Are Exotic Guitar Necks Better Than Maple?

Let's compare Rosewood, Canary, Goncalo Alves, and Wenge necks to good old Maple and find the answer!
Learn more about Warmoth's neck woods here: warmoth.com/gu...

[@matthewf1979]

Here's a tip. Buy the one that you think looks/feels the best. Woods may make a difference in solid body electric guitars, but it's not something a guitar amp EQ can't balance. Don't stress this stuff! Playing guitar is supposed to be fun!!

[@soyborne.bornmadeandundone1342]

best comment here.

[@iamanovercomer3253]

@ matt, I agree... I have a rosewood strat and when I checked out an 🇺🇸 professional 2 telecaster Miami Blue, which as maple, was awesome. Then I checked out an Ibanez AZS 2200 prestige and it has a roasted maple. So these will be my next 2 🎸 cause I love the necks on both 🎸

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

Yup, don't stress this stuff... if maple was good enough for Clapton, hendrix, srv, and evh, I'll bet it's good enough for you

[@deathmetallongsleeve]

yeah but nerding out over different configurations and types of woods is like 90% of the fun for a lot of us lol

[@guitaristcomposer7395]

Why do guitarists (especially non-professionals) LOVE to tell other guitarists how to enjoy the guitar/being a guitarist?

[@benzakonium]

Very interesting test. Sound differences are negligible and would never be distinguishable to non-guitar players or in a mix (I'm listening on Genelec 8040 studio monitors). What would be really interesting to know is which is the strongest/most stable.

[@meistariaron1854]

tonewood is a lie

[@rickyjoeshippyful]

Thanks for saying it.

[@GCKelloch]

Maybe not, but the slight differences have some effect on the harmonic range generated b4 an amp tone stack can change the tone, which affects harmonics down the line. Listeners may not know or care about any of that, but the brain does register the sound.

[@benzakonium]

@@GCKelloch but those harmonic frequencies would be slight and compensated for by other instruments in a mix setting. Agreed it’s perceivable when playing alone, in a room, in front of an amp - But anything beyond that it would be washed over. The feel and strength however are far more important factors to consider.

[@luisgpr1]

I agree, soundwise it appears to be negigible. But maybe feeling-wise it could be very different. I much prefer a smooth finish over a grainy-oily finish so I find the video very useful.

[@wolfhorsky]

In blind test I was wrong with roasted maple and wedge. So the differences are audible but not dramatic by any means. Roasted maple is imho the king: eco friendly, stable, nice looking and has that universally good sound. All the rest is just a matter of aesthetics, not the tone wood mambo-jumbo. Great vid, as always. You do a GREAT job with debunking all the myths.

[@dude7234]

I guess part of the "difference" comes from his playing. He won't be able to play each note 100% the same. The stroke will be slightly different resulting in a slightly different tone. I dont know how the choice of different neck woods could affect the string vibrations which is what the pickups "pick up".

[@StaticInfinity-ts3jk]

I could hear my two favorites in the blind test: Canary and Rosewood. But I could not guess the others.

[@Sammywhat]

The Goncalo Alves was fun to discover. The rosewood is beautiful. Great shootout, Aaron! Really appreciated this share!!!

[@fivefingerfullprice3403]

That canary neck might be the most beautiful neck I've ever seen.

[@andrewsmith1520]

Excellent job playing and editing, as always! I could, at no point, hear an appreciable difference... So I guess buy the wood you think it prettiest or has a nice feel.

[@richsackett3423]

You are correct. That's what someone who can't tell the difference should do.

[@Joe-mz6dc]

This. Sonically they are incredibly similar. Aesthetically they are what you like to look at and feel.

[@jomamma1750]

Another Tone deaf guitarist? How surprised I am.

[@azlee101]

It's amazing how Goncalo Alves sounds like clean and driven... sounds big and wide clean, but not so much when driven... amazing... Thank you for ALL the great videos.. :D

[@andresilva8444]

I've always been curious about Gonçalo Alves. For starters because it is a light coloured wood that doesn't require finish but I was surprised it was the heaviest. Great job once again. Pity you left out Pau Ferro. I love it's caramel mocha hues. Always thought about making a Pau Ferro tele, like George Harrison's but Pau Ferro instead of Rosewood.

[@fredgaboury5080]

I have a Warmoth Gonçalo neck for my strat (kingwood fretboard), and I really love it. You feel the weight; the guitar wants to rest a little differently, but it doesn't dive down like an SG. I don't know if I'd go so far as calling it velvety, but it is the smoothest neck I've ever played (I want all satin necks now!)

[@mcsologuitar]

Canary and wenge had the most noticeable tone difference to me... I got it and the wenge in the blind portion too. Really like that Canary.

