Warmoth Roasted Maple Neck VS. Plain Maple Neck: What's The Tonal Difference?

[@blakejones6648]

...but is it worth the extra $?

[@LucasFowler]

Its all subjective, but I think so. You just have to determine whether you like the sound and feel of the roasted maple.

[@warmoth]

A Warmoth Roasted Maple neck is actually cheaper than regular Maple when you consider that you don't have to pay to put a finish on it.

[@LucasFowler]

@@warmoth And it feels great without finish in my opinion. Love it!

[@blakejones6648]

@@warmoth Awesome! Thanks for the reply 🙂Definitely saving for one of those for my baritone conversion build And thanks Lucas for the video and for pinning the response for me

[@LucasFowler]

@@blakejones6648 happy to help :)

[@KiRiMa64]

Okay,how many people remembered Bryan Adams hit "Run To You" ?

[@motoputz3201]

roasting, (fire hardening) was/is the preferred method for "curing" an axe handle

[@backlom]

The roasted maple looks great with the tortoise shell guard

[@atourdeforce]

Yes but it also looks terrible with the blue paintwork. Imo

[@gavinmowat8528]

atourdeforce nah it looks brilliant!

[@KYDY]

2:10 You heard it here folks, roasted maple doesn't care about climate change.

[@kevgh3869]

Voted for Trump too.

[@salatieljyrustumanan4929]

In that case, i may have a new neck preference

[@AzaelVI]

Finally, a guitar neck with common sense!

[@kilhattrick]

@@salatieljyrustumanan4929 best neck I have played was a toasted maple. No finish, just sanded to near 2000 grit. Looks glossed, but it is fast and smooth.

[@jimo1294]

No, but our children WILL care and you should too!

[@m4d_mark_xtr3me79]

I agree with your synopsis and also that the natural has more snap, whereas the roasted had better sustain, more warmth and the mids just pop.

[@Wesley.Deuren]

The original fender neck sounded better to me. The roasted maple was a bit warm for my tastes. Both sound awesome though, and I just love the look of a darker roasted maple neck.

[@ramencurry6672]

I think I might agree. The roasted maple sounded slightly muffled in combination

[@minnesotajack1]

“Fat in the bottom and doesn’t care about climate change....” I’ve been looking for someone like that my whole life.....

[@michaeloughton4746]

best comment I've read today... 😂😂😂

[@TheAxe4Ever]

Club Soda Naw. Just someone that isn’t brainwashed by the liberal pseudo-science agenda.

[@nazmoking3171]

Haha, well-done guy! Same here 😂

[@r.llynch4124]

Damn funny right there...lmao

[@r.llynch4124]

@@GCKelloch Take a "chill pill "no pun intended..lmao. Of course the climate changes duh!! just don't blame it on America or make me pay for the little china people fucking things up, GOT IT??

[@IwoIwanov]

I'm thinking about replacing my Standard Tele Neck with a Roasted Neck. I'll go for the Roasted Neck. This was so helpful. I liked the frequency comparison.

[@McGuire40695]

I really like the study you did to compare both of the necks. Surprisingly, you're one of few people who "got it right" when it comes to actually testing out tonewoods on electrics. You kept everything else identical about the guitar EXCEPT for the neck in question.

[@LucasFowler]

It is really difficult to do a scientific experiment with anything organic since it is all a little different, but I did my best :P

[@bluwng]

Not really, for magnetic pickups no wood on a solid body guitar even matters.

[@LucasFowler]

bluwng I’m curious, do you also think things like the bridge/saddles/nut make no difference?

[@bluwng]

Lucas Fowler that's a tough one to answer. It's yes and no. Tone wise No but those elements impact the setup which will influence how the string responds and the string oscillation is what impacts the change in the magnetic field which is ultimately the output of your pickups. Pickups don't process sound waves only disturbance to the field by the metal strings. If you had nylon strings it wouldn't care and they are not micro phonic so actual sound waves will not make an impact.

[@tomfoolery2082]

Isnt that something and i was sure i could instantly hear a considerable difference. Gona have to get checked.

