# Wenge neck, experiences?



## IkarusOnFire (Mar 21, 2012)

Hey good ppl of ss.org!

I am looking to hear your experience on wenge necks. Anyone ever had a wenge neck (no other woods, just wenge)? - if so, how was it (feel, soundwise, etc).

Has anyone had a wenge neck with another type of wood in it? (Wenge being the dominating wood)...how was that?

In short, let me know what your experience wenge as a neck wood is 

Thanks!


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## sk3ks1s (Mar 21, 2012)

I have a wenge neck started. I have played a bass with an all wenge neck. They feel spectacular. Since it's such a porous wood, you can really feel the texture of it underneath your hands. It is a naturally oily wood as well, but I'd still oil finish it. Also, beacuse it's so bloody hard, you can go nice and thin on the profile without sacrificing strength (to a certain degree, obviously).
If you're one of those tone-wood guys, then I would say it would lend itself to the sound/feel of a rosewood neck, maybe. I don't know this for sure. But they are both super dense, oily, and porous woods.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 21, 2012)

I owned a wenge necked Warwick Corvette Standard from back before they used ovankol. Warwick uses a very thin finish, so I was able to feel the grain, not that it was a bad thing, it just took a little adjusting to. I was more used to the maple necks of other guitars and basses I had owned, but I got used to the wenge very quickly. As for stability, the one piece neck handled climate change just fine. Compared to the ovankol models, it sounded just about the same.


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## ImBCRichBitch (Mar 21, 2012)

The BTB i played had a partly wenge neck i believ and it felt amazing


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## Levi79 (Mar 21, 2012)

I was thinking of using a wenge neck on my build, but the dude form Oni guitars steered me away from it. He said it's rubbery feeling and very open pored. Since my neck was going to have a tung oil finish I just went for maple. I don't have first hand experience, but this is what I heard from a dude who knows his shit


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## HighPotency (Mar 21, 2012)

Can't say anything about how they play or sound, but they are damn sexy.


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## HaMMerHeD (Mar 21, 2012)

I made this bass with a wenge neck:





And I am in the process of making this 7-string with a wenge+maple neck:





The bass neck has no finish, but the 7-string neck is getting Tung oil (because the maple needs to be protected).

Tone-wise...no comment. As for playability...after I "sanded" the bass neck up to 8,000 grit, it feels smoother than any finished maple neck I've used. Wenge feels nice, plays nice, and looks nice. It is an open-pored wood, but if you polish it sufficiently, the texture won't be off-putting. You can also fill the pores if you prefer the silky feel. I definitely wouldn't say it feels rubbery at all.

I guess...I'd need specific questions if you want to know any more.


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## IkarusOnFire (Mar 28, 2012)

I had completely forgotten about my own thread here.... sorry about that. Thanks for your great answers...I am hoping the wenge will have a very defined tone (I'm going for a 3P wenge neck on my custom)...but I've never seen a guitar with wenge only neck - so thanks for the feedback, it gives me some idea


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## Unknown Doodl3.2 (Mar 30, 2012)

Wenge to me sounds like maple but clearer and less harsh in the high end. It sounds like a "bell"; it is definitely one of the brighter exotic woods IMO. I once had a guitar with a wenge/mahogany/wenge neck and it had a really unique tone. Not too bad though!


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## manimal (May 26, 2014)

Wenge is a great neck wood. I have worked with is a bit and had instruments with it as a neck and i can say it is perfect if you prefer to feel the grain of the wood. Its incredibly stiff, especially when used as a 3 piece quarter sawn neck. The wood is actually a very dry wood if allowed to cure and sit for a good amount of time. It glues up very nicely. It is a heavy wood. So that is something for consideration if you are building with it. The tap tone of wenge is out of this world. It rings like a bell. It will transfer vibration very well as a neck through instrument. Carving it is a bit of a battle. Due to its extreme hardness and the grain varying much like ash going hard to soft, it can be a task. It also likes to splinter very easily and if splinters are left long enough, they have a high chance of infection. The wood has a dulling effect on cutting tools and machinery. 

Any questions? Haha


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## Benjamin Millar (May 26, 2014)

manimal said:


> Wenge is a great neck wood. I have worked with is a bit and had instruments with it as a neck and i can say it is perfect if you prefer to feel the grain of the wood. Its incredibly stiff, especially when used as a 3 piece quarter sawn neck. The wood is actually a very dry wood if allowed to cure and sit for a good amount of time. It glues up very nicely. It is a heavy wood. So that is something for consideration if you are building with it. The tap tone of wenge is out of this world. It rings like a bell. It will transfer vibration very well as a neck through instrument. Carving it is a bit of a battle. Due to its extreme hardness and the grain varying much like ash going hard to soft, it can be a task. It also likes to splinter very easily and if splinters are left long enough, they have a high chance of infection. The wood has a dulling effect on cutting tools and machinery.
> 
> Any questions? Haha



^ What he said!
It is an evil wood to work with (splinters, infection and constant sharpening of tools), but totally worth it.


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