Anybody tried an Ebony board on a Rosewood neck?

[Agileguy_101]

I'm thinking about trying this on a guitar I'm having built. Anybody actually tried this combo before? I'm thinking with an oil finish on the neck akin to a Music Man and stainless steel frets, it would have practically unparalleled playability.

 

[drod1985]

I haven't tried that wood combo, but oiled necks and stainless steel frets are the best. Super smooth playing is coming your way.

 

[whoismarykelly]

My Oni 8 has a rosewood neck with an ebony board. The clarity is excellent and the feel cant be beat.

 

[oscar100]

sounds great

my thorn sfc 16 had old growth brazlian with old ebony as is wonderful with warmth and snap too

 

[stashman]

If I remember correctly my Schroeder singlecut prototype had an ebony board on a brazilian neck, and it worked quite well.
http://schroederguitars.com/guitars/gallery/traditional-single-cutaway-proto

 

[paintguy]

And another who owns one with this combo. Works fine for me.

 

[Glenn Brown]

I own a custom doublecut with an old-growth Brazilian rosewood neck and a Mun Ebony fretboard. Love it. The guitar has a very lively sound when played acoustically and notes just ring. Very articulate and sweet sounding to my ears. The neck felt broken in when I first touched it and was effortless to play...I'm going to do another build with the same neck wood combination (I have another BRW blank and a sister fretboard to the first one). My preference is for unfinished necks so the feel of the BRW and ebony can't be beaten for me.

 

[GuitarGuy510]

I had a PRS Private Stock recently with this combo (IRW neck, ebony board) and it played and sounded great. No qualms with it, if it had SS frets it would have just been icing on the cake as I prefer SS too, but the neck and fretboard felt amazing.

 

[Terry McInturff]

As you can read from the previous posts it has been done with success. To me, the next question would be wether or not that sort of neck will work with the guitar's recipe as a whole. You know, the neck is a very important "tone filter"; it can be a rather powerful influence on the acoustical nature of the guitar and hence upon the amplified possibilities. Put some thought into that and also try to be sure that the particular piece of rosewood is ideal for the sound that you wish to build.

 

[shallbe]

I have two PRS artists with the ebony boards and rosewood necks. One is a CU22AP with a stoptail and the other is a DGT AP. The both feel and sound great. I love the acoustic and electric tones of both guitars.

I agree that the rest of the recipe needs to be considered. My CU22 has less mahogany and sounds more like a P-90 guitar than a typical humbucker instrument. The more mahogany DGT sounds fatter and not quite as clear.

 

[Mike Dresch]

I have built two guitars with this combo and I am a fan of it, sound, looks and feel.

 

[Terry McInturff]

Are you (OP) familiar with the sound of/use of analog audio compressors? If so, an analogy might be drawn.
Speaking in generalities regarding wood tone is fraught with probs but I'll do so anyway...this time.

In general, the IRW/ebony neck will (among other things) bring a much faster "attack and release time" than would your typical mahogany neck. It can be a more percussive feeling and sounding thing than a mahogany/IRW neck might be. Might be.

Knowing this can help to determine if that combo is right for you. Of course, there are other variables that influence the neck's tonal contribution...scale length, internal construction, the properties of those particular pieces of IRW and ebony, and more.

The results that I'd be expecting on a TCM guitar would be (by comparison to MAH/IRW) more percussive, less compressed. And if the neck were a TCM design that combo would have a higher PRF as well, another notable aspect to consider.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Thanks for the input guys!

My builder got back to me with a price for a rosewood neck and it was more than reasonable so I decided to go for it. I did consider the "tonal recipe" so to speak when considering rosewood. I think it will make for a great guitar. Recipe is as follows:

1 piece Swamp Ash body
1/8" Flame Maple top
Rosewood neck
Ebony fretboard
SS frets
Hipshot 6 saddle hardtail
P90 neck
Tele bridge (direct mount)

I had been previously considering using a maple neck just because I am accustomed to it but I played a few RW necked Music Man instruments and I thought they felt fantastic. I think the RW will also help reign in the brightness of the above combo as opposed to a maple neck.

I'm ridiculously excited for this guitar, we should be starting in the next 2-4 weeks (as soon as I get money for the deposit) and it should be done in 4-6 months. I'll make sure to post a thread here, it's going to be a very unique and eye catching guitar from an extremely talented up and coming builder.

 

[shallbe]

My only concern may be the swamp ash body. I have had much better luck with mahogany or alder bodies when paired with a hard/bright and fast board like ebony.

 

[Agileguy_101]

What didn't you like about ebony + swamp ash? Was it too bright?

 

[django49]

Nice combination:

 

[Agileguy_101]

Holy **** that looks incredible.

 

[Kostas]

I never had the combination of woods you are going to get but I have guitars with all these woods. The closest to your specs was my rear top strat with swamp ash body/spalted maple top & IN rosewood neck/BR rosewood fretboard. Pickups are SD Phat Cat on the bridge & Kinmans Blues. Not bad at all but the guitar became more clear/slightly brighter sounding when I changed the neck to maple/pau ferro. Personally I wouldn't match ash & rosewood again.

Have you thought about a korina body?

 

[LJD]

I have this combo on my PRS HBII AP. It is sublime. Bold, ultra clear tone. The feel of the unfinished rosewood neck is the best. Looks amazing.

 

[David Myka]

I have used rosewood for neck with an ebony board many times with great success. Terry is correct in that it has to fit in the overall recipe of the woods. Rosewood also tends to be a little heavier, especially cocobolo and Kingwood. This means it takes more energy to drive the neck. It's best to choose body woods that take advantage of this.

~David