[@mikeblue385]

cool to see my ears weren't lying. the roasted maple had more bottom, thicker in the middle.

[@GonzGunner]

My Strat project will have a Warmoth roasted maple neck ( with a Pau Ferro fingerboard) along with a Warmoth roasted swamp ash body. Another good thing about roasted woods for guitars, besides saving money on finishes, is that what I call "the tone time factor" is no longer a concern. The time factor that I refer to is that the older a guitar gets, the more the wood dries out and improves the tone. That is one reason why vintage guitars sound so much better than most new ones.

[@nazmoking3171]

Extremely intelligently done comparison - great job guy!

[@jrmakawoody]

My personal opinion is that if it inspires you to play more, then it’s worth the upgrade. Guitars that “ring out” more when you play chords inspire me. I also do not like “sticky” finishes on necks so I may look into getting a roasted one. Thanks!

[@anthonysclafani3963]

Roasted maple looks so nice

[@ascendingdescendant3175]

Cool I just bought a slab of roasted curly tiger maple to build a bass lap steel and it’s gonna look as badass as it’s gonna sound.

[@motoputz3201]

that was cool to be able to see what we're hearing!

[@micheltremblay4774]

The roasted neck resonates differently but not by much, you see only slight differences at the same frequencies and mostly during the attack on the strings and that could be human induced. The audio comparison is difficult because skewed by the compression during the publishing on the Tube. It does look good but I would still put a coat or two of satin finish to keep the elements out of the wood; skin oil, dirt, water, etc... Thanks for the review.

[@KurtBryan]

It'll also crack without proper pilot holes a whole lot easier than regular maple. When you adjust the truss rod on roasted maple, don't get scared if you hear cracking sounds. That's pretty normal when the wood adjusts.

[@alancosens]

It's crazy the difference in frequency response between the DI and the Amp Sim. Too many things affect the response. Clearly the roasted is a bit louder. Probably could get more of a difference by just changing the plectrum. When I got a roasted neck with black dots, I got it home and oiled it. That darkened it a LOT. Now I can't even see the dots in very low light. If you're going to get a roasted neck, get light dots. Also keep in mind that when you order a custom neck you WILL have to take it to a luthier to finish the fretwork. That cannot be done without the neck on the guitar. That will be $200 to $400 in most areas, the higher amount being for a Plek job.

[@TheNatureOfTruth]

So, if i heard correctly, the neck is a two piece (roasted maple neck and fingerboard) - why not just have it as a one-piece instead of gluing a separate fingerboard of the exact same wood?

[@jbonham78]

Stability

[@u563rick6]

The spectrum analyzer was awesome and just confirmed things you could sense & feel. I like the look of the roasted but preferred the non roasted maple for that telecaster. If you were playing a different guitar and/or style of music like metal than my preference might be roasted.

[@CaryMillerOfficial]

Tighter/better bass response in the Baked Maple. Things also feel less audibly compressed (more "airy"/dynamic). The upper mid-range to high-end is less fatiguing too (feels like there's a slightly less complex thing harmonically in that range, but it winds up being a bit more musical. Very cool test.

[@Seuration]

I wonder how many people realized that was a Bryan Adams song...

[@00Resev]

I wonder how many people DIDN'T realize that was a Bryan Adams song. You make it sound like "Run to you" is some obscure song. Its probably on the top 10 must-learn clean riffs of every guitar player. Perhaps you are a little young, to say something like that?

[@Seuration]

@@00Resev Really? My comment was basically saying that most youtube audiences are young and wouldn't know who Bryan Adams was. Saying it's a must learn clean riff is rather laughable. Must learn if you are in an 80's cover band, perhaps, which I was in a few over my 25 year music career. But over all clean riffs? I can name 50 that are more must learn than "Run to You". Saying I am young, well, thanks. I appreciate that lie. :P

[@00Resev]

@@Seuration You can name 50 that are more must-learn? Most impressive! Go on then. Show us how knowledgeable you are. Since the 80s are apparently out, given your disdain, i suppose anything prior is out as well, so do be so kind as to give us 50 must-learn clean guitar riffs from the 90s onward. You have three full decades of material to work with, but i wonder how many of them riffs will be considered must-learn.... And by the way, i never implied you were young, i ASKED if you were young. Read again.

