Those nuts even sound different when you drop them on the work bench. The black ones are bright and glassy, while white Tusq just sound like plastic to me.
@@warmoth he's being sarcastic what he is saying is since there's no real difference between the two neck sounds so we might as well just be listening to the difference between the nuts 😂
@@warmoth Hey Aaron: how about a video comparing different fretboard woods, sorta like you did with vintage vs. modern neck construction video? For example, rosewood vs. maple vs. ebony?
Or, if you're a mature educated adult, you see no need to consume poisonous mind-altering substances which have addicted and killed more people than all wars combined, along with destroying more marriages, careers, and families then by any other means.
Interesting... on the clean stuff, the roasted sounds warmer, not as clear as regular maple....but on the distorted tones, I think the roasted cuts better. I’m a fan of the roasted necks for many reasons. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
Way to go Aaron! Most other comparisons I've seen online aren't able to keep all the variables the same. Most have different fretboard radiuses. You're the best!
Aaron, You are the reason I now own two amazing warmoth guitars that I specd out and assembled during lockdown with a third build on the way. These videos and builds have gotten me through lockdown and I am ever so grateful for you taking the time to do these demos and videos explaining all the detailed options available. It get us fellow guitar enthusiasts excited about amazing quality Warmoth products and service that hasn't disappointed despite the pandemic. Keep up the good work and "keep on picking"
I've got 2 basses with your roasted maple necks. The improvement in playability goes without saying but the improvement in tone is beyond what I hoped for! Thanks again guys!
The midrange structure is definitely different. The tightness of the roasted maple is very desirable and the smooth high mids make it seem great for the blues, not to mention the tuning stability differences. Here’s a suggestion for another video if you haven’t already, is to test tuning stability roasted vs not over time in a time lapsed video with equal playing time storage etc. great video
The biggest difference I caught was in the lead example at the end. The roasted maple neck seems to be catching harmonic overtones. I know that sound because out of all my guitars, only one does it. I've had multiple pickups in it and it's always present, I think it has to do with the relationship between the woods in the neck and body. You've got the winning combo there, I wouldn't change out that roasted maple neck for anything haha
I thought it would me more of a harmonic thing than bright/ dark thing. I could hear a difference, but I'm not sure how to describe it. The standard maybe less tame.
Like you said Aaron, the isolated changes are very subtle , glad you’re doing some real scientific tests to verify these common guitar perceptions. I love my roasted maple neck , it just feels amazing every day when I pick up the guitar!
I love these tests that you do with the different components Aaron! I thought the difference was very subtle as well but did notice the slightly brighter high end on the roasted neck too. On a couple of the tests, I purposely scrolled the video down so I couldn't see when you switched and I didn't even notice the jump between the two parts. That really is a testament to how closely you play the parts the same way. Nice going!
To my ears, the roasted maple had more definition especially dirty. The notes popped more with it. I opened this thinking I wouldn't be able to hear a difference, maple is maple, but it was pretty apparent.
@@KAIOabstrct Many listen with their eyes and hear what they want to hear, that's why. Neck doesn't really have any tonality in itself, much less in an electric guitar. Here's a great vid that really goes into the meat and potatoes of where the tone comes from; czcams.com/video/n02tImce3AE/video.html It's 12 min so it's not too long and is accurate.
I heard a slight but definite difference in the two maple necks. The roasted maple neck had a slightly brighter but nice sparkle to it with a more defined mid-range and low end. In a word, the roasted maple neck had a more "produced" sound to it. In a recording, this may be significant. In a live setting, likely wouldn't matter much. A lot of what we hear or think we hear is about perception more than audible difference. That said, I think I would opt for the roasted maple neck. I do think finish on wood makes a difference in the overall tone stew. I definitely would be interested in hearing this comparison using unfinished maple necks. Great job!! I've been a user and fan of Warmoth guitar necks for decades!!
