[MF_Kitten]

ok, so i´m thinking about body-woods for my halo 8 string...
i´ve checked out this: Warmoth Direct - Options - Body-Woods

my two choises are Wenge and Bubinga... so now i gotta choose which ones...

the reason i picked these two are because they´re not too bright, and not too dark, but just a little on the brighter side, and they´re heavy as i want them, and the have lots of sustain... and they´re beautyfull lookin´woods!

i would want most of the neck wood to be the same as the body wood, with the exception of some stripes of some other wood (dunno how to even choose what wood to put in the stripes!?)

so it would be something like Bubinga neck and body, set neck, and either bubinga or wenge fretboard

or wenge neck and body, set neck, either wenge or bubinga fretboard...

i´m not a fan of bright-looking fretboards, you see... don´t like maple fretboards, except for on a couple guitars...

so yeah, help me find out what a good wood choise would be, and how do i choose what the stripes of other woods in the neck should be??

[bostjan]

Bubinga feels kinda funny. Real waxy with an odd texture. I was never completely blown away with the tone, but I prefer brighter woods.

Pau ferro has a very nice feel, it's extremely durable, and it has a very balanced tone. I think Pau ferro would be a better fretboard choice. You can get some cheap Pau ferro at a lower price than cheap rosewood, but you may want to get some of the really good stuff. It's still not that expensive.

Why do you want the neck and body to be the same wood?

Pau ferro also makes a really decent neck wood. If you have not tried a bubinga neck before, I would strongly suggest playing one bfore you go for it.

[MF_Kitten]

i want the same neck and body wood because i like the sound of a guitar that´s all the same wood, like a mahogany neck/mahogany body guitar...

and i don´t know that much about the woods really, just read up on what kind of tones they had.

i don´want anything too rare, and i don´t want it to be too bright...

also, Walnut is an option too... but Wenge really seems like a great wood in my eyes... it has the looks, and the tone (at least it seems like it)...

so yeah... i don´t really like the thought of waxy-ish wood, so i wouldn´t go with bubinga in that case...

and for a fretboard, i just want something that´s not too bright, but not too dark either... that Illustrated Luthier´s Bulb and Tosin 8 strings had nice fretboards, not bright, but not dark... that´s the kind of thing i´m going for with the fretboard

the finish will be a sort of transparent red satin-ish finish, like the Loomis signature Schecter.

[metalfiend666]

Looking at the descriptions there, if you like the sound of wenge, padouk's an option too. Both wenge and padouk look awesome as neck woods with purpleheart stripes.

[MF_Kitten]

i looked at padouk too, yeah, but it would be neck wood in that case, because i like the slight more sharpness in wenge...

also, walnut, anyone?

[Scarpie]

Originally Posted by MF_Kitten

i want the same neck and body wood because i like the sound of a guitar that´s all the same wood, like a mahogany neck/mahogany body guitar...

+1,000,000,000

especially at that combo. all mahogany is the shit.

as far as walnut, it's musical properties don't differ too dramatically from mahogany. so i would just get the stock wood for the octavia (all mahogany) besides walnut is more expensive and sounds too similar to mahogany therefore not worth the extra $.

[MF_Kitten]

i believe walnut is much brighter though?

i want a brighter body wood... mahogany is nice untill it becomes muddy... concider the fact that i´ll be tuning this babe down to E...

also, i´m sorta tingly about the Wenge? :P

anyone know anything about that lovely wenge?

and if mahogany is relly a good neck/body wood for an 8 string, could someone share their stories and try to convince me?

i´m open to suggestions :P

[metalfiend666]

I know wenge is used a lot for bass necks, so if you're looking at an 8 string it's a good choice.

[FortePenance]

Wenge neck with bubinga stripes, ala Ibanez SR505. That combination feels oddly nice. Wenge bodies? well, never played one but boutique ERB builders seem to like using them.

And tuning down to E sounds peculiar haha. @_@

[MF_Kitten]

hehe i´m going down to Drop E, so it´s standard 8-string tuning, and then you drop the F down to E...

also, the Wenge being used by boutique bass-luthiers and stuff, and it having a nice reputation, makes me want it...

and about the neck, i could have:

Wenge-bubinga-maple-bubinga-wenge?

or

Wenge-bubinga-mahogany-bubinga-wenge?

which one?