Tag: guitar neck

Rosewood Vs. Maple Fretboard

I can only speak from personal experience on what I think is better, and in the end, its all subjective and a matter of preference. I typically use a Fender Stratocaster, which I thought should be mentioned.

What I have always found is that I liked the playability better on a Rosewood Fretboard. Something about the Rosewood being glued onto the maple neck gives this great feel in the hands and I feel like I’m capable of doing more. But on the other side, I prefer the affect on tone that a Maple Fretboard gives. In my opinion, its brighter sounding, and more favorable as well. But its seems tougher to play than the Rosewood board.

On my Strat, I have the best of both worlds. I’m playing on a Fender 1968 Reissue Stratocaster. During that time period, Fender was making what was called a Maple Capped Neck. What this means is that they took a maple neck, and a separate piece of maple and slapped that on as the fret board much like they would do for a Rosewood fret board. So now I get the playability of a Rosewood board, but with the tone of a Maple board! Couldn’t be happier.

In the end, its all what you prefer. I have a few strats with both options, and while I have a number 1, I still play them all and like them individually. If you are trying to decide which to go for, I would recommend to go to your local music store and give both a try and judge it on what feels the most comfortable for you. Hope this helps!

Why get a Custom Guitar Neck?

Often overlooked, the neck on a guitar has a definite effect on tone. As well, having a greatneck that suits you specifically will aid in playability, essentially letting you get some sounds that you didn’t think were possible. Lets talk about why a custom neck is the way to go, and how to go about getting one.

There are custom guitar-part sites that allow you to get a custom built neck for most electric guitars. The best two companies for this are Musikraft and Warmoth. You can customize pretty much everything on the neck, so it fits your hand perfectly. Or you can get a neck that closely resembles a favorite guitar player for example.

Being a big Jimi Hendrix fan, I could see that having his guitar upside down and restrung affected his tone. Not only with the reverse headstock changing the string lengths, but also the size of his headstock. At Musikraft. you can order CBS style headstocks which are bigger and more badass. Not to mention they are a bit heavier, which is said to increase sustain of the guitar.

Another great reason to go custom is that you can choose the shape of the neck. From soft Vs to medium Cs, you can get the right neck for you. With Jimi’s style of playing, having his thumb wrap around the neck to play the low E string was a huge part of his musical style. Certain neck shapes make this more possible and comfortable.

Are you a vintage junkie, but can’t afford a vintage guitar? I’m right there with you. You can get the necks with nitro finishes and vintage sized frets.

All in all, if you’re playability doesn’t seem great on your current set up, try changing the neck, and notice a profound difference that’ll keep you playing for hours at a time.