[@nathanmclauchlan5148]

The Canary was the nicest looking neck to, but I felt was also brighter than the roasted maple neck. I think I really liked the sound of the Wenge neck myself. Great shootout 👍

[@erictustison]

1:28 Test # 1 Roasted Maple 1:37 Test # 1 Canary 1:45 Test # 1 Wenge 1:53 Test # 1 Goncalo Alves 2:01 Test # 1 Rosewood 2:12 Test # 2 Roasted Maple 2:23 Test # 2 Canary 2:33 Test # 2 Wenge 2:43 Test # 2 Goncalo Alves 2:53 Test # 2 Rosewood 3:05 Test # 3 Roasted Maple 3:09 Test # 3 Canary 3:13 Test # 3 Wenge 3:17 Test # 3 Goncalo Alves 3:21 Test # 3 Rosewood 3:30 Test # 4 Roasted Maple 3:38 Test # 4 Canary 3:46 Test # 4 Wenge 3:54 Test # 4 Goncalo Alves 4:01 Test # 4 Rosewood 4:10 Test # 5 Mystery wood 1 4:22 Test # 5 Mystery wood 2 4:34 Test # 5 Mystery wood 3 4:47 Test # 5 Mystery wood 4 4:59 Test # 5 Mystery wood 5

[@donald-parker]

Once again, I think the biggest difference has nothing to do with sound. It is about inspiration and "the muse". If one look/feel inspires you to pick up one guitar more than another, it is worth it. Because a guitar being played always sounds better than a guitar in the case.

[@jackp8583]

The differences are so subtle! Was better able to hear some in the blind shootout though I had no idea which wood was which. After you revealed the woods I though roasted maple had slightly more bottom and canary was slightly brighter. Aaron, you rock. That was a lot of work to put this out, thank you!

[@warmoth]

Goncalo is the only one I think I could pick out of a blind test with any accuracy. When you actually play them, though....the differences are much more pronounced.

[@allanflippin2453]

I confess, I can't hear the difference in any of them. Besides weight and feel, another factor would be tuning stability. Do you have any ideas about that?

[@allanflippin2453]

@@witnessingobscura952 I wondered specifically about the "roasting", which has been touted as magic for maple necks.

[@warmoth]

Good question! I didn't struggle getting any of these necks into tune long enough to shoot the clips. However, none of the necks were on long enough to get a good feel for how they hold tune over time.

[@abnorc8798]

I feel like I may be able to hear slight differences if I focus on the sound, but I might be imagining it. That being said, I've never been really good at picking up under/overtones.

[@OzziePete1]

10:31 Maybe ask Phil X if he needs a fast string changing tech? Good tone test Aaron, thanx for all the work this video created. For mine, using the Roast Maple as the baseline, I found the Canary close in tone in clean tones to that. To me the Rosewood sounded the darkest, but Goncalo Alves was very close in tone to Rosewood. I found Wenge had a different set of midrange tone set to the others. CAVEAT: I have damaged hearing and I wasn't wearing my hearing aids, so YMMV.

[@warmoth]

I've met and talked w/ Phil X a few times. Super nice and talented guy with an intensity and enthusiasm that is contagious. I'd change string for him, but only if he gives me a Phil X action figure for the neck pickup cavity of my guitar.

[@scherzo0o]

I didn't manage to hear substantial differences, listening with good headphones on my laptop. On the contrary, it was on distorted sounds that some minute differences seemed audible to me, but not to the point of linking them to a specific wood. I didn't even bother to associate sounds with woods in the blind test. My point is: I'll accept any of them, if you send them for free. They are equally compelling to me.

[@cautiousoptimist1926]

I've owned a Canary neck for a few years now, and it has been very stable. I don't think of it as being brighter than maple. I would describe it as more focused; the fundamental more pronounced. The very subtle wood grain gives it a feel that I have described as velvety, though Aaron saved that adjective for Goncalo Alves. The more I play it the better it feels.

[@MG-vo7is]

1.28 lbs ... roasted maple ... feels smooth, almost dry, has bright tone of maple 1.28 lbs ... canary ... feels grainy & waxy, brighter than roasted maple 1.35 lbs ... rosewood ... waxy, not grainy, brightness between canary and wenge/goncalo alves 1.40 lbs ... wenge ... more grainy & waxy than canary, feels stiff/rigid, sounds darker/rounder 1.49 lbs ... goncalo alves ... feels smooth/velvety and solid, very round tone My preferences ... canary for the beautiful color, and goncalo alves for the velvety feel.

[@gtorresreyes11]

Goncalo and canary were my favorites. Please do this for bass necks

[@zyxwfish]

Yes on bass necks I agree!

