Now let's see, so you closed your eyes and popped your Pop Tart., but it broke your neck? No that's not right. So, the sound was slight, and the frets were tight or bright but not right. Oh, I get it now. Thanks.
Love these comparison videos! What would be very cool, and not done yet (i think) is a comparison between a non maple top guitarbody and a maple top guitarbody!
Great video! I'd like to sea a tone shootout between the 25.5" and the 24.75" scale. And, of course, maple vs roasted maple (neck and fretboard). Both would be nice!
The difference is amplified by gain - the cleaner, the less the difference. The mahogany was much warmer for sure, and to be able to hear the difference we heard over this video suggests that the difference is actually quite substantial. By the way, I’ve never seen your videos before, and this video was excellent. You do the great job and rang the bell. Hopefully you’re still making content. glad to have found you.
Your sincerity and transparency in these tonewood tests really goes a long way. Thanks for having such a great attitude and approach for this! I thought I MIGHT be able to hear a difference, but it was so slight I know I'll never stress over neck/fretboard tone again. The body woods made a much bigger difference than I expected, so I was surprised that I couldnt really hear much of a difference here, not enough to prove it isnt just confirmation bias anyway. You'll hear a difference if you expect one. I imagine if none of us expected differences, we wouldnt have noticed at all. The body wood test I think you would have some people notice it right away. It's definitely there, even if it's not pronounceed.
Thanks for doing these!! Great to have as close to an apples-to-apples test as there can be. My 2 cents on hearing these, I agree that the differences were very subtle. So much so that it wasn't until the distorted samples that they could really be heard or felt. For me the maple / maple was the brightest (again, only by a touch) with a little more top end compared to the other two. The rosewood / mahogany had a weightier feeling to it, especially on that last distorted sample (it had a little something something going on with the way things resonated that made it feel a little more special, for a lack of a more precise way to describe it). Great vid!! :)
Another very high-quality video. And what a PITA it must be to change all that hardware around, changing the strings and setting the action. Lordy, that’s beyond the call of duty, and then remembering to play the same licks every time. I’m impressed. I definitely think the maple on Maple is a tiny bit brighter, but giving the treble control an eight turn would overcome any tone inherent in the wood. Thanks a ton.
My favorite all around was Mahogany/Rosewood. On the body wood shootout you did I also preferred the Mahogany. Thanks for doing these videos. Very helpful.
Thanks for doing these excellent videos. You are confirming what I have known for decades. The maple/maple neck sounded brighter, glassier and has a kind of raw edge to it. I had a beautiful 62 strat with a rosewood/maple neck but I found myself wanting that harder edgier maple/maple sound. I had the same reaction to the body woods video. The swamp ash body was my favourite and the difference in sound was obvious. I had a swamp ash tele at one time and the sound was just incredible. The way you did these videos using the same body and switching only the part we’re interested in, plus the quality of your playing and the immediacy of the comparisons really brought out what I knew to be true. Thanks again.
I wanted to get mahogany for the neck because the weight is lighter but unfortunately for the neck i want (arcade) i cant use Wizard back neck profile on mahogany because theres no option for it.
Something I think alot of comparisons overlook is the sound of the string slapping against the frets when you pop a note hard, ala SRV and Mark Knopfler. This is where I notice the difference in fretboard and neck wood the most. Popping the string, as well as regular picking, in different registers of the neck also will bring out more of the subtle differences between them. Awesome job. Thx 👍
This is a great vid! I was expecting a much bigger difference. Most of the tests, it was very slight with some exceptions, where mahogany seemed quite distinct (e.g. #4). Also appreciate the final summary. Thanks a lot for your scientific work!
Finally, the neck test is here! :) Thank you! I relate to your conclusion. The slighter differences between rosewood and maple might also come from the fact that their responses are closer in spectrum than between mahogany and the two. I can hear a huge difference between the the mahogany neck and maple, particularly in test 7. Mahogany makes the sound louder and more bassy. Moreso than I could hear in the body test... The difference between maple and rosewood is subtle, but it matches my experience of a feeling I could not put my finger on, of a different timbre between the Ibanez (rosewood fingerboard) and Fender (full maple) guitars I tried: the former are a bit more airy and somewhat "buzzy" in the top-end, while the latter are more snappy and "rounded".
Dude. You videos absolutely rock! I put them right up their with the Phil X videos he did for Fretted Americana. Whenever I saw a video of his checking out vintage guitars, I couldn’t wait to click on them. I feel the exact same way about your videos. Very informative, very well done and great playing and excellent on camera presence. Bravo!
Nice! Thanks for taking the time to test and put this up here. Although all of them sound good in their own way, my ears really like the mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard combination. Definite bias here. I really do think that Maple on Maple sure does look good with fender bodies though.
Great video as always Aaron! Also, I did not expect to hear much difference and I was kind of blown away by how different they all sounded from one another.
A blind test was made on violins. New, old and a Stradivarius by professional violinists. No-one could guess which one was new old or the Strad. And was acoustic instruments and highly trained ears. I'm not convinced anyone could tell the difference between these guitars if they were blindfolded.
Excellent video! I too was very surprised at how little tone difference there was between the different necks! I also saw the body tone wood shoot out and agree with your assessment. These are some very nice go to reference videos for tone!
You went from the brightest to the darkest! My preference is maple w/rosewood. But then I pretty much already suspected that before your test and it proved true.