For me, the notes on chords are more separated and distinct on the roasted neck. The roasted neck also has a little more sustain. Chords on the standard maple can get a tad bit muddy sounding. I'm getting ready to order my third neck so I watched this video to see if I wanted to change back to regular maple on one of the necks. The first two roasted maple Strat necks are great albeit some cracking problems when installing one of them. That's something everyone working with roasted maple should be aware of. I love the brighter look of the standard maple but after watching this video, I'm sticking with roasted on the third neck too. I live in southern Louisiana and humidity can be a problem especially at outdoor gigs. It's nice to know that the roasted maple more impervious to moisture, especially when a light lacquer finish is applied.
@@warmoth Funny humidity story (I have several), we were playing an outdoor gig at the Indian Hills Nudist Park in Lacombe, La. As soon as I hit the property, we had one of those cloud burst deluges that drop about 4" of rain in an hour. You know what it's like after the water hits that hot asphalt; you can swim in the humidity. That night when it cooled down a little, all of my vintage guitars were completely soaked and I had to keep a towel in my pocket and wipe the neck off about every minute or so just so I could play. I thought I had ruined everything because they were vintage guitars and really didn't have much finish left on them. Plus, I had my 1960 Bassman out there. By the way, people that join those nudist parks are not pretty. I'll stick with something that is almost impervious to that humidity.
Interesting difference! I love these videos. One thing I'd be fascinated to see in a future video is a comparison between a Warmoth hard maple body and a more commonly used body material such as mahogany. I see speculation online that hard maple guitar bodies would have too bright of a sound, and others who swear the sound is usable and amazing. Warmoth could put this to the test!
@@MisterRorschach90 ...including Warmoth. They had a Tele Rosewood neck in stock until this weekend and had Brazilian Ebony necks in stock recently (although likely a trial run, not something always available).
@@MisterRorschach90 I don't know if this interests you.. Phillip McKnight did a nice tone comparison of the one piece rosewood neck guitar, compared to an identical guitar with raw maple neck. czcams.com/video/C1J-0hyDEIE/video.html
I replaced the next on my Strat with a Warmoth roasted maple neck. Didn't notice any tone difference, but it sure feels way better. So slick and precise.
I love my roasted maple necks. Not sure I'll ever get another regular neck that requires a finish. One bit of advice for one-piece roasted maple or roasted maple on roasted maple: Get the white side dots rather than the black ones. In a darkened room or stage it is nearly impossible to see the black side dots because of the darker wood. But the white dots stand out just fine. If you already have one with the black side dots, a little dab of white nail polish or model airplane paint on each dot fixes the issue, and can be lightly sanded off if you ever decide to sell it.
Oh man, I found this out the hard way. I made 2 custom guitars with roasted flame maple necks. The dots were made from paua abalone. I can't see them at all under the lights in a stage! Ive even made mistakes playing live because of it...Its so frustrating because the guitars were not cheap and are dream builds but I fucked up on the inlay material, should have gone with white pearloid. Now I can put stickers but it may damage the nitro finish. Getting new necks is very expensive as well for both guitars. Maybe ill have to compromise and put the stickers on....lesson learned
I’m sticking with regular necks. I’ve seen some photos of roasted necks with cracks. They look amazing but there is that possibility of cracking that lurks
Absolutely hear it. And agree with everything you said. I think the roasted as is would cut through killer in a mix, but neither has any quality that couldn't easily be shaped like the other with EQ. In fact that's what they sound like, the same guitar EQd differently.
Aaron, we all know you love free guitars - who doesn't? - so could you guys make a video of you actually picking out woods and parts and putting a guitar together step by step? I'd like to see the entire pricess from a piece of wood to a finished guitar 🙂
Great video .. confirms there is no noticeable difference for me, purely an aesthetic thing.. that guitar looks better with a roasted neck, therefore the roasted neck sounds better 🤣🤘🎸😆😂
I’m actually shocked that I could hear a slight, slight difference. The Roasted Maple seemed to have a bit more “clarity” in its fundamental, and the underlying harmonics. That seemed to be true across all gain levels? The fact that you can have a stable neck that is unfinished, is a HUGE bonus. My next project will have a Roasted Maple neck… I have always used Warmoth Necks ONLY. ABSOLUTELY THE BEST.