[@Aguirrethewrathofgod]

Love the Goncalo on my fretless jazz bass. Grain looks great too

[@edgarcia7395]

Here's another vote for bass necks!

[@jimmygrant3151]

I think it comes down to asthetics in this regard. Differences are too minimal to make a difference. I've had a rosewood neck before and it was great. I have a roasted maple neck now and it's also great. I'd like to mirror what another guy asked. Which one would be the most stable? I would think the rosewood.

[@windsurfmaui8239]

I think the roasted Maple would be the most stable because it's roasted

[@yikelu]

Got the canary and maple right. They were the most different (maple => more lows, canary => thinner). The other 3 I thought were broadly similar in that they had more mid range.

[@louiscyfer6944]

nonsense. in a blind test you will not pick them out better than by chance. tone wood is not a thing on electric guitars.

[@miguelnewmexico8641]

@@louiscyfer6944 there's no reason to be a butthole about it. to this guy at least. save it for the real headcases.

[@GuillermoSmyser]

I love the look and feel of my Warmoth Rosewood neck.

[@picksalot1]

Interesting test. The tonal differences were well within the range of my tone knob or any EQ to tone match. Thanks

[@drkoontz]

Great neck shootout , thank you for taking the time to do all this !!!

[@lancecluster]

While I enjoyed the video and appreciate the amount of work that goes into this shootout (and the editing that gets it down to a very nice short video), even with decent headphones, my 60+ year old ears didn't sense much of a difference. I would be deciding based upon my eyes and my wallet. Thanks for making this. Any neck that smelled like maple syrup wins. I hope we get a followup video of you with your rosewood neck.

[@charlesharper7292]

Didn't realize the Wenge was so figured until you flipped it over to weigh it. Wow ... I would like to try out a canary wood neck.

[@druwk]

Picked out two necks correctly, in the blind test. The Canary, Roasted Maple…they had the most distinctive tones. The others were all really close to each other? I didn’t guess on those. I have a quarter sawn Wenge/Wenge neck on a Tele Deluxe style guitar. I like it a lot. How a guitar build all comes together is always interesting? Neck is more of a feel thing. Most of your Tone comes from the pickups, amp, speaker and string gauge choice. I would never be worried used any warmoth neck, or replacing one for another. They’re all great!

[@Kylora2112]

No difference in sound on my studio monitors. On an acoustic, the minor differences will come out a bit, and MAYBE on hyper-clean low-output pickups on a jazzbox. But definitely nothing looking hard at your EQ wouldn't affect just as much once you put even moderate of output on your pickups and absolutely nothing once you put some drive to your amp. It's all about aesthetics and ergonomics (looks, grain feel, stability). I'm partial to oiled maple/walnut laminate necks because I love the feel.

[@charlesharper7292]

Guitars made with exotic wood is the guitarist's prized rolex. Thanks for a great video!🤙

[@markanderson9373]

I own a Warmoth Indian Rosewood neck and love it. I read a tip on the forum and burnished mine. Burnishing is sanding it in progressively finer grits (factory is I think 200 - I went up to 3k). I did it while watching a few B-grade movies. It looks finished, but is absolutely silky. Zero tackiness, even with sweaty hands.

[@richiebohr5421]

Loved the test. I didn't get one right but I will say that I could hear the differences. I was able to pick out the Goncalo Alves and Rosewood as they were very similar. In the sighted test, I kind of really preferred the Rosewood over the GA. All the necks sounded great. I have 3 roasted flame maple necks from Warmoth and they are absolutely superb. I may have to find a use for that Rosewood though. Again, nice test.

[@warmoth]

Yes, I think this is a very honest response. Thank-you! Back-to-back you can hear there are differences, but identifying them in a blind test is almost impossible with any accuracy. GA was the easiest, for sure!

[@Bixll09]

The differences is minute. Best way to measure the difference in these is with an oscilloscope. Then you would see how small the actual difference is between these necks. My last project I used a Wenge neck, love the look and I will buy another for sure.

[@douglasvance2938]

I think I’m in love with that rosewood neck, I liked the tone and had no problem picking it out of the crowd. Keep up the good work with the videos!

[@Grili561]

Thanks for doing these videos. I get so sick of hearing about rosewood having a “dark” tone, because it’s just not how it goes. Guitarists hear too much with their eyes. Anyways, the subtly of the differences just shows that we all need to stop nerding out about wood, and just build a guitar that kicks butt for us as individuals. Love what you guys do, and my Warmoth soloist is my number one for gigging!

[@GCKelloch]

Players also nerd out about pickups that have very slight differences, and pay exorbitant prices for something they may assume sounds better, yet can't describe what about the sound is "better", and then justify their choice because they paid more. The damping characteristics of a particular wood combination is almost impossible to predict, but can often be in the ball park. Complex damping response can be emulated with some type of ducking eq, but players like the way certain guitars naturally damp.