[@Seuration]

@@00Resev lol. You think that because I ruled out the 80's that I must be ruling out prior to the 80's? nah, that's 90% of them. Let's see, clean riffs that are more must learn than Run to You by Bryan Adams. Hotel California, the opening to Stairway to Heaven, Sultans of Swing, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Can't Find My Way Home, Norwegian Wood, Operator, Lightning Crashes, Little Pink Houses, Blackbird, Suite Judy Blue Eyes, The Boxer, Behind Blue Eyes, Sweet Home Alabama, Finish What Ya Started, Tears in Heaven, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Drift Away, Ain't No Sunshine, Against the Wind, Maggie May, Brown Eyed Girl, Last Dance with Mary Jane, Old Man, She Talks to Angels, House of the Rising Sun, Fire and Rain, Run Around, No Rain, Crash Into Me, The Joker, Wish You Were Here, Message in a Bottle, American Girl, Dust in the Wind, Dear Mr. Fantasy, American Pie, Solsbury Hill, No Sugar Tonight, Born on the Bayou, Layla (unplugged version, of course) , Round About, Drive, December, Slide, Pride (if you consider it clean, I do) and to close, possibly the biggest indictment. I consider Cuts Like a Knife to be more must learn than Run to You. Sooooo daaaammn booorreeed... stupid covid-19. Oh well, have a good one.

[@presley36477]

It was odd. My band had just learned this song for an upcoming gig a couple days before I watched this video. 😂

[@nickf9392]

Very interesting Captain...so that is what goes on in my head when I play, now I see!

[@jamesdunn8893]

Honestly I would feel the maple fretboard to be more likely to be the choice I would go with

[@dodjiegarcia2320]

Roasted is much more resonant and the spread of frequencies is wider, but plain had some of those outlying presence frequencies that we can perceive as twang.

[@ezm69]

I would be curious to hear how much the difference is negated as soon as you go with a rosewood or maple fretboard. I would expect that would definitely limit the difference quite a bit. As far as the sustain, yea, I’d expect that. If you think about it as the wood dries it shrinks and roasting in essence takes that way farther than time alone will. So as it shrinks you’re left with more wood occupying the same space so the wood will be more dense. That and the dryer wood will also resonate more without the moisture that would make the wood absorb sound better. Great video! I was dead set on roasted maple but you’ve convinced me to stick with regular old maple. The high end loss is more noticeable to my ears than I’m willing to give. Thanks!

[@evillotto]

Fender just recently released roasted maple necks with jumbo frets in their Mexican plant.

[@chevy2die]

Damn dude, this was exactly my question and you thoroughly answered it 110%

[@LucasFowler]

Glad I could help :)

[@michaelcollums4197]

I have a EBMM Steve Lukather L III with a roasted maple neck and it is one of the best necks I have ever played there is a difference.

[@OldSilkRoad]

“To You Run l?” Good choice, no strike!

[@johnwalker365]

As a guy with 30+ years of experience in guitar building (and still learning) and an industry veteran, I can say this is a great video and gives some excellent insight on roasted maple neck. Maple that is kiln dried in a traditional manner does sound different from roasted maple - but there’s more to it than just the way the wood was kiln dried and seasoned. Wood is an organic material. Maple is different from tree to tree and from region to region. Flat sawn vs quarter sawn vs rift sawn all have an impact on sound as well. To do a true comparison test of how roasting sounds different from traditional kiln drying, you would need to take maple from one board from one tree and run those through the different kiln processes. Even with using wood from the same tree, the wood from another tree may react differently to roasting. Obviously, there will be some general consistency in the affect on tone, but you get the idea. Whether you choose roasted maple or a traditionally kiln dried neck - make sure it’s got all of the elements necessary to make a stable neck. A high quality neck will be made from a good piece of wood (not heartwood), the pitch has been properly set (resin is fully crystallized) and it was given time to naturally season before processing. Having a “stress relieving” process before final milling starts also helps to minimize movement due to climate changes the neck may be subjected to once it’s completed.