MKA82 the raw necks are my favorite too. Easier for me to play on. It's good to hear somebody's preference here, cause I prefer the maple one and it just goes to show you this is all preferential and it's what sounds best (or looks best) to you
The body test I heard less of a difference that I did with the neck test. Trusting the setups where all identical there is an incredible difference between each of the 3. I like the highs and chime of the maple / maple neck.
Hey Aaron. I had several necks from you guys. My favorite is mahogany/rosewood: just as you noticed, more low mids. Plus if you strike a chord with a lot of harmonics (a G for instance) and let it ring, the notes will last longer with the mahogany shaft. The essential difference between maple/maple and maple rosewood is a rounder tone on the bass strings for the rosewood. I notice also a better attack against a bit more spank for the maple. Ever so slightly... Keep on pickin' ! PS: your warhead is just a great shape ! I wish there was more choice in the showcase (only one roundback 59 in maple/maple...) Cheers !
Before the test, I scrolled down so I could NOT see which necks were being played as they were being played, and I wasn’t able to tell the differences between the guitars necks. That is, I couldn't tell when the guitars switched from one to the other. I then watched the video to see which necks were being played, and not surprising I thought I could tell slight differences between the necks, especially between the maple and rosewood necks. Granted, I’m listening through a computer speaker.... Nevertheless, human perception comes in a package. Two or more senses firing at the same time will affect the others, thus biasing the perceptual response toward our expectations of what we see, hear, touch, etc. From an evolutionary perspective, this makes perfect sense as survival depends on maximizing the perceptual information we gather through our sensory apparatus in conjunction with past experiences. From a scientific testing perspective, our sensory package comes at a disadvantage because we cannot effectively isolate (control) the effects of those sensory variables when they are all in play. In other words, I cannot un-see something, or ignore it, as I’m seeing it. So in this case, if we are both hearing and seeing the guitars as they’re being played, i.e., seeing the transitions between the guitars at the same time as hearing the transitions, we're unable to effectively close off what we're seeing from what we're hearing. Obviously, the only way to accomplish that is not to look at the guitars while they’re being played. And even better, would be to randomize the order in which the guitars are being played. By the way, the one person who is most susceptible to these confounding sensory biases is the guitar player himself. He has all of his sensory apparatus firing at the same time. I don’t know how a maple neck tastes while playing it, but I’m sure it’s delicious.
In essence: Differences are extremely subtle. You could achieve the sound of every 3 necks with minimal post-processing, which you ultimately do anyways so your guitar sound fits your song. I'd choose a neck by looks and feel :)
Brilliant test, thanks man. Can definitely hear a difference in frequency absorption and attack between the different necks, albeit subtle. More something you feel than hear in a way. I do love the maple brightness and attack. The rosewood fretboards seem to mellow out the bridge and bridge/middle pickups nicely though!
can you tell for sure that the difference you say you perceive is not determined by a psycologycal association yo do between the visual information and how you link it to the sound? i believe is mostly a mind illusion, to be honest.
Again....very subtle difference. Which, as far as I'm concerned is a good thing. I was putting a LOT of stock into those decisions. I heard the biggest difference between the maple and mahogany. The mahogany sounded warmer to me. But, that's how I viewed the body video. Another great video, thanks for taking the time to do these incredibly helpful videos!!!!
definitely a difference from maple-Rosewood/ Maple-maple. The mahogany neck had a growl to it. All sounded great. I’m ordering my first neck today. Love your videos man Thz k you for what you do!
The Mahogany neck sounded just that much more low and full that I'd default to it every time. (I find myself doing that with my personal collection anyway more often than not) Great shoot out as always, would love to hear baked vs natural necks in the future!
Very surprised to find out the body made a bigger difference! Personally I can tell a greater difference in feel from the shaft wood as opposed to fretboard wood. And feel will affect how you play and obviously how you play affects your tone. So wood is important but for reasons that aren't as obvious.
I did hear that same roundness on the rosewood vs. the maple alone. My takeaway is to pay closer attention to how I match my necks and bodies. Thanks for posting!
I feel like I heard a significant difference between the three... Regardless off the pick-up position or drive/overdrive and reverb setting... I feel like: Maple/maple: Significantly brighter than either the maple/rosewood or mahogany/rosewood. Maple/rosewood: Full but with bright tones. (This was surprisingly my favorite) Mahogany/rosewood: A little "fatter" thank the maple/rosewood, but very close to the maple/rosewood... I had to hear a few different samples to feel the difference, but it also lost the brightness of the maple entirely... Like I said, I liked the maple/rosewood the best, and I really could tell a difference. Thanks for this tho... I enjoyed the video.
Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I did my first two listenings without watching to see if I heard any difference. I heard subtle tonal changes in every instance. Then, I watched to see what I was hearing. Apparently, I was hearing more of a difference than it seems you did. It also seemed more pronounced than the body test you did... at least to my ears. All that said.... I bet I wouldn’t know the differences between them in a mix. Great vid! 🤘✌️
Really superb test...thank you. Excellently presented. I agreed with your conclusion. At first the difference was really slight but then as i kept watching i could hear the sound 'rounding out' going thru the 1-2-3. I've never owned a maple / maple but it always had that 'zingy-ness' in the test, and I really like that. I'm contemplating a partscaster with a mahogany body, but I think I may opt for a maple/maple neck this time. Cheers.
very nice. One more level of experimental information possibly, could be a videotaped recording of the tap test to specifically choose necks or bodies that have a clear differences in their resonant peak (a low and high) as well as perhaps relating it to the density or weight of the wood. pick a very dense piece of maple, and a very light weight piece of maple, perform the tap test, then see if that translates through the amplifier. Good work
Dude, need a test with bodies and necks changing, each body, each neck...9 tests... dude! So glad and grateful you did this!! I have ridiculous hearing, top 1% tested throughout my life, dog hearing. Can be a curse, because I’ll harmonize overtones when I’m supposed to play unisons.... everything in life is a trade right? LOL! But, the overtones on the rosewood neck and board were extremely noticeable to me, didn’t particularly like em. Do you have three tracks downloadable somewhere, or streaming? Awesome work dude!! Thanks so much!!!
I know how much effort it takes to do these comparison tests, so thank you for once again proving that wood choice has no real effect on the tone of a solid body electric guitar. I tell my customers to pick wood based on how it feels and how it looks.
I did a similar test years ago with a Maple/Maple Strat neck & one that was Maple/Rosewood. The difference was much more noticeable when playing unplugged. The all Maple was brighter & snappier. Thanks for these videos. I own a couple of Warmoth products.
Very interesting. I heard differences much but I will admit that in the bridge position settings, I couldn't hear a difference at all. In the neck and middle, I think there was a noticeable brighter sound from the maple/maple neck versus the others with the mahogany being the least trebly. Thanks Aaron for this video too, I've subscribed to this channel now as well!
Man, it takes HUGE concentration to hear a difference between those necks. But it is feels very rewarding that your conclusion was exactly the same as mine. I would have said the same as you almost word by word if asked for my opinion.
When looking at the screen - I hear a clear difference When looking away - couldn't tell when you were switching between woods, zero difference Reference monitoring - a pair of Adam A7s That means that most of what people claim to hear is actually a placebo effect from their eyes fooling them. We think maple sounds brighter cause its colour is brighter, rosweood is dark cause its dark. Simple placebos
Thanks for the very well done test. The point for me is that neck tone woods certainly have an effect, just as many aspects of electric guitar construction do. Its mostly for the player to hear the subtle differences. People who say the difference is irrelevant, can either be right, or possibly wrong, it all depends on the context.
I’ve been sceptical about fingerboard wood tone so was surprised to hear a difference between the maple/maple and maple/rosewood. Seems to me the latter has more mids, a slight high frequency roll off and a high-mid peak just before the roll off. The mahogany was similar but without the high mid peak.
Interesting. I definitely heard a big difference between every neck combo. The maple/maple was the most different when comparing to the other two necks, but each sounded different to me. Great video, thanks!
Fabulous video! True to me the difference was minute. Great to have that knowledge tucked away in my brain. I did actually prefer the Maple/Maple, but by a fraction of a nose. Er, ear. Thanks again guys.
i think the rosewood maple pinched the bottom and scooped i could hear a significant difference for some reason all necks had a diferening tone thanks you wramouth and loghair guy for making these i didnt realize these were such important factors in guitar tone !
I agree with you... Maple sounded slightly shimmer / clearer sounding, whereas rosewood also sounded like they gave a slightly darker sound. Nice comparison and video.. Thank you.
Great review Aaron, would like to now more about Indian shaft rose wood (standard or dark) and its tonal quality as well. Oh by the way, I am assuming you where using standard 10 - 46 gauge strings. :)
I went from a standard thin Warmoth neck on my Strat to a boatneck made from the same materials and the sound difference was so noticeable that even my band mates all heard a positive difference so I wonder if the material sound difference is more pronounced when thicker necks are involved. I believe it would obviously be so.
Congrats on yet another excellent and informative video Aaron! The only definitive answer I could draw from this video, was that I prefer maple to mahogany... Though the difference is small. Differences between the two maple necks were decidedly slight, if at all audible... If I were to pick a favourite, it would be maple/maple... but I'm watching a TH-cam-video, so this might simply be a case of confirmation bias, as my favourite guitars over the years have tended to have maple boards.
thanks for a great video! its funny, I actually hear more of a difference here, than with the body wood test. thats probably just my ears. but thanks again for these videos, you rock!
Very helpful to me. I built a Solo Les Paul guitar kit and it has a maple bolt-on neck with rosewood fretboard. I'd been considering getting a mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard but these samples give me the impression that maple with rosewood is acceptable to me. The mahogany rosewood neck seemed just a fraction too dark so to speak. Thanks for the comparisons!
Very interesting! The rosewood fretboards were a little clearer compared to maple but not very different on the cleans. On the dirty, the same thing, but the mahogany was louder and more prominent lower mids. It would be interesting to hear a 25.5" vs 24.75" conversion neck of similar specs if you haven't done it already!
My monitor chain: Mini Mac - thunderbolt - Apollo 16- with Antelope LIVE clock set to 192khz - AES to - Dangerous Music SOURCE Monitor Controller and Dynaudio monitors. Can I hear a difference? Sorry Aaron, but Hell yeah I can!!! M/M has attack. M/RW is smooth and warm. I was surprised with the M/RW. The chime of the Mahogany sparkled on top of the smooth RW. and of coarse added some meat on the low end. Think of a bump of 80hz, 800hz and 12khz. Side note: the last thing I got for my monitor chain was the clock. It added depth and clarity to the low end, which I did not expect, and added a little more space around each instrument, thus adding definition. Drum reverb was most notable. These are great comparisons. I hope you guys do a Fret board comparison - M/RW/E
I agree The difference was almost imperceptible, except in the middle position the mahogany neck sounded warmer. The difference in fretboards only became apparent in positions 2 & 4, the rosewood fingerboard slightly warming the sound in the bridge/middle position and the maple fingerboard brightening the sound in the neck/middle position. Great test, thank you.
