Question Roasted Maple Neck option

[Siddius]

Is there a reason why roasted maple necks aren't an option in place of all maple necks? For someone living in the ridiculously humid to ridiculously dry Midwest, I am hesitant to jump into an unfinished maple neck. I have had finished necks warp on me before out here. Now we see Morse and Lukather opting for roasted maple, which brings me back to the question, why isn't roasted maple an option across the board? (pun!)


I do see the marketing aspect - like the Neptune Blue PDN. I would imagine that many people bought their nbpdns for the roasted necks, rather than the finish. I love the finish, but I sure as hell bought mine for the neck. I would like to think that EBMM isn't holding off with the roasted maple option just to add a limited nature, so let me further ask - when do you guys think it will become an option across the board? What will it take to make it a universal option?

 

[joe web]

i would love to see roasted necks as an option on the regular production line.
no need for the extras like maple fretboard on the morse or jps, just the maple neck as roasted....that would be awesome!

 

[Siddius]

i would love to see roasted necks as an option on the regular production line.
no need for the extras like maple fretboard on the morse or jps, just the maple neck as roasted....that would be awesome!

Agreed. I love the maple fret board on my Morse PDN, but it makes sense that the guitars are built to artist specs. But look at the Silhouette or the Axis (SS, etc.) These guitars are not associated with artist, so I would like to know why not go roasted?

Don't get me wrong, this isn't to bite the hand that feeds, I am also interested in what complications get in the way of this option. Cautious marketing? Limited supply? Pre-existing contracts with premium wood dealers? Etc.

 

[Kenji20022]

There's no other production brand that I can think of providing Roasted Maple Necks on the regular without going custom for it. So don't expect EBMM to start offering it constantly either, they don't have a custom shop open to the public so that isn't something we can really demand. Other brands that have custom shops open to orders and have this as an option allow it to happen on a regular basis.

And if I'm being completely honest, having owned several Roasted Neck EBMMs. There's no significant improvement to the amount of truss rod adjustments you're going to have to do, living in Florida and having one of the most humid climates has me adjusting truss rods maybe once every month or two. Which isn't that bad, but my Rosewood Necks and other necks require adjusting on the same amount of time or slightly less/more depending on the specs (Carbon Fiber Reinforcements, x Pc Necks, etc). It's more aesthetically pleasing than anything, and it is attractive.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to put it out on a constant basis as part of a regular production. But that's my 2 cents.

 

[Siddius]

There's no other production brand that I can think of providing Roasted Maple Necks on the regular without going custom for it. So don't expect EBMM to start offering it constantly either, they don't have a custom shop open to the public so that isn't something we can really demand. Other brands that have custom shops open to orders and have this as an option allow it to happen on a regular basis...

I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to put it out on a constant basis as part of a regular production. But that's my 2 cents.

While your experiences with the structural differences of the roasted maple necks are appreciated, the rest of your comments are not productive. Just because other brands aren't producing more, why couldn't or shouldn't ebmm? They already offer other details that most guitar companies don't, and so given your logic they shouldn't offer naked necks, thin nuts, or locking tuners .

I don't expect them to make roasted a consistent thing, but instead this thread is to question why not. Ebmm is a company that I deeply respect, I am sure that they know more about the guitar manufacturing business than I do, but what is stopping them from upping their models to roasted maple if it is in any way an improvement (even visually)? There are many potential answers, and I would love to hear from a more or less informed guitar community what those answers may be.


I don't want to turn away your 2 cents, you are entitled to distribute them as you see fit. I just don't want the topic of the thread to be diverted.

 

[uOpt]

It is unlikely that the roasting makes a difference.

Properly aged maple with good construction should give you a stable neck in dry climate.

 

[dannymusic]

It is unlikely that the roasting makes a difference.

Properly ages maple with good construction should give you a stable neck in dry climate.

and thats pretty much correct

 

[Siddius]

The dealers are saying that it does make a difference in atmospheric stability, and I will take their word on that, just like how I take their word that they are going to make me a good guitar. This is hardly relevant to the topic, unless you think that EBMM is unsure of the process so they are just putting out pdn's so that the consumer can test the validity of their claims. I would like to think that this is not true, but it is an interesting theory nonetheless.

 

[Geetarfreek82]

I have two Y2D's, and I almost never have to touch the truss rod on my Darklord, whereas the standard model requires periodic tweaks. Plus the roasted maple absolutely has a tonal difference... IT is much "richer" sounding.

I'm usually the first person to dismiss things as marketing hype, but I absolutely love the roasted maple necks based on first hand experience. I wish I could get a standard Morse with a flamed roasted neck so it could look more like Steve's old #1.

 

[Kenji20022]

While your experiences with the structural differences of the roasted maple necks are appreciated, the rest of your comments are not productive. Just because other brands aren't producing more, why couldn't or shouldn't ebmm? They already offer other details that most guitar companies don't, and so given your logic they shouldn't offer naked necks, thin nuts, or locking tuners .

