Wood Choices for Neck: Maple vs. Mahogany

[bluewaterpig]

Unless it ends up being a cosmic failure and huge disappointment, I won't ever be selling this guitar. I played Gilad Hekselman's guitar at his house (my p28 is very, very similar to his gHex model) and really loved it, so I'd say there's a 99.9999% chance I'll be keeping it forever.

Ive decided on going with a two piece Spanish Cedar neck with a laminate stripe down the middle. I really believe in going with the builder's suggestion on decisions like this...I think Victor knows how his guitars sound best and he just knows his shit in general.

Coolvinny, I absolutely agree...I would be pretty surprised if there was any noticeable difference at all between two identical guitars with identical string properties and their only difference being different neck woods. I would think the difference is more noticeable in the way the guitar feels physically to a player, and I definitely prefer a lighter wood in that respect.

[PTChristopher2]

>>> Spanish Cedar, which he said is the "ultimate" choice for tone.

I have a nylon string that I have been semi-working on for a while. It would never have occurred to me to use anything other than Spanish Cedar for it.

In fact, I think I need to go sniff the neck now,... mmmmmmm,....

Chris

[Patrick2]

>>> Spanish Cedar, which he said is the "ultimate" choice for tone.

I have a nylon string that I have been semi-working on for a while. It would never have occurred to me to use anything other than Spanish Cedar for it.

In fact, I think I need to go sniff the neck now,... mmmmmmm,....

Chris

Uhhh . . . for those of us who doubt your sanity, please further define . . . "sniff the neck".

[PTChristopher2]

>>> please further define . . . "sniff the neck"

Oh yeah. I do not mean it in the old Don River Cossack sense of the term, where "sniffing the neck" was grounds for being drowned by the villagers in the Don (or the Volga in case of a serial sniffer).

My favorite woods to just smell for fun are Spanish Cedar and the upstart "Alaskan Yellow Cedar" which I think is more a cypress.

Spanish Cedar just smells like classical guitars to me.

Alaskan Yellow Whatever is weird stuff. Absurdly tight grain and a smell that is woody but also weirdly like mashed potatoes for some reason.

Sometime I'll get a thick enough piece of it to make an archtop from it just to see what the absurdly smooth and tight grain will be like when carving and tapping for a long fun day. This sounds dirty, but I do not much mean it that way.

Anyway, back to the actual thread, already in progress,...

[Patrick2]

OK . . . so this explanation was supposed to restore our belief in you mental well being????

[PTChristopher2]

I think my post certifies that my mental state remains as you have come to know it.

Oh, wait,... I think that is more or less your point.

[Jabberwocky]

Spanish Cedar. That sounds wonderful and promising.

If the stripe is for cosmetics, birdseye maple, burled walnut or amboyna or ribbon African Mahogany will look very nice. There is a classical guitar maker in Sapporo Hokkaido Japan who uses Tasmanian Blackwood for the neck. Another luthier uses Port Orford Cedar (which is really a cypress).

Given the 14" dimensions of the lower bout my gut feel is that a Spanish Cedar neck will turn out nicer than you expect.

Keep this forum updated with pictures of the build.

[Patrick2]

I think my post certifies that my mental state remains as you have come to know it.

Oh, wait,... I think that is more or less your point.

Your verification is noted . . and accepted. You've redeemed yourself . . . very well. My preconceived opinions will remain unchanged. "Carry on my wayward. There'll be peace when you are done".