Hi Aaron, these neck tone tests are really interesting. Haven't been able to find a tonal comparison between Pau Ferro and Roasted Maple fretboards. In fact if you do one, it might be the first on TH-cam. I think it's something worth doing because these are two fretboard woods that are being implemented now more than ever by companies big and small. I would especially like to hear a neck carved entirely out of Roasted Maple vs a Roasted Maple neck with a Pau Ferro fretboard.
Interesting, and well produced as ever. I was struck that I heard more difference in neck wood than fretboard, which is the reverse of my real life experience! Whle real life doesn't allow for controlled variables, it does allow patterns to be observed. All my rosewood guitars have had a distinctive harmonically rich ring, regardless of neck wood. It would be interesting to add to the mix a mahogany neck with ebony board.
Maple neck / Maple fretboard had a lot snappier pick attack than the other 2 combinations, which is what I would expect from maple in an acoustic guitar. The more mahogany, the more mids and less highs. All sounded very good to me, it's a matter of personal preference which one is "best". Great playing!
Cool video. I was looking at getting a custom built bass and have been looking online at different body/neck woods. I always thought rosewood sounded chunkier than maple fretboards. But I don't hear much of a difference in your test. Mahogany does sound like it loses bite and clarity compared to the maple/maple neck.
Thank you for the test. I always guard against my own confirmation bias but it's hard. Where else could you get a shootout with the official fender body of science! Definitely a difference but so slight that in a mix I wonder if I'd hear it. Combined with body wood, frets, neck and finish I think there's a lot of variables to deal with. I take one of each thank you....
The red shirt had more haunting mids
Jason Stone: I differ with you on that because I heard more defiant higher scooped tones.
When I go into studio, I bring a quiver of guitar necks
Best comment!
Hahaha
Clean:
1:50 Maple/Maple Neck Pickup
2:14 Maple/Rosewood Neck Pickup
2:38 Mahogany/Rosewood Neck Pickup
3:02 Maple/Maple Bridge/Middle
3:11 Maple/Rosewood Bridge/Middle
3:19 Mahogany/Rosewood Bridge/Middle
3:28 Maple/Maple Middle
3:37 Maple/Rosewood Middle
3:46 Mahogany/Rosewood Middle
3:55 Maple/Maple Middle/Neck
4:09 Maple/Rosewood Middle/Neck
4:23 Mahogany/Rosewood Middle/Neck
4:44 Maple/Maple Bridge
4:58 Maple/Rosewood Bridge
5:11 Mahogany/Rosewood Bridge
Oh man, these videos are so fun and well produced that I can't stop watching them!
I always love the "Hey everybody It's Aaron at Warmoth". It's just so happy and inviting.
Oh yes, and it's just pasquinade as well.
I need some of what he smokes!
The difference is so slight. I chose my neck by looks and feel. Love my Warmoth guitar!
Now let's see, so you closed your eyes and popped your Pop Tart., but it broke your neck? No that's not right. So, the sound was slight, and the frets were tight or bright but not right. Oh, I get it now. Thanks.
@@louisaccardi6808 What the fuck are you trying to say
@@Robstrap lol
@@louisaccardi6808 what?
Love these comparison videos! What would be very cool, and not done yet (i think) is a comparison between a non maple top guitarbody and a maple top guitarbody!
clothes were changed, test invalid
Chip Bellwood 😆😆
Exactly!
Oh, you're funny.
LOL
🤣🤣🤣🤪
Great video!
I'd like to sea a tone shootout between the 25.5" and the 24.75" scale.
And, of course, maple vs roasted maple (neck and fretboard). Both would be nice!
@Marius it absolutely does exist. you meant the impact is minimal to non-existent for *electric* guitars specifically.
A Warmoth neck video while I am waiting for my Warmoth neck to ship, making me even more excited and anxious to get it! Cool Vid guys!
The difference is amplified by gain - the cleaner, the less the difference. The mahogany was much warmer for sure, and to be able to hear the difference we heard over this video suggests that the difference is actually quite substantial.
By the way, I’ve never seen your videos before, and this video was excellent. You do the great job and rang the bell. Hopefully you’re still making content. glad to have found you.
Your sincerity and transparency in these tonewood tests really goes a long way. Thanks for having such a great attitude and approach for this! I thought I MIGHT be able to hear a difference, but it was so slight I know I'll never stress over neck/fretboard tone again. The body woods made a much bigger difference than I expected, so I was surprised that I couldnt really hear much of a difference here, not enough to prove it isnt just confirmation bias anyway. You'll hear a difference if you expect one. I imagine if none of us expected differences, we wouldnt have noticed at all. The body wood test I think you would have some people notice it right away. It's definitely there, even if it's not pronounceed.
Closed my eyes and couldn't tell the difference of any of them. All comes down to what finish and look you want.
