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Topic: Wooden Neck vs. Metal Neck ? |
Jeff Sherman
From:
Atwater, California
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Posted 13 Nov 2012 11:57 pm |
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Hello All,
As stated earlier, I am new to this forum and starting to ask alot of questions. This one is simple. Is there any difference in the sound of the guitar between a all wooden neck versus a all metal neck ..... or is just for cosmetics ?
Jeff
Atwater, CA. |
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Craig A Davidson
From:
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 1:59 am
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| Some say no difference. To my ears metal necks sound brighter in a good way. I prefer wood necks myself. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 10:50 am
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| i'm with craig. keep in mind that brightness and tone varies from guitar to guitar. either neck can sound good on a good guitar. i have both and get very similar tone out of each. |
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Niels Andrews
From:
Salinas, California, USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 11:50 am
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MSA in their testing says wood neck, metal neck and no neck all the same.
_________________
Die with Memories. Not Dreams.
Good Stuff like Zum S-12, Wolfe Resoport
MSA SS-12, Telonics Combo. |
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Alex Cattaneo
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 12:08 pm
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| Did I read somewhere that they react differently to temperature changes? |
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richard burton
From:
Britain
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 1:24 pm
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My 2 cents:
When I play my wood neck steel I wish it was a metal neck, and when I play my metal neck steel I wish it was a wood neck, that's the trouble with being a steel player, I'm always looking for that elusive something, that can't be described or measured, but I know it's there, somewhere |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 3:56 pm
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A cast metal neck allows you to have a lighter cabinet, meaning thinner wood with less rigid construction, which to my ears and way of thinking makes for a livelier sounding guitar with better overtones.
I like the sound of a light weight 1930 National Style O with a new cone better than a brand new or even twenty year old, National Resophonic Style O. The 1930 is alive under tension and you can hear it. The new ones, even old new ones, are built rock solid, loud, but less interesting sounding. Same guy doing setup. Lots of Nationals side by side.
It is probably a Strat vs Les Paul thing, or a Strat with a blocked Tremelo vs a floating Temelo.
A friend made a Tele with a cast neck. That was a good sounding guitar. Not the easiest to keep in tune.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Niels Andrews
From:
Salinas, California, USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 4:03 pm
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Sorry, I thought we were talking pedal steel.
_________________
Die with Memories. Not Dreams.
Good Stuff like Zum S-12, Wolfe Resoport
MSA SS-12, Telonics Combo. |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 4:18 pm
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| Niels Andrews wrote: |
| Sorry, I thought we were talking pedal steel. |
I wrote: "A cast metal neck allows you to have a lighter cabinet, meaning thinner wood with less rigid construction, which to my ears and way of thinking makes for a livelier sounding guitar with better overtones."
Niels, is that pedal steel enough for you?
I could go on and say that Early Emmons guitars had lighter cabinets and lighter construction than other guitars and could do it because of the cast necks.
The point is, that it has more to do with what cast necks allow yu to do with the overall cabinet construction, rather than what the neck is made out of. If you start with an overbuilt rock solid cabinet, I do not think it matters what the neck is made out of.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Niels Andrews
From:
Salinas, California, USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 4:24 pm
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Easy son, it ain't no big thing. 
_________________
Die with Memories. Not Dreams.
Good Stuff like Zum S-12, Wolfe Resoport
MSA SS-12, Telonics Combo. |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 4:30 pm
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Your post had zero to do with pedal steel, by the way.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Brett Day
From:
Pickens, SC
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 4:41 pm
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| On my Jackson Steel, I've got a metal neck and it sounds incredible! |
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Tom Vollmer
From:
Hamburg, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2012 7:11 pm
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I have played Emmons push pull's since the 60's and prefer that tone as do many players.I am currently playing a 1970 D-10 that sounds as good as any of the 5 or 6 push-pulls I have owned.I also have a 2010 Lashley Le Grande III that I think is as close to a push pull sound as an all pull gets.
Point is I have worked on Emmons push pull single neck student models and have set one up this week.
I believe this guitar was made in the 70's
It has no alum neck. The bridge levers look like the same as the D-10 Emmons and the pickups alsolook like the D-10.
Point is the changer and pickup is same as the regular Emmons and this guitar sounds as good as any Emmons push-pull or Sho-Bud ,the 2 guitars I believe sound as ti what I prefer and it has no neck.
Also Wally Heffner and I both were wondering if the neck really added or subtracted from the tone.
In defense of the neck the deflection of pitch was greater on the student model. |
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Dave Diehl
From:
Mechanicsville, MD, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 8:19 am
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| Bobbe Seymour will argue all day that it makes no difference at all and the guitar will sound the same even with no neck. My ears tell me it's a difference however. A warmer sound with the wood necks. I prefer wood but have both and they all sound great. |
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Bill Moore
From:
Manchester, Michigan
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 12:25 pm
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| I agree with Tom Vollmer. I have an '81 D-10 push/pull and a '70's S-10 student model Emmons. They both sound excellent. |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 12:56 pm
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| Dave Diehl wrote: |
| Bobbe Seymour will argue all day that it makes no difference at all and the guitar will sound the same even with no neck. My ears tell me it's a difference however. A warmer sound with the wood necks. I prefer wood but have both and they all sound great. |
Yes, and I believe Bobbe too, except on a great sounding cabinet that cannot stay straight without the benefit of a cast neck you cannot make that comparison, and in my experience, those light cabinet guitars have tonal advantages that you cannot have without cast necks. So, it is not the neck, it is what the neck allows you to do.