I don't expect them to make roasted a consistent thing, but instead this thread is to question why not. Ebmm is a company that I deeply respect, I am sure that they know more about the guitar manufacturing business than I do, but what is stopping them from upping their models to roasted maple if it is in any way an improvement (even visually)? There are many potential answers, and I would love to hear from a more or less informed guitar community what those answers may be.

I don't want to turn away your 2 cents, you are entitled to distribute them as you see fit. I just don't want the topic of the thread to be diverted.

That was mainly to give you my perspective since you were a little skeptical about going on board with an unroasted Maple Neck. I'm at 20+ EBMM's at this point, but my unroasted maple necks were pretty stable thankfully! Rosewood needed more attention I feel but wasn't unstable or anything thankfully.

I actually just realized that the L3 had a stock Roasted Neck, totally forgot about it but it's more of Luke himself wanting it on the guitar.

 

[Siddius]

That was mainly to give you my perspective since you were a little skeptical about going on board with an unroasted Maple Neck. I'm at 20+ EBMM's at this point, but my unroasted maple necks were pretty stable thankfully! Rosewood needed more attention I feel but wasn't unstable or anything thankfully.

I actually just realized that the L3 had a stock Roasted Neck, totally forgot about it but it's more of Luke himself wanting it on the guitar.

Oh, now I see where you were coming from. In regards to the option, I purchased a neck from another company to replace my Fender neck to be something more like an Axis. The upcharge for roasted maple was very reasonable, although Music Man has much better looking and better feeling roasted maple necks.

About Lukather wanting roasted maple, I thought I saw in a video that it is generally for stability. My roasted Morse is a little smoother than my rosewood silhouette, but I have also sweated all over my silhouette. I don't know which one is more comfortable- The rosewood has a smooth grainy feel, and the roasted maple doesn't really feel like anything it is so frictionless.

off-topic My old roommate came to my show on Halloween. He saw my new morse and said "when did you get that badass?" He felt the back of the neck, and then felt my rosewood silhouette and said "This guy isn't quite as smooth as it used to be, is it?" I thought it was funny, and a great testament to how much play it has gotten.

 

[DrKev]

My two cents is this (are this?)...

I don't think unfinished necks are more prone to seasonal changes than finished necks. Most of the veteran forumites here will probably say the same. Certainly Morse, Lukather, Petrucci, and Albert Lee never had any complaints and they've toured as much as anybody on the planet. True, Luke said the extra stability of Roasted maple was a part in his decision. But don't think if roasted maple is perhaps more stable that regular maple or all-rosewood necks are necessarily inferior in stability to anything else on the market. They are not.

 

[dwells]

the roasted necks are alot more stable and simply feel amazing.
there is a big difference i have 3 of them now, and i absolutely love them.
the neck hardly ever moves too.
d

 

[Wahoonc]

Rosewood needed more attention I feel but wasn't unstable or anything thankfully.

What additional attention do rosewood necks require?

 

[uOpt]

The dealers are saying that it does make a difference in atmospheric stability, and I will take their word on that, just like how I take their word that they are going to make me a good guitar. This is hardly relevant to the topic, unless you think that EBMM is unsure of the process so they are just putting out pdn's so that the consumer can test the validity of their claims. I would like to think that this is not true, but it is an interesting theory nonetheless.

Dealer != EBMM.

 

[Kenji20022]

What additional attention do rosewood necks require?

From my experience, Rosewood Necks need to be adjusted more regularly. Maple will hold it's relief setting for longer than my Rosewood Necks have. Nothing jarring or obvious, but slightly less stable than Maple I find.

 

[Stratty316]

I haven't touched the rosewood neck in almost 4 years. It is still dead on while the maple necks need it a little more often but not much. I'll let you know how the roasted neck does.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wahoonc]

Thanks. Will be interested to know. I haven't noticed a difference, but I am a recent convert to MM and unfinished necks. When my AL HH arrives in Dec./Jan., I will have an all rosewood neck, maple with rosewood fretboard, and all maple to compare. So far, I haven't had to adjust either of my current balls after the initial tweak.

 

[Kenji20022]

Depends on climate and setup preference of course, I live in South Florida so it's more humid than most places. I also play with very low action, so any change in the neck relief will show itself when certain notes buzz on parts of the neck. This can happen once a month or two.

 

[Siddius]

Depends on climate and setup preference of course, I live in South Florida so it's more humid than most places. I also play with very low action, so any change in the neck relief will show itself when certain notes buzz on parts of the neck. This can happen once a month or two.

Well, from your description of florida, it is just humid. Where I live it goes from around %90 in the summer to around %20 in the winter. I believe that it is climate change that makes you have to adjust your truss rod, not just whether you are at an extreme of climate. I have also heard from some techs that dryness is worse than humidity. The "dangerous" extremes are above %90 and below either %30 or %20.