Thanks for doing these!! Great to have as close to an apples-to-apples test as there can be. My 2 cents on hearing these, I agree that the differences were very subtle. So much so that it wasn't until the distorted samples that they could really be heard or felt. For me the maple / maple was the brightest (again, only by a touch) with a little more top end compared to the other two. The rosewood / mahogany had a weightier feeling to it, especially on that last distorted sample (it had a little something something going on with the way things resonated that made it feel a little more special, for a lack of a more precise way to describe it).
Great vid!! :)
Very slight but not enough to worry about so go for comfort and let the pick ups make the difference Very cool 👍👌 Thanks Warmoth
And EQ
Maple vs roasted/baked/torrified maple !!!
wolfhorsky ☝🏻This
I didn't know warmoth had a youtube channel. Thank you! That headstock is really cool.
Another very high-quality video. And what a PITA it must be to change all that hardware around, changing the strings and setting the action. Lordy, that’s beyond the call of duty, and then remembering to play the same licks every time. I’m impressed. I definitely think the maple on Maple is a tiny bit brighter, but giving the treble control an eight turn would overcome any tone inherent in the wood. Thanks a ton.
My favorite all around was Mahogany/Rosewood. On the body wood shootout you did I also preferred the Mahogany. Thanks for doing these videos. Very helpful.
Thanks for doing these excellent videos. You are confirming what I have known for decades. The maple/maple neck sounded brighter, glassier and has a kind of raw edge to it. I had a beautiful 62 strat with a rosewood/maple neck but I found myself wanting that harder edgier maple/maple sound. I had the same reaction to the body woods video. The swamp ash body was my favourite and the difference in sound was obvious. I had a swamp ash tele at one time and the sound was just incredible. The way you did these videos using the same body and switching only the part we’re interested in, plus the quality of your playing and the immediacy of the comparisons really brought out what I knew to be true. Thanks again.
I wanted to get mahogany for the neck because the weight is lighter but unfortunately for the neck i want (arcade) i cant use Wizard back neck profile on mahogany because theres no option for it.
Such a great dedication and comprehension!
Something I think alot of comparisons overlook is the sound of the string slapping against the frets when you pop a note hard, ala SRV and Mark Knopfler. This is where I notice the difference in fretboard and neck wood the most. Popping the string, as well as regular picking, in different registers of the neck also will bring out more of the subtle differences between them. Awesome job. Thx 👍
awesome comparisons, it really shows the subtle diferences between specs
Test #3 had a pretty noticeable difference. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great vid! I was expecting a much bigger difference. Most of the tests, it was very slight with some exceptions, where mahogany seemed quite distinct (e.g. #4). Also appreciate the final summary. Thanks a lot for your scientific work!
Finally, the neck test is here! :) Thank you!
I relate to your conclusion. The slighter differences between rosewood and maple might also come from the fact that their responses are closer in spectrum than between mahogany and the two.
I can hear a huge difference between the the mahogany neck and maple, particularly in test 7. Mahogany makes the sound louder and more bassy. Moreso than I could hear in the body test...
The difference between maple and rosewood is subtle, but it matches my experience of a feeling I could not put my finger on, of a different timbre between the Ibanez (rosewood fingerboard) and Fender (full maple) guitars I tried: the former are a bit more airy and somewhat "buzzy" in the top-end, while the latter are more snappy and "rounded".
Dude. You videos absolutely rock! I put them right up their with the Phil X videos he did for Fretted Americana. Whenever I saw a video of his checking out vintage guitars, I couldn’t wait to click on them. I feel the exact same way about your videos. Very informative, very well done and great playing and excellent on camera presence. Bravo!
Wow...that's high praise. I've met Phil a couple times and he is the nicest/coolest guy.
Warmoth Guitar Products You’re welcome! But that praise is well deserved. Keep up the great work!
This is a great and long overdue comparison video! GearGasms salutes you!
Nice! Thanks for taking the time to test and put this up here. Although all of them sound good in their own way, my ears really like the mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard combination. Definite bias here. I really do think that Maple on Maple sure does look good with fender bodies though.
Great video as always Aaron! Also, I did not expect to hear much difference and I was kind of blown away by how different they all sounded from one another.
A blind test was made on violins. New, old and a Stradivarius by professional violinists. No-one could guess which one was new old or the Strad. And was acoustic instruments and highly trained ears. I'm not convinced anyone could tell the difference between these guitars if they were blindfolded.
Your shootouts are really cool. I agree, go by what feels and looks best to you.
Totally agree with your conclusion - the difference is so subtle pick the one you like the looks of feel of the best.
Excellent video! I too was very surprised at how little tone difference there was between the different necks! I also saw the body tone wood shoot out and agree with your assessment. These are some very nice go to reference videos for tone!
Just found your comparison/shootout vids. Impressive work, thanx a lot!
Totally agree with your conclusion in the end.
You went from the brightest to the darkest! My preference is maple w/rosewood. But then I pretty much already suspected that before your test and it proved true.
Severe major huge differences,
well done test, now onto the body video,
Thank you so much for these tests. It's so minuscule and I really hope people get over it.