I thought there was a very subtle difference between the two necks. When you were playing clean, the roasted maple neck seemed to prove a little more high-end response, however, when you pour on the dirt the difference pretty much disappears. That kind of surprised me, because I thought (or assumed) it would be the other way around. I did wonder if the necks were finished or not, but you did clarify that at the end of the video. I think I would go for the roasted maple neck, mainly because I like the way it looks. A roasted flame-maple neck would look very nice.
You’re a beauty Aaron. Thanks for the time and effort. Not enough tone difference for me to worry about but the look, feel and stability definitely is. Cheers.
Oh I missed these comparisons! Glad to see a new one. And yes that's my experience as well. Roasted maple necks seem to be super tight but also have less body. Which can be helped with a fatback profile I suppose! PS I'd love to hear bass comparisons as well!
Warmoth's one-piece raw maple necks generally sound fat in the low-mids, just like Aaron said. That wasn't news to me. I prefer the tone of the roasted maple.
To me the maple neck had a bit of a squishy tone in the mids and high end, where the roasted was more crisp and clear. I definitely liked the roasted more, the tone was much more accentuated with a light overdrive
Interesting comparison. I hear a difference but it's hard to categorize....in a way the roasted sounds a bit brighter but that's not quite it....maybe clearer. I think the response of the wood is complicated and you get a different response to various techniques/styles of playing and types of music that you're playing. I think I prefer the roasted but need to try it for myself to know.
Yes, I agree Aaron! I would argue that the to my ears the roasted maple neck had more Presence and definitely a tighter lowe end. You can hear the differences in the low end more clearly in the distortion riffs! Thanks for making such good videos! They are quite insightful (especially the tone tests)
Exactly. At first roasted sounded warmer for me, while I expected brighter, but in the end, while I used to that order, roasted started to sound brighter suddenly. In the end I liked roasted one for clear tones more and normal one for distortion. For some reason roasted sounded overdistorted for me. Too much harmonies.
The raw maple tends to have an emphasis on the mids, so it can sometimes sound brighter when playing through a distorted amp. There are also differences in the clean tone depending which part of the neck is being played, whether its open chords or higher up the neck.
@@helixworld I found really interesting that some playing "styles" sounded brighter like arpeggios while open chords sounded warmer, but like Aaron said, it's not really noticeable. I guess it all comes down to the adding longevity and less seasonal arching due to the roasted process
@@taokichavez9319 I'm not sure I hear things the same way as you. I'm not saying its right or wrong. When he plays the chords with raw maple at 2:52, I hear the D and G strings getting a boost, but the higher notes in the chord are getting a bit lost. Whereas with the roasted maple, all the stings can be clearly heard. IMO the roasted maple is makes a clearer and more balanced sounding guitar in this case. For people who are critical listeners and have good hearing its noticeable, but for actually making music its probably not so important.
@@helixworld well, I meant it's noticeable but not enough to make a huge difference in the overall sound like a different wood, body construction, pickups setting, strings and so on. And that is not even considering the amplifier and effects factor. Like I said, it's interesting but not critical
I think that those factors are if not well known, talked about enough to the point that someone deciding would take them into account in addition to this video's details.
Roasted wood is pretty much sealed against moisture at the surface so it doesn't change in weight or dimension over time. You can order and play them unfinished. Regular maple is more porous to movement of moisture in/out of the wood so in a dry climate it can shrink a bit over time, causing fret sprout... but that's usually nothing more serious than a quick once-over with a fret end file. Even lacquer finished maple necks can settle over time causing sprout, while I think roasted necks should not. Warmoth will warranty an unfinished roasted neck, but if you don't finish a raw maple neck you're on your own - it's because unfinished raw maple can be more prone to humps and warping than roasted. This doesn't mean every unfinished or sanded-down raw neck will warp, it's just a chance you take if you go that route. For greatest stability in every case I would order a Boatneck profile, there's simply more solid wood there. 1 inch neck depth.
