Rosewood Neck?

[siv]

So.. it looks like I'm in to Anderson #3. I just made trade arrangements for a '98 cobra special with 2 p90's. Should be fun... I've wanted P90's for a while. It does not have a rosewood neck, but I've played a few guitars lately with them that have really peaked my interest.

What are your experiences with RW necks? The ones I've played felt great and seemed to give a bit more pop to the sound. Am I crazy? Tom - what are your thoughts? Are they any more stable than mahogany or maple? Worth the cost?

Please share your knowledge....

[pipedwho]

I have a RW neck on a Hollow Cobra S. The neck seems to miss out on the slight upper mid emphasis that is a characteristic of mahogany necks. It also seems to grunt a little deeper - sort of like there is a slightly scooped mid with a more prominent lower mid. The top end sparkle is all still there in spades, so tonally it works very well. Very smooth and 'jazzy' if that makes any sense. My HCS is quite a 'dark' sounding guitar in comparison to an all mahogany solid bodied beast, but most of that is due to the chambering.

The neck feels ultra smooth and is as playable as every other Anderson neck, so no surprises there. But, it has the additional stability and rigidity of a maple neck and less of the 'sproing' that you get from a more flexible mahogany neck.

They also look awesome. The price difference is negligible when considering the overall cost of the guitar. The real question is whether or not it does what you want tonally.

[siv]

That's an incredibly helpful description! I feel like a re neck would be well paid with p90s. Any other firsthand experience? Tom, have you ever played with other woods or rosewoods? Pau fero or brazillian or another African rosewood? What's the difference even just for freeboard wood?

[tom]

i'll agree with piped about the sound of rosewood. i miss the fat upper mid and sweet compressed highs that i love about mahogany necks when i play it. if you're after a fast attack and articulation, the rosewood is hard to beat.
pau ferro and african necks are very hard sounding, lots of fundamental with not so much harmonics.
in fingerboard form, pf does a similar thing, less exaggerated but still hard upper mids with no really high stuff.
the other rosewoods we're seeing these days from south america are all on the harder heavier side and lack the sweetness of indian.

[siv]

Thanks Tom... that's good to know as well. I'll have to see... maybe by the time you've made this semi hollow bulldog type thing I'll be ready to custom order something... In the mean time, I'll enjoy playing what I've got!