Compared to the body wood test this neck test has slight audible difference. I do prefer maple-rosewood board
You should try a neck that doesn't require a finish, like canary or pau ferro (both similar to maple). You'll love how slick they feel
@@ChrisRash I do have 2 roasted maple with rosewood board neck. It is raw unfinished, just burnished. Best feeling neck I have ever played
MKA82 the raw necks are my favorite too. Easier for me to play on. It's good to hear somebody's preference here, cause I prefer the maple one and it just goes to show you this is all preferential and it's what sounds best (or looks best) to you
The body test I heard less of a difference that I did with the neck test. Trusting the setups where all identical there is an incredible difference between each of the 3. I like the highs and chime of the maple / maple neck.
Hey Aaron. I had several necks from you guys. My favorite is mahogany/rosewood: just as you noticed, more low mids. Plus if you strike a chord with a lot of harmonics (a G for instance) and let it ring, the notes will last longer with the mahogany shaft. The essential difference between maple/maple and maple rosewood is a rounder tone on the bass strings for the rosewood. I notice also a better attack against a bit more spank for the maple. Ever so slightly... Keep on pickin' ! PS: your warhead is just a great shape ! I wish there was more choice in the showcase (only one roundback 59 in maple/maple...) Cheers !
Before the test, I scrolled down so I could NOT see which necks were being played as they were being played, and I wasn’t able to tell the differences between the guitars necks. That is, I couldn't tell when the guitars switched from one to the other. I then watched the video to see which necks were being played, and not surprising I thought I could tell slight differences between the necks, especially between the maple and rosewood necks. Granted, I’m listening through a computer speaker....
Nevertheless, human perception comes in a package. Two or more senses firing at the same time will affect the others, thus biasing the perceptual response toward our expectations of what we see, hear, touch, etc.
From an evolutionary perspective, this makes perfect sense as survival depends on maximizing the perceptual information we gather through our sensory apparatus in conjunction with past experiences. From a scientific testing perspective, our sensory package comes at a disadvantage because we cannot effectively isolate (control) the effects of those sensory variables when they are all in play. In other words, I cannot un-see something, or ignore it, as I’m seeing it.
So in this case, if we are both hearing and seeing the guitars as they’re being played, i.e., seeing the transitions between the guitars at the same time as hearing the transitions, we're unable to effectively close off what we're seeing from what we're hearing. Obviously, the only way to accomplish that is not to look at the guitars while they’re being played. And even better, would be to randomize the order in which the guitars are being played.
By the way, the one person who is most susceptible to these confounding sensory biases is the guitar player himself. He has all of his sensory apparatus firing at the same time. I don’t know how a maple neck tastes while playing it, but I’m sure it’s delicious.
In essence: Differences are extremely subtle. You could achieve the sound of every 3 necks with minimal post-processing, which you ultimately do anyways so your guitar sound fits your song. I'd choose a neck by looks and feel :)
Great concept, great test, great player, great VIDEO. Thanks guys!
Brilliant test, thanks man. Can definitely hear a difference in frequency absorption and attack between the different necks, albeit subtle. More something you feel than hear in a way. I do love the maple brightness and attack. The rosewood fretboards seem to mellow out the bridge and bridge/middle pickups nicely though!
Maple is the brightest, then the tone gets a little warmer as the woods get darker.
can you tell for sure that the difference you say you perceive is not determined by a psycologycal association yo do between the visual information and how you link it to the sound? i believe is mostly a mind illusion, to be honest.
Again....very subtle difference. Which, as far as I'm concerned is a good thing. I was putting a LOT of stock into those decisions. I heard the biggest difference between the maple and mahogany. The mahogany sounded warmer to me. But, that's how I viewed the body video. Another great video, thanks for taking the time to do these incredibly helpful videos!!!!
Maple on maple had a very lightly warmer/mellow tone. Maple and rosewood seemed a little more bright but very slight.
definitely a difference from maple-Rosewood/ Maple-maple. The mahogany neck had a growl to it. All sounded great. I’m ordering my first neck today. Love your videos man Thz k you for what you do!
To me the maple/rosewood sounds like something i would prefer.
Neck
1:50 maple/maple 3:01 maple/maple 3:27 maple/maple 3:55 maple/maple 4:44 maple/maple 5:28 maple/maple 6:12 maple/maple
2:14 maple/rosewood 3:01 maple/maple 3:37 maple/rosewood 4:09 maple/rosewood 4:58 maple/rosewood 5:42 maple/rosewood 6:31 maple/rosewood
2:38 mahogany/rosewood 3:19 mahogany/rosewood 3:46 mahogany/rosewood 4:23 mahogany/rosewood 5:11 mahogany/rosewood 5:55 mahogany/rosewood 6:50 mahogany/rosewood
bridge/middle
3:01 maple/maple
3:10 maple/rosewood
3:19 mahogany/rosewood
middle
3:27 maple/maple
3:37 maple/rosewood
3:46 mahogany/rosewood
middle/neck
3:54 maple/maple
4:09 maple/rosewood
4:23 mahogany/rosewood
bridge
4:44 maple/maple
4:58 maple/rosewood
5:11 mahogany/rosewood
bridge -distortion
5:28 maple/maple
5:41 maple/rosewood
5:54 mahogany/rosewood
neck-distortion
6:11 maple/maple
6:30 maple/rosewood
6:50 mahogany/rosewood
The Mahogany neck sounded just that much more low and full that I'd default to it every time.
(I find myself doing that with my personal collection anyway more often than not)
Great shoot out as always, would love to hear baked vs natural necks in the future!
Very surprised to find out the body made a bigger difference!