[@Grili561]

@@GCKelloch Yeah, I mean I don’t really care what people do or how much money they spend. It’s more a matter of there being a certain amount of placebo with all of this stuff. At the end of the day I do spend the money on the pickups and wood that I want, but it’s not because they have any magical tone properties. Good stuff is good stuff.

[@Yupppi]

I don't know what I preferred, but every time I noticed a clear difference it was Goncalo Alves. When I bought my Yamaha acoustic, it had a rosewood neck, for the first time ever for me. It felt really nice, played nice and sounded nice. It was actually sort of sticky feeling, yet nothing stuck to fingers. Like touching honey that is phobic of any other material.

[@ariamartinez7355]

I’ve only played Les Pauls so mahogany necks simply for the tone but I love how rosewood looks. I wonder how much of a tonal difference it would make. I’m planning on building a Warmoth telecaster in the very near future

[@DaddyDisgusto]

I've been playing a warmoth wenge neck with an ebony board with stainless steel frets on my jaguar for about 5 years. I absolutely love it. I chose it purely for the open grain feel. It's also beautiful. Also seems to be the most stable out of all my guitars tuning-wise.

[@nathanjarnagin9294]

I enjoyed the slightly brighter sound or both the canary wood and the rosewood, I recently did my first guitar build and my neck is a purple heart center strip with maple sides and a rosewood fretboard (which looks good with the body being a solid piece of purple heart), I still need to route out the spot for the Floyd rose tremolo system so that I can string it so that I can hear it, but I haven't gotten to that part yet.

[@legatomodi3522]

My ears definetly heard that rosewood. I guessed canary right but I wasn't super sure it was really a lucky guess.

[@user-vw7tq9du3j]

In a blind test, the fourth sound was my favorite. The runner-up is the second wood neck. It was a very interesting test.

[@carlwrobel1525]

I went 5 for 5 on the blind test using iPad speakers. I also own like 8 Warmoth Strats, so I am used to this game. I love that classic, glassy rubbery roasted maple one-piece tone! Mid scooped. I recently received a roasted maple vintage modern neck with rosewood fretboard, stainless 6100 fret wire, Arizona turquoise dot inlays, 9.5-14” radius, ‘59 roundback shape, with an LSR roller nut cut. It is the perfect Strat neck for me. I lose track of time easily when I’m playing the finished guitar. It’s amazing how a small change from 10-16” radius made a huge change in how good it feels to play this one.

[@rikosimmo]

What would you describe the difference to be with the more convex radius?

[@mikaso]

Thanks Aaron, much appreciated topic, and a great presentation! Particularly appreciate the shortness of the demo clips (for my goldfish memory) and your own comments at the end. I had a Goncalo Alves (+ pau ferro fingerboard) strat neck once, and loved it! It did have a sort of sweet top end (no ice-pick), but it was also super clear and articulate. Particularly the bass notes were amazing - clear like a grand piano. Playing it was like driving a sports car!

[@GCKelloch]

I couldn't guess the necks at all, but the Canary sounds the brightest to me without sounding harsh. I think the Wenge fibers are the hardest. Harder even than Ebony, but the large pores reduce weight and allow more vibration damping in the upper-midrange. Listen back to the strum comparison, though. It seems to have the hardest strum sound. That's where the fiber hardness matters. It would probably have the most high-end if the guitar speaker didn't roll off the highs. My Wenge neck w/stainless frets has a very hard attack sound I'm not crazy about. The GA neck seems to have the softest attack. The RM has the least midrange.

[@rikosimmo]

That hard attack might be good for metal?

[@lonpollard902]

