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I'm considering eventually swapping the neck on my JS600 out with something a bit fatter. The body resonates like crazy, the neck is just a bit dead though and I think a nice piece of wood would really make the thing come alive. Anyways, I'm considering a mahogany/ebony neck, but I'm also curious how an all-rosewood neck would pair up with the basswood body of my JS.

Can anyone w/ experience of a rosewood neck vs. other woods on the same or similarly constructed bodies tell me what kind of differences I can expect?

I've only played One guitar in my life that had an All rosewood neck. And that would be my uncles warmoth strat (I know this means nothing to you). I don't really remember how it sounded or anything. I do remember the Guitar being massively neck heavy, and the neck feeling all greasy (probably due to my uncle being a sweaty fat guy).
Now I dunno weather the neck heavyness was due to wood weight, or if it had sumthing to do with the warmoth construction truss rod. But it was heavy as ****. And Basswood is a fairly light wood. So I think an all rosewood neck would cause some major balance issues for your guitar, As would a mahogany neck (pretty heavy too).
I'de suggest just getting a new neck made of similar materials, it could just be that your neck was made from a bad chunk o wood (it happens). Or not, I dunno.

But rosewood necks are quite heavy. Hopefully someone else will post sumthing too. cause my opinion is really only based On One incident. And therfore pretty useless.
haha
-edward

mnbaseball91 just finished a Warmoth with a rosewood neck. Ask him.


Originally Posted by Low_fidelity2100I've only played One guitar in my life that had an All rosewood neck. And that would be my uncles warmoth strat (I know this means nothing to you). I don't really remember how it sounded or anything. I do remember the Guitar being massively neck heavy, and the neck feeling all greasy (probably due to my uncle being a sweaty fat guy).
Now I dunno weather the neck heavyness was due to wood weight, or if it had sumthing to do with the warmoth construction truss rod. But it was heavy as ****. And Basswood is a fairly light wood. So I think an all rosewood neck would cause some major balance issues for your guitar, As would a mahogany neck (pretty heavy too).
I'de suggest just getting a new neck made of similar materials, it could just be that your neck was made from a bad chunk o wood (it happens). Or not, I dunno.

But rosewood necks are quite heavy. Hopefully someone else will post sumthing too. cause my opinion is really only based On One incident. And therfore pretty useless.
haha
-edward

The current neck is made of maple/rosewood, and maple is one of the more dense (and therefore heavy) woods used in guitar applications. Ever feel an all maple strat-style body? They can be pretty stout depending on the species.

I'm thinking mahogany or rosewood might actually be a bit lighter. That said, neck heaviness can be combated with a strap very easily, and is pretty far down my list of concerns behind playability and tone .


Originally Posted by ratherdashingmnbaseball91 just finished a Warmoth with a rosewood neck. Ask him.I believe it's Rosewood w/ an Ebony board though, I'm considering a solid rosewood neck.

Anyone have ANY input regarding a rosewood neck?

NO, but I'm curious to know what you wanted when you IMed me earlier!


Originally Posted by 9fingerNO, but I'm curious to know what you wanted when you IMed me earlier!

Last time we talked about this possible neck change you said I'd probably want to swap pickups if I did in fact go w/ rosewood, because of how different it would be from what's there now. Let's just say that if that were to happen... Becky would probably get a call . I was just going to talk to you a bit about that whole situation.

well WTF are you waiting on? I don't have all day.


Originally Posted by 9fingerwell WTF are you waiting on? I don't have all day.

I'm at work right now mang, I can't really hop on AIM at the moment. When do you work? I get off in a couple hours, maybe I can catch you then.

WEll POOP! I'll be going to work when you're getting off. I'll send you a PM when I get home around 7:30 your time and we can pow wow then.


Originally Posted by 9fingerWEll POOP! I'll be going to work when you're getting off. I'll send you a PM when I get home around 7:30 your time and we can pow wow then.

Sounds good bro, talk to you then.

My experience with rosewood necks is limited to the one with the ebony board on my Warmoth soloist, but I can tell you that if you were to put that particular neck on a basswood body you could expect nothing but mudd. Even with the ebony board and the thick maple cap on the body, the bass and lower mids from the guitar are a little overbearing at times.


