Any views on roasted guitar/bass necks? Log Out | Topics | Search
Moderators | Register | Edit Profile

Alembic Club » Miscellaneous » Archive through November 20, 2014 » Any views on roasted guitar/bass necks? « Previous Next »

Author Message
jazzyvee
Senior Member
Username: jazzyvee

Post Number: 4266
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - 4:59 pm:   Edit Post

I've been searching for a strat style neck for a self build guitar and keep bumping into Roasted guitar necks. I'm not considering buying one but I just wondered if anyone here has any informed views on what the benefit of roasting a neck.

Is this just another emperor's new clothes scenario?
jcdlc72
Advanced Member
Username: jcdlc72

Post Number: 386
Registered: 11-2009
Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - 5:32 pm:   Edit Post

It might have some snake oil potential, I guess... but I found this, and at least "sounds" interesting:

http://www.suhr.com/guitars/tone-woods/maple-tone-wood.html

John Suhr is, AFAIK, a well respected builder, and I donīt think I would (in his place) put at risk my reputation by some dubious statement. Still, I donīt think there is a "one for all" recipe when it comes to tone making. But, alas, Iīd leave it to the expert ones...
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 5850
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - 9:51 pm:   Edit Post

My first thought is that it sounds like a quickie alternative to good old fashioned aging. I'd love to hear Mica chime in on this one.

Bill, tgo
pauldo
Senior Member
Username: pauldo

Post Number: 1306
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 2:04 am:   Edit Post

A side of potatoes, carrots and onion and it sounds like a winter paupers meal.
stephenr
New
Username: stephenr

Post Number: 6
Registered: 9-2014
Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 8:56 am:   Edit Post

<<My first thought is that it sounds like a quickie alternative to good old fashioned aging.<<

That is exactly what it is.

Personally I would prefer a neck made of quarter-sawn wood that has been properly aged. IMO the real advantage to "roasting" the neck wood is for the builders who don't have to source aged wood or buy, store, and age it themselves.
sonicus
Senior Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 3686
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 8:57 am:   Edit Post

Add some garlic ,onions , curry powder & a Ghost pepper and you will have a spicy delight !
eligilam
Senior Member
Username: eligilam

Post Number: 424
Registered: 2-2006
Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 9:16 am:   Edit Post

I have a 2011 EBMM Stingray Classic with a roasted neck. The neck seems very stable and the maple is certainly very snappy (and I'm a fan of lacquered fretboards...).

Voodoo? Probably. To be honest, when I got it, I just thought it looked cooler than the lighter "standard" maple.
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 5853
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 9:34 am:   Edit Post

Add a broiled body, poached pickups, sauteed strings. Then baste the bridge for two hours and you have the perfect instrument for someone who is hungry for music. Just don't plug it into a fried Fender!

hehehehe

Bill, tgo
bassfingers
Advanced Member
Username: bassfingers

Post Number: 324
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 11:28 am:   Edit Post

I'm a user and big fan of Sadowsky basses.Here's Roger's take on the matter:

July 2010
Roasted Maple Necks

Sadowsky Guitars has always taken pride in the quality and stability of our neck wood. We are now pleased to offer "roasted maple" necks for an unprecedented level of stability. Lumber for maple necks and fingerboards is placed in a special oven after normal kiln dying. The wood is roasted at temperatures ranging from 180š to 220š Celsius. The result of this treatment is wood that is significantly more resistant to absorbing or releasing moisture. With this increased stability, the "roasted maple" process enables us to offer figured maple neck blanks for the first time in our three decades of instrument making. We have always advocated that figured neck stock was too unstable to use. However, any piece of wood than has a stability problem will warp during the roasting process and be discarded. It would also be a recommended option for players who reside in areas of extreme humidity (low or high), or who travel a lot through variable climates, as well as players who desire a figured maple neck for aesthetic reasons.

NOTE: The roasting process is performed on lumber. It cannot be applied retroactively to finished necks. Any revisions to existing instruments already on order will delay build time by approximately five months.
sonicus
Senior Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 3687
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2014 - 12:32 pm:   Edit Post

Very interesting ! Thanks for the lowdown ____ .
tomhug
Intermediate Member
Username: tomhug

Post Number: 153
Registered: 7-2008
Posted on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 7:16 am:   Edit Post

I would venture to say that if Roger Sadowsky has embraced it, it's not snake oil.

I regard wood roasting as primarily an aesthetic thing, with some probable, but not absolute, acoustic and structural benefits.

(Message edited by TomHug on October 24, 2014)
jcdlc72
Advanced Member
Username: jcdlc72

Post Number: 388
Registered: 11-2009
Posted on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 6:14 pm:   Edit Post

And just when I was taking the pizza and baking pans out of our kitchenīs oven to put my el-cheapo beater bassīs neck, there goes Roger and says it cannot be applied to finished necks. What If I take the finish off the neck? Oh, well... one can always dream :P
tncaveman
Advanced Member
Username: tncaveman

Post Number: 240
Registered: 2-2011
Posted on Sunday, October 26, 2014 - 8:13 pm:   Edit Post

I have a Musikraft neck with a roasted birdseye maple fretboard. The shaft wood is roasted flame maple. It's beautiful and plays nice. Its mounted on a custom build body made by me. It's patterned after a Fender Lead II. I'll do a full writeup soon. Fun project.

http://www.musikraft.com/product-info.php?pid603.html

Warmoth just started using roasted maple. They don't require a finish for their warrantee.

I think Tom Anderson is using it also.

This process apparently really changes the wood's properties. It's not the same as aging. I read somewhere that quite a few boards don't make it.

Stephen

Topics | Last Day | Last Week | Tree View | Search | Help/Instructions | Program Credits Administration