It's hard for me to comprehend that some say they don't hear a difference. I'm in my sixties and can hear the differences. Though they are subtle. I always got necks of exotic wood because I prefer no finish on the neck. The first was padouk, to match a mahogany body. Then Goncalo alves, for a los body. Then canary, for a swamp ash strat. Then pao ferro, with a Brazilian rosewood fretboard. Then wenge. It was all according to what the particular project was. Seeking what seemed to best match the body, and didn't need a finish. Now roasted maple does well enough. From this test, I like canary and goncolo the best. Roasted maple the second least. And, surprisingly, rosewood the least. I had numerous times planned to get a rosewood neck but never actually got around to it. Now I'm glad I didn't. Around 1980, I bought a Carvin DC150. Solid maple, with ebony fretboard, and brass nut. Very well constructed. It was, and is, by far the worst sounding guitar I've ever owned. And the quietest, acoustically. Shrill and brittle sounding doesn't begin to describe it. Though the E and A worked well with it, as the brightness gave them a lot of bite, no matter how much distortion I used. But the high strings were horribly brite and devoid of any richness whatsoever. I've bought guitars new for $150, and even less, that sound far better than that guitar. I associated maple as being at root of it and avoided maple completely, for decades. But now I find it not so bad, for a neck. Or on a carved top, if that top is above mahogany. Yes, it's all subtle, but adds up. The bottom line being if it sounds good to me, and it responds within a range I prefer, and has a good feel to it. I have very low cost guitars that I done even care what they're made of. The $150 is the loudest, acoustically, of any solid body guitar I have. And I enjoy playing it. But many low cost guitars sound pretty bad, so it varies from case to case. The most expensive guitar I've ever had was a Carvin Fat Boy. My wife was ordering it for me, in the late nineties I believe, maybe slightly later. I told her... just no maple. So a mahogany neck, instead of maple. And a koa top, instead of maple. And that guitar did sound good. Very rich. Very resonant. Beautiful sounding. And in my mind, I resolved that it sounded good largely because there was no maple. Again, I'm ok with maple now. Just within limits. I'll never again get a maple body guitar. The only way to get any acoustic feedback with that thing was to cream up a high wattage amp, and put the body very close to a speaker. And of course at that level, it was tough to keep it out of microphone feedback while trying to get acoustic feedback. In the eighties, several quite skilled guitarists, far better than I, tried that DC150 and hated the sound of it. Frets were great. Construction was great. I had good pickups in it. But the maple body, with maple neck, and ebony fretboard, and brass nut, was a poorly conceived combination. The sustain was great. Frets felt great. But horrible sounding at times I thought that if I hollowed it out, and put a steel top on it, it would probably have actually given a more rich, resonant, and woody tone. I still have that guitar. Playing it is good because you have to work so hard to get any sweetness at all to the sound. So then when moving from that to any other guitar, it's suddenly so easy to get a sweet sound. Wood makes a difference, no matter what some claim. It doesn't have to be a specific wood. It's just that the overall combination has to work.

[@snew61]

Great video, thanks for your insights. For me, any perceived tonal differences between neck wood types are negligible. For me, differences in necks is more about profile (hand comfort) and fretboard wood type and finish that affects how it plays. Also the finish on the back of the neck affects how it feels in my hand. Lastly, the way it looks wrt to grain and colour affects how I feel about it in my heart 😊

[@gregoryjacob624]

Love my rosewood Warmoth neck. The way it resonates in my hand lets me feel each note, something my finished necks really don’t do.

[@robdavis8307]

I love my Goncalo Alves Warhead with Pau Ferro fretboard and stainless frets. Bolted to a Warmoth Tele hybrid made of black Korina with Lace Sensors- it absolutely screams. Yet, allows so much tonal variety when using dynamics and touch sensitivity. It's slick, fast, and buttery smooth. Out of all woods I've tried for necks, it is by far my favorite.

[@GCKelloch]

It's very oily/waxy. That adds weight, and also damps more highs. Indian RW is a close second. Wenge has the hardest fibers of the bunch, but is also waxy, and the numerous large pores allow more resonance damping. Sounds like a loss in the upper-mids, yet the attack is very strong.

[@GodOfWarPlayer-qv6ye]

I heard almost no difference. To me it's about looks and feel, not tone.

[@michaelcottle6270]

Great video. Most of the differences are subtle. Good to get your feedback on the way each neck feels. Goncalo Alves was a revelation. I think this video might have sold a few of those... Maybe you could do a part 2 with any of the woods you might have missed, Reg. Maple, maple/rosewood etc.

[@InspiretoVictory]

Awesome shootout, Aaron! I have a Wenge baritone neck with an ebony fretboard arriving tomorrow. I'm so excited to get to work on this project. Then I can start on my next Warmoth guitar.

[@rikosimmo]

How is it? I'd imagine the dark tone of the wenge would eliminate the thinning out effect that baritone scale can have? Then the brightness of ebony would balance it out well?

[@InspiretoVictory]

@@rikosimmo Well, I'm still waiting to get it back from my luthier. I needed him to install the electronics and give it a setup. I'll let you know when I get it back. I have a Gibson SG with similar pickups in it and an ebony fretboard. Bare knuckle alnico Nailbomb in the SG and Bare knuckle Silo in the baritone. So it will be interesting to hear whenever I get it back.

[@davidcook8323]

I've never heard a music fan at a concert shout out. I like how the canary wood tele neck sounds. But Ive definitely had people stare at my flame maple fretboard and neck. So there ya go...