[@Carlvincent100]

I love the solid rosewood necks

[@atheomicha]

This was so cool great demo. Thanks

[@stevegardiner8473]

Good video. I'm still torn. Going to buy a EVH Wolfgang. Just can't decide whether to take the plunge with what EVH/Fender call a "Baked Maple" neck.

[@sirbaronvoncount4147]

Warmoth stuff is the shit. I am a fan. I have a rosewood strat neck with an ebony fretboard and stainless steel frets. I’m a heavy handed player and I play .11s and I haven’t made any marks in the frets yet. My Gibson from 2013 needs it’s second levelling.

[@LucasFowler]

Their fret install was fantastic. I didn't need to level or crown at all, just polished them up with a little 0000 steel wool and I was good to go :)

[@bbnatedogg]

If you get a roasted flame maple neck, you may want to put an oil finish on it such as Tung Oil. It will make the flame much more visible. Also helps protect it from the environment a little more. Just get some rubber gloves and apply it with a rag or paper towel. Easy peasy, ocean breezy

[@cawfeedawg]

hmmm I wonder if the negligable differences could be down to just two different pieces of maple.. I would be curious to see a control set comparing two different unroasted maple necks to see how different two randomly chosen unroasted necks compare to each other? But I would say.. go with the one you like the looks of most! Great channel.. !

[@LucasFowler]

That's certainly possible too. It could also have to do with the Warmoth neck being a larger profile(more wood) and having bigger frets. But I thought it would be a fun comparison nonetheless :)

[@mauriciogambini]

It was great, Lucas ! Thanks for sharing it.

[@bentoncox]

Nice video, man! Good comparison. I love Warmoth's roasted maple necks. What appeals to me the most about them, other than the killer "caramel" color, is that they don't need a finish. I really dig the raw feel of the neck. I used one of Warmoth's roasted flame maple necks on my "tele deluxe" build. Made a couple of videos about it on my channel. Keep churnin' out the content, I look forward to seeing more of your vids.

[@LucasFowler]

The unfinished feel is fantastic to my hands!

[@chrismonksellye4608]

Very cool. I wouldn't have thought there would have been that much difference but, indeed there is.

[@LucasFowler]

Neat huh?

[@UriahRoxx]

Fatter and darker is pretty much what I heard. I really like the look of it too.

[@johncook3265]

I just bought one for my 93' MIM strat that has worn frets, and figured why not. Now, if I like this neck coming, I'm eyeing a nice flamed roasted maple for a higher end build :).

[@LucasFowler]

It seems crazy to people, but Leo fully designed the Fender bolt-on neck system so that when the frets wore out you could just put a new neck on :P

[@TarasSlipets]

Thanks a lot for a detailed and scientific comparison!

[@orenfisher8948]

Very cool! We have been roasting/ baking/ carmelizing maple up here north of the border for quite some time. Gives maple many of the same characteristics as ebony and rosewood.

[@LucasFowler]

I like it a lot!

[@MrTrazzie]

Thanks Lucas, great vid. My first Warmoth guitar will soon be 30 years old (in a couple more years), still love it, I’ll have it forever. They would do well to have you do some more vids, maybe assemble something and demo it, that would be cool. Aaron does great vids for them too. Any specs on this r/m neck? Was it a ‘59 Roundback? (Been thinking about one of those for a future build)

[@TonyPuleo1]

I’m a fan of Roasted and got the first Mike Lull one BUT it’s nice to see there direct A/B comparison on the same body.

[@gerryloughran1676]

Cool...luv the decay on the roasted...but your bang on ...its how it feels... it also looks better and matches the pickguard

[@YesuAiNimen]

I have a 52 reissue tele that the neck had to be replaced (sadly). Rather than buy a used 52 RI neck online, I ordered a Warmoth with roasted maple. I chose stainless steel frets also. It is a bummer that it's just now a "parts guitar", but the trade off for me was that I got better sustain and there are now no dead spots anywhere on the neck. Everything is smooth and even. I also got to pick the radius and neck shape which ended up being amazing.