Personally I can tell a greater difference in feel from the shaft wood as opposed to fretboard wood. And feel will affect how you play and obviously how you play affects your tone. So wood is important but for reasons that aren't as obvious.
I did hear that same roundness on the rosewood vs. the maple alone. My takeaway is to pay closer attention to how I match my necks and bodies. Thanks for posting!
I feel like I heard a significant difference between the three... Regardless off the pick-up position or drive/overdrive and reverb setting... I feel like:
Maple/maple: Significantly brighter than either the maple/rosewood or mahogany/rosewood.
Maple/rosewood: Full but with bright tones. (This was surprisingly my favorite)
Mahogany/rosewood: A little "fatter" thank the maple/rosewood, but very close to the maple/rosewood... I had to hear a few different samples to feel the difference, but it also lost the brightness of the maple entirely...
Like I said, I liked the maple/rosewood the best, and I really could tell a difference.
Thanks for this tho... I enjoyed the video.
Agreed
This was my experience as well, when played on my iPhone. I really need to listen through decent speakers before I make a final call though!
Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I did my first two listenings without watching to see if I heard any difference. I heard subtle tonal changes in every instance. Then, I watched to see what I was hearing. Apparently, I was hearing more of a difference than it seems you did. It also seemed more pronounced than the body test you did... at least to my ears. All that said.... I bet I wouldn’t know the differences between them in a mix. Great vid! 🤘✌️
Really superb test...thank you. Excellently presented. I agreed with your conclusion. At first the difference was really slight but then as i kept watching i could hear the sound 'rounding out' going thru the 1-2-3. I've never owned a maple / maple but it always had that 'zingy-ness' in the test, and I really like that. I'm contemplating a partscaster with a mahogany body, but I think I may opt for a maple/maple neck this time. Cheers.
very nice. One more level of experimental information possibly, could be a videotaped recording of the tap test to specifically choose necks or bodies that have a clear differences in their resonant peak (a low and high) as well as perhaps relating it to the density or weight of the wood. pick a very dense piece of maple, and a very light weight piece of maple, perform the tap test, then see if that translates through the amplifier. Good work
Dude, need a test with bodies and necks changing, each body, each neck...9 tests... dude! So glad and grateful you did this!! I have ridiculous hearing, top 1% tested throughout my life, dog hearing. Can be a curse, because I’ll harmonize overtones when I’m supposed to play unisons.... everything in life is a trade right? LOL! But, the overtones on the rosewood neck and board were extremely noticeable to me, didn’t particularly like em. Do you have three tracks downloadable somewhere, or streaming? Awesome work dude!! Thanks so much!!!
I know how much effort it takes to do these comparison tests, so thank you for once again proving that wood choice has no real effect on the tone of a solid body electric guitar. I tell my customers to pick wood based on how it feels and how it looks.
Haha....I think I just got slapped across the face with gratitude. :)
I did a similar test years ago with a Maple/Maple Strat neck & one that was Maple/Rosewood. The difference was much more noticeable when playing unplugged. The all Maple was brighter & snappier. Thanks for these videos. I own a couple of Warmoth products.
Very interesting. I heard differences much but I will admit that in the bridge position settings, I couldn't hear a difference at all. In the neck and middle, I think there was a noticeable brighter sound from the maple/maple neck versus the others with the mahogany being the least trebly. Thanks Aaron for this video too, I've subscribed to this channel now as well!
Enjoyed these comparison videos. Thank you!
Man, it takes HUGE concentration to hear a difference between those necks. But it is feels very rewarding that your conclusion was exactly the same as mine. I would have said the same as you almost word by word if asked for my opinion.
Your playing is pretty good. It seemed like the treble strings were a bit brighter or more resonant on the maple necks, but the difference was slight.
When looking at the screen - I hear a clear difference
When looking away - couldn't tell when you were switching between woods, zero difference
Reference monitoring - a pair of Adam A7s
That means that most of what people claim to hear is actually a placebo effect from their eyes fooling them. We think maple sounds brighter cause its colour is brighter, rosweood is dark cause its dark. Simple placebos
Aaron thanks for the test!! Good methodology b/c rock and roll ain't noise pollution.
Thanks for the very well done test. The point for me is that neck tone woods certainly have an effect, just as many aspects of electric guitar construction do. Its mostly for the player to hear the subtle differences. People who say the difference is irrelevant, can either be right, or possibly wrong, it all depends on the context.
I really heard differences in the body type changes, but not so much the neck. Great demo ty!
I’ve been sceptical about fingerboard wood tone so was surprised to hear a difference between the maple/maple and maple/rosewood. Seems to me the latter has more mids, a slight high frequency roll off and a high-mid peak just before the roll off. The mahogany was similar but without the high mid peak.
Interesting. I definitely heard a big difference between every neck combo. The maple/maple was the most different when comparing to the other two necks, but each sounded different to me. Great video, thanks!
Fabulous video! True to me the difference was minute. Great to have that knowledge tucked away in my brain. I did actually prefer the Maple/Maple, but by a fraction of a nose. Er, ear. Thanks again guys.
i think the rosewood maple pinched the bottom and scooped i could hear a significant difference for some reason all necks had a diferening tone
thanks you wramouth and loghair guy for making these i didnt realize these were such important factors in guitar tone !
I agree with you... Maple sounded slightly shimmer / clearer sounding, whereas rosewood also sounded like they gave a slightly darker sound.