[@jessehutchings]

These videos are awesome. I can't wait to watch all the Warmoth videos bc I'm sure I'll learn a lot

[@BenBreard]

Unfinished exotic woods make me sooooo happy as a guitarist. What was surprising to me is that the past few maple necks I've bought all needed significant fret leveling (all within Warmoth's standard specs/disclosures). My two padauk necks didn't need *any* leveling (ebony & pau Ferro boards). No clue if I got lucky with these two, but that's a major upside for these. PLEK jobs can cost as much as a neck!

[@eskemeldgaardkrogh4145]

Another great video Aaron! Sure, it’s mostly subtle differences… but subtle differences tend to add up!

[@jr-g]

Great comparison video, thanks! I couldn't hear any differences when you played 'em all, and my 2/5 "correct" score is probably just lucky guesses. I have a Warmoth canary strat replacement neck and two Ibanez wenge necks, and these are my favorites compared to many maple necks I have/had. I guess I like a bit of grainy/waxy feel. Really appreciate the weight comparison you included. I know necks don't vary nearly as much as bodies, but I've always wondered about the neck wood variance b/c that's not listed on showcase items.

[@allanmakela3011]

Excellent,all sound good,my pick was Rosewood,and Roasted Maple,kind of a snap to the note,but subtle,good to see Aaron again,always detailed,and informative

[@rb032682]

Good demo! Thanks. I envy your ability to maintain a consistent touch between the various samples.

[@rb032682]

In this video, these necks all sound very similar to me. I'm sure I could detect some differences if I could do my own live shootout. (maybe someday)

[@barnettg66]

Beautiful woods. On a whim I just bought a Warmoth Gibson-scale neck in Mahogany with 12 inch radius (maybe trying to channel my beloved Les Paul) and it too is beautiful. Clear satin nitro, and I just love the beautiful grain. Sounds amazing with 10 gauge strings. Couldn't be happier except maybe if I had that nice Goncalo.

[@j_freed]

Jake E Lee's personal Charvel guitars have mahogany necks, which his pricey and cool Signature models do not! Wonder if I'd like a Strat Fender scale Mahogany neck with .009 gauge strings... chunky profile of course, not like these small necks which are really a strain to play.

[@thestevemiller]

Surprising! I can always hear differences and I couldn't really tell except on the single note playing, where there were subtle diffs in sustain and maybe a tiny bit of color (canary was a tad brighter, the wenge a tiny bit drier?). Forget the individual wood choice, the entire spectrum just isn't that wide, at least for these 5 woods.

[@GCKelloch]

Color is good description. What do you mean by the spectrum isn't that wide?

[@thestevemiller]

@@GCKelloch the total variance between those choices was low, so its harder to separate each choice. Could just be neck wood doesn't matter that much, in general (nut to neck to body to pickup is just too big a set of jumps). But maybe flat sawn unroasted maple or walnut vs koa vs mahogany would widen out the perceivable gaps. Maybe not.

[@OgamiItto70]

I'll be honest: I didn't really care. They were all pretty close to each other in tone. To my ear there was more difference in volume between some of them than tone. At least through _these_ headphones on _this_ computer. Swapping pickups would probably have a lot more effect on the tone of the guitar than swapping necks. All of them sounding so similar in tone, I would be more interested in other qualities like stability, weight, looks, durability or sustain. Hey! I learned something! I like that in a video. Right on, dude.

[@DeirdreSM]

Just got a solid rosewood neck from Warmoth. It’s going on a Candy Apple red Tele, so I got red jasper dots (with moon glow side dots). Awesome look.

[@warmoth]

Be sure to post pics!

[@EugeneOdnoval]

I've got warmoth canary neck paired with the chambered korina strat body. This couple sounds brighter than SG, but bit darker than LP, and it's definitely in the Gibson tone zone with warm and punchy tone. Love it!

[@timothymartin2137]

I called it perfectly...the Goncalo Alves is EXPLOSIVE, the Rosewood is by far my favorite and I would call it a tamed down explosive of the Alves (I hated the Wenge and the Canary sounds a lot like Roasted Maple)

[@heikoschwammle4650]

So I chose the right wood for my last build: rosewood! I just love the look and feel

[@ginolamendola4084]

First of all, excellent video, Aaron, and excellent playing! Second of all, I couldn’t tell the difference between any of them on my iPhone.

[@warmoth]

The differences in feel were greater than the differences in tone. The only one I think I could pick in a blind test with any accuracy is Goncalo Alves. In this group of five necks it sounded very different from the rest.

[@iamanovercomer3253]

The only 2: necks I heard about is roasted maple and rosewood but rosewood is not available as it was before. What guitars are the other necks come on stock ❓

[@v.k.7463]

If I could describe differences which were consistent with all of these test segments: Canary is kind of scooped. Rosewood has the most even tone. Wenge has the treble trimmed exactly the way I would want it. Goncalo alves sounds like a tiny bit of Tubescreamer added to each clip. For a purchase decision, I would still go by either aesthetics or price because the differences were so minimal. In the "mystery" segment ov the video, I could hear that there were noticeable differences, but there's no way I could guess.