[@gearmeister]

Awesome study on baked maple vs. non baked. I feel like the frequency response as you mentioned was wider in the baked. We might also be seeing a better grade on the Warmoth to factor in. I have a quilted top Strat body from Warmoth & it's just sick, they'll have to bury me with that guitar

[@fabioa.565]

Hello, does the roasted neck feel like a satined finish ? In your opinion which is more smooth : a Roasted maple Neck or a traditional satined maple neck? thank you

[@davidhoward8951]

I like the roasted neck sound plus I like to look

[@davidhoward8951]

Doesn't seem like is it bright as the original neck

[@RedArrow73]

The Roasted Maple passes the Fourth Beer test with Flying Colors!

[@billyraylaray]

Nicely done analysis. I live in SW where the humidity is like 10% on a good day. Its so dry we keep our guitars in giant humidors. Roasted is in my future!

[@alpayromusic131]

Thank you so much. You know if are there music stores with Warmoth parts to see it and feel it or the only way the get them is buying online??? 🙏🏼⭐️🔥

[@loodakrawa7768]

I think the real question here is - what about Deep Fried Maple Neck (in lemon oil)? Everything is better deep fried. What about adding Maple Syrup on the Maple Neck? So many options

[@LucasFowler]

Mmmmm deep fried anything :P

[@bebenavole]

the difference its a different piece of wood. :)

[@matthewf1979]

I used to think tonewood was a thing on solidly body electric guitars. There’s a lot of misinformation perpetuated by guitar manufacturers to up sell the dealers and end user. Rosewood is a very hard, bright wood on acoustic guitars, YET it’s claimed to be a dark, mellow tone on electric guitar necks. That’s just one example, there’s as many more as there are choice in materials. Beware the bullshit and buy a well built guitar that sounds good and looks good to you.

[@nicruleggia]

I also think the matter is highly debatable as well, however, regarding the specific example you make: in acoustic guitars, rosewood is bright and clear compared to the other most common wood for back and sides, which is mahogany, which is comparatively more porous. In electric guitar necks, the comparison is usual Maple, which is even denser than rosewood. An acoustic guitar with maple back and sides is typically even brighter than a rosewood one. This is typically seen in flamenco guitars when compared to classical guitars. In the steel string world, I can think of the Gibson ej200 jumbo which uses maple to add clarity to the boomy shape or acoustic archtops that are Maple made to cut through the mix. But, as I said, for electrics how this all works is not 100% clear!

[@smokepeddler]

I have a solid one piece ash body tele with a rosewood board. I have a 2 piece Alder tele with a maple board. Both have Fralin stock wound pups. Same pots and electronics. Both sound significantly different.

[@UmVtCg]

Wood does nothing to an electric field, tonewood does effect one's wallet though.

[@Dogsrule777]

Wow! Roasted maple (orange wave) for the win! It seems clearly better in my opinion. Thanks for the analysis Lucas!

[@SubKrypt]

You would really need another unroasted maple neck as a control to see if some of these differences are just sonic differences between different cuts of maple

[@smokepeddler]

I like Warmoth. Ive built a few. But...I definitely stay away from their side adjust modern necks. I've had two that the trussrod twists when tightened.

[@godsreclamation2539]

I have a squier frs bullet and wonder if the tele neck replacement will fit

[@druwk]

Actually impressed with the tone differences? Not sure which would stand out better in a band context? The roasted maple seemed to have a warmer sound? Both together have a great sound!

[@LucasFowler]

I like them both, but Roasted is just a tad nicer to my ears. I think the difference in a band context would be pretty negligible, just whichever you like the feel and look of better.

[@matthunting1162]

We're both neck thicknesses the same, or pretty close ? that could have some effect. I have roasted maple neck from Warmoth on a homemade Esquire, it's a U shape with a 9.5 fret radius and I just love it ,like you said very smooth and the color is great, kinda like a vintage tinted but a little darker. Been a couple years now and it has stayed pretty straight. Nice job on the video, my first impression on the tone was that the roasted had a little more chime and sustain,

[@VenancioPortalatin]

Let me start by saying great idea for a video and it was very well done. I really enjoyed it. That being said I rewound and listened multiple times with good headphones on both the di and amp sim. To my ears aside from the roasted maple having slightly more sustain I could hear no major differences tonally. Even the frequency chart showed very little differences aside from sustain. That extra sustain length was nominal at best. I think it boils down to look & feel more than anything. How does that roasted maple neck feel? I love the look of them and have been considering one.

