The Neck Supports the Head: The Different Woods in Guitar Necks
By Max on Mar 30, 2008 in Featured, Guitars
When you want a specific tone from your guitar, the wood it’s made of can impact what you choose to play with. This is especially true when you are bound to a specific wood for the body of the guitar but need a sound that particular wood cannot offer. Budget is most often the culprit.
So here is a bit of knowledge on the subject of guitar neck woods that could be of some help to you the next time you are in the market for a lovely new piece.
Spruce
Although Spruce wood isn’t as attractive as, say, Maple or Rosewood, it is light and solid, which makes it perfect for necks on acoustic guitars with flat tops. Spruce necks offer a wide range and great resonance on acoustic guitars.
Rosewood
Rosewood is gorgeous and dense, making it perfect for acoustic guitars. It is a bit pricier than some of the other woods but is a standard for the 3/4 dark shell+neck that acoustics are known for and gives them that piano-style tone. You know the sound–it’s classy and it rings in long resonating hums.
When using Rosewood on an electric, the fret board is the only part of the neck where Rosewood works because it is heavy. Worry not, however, as Rosewood has an excellent reputation for adding base and a warm tone when used in fret boards.
Alder
Alder is a very malleable wood that is easy to work with and inexpensive to cut. This makes Alder a standard on many solid body electrics, including the Stratocaster. The same reason makes it great for the neck, especially when you want your body to be made of something else. Alder gives the electric guitar a deep, full sound but lacks in the scream or bite that Ash does. It is, however, great to use in semi-hollow electric guitar necks.
Mahogany
Mahogany is a great looking wood that doesn’t break the bank. The sound it offers isn’t as hard or rocky, rather more warm with low and mid-range frequencies when used in the neck or the body. When you’re on a budget, however, you may be able to find a guitar with a mahogany neck combined with a cheaper wood for the body.
Ash
Though it’s not used much in acoustics, Ash is a great neck wood for those who enjoy that twangy, country sound in their electric guitars. It offers a bright, brilliant sound and is very heavy and hearty, which is why it’s sometimes good to have an Ash neck with a lighter wood for the body. Specifically, the Telecaster is known for it’s Ash sound.
Ebony
Ebony is great for necks but more specifically, fret boards. Ebony is known for being strong, durable and giving off a bright sound as well as being incredibly dark. It is expensive, however, so sometimes it’s better to get a guitar body made of Walnut with an Ebony neck. Ebony is most often used in electrics.
Maple
Maple is a very popular wood for guitar necks because it is hard, strong and dense. It gives the player a great amount of support because the wood can take a great amount of stress without bowing. Maple, however, should not be used in a solid body guitar because it is so heavy. This is why many guitars, like the Les Paul, use Mahogany for the body and Maple on the neck to brighten up the sound.
Walnut
Walnut is a strong wood that offers warm sound, when used in the body but the wood should not be used for the neck because of how particular the cut must be. The wood is generally soft and also does not make a great fret wood, either.
Cedar
Though Cedar is not as awesome a wood as Spruce is for acoustic guitar necks, it’s a great alternative for it. It produces a bright and bouncy tone when used in the neck and it has a deep, red color that is very attractive.
Keep in mind that the woods listed here are the most common woods used in guitars. If the guitar you’re interested has a neck made of a wood that you don’t recognize or can’t spell, chances are it’s Pau Ferro, Bubinga or possibly Wenge. These woods are slowly gaining popularity in solid body guitars and especially basses. They are strong and have a great reputation, so give them a shot.
For any other wood not listed, check it out online, though I wouldn’t recommend purchasing a guitar with a wood that is not commonly used. Rock your wood on.
