Graphite reinforced necks. Hype? Gimmick?

[Strangeglow]

Graphite rods help improve the stability of the neck. Necks can vary greatly in stability depending on the tyle of wood used, the construction, and the overall climate. As has been pointed out, people who live in areas wherer there is a near constant humidity level will have less movement that those of us in the south do. You want some fun, go play an outdoor gig in July and watch the neck start moving in the 95% humidity.

The long and short of it is that the bass is a system. An unstable neck and a hard to adjust truss rod is a bad combination. A stable neck and an easy to adjust truss rod is preferred.

These threads keep looking for absolutes. Is a 4 string better than a 5? Why does this bass have a graphite reinforced neck? 3-band vs. 2-band EQ? Active vs. passive?

There are no absolutes. When an instrument's design is in balance, it works well. When it's not, it's not. The only thing that really matters in the end is that it makes repeatedly makes the sound that's in your head when you pluck the strings. 'Cause that's where the magic is.

jw

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Great post. There's a great amount of temperature/climate change where I live, even within a season (two nights ago it was probably 45 degrees, today it was in the 80s and humid), and even some of the basses I've had with graphite rods can move- maple is wood after all, not steel. I had a Zon six-string at one time that indeed stayed straight through everything (all-graphite neck), but in the end the tone wasn't for me. Unless you're using a very thin neck, the graphite rods are small enough to where they shouldn't affect your tone. Using a thicker neck can help as well- a Stingray has more meat on the bone than some other necks, so rods often aren't necessary.