[@LucasFowler]

I concur, the differences are very subtle. I do think the Roasted Maple neck feels great and it does not require finish which is awesome!

[@ryanhurst3859]

Interesting. In the video on the Warmoth channel the roasted maple sounded brighter and the regular maple sounded darker which is what I would expect. But with this comparison it seemed the opposite, roasted maple seemed a bit dark rather than the regular maple.

[@elnyoutube123]

The density of the wood and fretboard radius also play a factor

[@joses.a.2]

Thanks for sharing the video, very informative! Did you order it with No finish at all; or with Satin finish?

[@Virtual-Media]

A very robust comparison 🤘

[@donarmando916]

Hmm interesting. So when i look at the graph i think it can be said that the roasted maple is just more resonant at around the same frequencies. I have to say that my roasted neck had a greater impact on the sound of my guitar than the one in this video.

[@jeffwyatt2256]

Very cool, I’ve been super curious about the roasted maple necks. I love the look. I definitely thought the roasted has a more deep rich sound vs the plain maple which has a brighter ring to it. Awesome video!

[@LucasFowler]

It really took that guitar up a few notches, it feels way more expensive than it actually is now!

[@rizzinthebox7124]

Thank you from a technical point of view a very interesting video. I had the impression that the roasted maple neck works more within the frequencies. I would be interested in what comes out of a test on cryo tuning. cheers

[@bushcry1]

The decay of the spectrum sustained more for Plain maple neck... Am I right?

[@marin4311]

Sounds a bit like rosewood. Darker, anyway. Better sustain. Nice look too.

[@kennyh5083]

Roasted woods crystilize the sap and harden the oils in the woods! Same as what happens over many years of aging! I like to do this with not only neck woods but body woods as well, unless they are very very old woods which has the same affect! And they ring better when aged or roasted too! The oils and sap can dull the tone ever so slightly.

[@DadoSimicStudiostriver]

Roasted neck sounds audible warmer in tone. Is it good or bad things its matter of pure taste and need.

[@VPicksGuitarPicks]

I heard very little difference if any at all. However, I prefer a RM neck for the feel and of course the look. But the feel is way better for me.

[@kentuckywindage222]

Hey Lucas, any ideas on how to make a scheme to match an old cowboy holster rig , saddle or boots. Kinda like an "Ibanez woody". Any help appreciated. Peace

[@LucasFowler]

Can you shoot me an email with a picture of the guitar you're working on? I can try to give you my thoughts. [e-mail]

[@BruceAvilla]

What is the spectrum analyzer software you are using?

[@gobangs1117]

There was a clear difference with the plain maple sounding brighter, which I prefer. One point is that the necks as you mentioned are not the same profile so I'm wondering how much that affected the comparison. One example of each is really not a valid test. I realise the difficulty in acquiring multiple examples so this is not an accusation of subjectivity but if 3 necks of the 2 types displayed the same or very similar attributes then we are talking about science. I like the look of the roasted but prefer the sound of the plain. Thankyou Lucas and Warmoth.

[@frantisca]