Nice comparison and video.. Thank you.
Great review Aaron, would like to now more about Indian shaft rose wood (standard or dark) and its tonal quality as well.
Oh by the way, I am assuming you where using standard 10 - 46 gauge strings. :)
this comparison deserve a subscribe!
I went from a standard thin Warmoth neck on my Strat to a boatneck made from the same materials and the sound difference was so noticeable that even my band mates all heard a positive difference so I wonder if the material sound difference is more pronounced when thicker necks are involved. I believe it would obviously be so.
Congrats on yet another excellent and informative video Aaron! The only definitive answer I could draw from this video, was that I prefer maple to mahogany... Though the difference is small. Differences between the two maple necks were decidedly slight, if at all audible... If I were to pick a favourite, it would be maple/maple... but I'm watching a TH-cam-video, so this might simply be a case of confirmation bias, as my favourite guitars over the years have tended to have maple boards.
thanks for a great video! its funny, I actually hear more of a difference here, than with the body wood test. thats probably just my ears. but thanks again for these videos, you rock!
I heard differences only on the mahogany neck on the bridge and neck pickup. Nailed it man!
Love your channel,......very informative !.....Well done !
Thanks brother, I enjoyed that! Well done and thanks for sharing Aaron!
Very helpful to me. I built a Solo Les Paul guitar kit and it has a maple bolt-on neck with rosewood fretboard. I'd been considering getting a mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard but these samples give me the impression that maple with rosewood is acceptable to me. The mahogany rosewood neck seemed just a fraction too dark so to speak. Thanks for the comparisons!
nicely done. Clearly and obvious inconspicuous audible subtle difference
Exact same conclusion, very surprising. Great vid.
Some of the test that were between the different woods (not the position) didn't have hum indicating the tests were adulterated.
Very interesting! The rosewood fretboards were a little clearer compared to maple but not very different on the cleans. On the dirty, the same thing, but the mahogany was louder and more prominent lower mids. It would be interesting to hear a 25.5" vs 24.75" conversion neck of similar specs if you haven't done it already!
My monitor chain: Mini Mac - thunderbolt - Apollo 16- with Antelope LIVE clock set to 192khz - AES to - Dangerous Music SOURCE Monitor Controller and Dynaudio monitors. Can I hear a difference? Sorry Aaron, but Hell yeah I can!!! M/M has attack. M/RW is smooth and warm. I was surprised with the M/RW. The chime of the Mahogany sparkled on top of the smooth RW. and of coarse added some meat on the low end. Think of a bump of 80hz, 800hz and 12khz. Side note: the last thing I got for my monitor chain was the clock. It added depth and clarity to the low end, which I did not expect, and added a little more space around each instrument, thus adding definition. Drum reverb was most notable. These are great comparisons. I hope you guys do a Fret board comparison - M/RW/E
I agree The difference was almost imperceptible, except in the middle position the mahogany neck sounded warmer. The difference in fretboards only became apparent in positions 2 & 4, the rosewood fingerboard slightly warming the sound in the bridge/middle position and the maple fingerboard brightening the sound in the neck/middle position. Great test, thank you.
Thank you kind sir for this test.
I could hear a difference in the mahogany neck, It sounded fuller and less tinny compared to the maple neck with the maple fretboard.
I love the smooth feeling of maple fretboard when my fingers touches them
I LOVE that teal striped top looking strat in the background. Beautiful.
Can you guys give me the lowdown on that, if you remember, please? What woods and finishes are on it to get that beautiful multi-colored appearance?
Hi Aaron, these neck tone tests are really interesting. Haven't been able to find a tonal comparison between Pau Ferro and Roasted Maple fretboards. In fact if you do one, it might be the first on TH-cam. I think it's something worth doing because these are two fretboard woods that are being implemented now more than ever by companies big and small. I would especially like to hear a neck carved entirely out of Roasted Maple vs a Roasted Maple neck with a Pau Ferro fretboard.
Interesting, and well produced as ever. I was struck that I heard more difference in neck wood than fretboard, which is the reverse of my real life experience! Whle real life doesn't allow for controlled variables, it does allow patterns to be observed. All my rosewood guitars have had a distinctive harmonically rich ring, regardless of neck wood. It would be interesting to add to the mix a mahogany neck with ebony board.
Mahogany neck and ebony fretboard = Martin :-)
@@JohnShalamskas my thoughts exactly.
Maple neck / Maple fretboard had a lot snappier pick attack than the other 2 combinations, which is what I would expect from maple in an acoustic guitar. The more mahogany, the more mids and less highs. All sounded very good to me, it's a matter of personal preference which one is "best". Great playing!
I love the look of maple necks, flame maple to be exact. But damn, that mahogany neck had a great tone to it.
The way you palmed the mag/rose neck. Could tell 'it' felt the best to you. Bam!
Cool video. I was looking at getting a custom built bass and have been looking online at different body/neck woods. I always thought rosewood sounded chunkier than maple fretboards. But I don't hear much of a difference in your test. Mahogany does sound like it loses bite and clarity compared to the maple/maple neck.
Thank you for the test. I always guard against my own confirmation bias but it's hard.
Where else could you get a shootout with the official fender body of science!
Definitely a difference but so slight that in a mix I wonder if I'd hear it.
Combined with body wood, frets, neck and finish I think there's a lot of variables to deal with.
I take one of each thank you....