Originally Posted by mnbaseball91My experience with rosewood necks is limited to the one with the ebony board on my Warmoth soloist, but I can tell you that if you were to put that particular neck on a basswood body you could expect nothing but mudd. Even with the ebony board and the thick maple cap on the body, the bass and lower mids from the guitar are a little overbearing at times.

What are the guitar's tendencies UNplugged? Pickups, amp, and cabinet can factor in a lot here so I am curious how the guitar behaves strictly on its own.

It sounds very mellow. The body actually doesn't resonate very well (by my standards anyway), so most of the sound is coming off the neck. It's pleasant but sort of boring, kind of like an acoustic whose strings have been on for a year or more but not played much - not a lot of life, but very smooth and warm. Granted, I'm used to playing with Dean Markley Blue Steels and I've only had Daddarios on this axe so far, and I generally find Daddarios to have less high end sparkle anyway - that could have something to do with it. I'm no expert on tonewoods; I picked this neck because I love the feel of rosewood and the ebony matches the paint scheme well. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if you tried the combination and loved it, but personally I'd be a little afraid to do it. Maybe if the guitar had single coils or bright sounding humbuckers...


Originally Posted by mnbaseball91It sounds very mellow. The body actually doesn't resonate very well (by my standards anyway), so most of the sound is coming off the neck. It's pleasant but sort of boring, kind of like an acoustic whose strings have been on for a year or more but not played much - not a lot of life, but very smooth and warm. Granted, I'm used to playing with Dean Markley Blue Steels and I've only had Daddarios on this axe so far, and I generally find Daddarios to have less high end sparkle anyway - that could have something to do with it. I'm no expert on tonewoods; I picked this neck because I love the feel of rosewood and the ebony matches the paint scheme well. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if you tried the combination and loved it, but personally I'd be a little afraid to do it. Maybe if the guitar had single coils or bright sounding humbuckers...The pickups that will probably wind up in the guitar are very transparent and really let the guitar's tendencies shine through, which is why I really want to get this right . Sounds like I may want to stick with mahogany as a base.

Mahagony will probably give you more bass than rosewood, but the lower mids aren't nearly as thick and overbearing. I'm not necessarily saying it would be bad, I'm just saying it would give you a bit of an unusual sound. To be honest, I'd probably be afraid to use a mahagony neck with a basswood body too! I'd use maple. Then again, I demand a lot of versatility from my gear - I like the knobs on the amp and the pickups to be the main factors in my tone.

I hope this is helping at least a little.


Originally Posted by mnbaseball91Mahagony will probably give you more bass than rosewood, but the lower mids aren't nearly as thick and overbearing. I'm not necessarily saying it would be bad, I'm just saying it would give you a bit of an unusual sound. To be honest, I'd probably be afraid to use a mahagony neck with a basswood body too! I'd use maple. Then again, I demand a lot of versatility from my gear - I like the knobs on the amp and the pickups to be the main factors in my tone.

I hope this is helping at least a little.

If I go mahogany it will have an Ebony fretboard on it. So I'll have the lows and low mids of mahogany and the highs of ebony paired up with the relatively middy (but mostly flat) EQ response of basswood. With the maple/rosewood neck that's on it now the guitar is somewhat anemic and bright.

I prefer the pickups to be mostly transparent and let the guitar's natural tone shine through, and use the knobs on the amp to work with its strengths/weaknesses. IMO that's when your rig truly becomes versatile, instead of having to swap pickups or drastically alter amp settings to make a change you can do it with the volume/tone knobs on the guitar.

and this is why he's truly hooked on Bill Lawrence pickups now! You'll know instantly wether or not you've got a good pc. of wood w/ them!

Fair enough. I'm still hunting for tone...hell, my opinion of what tone is is still developing. Honestly though, if you find the guitar to be brighter than you like right now, maybe a rosewood neck is the way to go. How thick is the body? Most of my experience with basswood guitars are with thick bodies - if it's thinner, it may be a totally different ballgame.