I've had various necks from Warmoth: Mahogany gloss finish 24,75 (Gibson-type) scale rosewood fingerboard Standard thin profile 10-14 radius 6150 stainless steel frets Sperzel locking tuners Mahogany satin finish 25,5 (Fender-type) scale rosewood fingerboard Standard thin profile 9,5 Straight radius 6150 stainless steel frets Sperzel locking tuners Maple satin finish 25,5 (Fender-type) scale Pau Ferro fingerboard Standard thin profile 9,5 Straight radius 6150 stainless steel frets Sperzel locking tuners Birdseye Maple satin finish 25,5 (Fender-type) scale Dark Rosewood fingerboard 59 RoundBack profile 10-14 radius 6150 stainless steel frets Hipshot GripLock locking tuners One-piece Birdseye Maple Gloss finish 25,5 (Fender-type) scale fingerboard 59 RoundBack profile 9,5 straight radius 6105 Nickel-silver frets Gotoh vintage tuners I kept the 2 last ones, the 59 RoundBack profile being definitely my favorite. The rest is a different playing experience, the One-piece Birdseye Maple Gloss being much more pleasant than I would have thought. It's mounted on a Strat and is not sticky for one bit ! The other one with Dark Rosewood fingerboard 59 RoundBack profile 10-14 radius 6150 stainless steel frets is another ballgame. The ss frets give a very smooth feeling to the bends and the compound radius - which felt a bit awkward at the beginning - is becoming quite comfy to play on the Tele it's mounted on. I decided to give a go at the competition and ordered one from Musikraft. Mahogany satin finish 25,5 (Fender-type) scale reclaimed Brazilian Walnut fingerboard (!!) 59 RoundBack profile Straight 10" radius 6100 stainless steel frets (the largest) Gotoh staggered locking tuners. Will be mounted on a Thinline with 2x SH-2 Seymour Duncans. Quite excited to hear the results. I share your opinion that the mass of wood, the fretboard, the fret types etc. play a role in the tone. From my experience, Mahogany is mellower than maple, a thick neck gives length to the notes and ss frets (the larger the better) will help you with bends & sustain. To my ear, the baked maple is indeed more present in the mids and the notes lasted longer (maybe the profile was also thicker ?), the natural maple being a bit more trebly and snappy. Strings and tuners, as well as saddles, bridge, nut, etc.: everything that is in contact with the string from top to bottom plays a role. Last but not least, pickup height will give the amplitude to vibrate to the string. You can very well hear it when you reach the optimum level: the note will blossom with harmonics and you will hear a "wavy" type of resonance. My 2,5 ¢😀😉 Keep on rockin' (loved your "Back To You" version for the test !) \m/

[@Jordan-rb28]

Woah look at the extra sustain, idk how practical it is but id get it just for the looks

[@YesuAiNimen]

I have a 52 reissue tele that the neck had to be replaced (sadly). Rather than buy a used 52 RI neck online, I ordered a Warmoth with roasted maple. I chose stainless steel frets also. It is a bummer that it's just now a "parts guitar", but the trade off for me was that I got better sustain and there are now no dead spots anywhere on the neck. Everything is smooth and even. I also got to pick the radius and neck shape which ended up being amazing.

[@wilhelmtheconquerer6214]

Great video dude! Only thing that could possibly make this even more scientific would be to have the necks made out of the same piece of wood

[@tylerphilco]

I’ve decided that both together are the best. Can I get a guitar that is both necks at the same time?

[@hearpalhere]

Great video Lucas! I just finished watching a bunch of similar demonstrations on the Warmoth channel. Couple of questions for you... is that a GFS Xtrem on your tele? How are you liking it? Did you do that install? Did you have to shim your neck when installing it? How would you say it compares to a Bigsby in terms of feel, tuning stability, etc? If you have a video about it, I'll gladly take a look... I'll try searching your channel too. Thanks!

[@LucasFowler]

Yep, it is a GFS Xtrem. I like it pretty good, installed it myself and yes I did have to shim the neck a fair bit to get the action playable. It feels about the same as a bigsby and stays in tune very well, with the added bonuses of the rollers on the tension bar, rollers on the saddles and strings that mount through the back of the bridge instead on pins. Overall I'd say I like it better than the actual bigsby units I've had. The only issue I have is MY fault. The bridge wasn't a drop in replacement for mine so I had to re-drill holes for the new bridge and I did NOT get that bridge quite centered. You would never know, but the bridge is a hair too close to the bass side of the neck and it drives me crazy. I'm going to go fix that right now lol

[@hearpalhere]

@@LucasFowler Thanks a lot for the thorough reply! That's good to hear. Seems like people say a lot of pretty good things about GFS stuff in general but I had seen some somewhat negative reviews of this bridge. I just can't see myself paying the price for a Bigsby when there seem to be several budget friendly options that people say good things about. I just watched another video with that guitar and you made it sound really nice with the Planet Tone pickups. The vibrato arm sounded good to me. Good luck fixing the bridge alignment! :-) I can get somewhat OCD about things like that too... I can relate to needing to fix it right away haha

[@LucasFowler]

GFS is hit and miss for me. I think the Xtrem works pretty well and I have a set of top-locking tuners from them on my Jazzmaster that are great. But I also have some sperzel style tuners from them that are terrible. I need to make a video where I talk about the good stuff and bad stuff from GFS.