[@davidkastin4240]

Great comparison video. I had no idea there's that many different woods available for necks.

[@CaptainRudy4021]

Warmoth has a whole laundry list of options on their website

[@jimmywrangles]

In an electric guitar only pickup height,pickups and the player determine tone. Nothing else matters one iota. I understand why companies like Warmoth and PRS insist it makes a difference but it simply doesn't. This has been proven beyond a doubt by others who know far more than I.

[@vintagepearlguitars]

Pickup position is missing in your list.

[@BKRMON]

Thanks so much for doing this! I am addicted to bare wood necks. I have 2 PRS Indian Rosewood necks & one with a Brazilian Rosewood neck. Back in the old days of the original PRS forum, we started calling them crackwood. 😊 Glad to hear the the Roasted Maple can be left bare. I nailed the Canary & the Rosewood. I thought #5 was either Roasted Maple or Wenge.

[@TommySG1]

Hey Aaron, My favorite necks by far are Rosewood w/ Ebony boards. I have two of them and I’m going to check out a Wenge one of these days.

[@TheDancingSaxophone]

I just ordered a rosewood tele neck with an ebony fingerboard and white binding. Stoked to try it! My current favorite neck by far is the rosewood neck on my Musicman Axis Super Sport Rosewood LTD.

[@WutipongWongsakuldej]

I didn't do the blind test. They do sound very similar to each others. I think the difference would be more apparent to you (as the player) than us the audiences. Appreciate the experiment, very interesting. I think I've seen a neck made with Mango wood before, might be mistaken. I'm thinking that it could replace maple in making guitar in the SEA area given that it can be sourced locally (rather than import it from the America like Maple). Probably sales might not be so good until someone call it an exotic wood or something. Oh and I think someone made guitars using Jack Fruit wood or Durian before. Now I'm starting to get hungry!

[@fourtoon]

Although the differences were subtle, I liked the rosewood the best in the tests. I didn’t try to identify the different woods in the mystery test, just listened for the best tone. When the rosewood was played, I picked it as the best sounding… again to my ears.

[@stratolestele7611]

Can't hear one scintilla of difference between ANY of them. I've always felt that way. I just go by what feels best for me. So far, the all-100% rosewood necks on my EBMMs have been my favorites. Following them, it would be the maple necks on my...EBMMs! Lol. Seriously though, there is just something about them. I have to admit, I really like the carve of my Pro II Strat. Nice and full C.

[@j_freed]

Appreciate the massive effort, Aaron! I wonder if a 100% Rosewood neck by itself will get you close to the sound of a fully-Rosewood Telecaster.

[@curbowman]

Wengé has a very distinct tonal quality that makes clear why Warwick uses it for their basses.

[@prattacaster]

Wow, to me during the blind test the Canary and Rosewood sounded the brightest, I preferred the Rosewood

[@moparbryan]

Interesting my take away was gancolo and canary seemed brighter or louder not really a tonal thing as much as a volume difference. Rosewood is beautiful but I think I’d go with goncolo. That said my personal experience is scetchy with roasted maple I’ve played good necks but I’ve played several that just seemed dead and lifeless. I personally don’t think you know a guitar or by extension a neck without some real volume. The sweet spot is when the amp is really moving air and you feel the vibration under your fingers I call it the loop. Sound flowing out of the speakers hitting the guitar, feedback without the squeal. Some guitars just don’t vibrate well, others too much. You can have six maple necks built the same and one is gonna be the sweet spot. Unfortunately really great guitar are kinda like unicorns, there’s lots of good ones but definitely some unicorns it’s kinda of a crap shoot that’s what makes it fun.

[@ibalrog]

This seems like the time to ask - does Warmoth have a sustainability statement/policy? Exotic woods always make me wonder (not that domestic alternatives don't have their own potential issues). These necks all *look* beautiful, btw, and all sounded great. I could hear some slight differences, but I expect they'd all disappear with the change of player, pick, pedals, amp, mic choice/placement, mixing...

[@danz4904]

I believe Warmoth purchases their lumber from a third party. I wouldn't expect Warmoth to be responsible for the sustainability practices of their supplier. If Warmoth was actually cutting down trees it would be a different story.

[@gigmandrew8975]

Aaron, which neck do you like for over driven sounds? Have you tried any of those necks with humbuckers on overdrive sounds? - Thanks for this, it was most cool!

[@warmoth]

Though I loved it for clean stuff, Goncalo is the one I would NOT pick for distorted sounds. Any of the rest would be great. Of the exotic woods I would opt for Rosewood just because I like its look and feel more than the others.