But if you go to the other extreme, and have a cabinet made out of a 4x4, it dos not matter what the neck is made out of or whether you have one at all, unless it is an early Emmons neck that is hollow and there are special qualities that these 1964 and some 1965 necks bring in terms of overtones and slightly microphonic pickups. But then, the early Emmons guitars also had hollow chambers under the pickups -- dixie cup sized holes through the cabinet -- which I think acted like echo chambers, especially on one of my Wraparounds where the pickup is mounted to the cabinet and not the neck. These chambers would not be possible without the cast metal neck.
I have a late 1950s Sho-Bud that has a half inch cabinet and wood necks. The cabinet is warped, it dips down in the middle, either from string tension or from decades of a player or some weight pressing down on the center of the guitar or a combination of the two. The guitar sounds great, but the cabinet would probably have stayed straight if it had cast aluminum necks to help.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Billy Carr
From:
Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 3:06 pm psg
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| This has been discussed several times. Personally, wood neck or metal neck? I've never noticed a real difference with either. I think tone/sustain is based on several factors and the neck material, not being one of them. The cabinet construction, along with the type of wood used, the changer and the way it's mounted, add the keyhead and the way it's mounted, the pick up and of course, the nut rollers. String vibrations is what I look for. Keyhead, onto the roller nuts and down to changer. What's under the strings(neck), I don't see as a factor except for design or looks. Can I feel string vibrations on a knee lever or leg of a guitar when I rake strings. That's where I zero in on a guitar for tone. Does it vibrate or is it dead in the water with nothing? I like an aluminum neck on a mica body and on a lacquer guitar, I prefer a wood neck, simply for the inlay that can be put on it for looks. And the final thing is, the guy/gal sitting behind it!!! Yep! |
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Jack Aldrich
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 4:33 pm
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| I've had both, both ShoBud, my S10 with a wood neck, and my D10 with metal necks. I believe that the wood neck sounds more mellow, great for classic country. I saw ShoBud once long ago on eBay with a wood E9 and a metal C6 neck. I would like one of those. - Jack |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 15 Nov 2012 4:54 pm
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| I really think that the differences, if indeed there are any, are too small to worry about. So many other things are in the equation that it would be hard to make a simple comparison. It all boils down to...try as many as you can, and pick the one that you like. Others have no idea exactly what you and I are hearing, so IMHO it seems pointless to keep arguing about "Does it do, or does it don't?". |
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Daniel McKee
From:
Corinth Mississippi
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Posted 16 Nov 2012 4:54 am
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| I have a wood neck guitar and I like the sound.I have never owned a metal neck guitar but I have set down and tried a few and I cant hear a major difference. |
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Sid Hudson
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 16 Nov 2012 7:39 am
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As a teenager playing guitar at Hunter's Lodge with Buddy Charleton and the Stringdusters (in his post Tubb days) Buddy had a Black push pull Emmons.
The body was formica and the necks were wooden. This guitar sounded like Bells from Heaven.
Much to my surprise he sold the guitar for $900. I think Bruce Bouton ended up with it. Maybe Bruce can chime in and enlighten us.
When I was working with Buddy Emmons, he had an all pull Emmons guitar with a wooden body with wooden necks. It was Blond in color.
I was always fond of the way this guitar sounded as well.
Unlike Charlton's guitar, E's guitar was fatter and fuller sounding which to me sounded great on his jazz stuff.
I remember E complaining that it would not stay in tune no matter what.
One day he was raising h-- about it going out of tune on him and I said;
"Man, I love the way that guitar sounds. " E said "Great, it yours."
Out of respect I said “brother, I can’t take your guitar!”
I have regretted a thousand times not accepting his gift. I think he gave it away to someone else. |
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Quentin Hickey
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 16 Nov 2012 2:37 pm
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That's a neat story Sid.
I helped my friend install a George L 10-6 pup in his wooden neck MSA classic SS. He gave me the privilege of the test drive and WOW, sounded so sweet! I wouldn't mind owning one some day.
I second John Aldrich's comment. Even in today's stuff they (wood necks) sound awesome! Listen to Deirks Bentleys steel player, if I am not mistaken its done on a wooden neck show pro. |
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Roger Francis
From:
kokomo,Indiana, USA
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Posted 16 Nov 2012 5:01 pm
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I think the shopros come standard with wood necks and charge extra for aluminum necks, they are a sweet sounding guitar
_________________
Rittenberry SD10, 2 nashville 112s with telonics speaker, behringer EPQ450 power amp, 705 pups, Telonics FP-100, live steel strings, mogami cords, wet reverb |
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