[@hearpalhere]

@@LucasFowler That would be really great! I am thinking about buying some replacement pickups for my first guitar. It's a SSH style layout and I was thinking of getting a Mean 90 for the bridge and a neck and middle from their vintage wound 1959 pro series strat style pickups. If you have experience with those, I'd love to hear them.

[@LucasFowler]

@@hearpalhere I do have one of the Mean 90 pickups and that sounds pretty good I think. The thing i noticed with their pickups is that the metal baseplate and all the parts used to build them feel kinda cheap, I wouldn't bet on them lasting very long if you make adjustments often or play with some enthusiasm :P

[@ricardodiaz4381]

For the money you paid for the roast neck you can get any America neck on stratosphere.com even the custom shop too they have all kinds of parts from fender,Squier,Jackson charvel, Epiphone,Gibson you got to check em out

[@ijahtom]

Where do I get a roasted 7.25 radius Fender Stratocaster neck? I only seem to find the roasted 9.5 Radius necks but don't want that. Any one?

[@bigbokiptd]

Great comparison and review, thank you so much Lucas for doing it. Is that fatback profile?

[@LucasFowler]

Thanks! That is the "Boatneck" profile, I like it a lot, it is quite a handful!

[@bigbokiptd]

@@LucasFowler thank you!

[@pleximanic]

A thick neck generally has longer sustain and more volume and bass than a thin neck in my experience.

[@Kairg]

Roasted sounds more dark and the other sounds more brighter.

[@shaunw9270]

Excellent comparison demo . I preferred the sound of the plain maple . To me the roasted neck sounded less toppy , noticeable more when DI'd , and less classic Tele sounding. However it still sounds great and I think that guitar looks Wicked with the roasted neck !

[@2204JCM]

The roasted rang longer most likely because there’s no finish on it vs the regular maple. Your tone impressions were the same as mine. That being said I prefer the regular Maple for those reasons.

[@LucasFowler]

It might also have to do with the mass difference. The roasted neck I got is the "boatneck" profile and is a good bit thicker than the stock "c" shaped Fender neck.

[@pelimies1818]

Wanted to hear bigger difference, but I coup with it.

[@Spinz99]

I think roasted is a little less brittle. Hardly a noticeable difference. You can hear it's the same wood

[@kennyh5083]

IMO the roasted sounds much warmer, not as sharp top as the regular maple neck. I now consider both rather than one over the other! Cuz in a tele I like that extra top end, but roasted maple might be an alternative to mahogany whe wanting a warmer guitar tone say like with a mahogany body, etc guitar.

[@jeffmclowry]

Warmoth is also one of the most expensive aftermarket parts producer too. Of course, I have never tried their products. Perhaps I would get my fingers wrapped around one of their necks, I'd cream my jeans so hard, I'd forget all about the extremely high price I paid for it.

[@ToniViasetti]

i really don't like what the fender finish does to the tones. i have a MIM Telecaster, and one that i built with minimal finish. the difference is very noticeable and i hear the same in your video

[@blainewielenga7974]

I'm curious, I noticed you don't have a string tree. would you suggest a string tree? I'm getting a full guitar from them sometime in the distant future(it is ordered, now the long wait hah) I forgot to order a string tree, I will be installing locking tuners and a fixed bridge. Is a string tree absolutely necessary tonally?

[@StratMatt777]

4:16 vs 5:06 4:33 vs 5:23 4:40 vs 5:30 The title could include "Bryan Adams - Run to You lesson". :)

[@HavendaleBlvd80]

Roasted maple neck sound had slightly more shape and depth in sound for me.