Except the two bolt-on Fender-type necks I've got for the next two guitars. Mahogany = excellent neck wood).

[radrobgray]

i made neckthru with a 3 peice soft maple neck, it seems fine to me.

[Daniel Sorbera]

I made a ONE PIECE soft flamed maple neck. Thats right, it was not even scarfed. Have I had any trouble with it? Nope. I still have not touched the truss rod. It's been perfectly strait since the day I strung it up.

Was it the best idea? No. But if you have a beautiful peice of wood that seems very stable other than the fact that it's flat sawn and soft maple go ahead and use it. Whats the worst that could happen? It warps and you make a new one. Big deal.

[low end fuzz]

fair enough, i give;

but to me, it sounds like your trying to get away with something, as opose to making the effort to build the strongest neck possible;

opinions are like @$$holes, and im only comfortable with mine;

[fryovanni]

fair enough, i give;

but to me, it sounds like your trying to get away with something, as opose to making the effort to build the strongest neck possible;

opinions are like @$$holes, and im only comfortable with mine;

I think you miss the point.

You prefer hard Maple which is a GREAT neck wood and has a very unique sound. Bright, punchy, and well defined. If that what you are after it is perfect. There are other options for woods that may give you stronger mids, or maybe stronger lows. Every wood is unique in how it transmits energy. You would not want a neck made of steel that has little to no give, it would sound pretty harsh. The point being that it is not cheating (or getting away with something). It is getting the sound you want. The woods being discussed are more than strong enough for use as neck wood. So no harm, just options (knowing how to choose proper woods for your design intent is what we all strive to learn and achive). Use the woods you prefer (that is your thang), but stay open minded to options. You have listed "hard maple, purpleheart lyptus and ebony" as favorites. Some people would have slammed Purpleheart years back, as well as Lyptus. People would say African Ebony is a poor neck wood because it does not do well with changes in humidity. All of them hard Maple not withstanding used to be thought of as too heavy also.. It took people who were independant enough to try the wood, and see how it performs. When people liked the way it sounded it gained acceptance.

I just wanted to throw that out there. That is just my opinion and I am comfortable with it.

Later,Rich

[Mattia]

What Rich Said. It's not about the 'strongest possible neck', it's about a neck that's capable of doing the job it needs to do, and doing it well. Adding a couple CF bars for added stiffness insurance/evening things out certainly helps as well.