St Vincent Neck Question

[omron]

Hi all,

I've had my heart set on a St Vincent for a while now but they're quite hard to come by in the UK. A new one has just become available in the blue finish (my preferred choice) and I'm seriously considering it.

However, the newer versions have the roasted maple neck rather than rosewood and I've seen people rave about the rosewood as being noticeably better.

I could, and have, been waiting for a used model with the rosewood neck to crop up on Reverb but I have no idea how long that wait might be. It's been a while now and as I said I'm very tempted by the one that's just become available.

So I'm just wondering what everyone's thoughts are. Probably difficult for anyone else to say as it's going to come down to personal preference but I'd still be interested to know what the consensus is - is it worth holding out for the rosewood neck? And does it make a big difference? (I'm mostly interested in the feel and playability rather than the tone)

Thanks!

 

[NickNihil]

I’ve only owned a Stealth Black with a finished roasted maple neck/ebony fret board and a Goldie, also with roasted maple/ebony. I DO have an Albert Lee HH with a rosewood neck which is near the same profile. While there is a uniquely lovely feel of the rosewood, the Goldie neck was also stellar and I wouldn’t even necessarily say one was objectively better than the other. I don’t think it’d be worth holding out. For those staunchly in favor of the rosewood, to each their own, but I also think they’re way overthinking. They’re both killer. That said, I’m approaching this as a heavy gigging player, not a bedroom hobbyist or collector-I don’t care about collectibility and never have. I just want guitars I want to play all the time.