[@penfold7800]

To me, The Canary has more character with Rosewood coming a close second. For me, its the 'personality' of the sound rather than sharpness and volume. But thats my preference. But then im looking at what I would want to play and hear over what an audience would need.

[@AnonContributor]

I have some of the Canary fretboards on mahogany necks, and I love the sound. The Goncolo really peaked my interest here. That one is next.

[@henninghesse9910]

Again, highly educational.Thank you guys for this!

[@garymoore1567]

Great video! Although I don't know how you would measure it, I think that relative stiffness would be another factor that would be influencing tone.

[@ravenslaves]

Before I even begin to watch the video, the answer is "No". Only based on the usage of the word, "better". Because "better" means nothing without some qualifiers. ..ok...now on to watch the video, which I know I'll enjoy. Because I always do. (With the preemptive thumbs up, like button, pushed.)

[@carsgunsandguitars]

Goncalo Alvez FTW!

[@AndyFerreiraMusic]

As a Brazilian musician, I'm highly appreciative of your video - Brazil is known for its vast biodiversity and extensive tone wood range. Thanks for the amazing content!! On a side note, Gonçalo Alves is not pronounced as you read it in English, the correct form is "gonsalo". Cheers!! 😃

[@warmoth]

Thanks for the info on correct pronunciation Andy! I have always heard it pronounced "gonKalo", but I will start trying to say "gonSalo".

[@pablotorres4578]

The English spelling doesn't bother with the ç, they spell it "Goncalo". They've mutated the word for their language.

[@louiscyfer6944]

@@warmoth i just wonder why bother with pushing the tonal differences issue between the woods, that matters on acoustic guitars and on electrics when playing unplugged. through magnetic pickups there is no mechanism to have that difference detectable. i am yet to see someone do better than blind chance consistently in a blind test.

[@pageyjjj]

The wenge had an acoustic quality to the clean tone. I love my wenge necked warmoth bass.

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

Didn't hear any real differences. I was scrolling through the comments during the blind test and they could have all been the same neck. I buy woods based on appearance. If you wanna change your tone, turn the EQ knobs on your amp. The woods of your electric guitar is one of the last places you should be looking at for tone shifts. 😛

[@shredgd5]

I liked the Canary (never ever heard of before btw) one the best, both in the blind and in the unblind shootout. It had the most natural, woody and present sounding tone, without any hole in the frequency range. The Goncalo (again never heard of before) was my least favorite and I could easily pick it up in the blind test, as it’s got some holes in the frequency range which make it unpleasant, unnatural and cheap sounding to my ears. I surely agree, the Roasted maple one was less bright than the Canary... you were surprised, I wasn’t at all: roasted maple ALWAYS sounds muffled in the high treble to my ears. I always prefer non-roasted maple for this very reason. Rosewood was my second favorite, and again the blind test confirmed my impressions about rosewood: as good as it looks, it’s always got a bit of a mid-scooped tone. Maple always sounds like it has a “mid to high mid boost” compared to rosewood. Great comparison, thanks a lot!

[@m1genka]

This is very interesting video. I am always interested in each exotic wood sound but nowhere to find comparison! If you can, please compare exotic fingerboard next time. Thank you!

[@Buckethead818]

Another excellent video and test! Thank you.

[@Drunken_Hamster]

Canary or Goncalo for the not-blind tests. I didn't guess any of them correctly on the blind test but liked 1 and 4 the most, so I guess tonewood really is just pedantry. Pick something cheap, durable, and tuning stable. Or go with carbon fiber.

[@sparkyguitar0058]

Better? What's better? Different I'll agree. But what's better actually depends on each individual. I got a maple neck Strat and a ebony fretboard L Paul. Pretty much on purpose. That's what I wanted and it worked out.

[@CosmicheskayaEnergiya]

Dirty Roasted 03:30 Canary 03:38 Wenge 03:46 Gonzalo 03:53 Rose 04:01

[@rikosimmo]

Thanks!

[@angusmackay7281]

I wasn't sure which I preferred until the mystery test where the rosewood was really a class apart.

[@IZ1984]

Hi Aaron, can you make a video about what Warmoth does with wood leftovers/scrap wood? Thank your for the videos and greetings from germany 👋

[@billgreen3629]

Super interesting. Thanks

[@armandov2424]

Guitar pickups and amps aren't exactly made to be "transparent" by any means. Also, if you try to hear the differences in tone while listening to the clips on the phone or crappy pc speakers, you won't hear much. Guitar players usually want "that" sound and buy parts/amps/pedals accordingly. Nothing wrong with that, just a different path from (for example) acoustic instruments or bass.