Necks and Fingerboards
Like most every component of electric guitars, Necks and fingerboards are made from a variety of materials, usually wood. Different woods offer differing characteristics in terms of sound, stability and feel. The choice of wood and how it is cut will have considerable impact on these qualities. Perhaps, more important to most players, is a neck and fingerboard's dimensions as well the size and profile of the fretwire. Also, consider the type and installation method of the truss rod and the impact this will have on the instrument. The discussions that follow will introduce you to each of these components and provide an overview of w an overview of what you can expect from their various forms.
The Fingerboard
Fingerboards are typically constructed of rosewood, maple or ebony. In general, laminations make a neck durable but, for sound reasons, should be kept to a minimum. Fingerboards do effect sound. The warmest sounding fingerboards are maple followed by rosewood, and ebony is the brightest. Binding, inlay and other decorative features have no effect on sound but will effect the feel of a guitar.
| Rosewood Fingerboard / Maple Neck - Stable neck with a smooth feel and warm sound. Very popular. | |
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| 1 Piece Maple Neck (glossy finish) - Stable neck with a bright sound. Some players find the finish over the fingerboard to have a sticky feel which can be distracting. | |
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| 1 Piece Maple Neck (satin finish) - Stable neck with a bright sound. The satin finish on the fingerboard minimizes sticky feel. | |
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| Bound Ebony Fingerboard / Maple Neck - Very solid feel, frets positively because ebony is very hard. Very bright sound. The binding is mostly decorative. Some players find it distracting and it makes for expensive refrets. Other players insist on binding. Binding doesn't effect the sound. | |
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| Rosewood Fingerboard / Maple Neck / Reversed Headstock - Same as standard headstock version. There is some argument that the string length change from the nut to the posts effects the sound but to what degree is anybody's guess. If you like it, get it. | |
The Neck
This term is often used to refer to the whole of the neck, fingerboard and headstock. For our purposes, the neck will refer only to the major component and not the headstock or fingerboard (these areas will be addressed separately). Most necks are made of wood but, an increasing number of manufacturers are using composite materials in the construction for their necks. Contrary to popular belief, the choice of neck material has a huge impact over the sound of the guitar. The most common woods used for necks are maple and mahogany. Like the guitar's body, harder neck woods tend to brighten the sound of a guitar while softer woods will darken it.
The way in which the wood hich the wood is cut will also effect the way in which a neck behaves. Generally, necks are either quarter sawn or flat sawn. This refers to which section of the tree trunk the neck was cut from and in what direction the grain runs. Quarter sawn grain runs from the fingerboard toward the back of the neck at a right angle to the frets. Running the wood grain in this way provides more rigidity to counter the effects of the string's tension. The grain of flat sawn necks runs parallel to the fret wire. It is argued that flat sawn necks are not as stable or durable as the quarter sawn counterparts. They are also less expensive since manufacturers can cut more necks per log if they aren't concerned with the direction of the wood grain.
(Author's note: In my 20+ years as a professional guitarists, repairman, instructor and retailer, I have paid very little attention to how the neck was sawn in my personal instrursonal instruments and, instead, have opted just to select the best sounding ones. In retrospect, virtually all of my personal instruments (and certainly the best sounding ones) have flat sawn necks. I think this is because the neck is more flexible in the direction of string tension. I have noticed that these necks require a little more attention in terms of adjustment than quarter sawn ones but not much. In short, there are plenty of reasons to purchase or not to purchase a certain guitar, but I don't believe this should be the "make or break" if the guitar sounds and feels good.)
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Maple This is likely the most common wood used for electric guitar necks, and for good reason. It is durable, able, attractive, stable and affordable. Maple used for guitar necks is sometimes figured, meaning that the wood grain shows up as exotic pattern called birdseye or flamed. Flamed maple is what has been traditionally been used for backs and sides of high quality violins (for this reason, it is sometimes called "fiddleback" maple) and is characterized by a striped appearance. Birdseye maple has little spots throughout it which have an appearance similar to that of bird eyes. There is some argument over the durability of these unusual grain patterns, but in a practical sense, there is no difference in sound or durability. They simply look nice. |
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Mahogany This is also a popular choice for necks. Over the years, it has been used on all types of guitars but most commonly, mahogany is used in the set neck (neck joints) manner of guitar construction. Mahogany is rarely used for bolt on necks making sound comparisons difficult due to the differing design characteristics having a greater impact on the sound than neck wood. Mahogany is a durable, attractive wood for necks requiring little maintenance. |