I would agree. I heard the brightness in the roasted neck. Both are great and definitely very slight. I would agree that the aesthetics of matching the body and the neck are important. It is nice to know how those decisions will impact the tone of the instrument. Great video. I learn something every time.
Dang! On my monitorings, TV and phone: can't hear a noticeable difference! I'm very happy with my latest Warmoth Maple Flame Roasted Neck purchase! Unboxing / Review / Build ➡️ Slap my face ! 😉👍
I too heard a very small increase in high frequencies with the roasted maple neck. But again, it was very subtle, so other preferences such as color, price, feel, cosmetics, should probably take precedence over this very small difference.
Love your tone tests. The effort you put in to give the most unbiased examples. This was interesting, very small but still audible difference. As if the roasted one was the slightest bit "softer", darker, less mid present to me. I suppose I'm trying to say more balanced over the whole spectrum. Here's a couple of ideas I'm interested to hear: Neck constructions (bolt-on, set-neck, neck-thru, I know they're different but how much if you keep the other parameters the same?), Bridges (telecaster, stratocaster, tune-o-matic, evertune, floyd rose, even bigsby? People say they can hear the difference between two-point and synchronized six screws strat bridge even, and I "know" that a floyd will change the tone. Supposedly tele bridge also affects the pickup operation) and Nuts (there are so many options, whatever plastic, bone, TUSQ, brass, zero fret and it's another one of those critical points where the string sits and it's supposed to change the tone more or less noticeably). Oh and your talk about finish at the end of the video brought up this to my mind: many people have said that when they removed the lacquer from their neck, or the paint, it became significantly brighter to the point they couldn't stand it. There's another idea for the video, painted vs clean necks, on top of that finished vs unfinished necks. And same for body I guess, sometimes people claim cheap guitars have the thickest paint jobs killing the body, and that removing the body finish or only lacquering it makes a clear difference.
There's definitely an overall improvement with the roasted maple, but it's a small difference. Would I pay for it? Yes. The roasted wood sounds more open and resonant. There only one thing about the roasted maple that gives me pause. In my dreams I want a transparent blue guitar with a matching blue headstock, and the color of roasted maple makes a transparent blue finish less vibrant. I also want a vintage tint gloss on the neck, but that has a similar effect over a blue finish, so I'm hoping Warmoth can do a non-roasted peghead veneer and spray the peghead front with clear varnish , but the rest of the neck with the vintage tint varnish. If not, I'll have to consider a different color finish than blue, or just go with a non-roasted neck. The truth is, unroasted maple has always been good enough in the past, and as I said, the different, while noticeable in direct A/B testing, is small. Decisions, decisions!
I heard precisely...........zero difference in this test, at least trough YT sound compression. In the past, the biggest sound difference in these Warmoth tests i heard, came from the neck thickness test, but most surprising to me, the fingerboard material test, which made a more drastic difference than i was expecting.
When I first listened I heard a slightly brighter tone from the roasted maple. Then I closed my eyes for a better comparison and there was no difference. I did that because I didn't want to be swayed by my eyes.
I've built a parts--caster (about 2.5 years ago) using a Warmoth Korina body and a Musikraft roasted maple neck and besides the incredible sustain this combo produces the main issue for me is the stability of this neck : no fret-sprout (i.e. the neck does not shrink when the air gets dry in the winter months > the fret ends do not start to protrude out of the fingerboard), it simply does not move one iota. I'm a happy camper and the extra cost was well worth it for me !
You could play them both raw if you apply a very thin oil and wax 'gunstock' style finish a la Roy Buchanan. Can look up videos on how to sand any neck and do this. The fine sanding just takes a little bit of patience. A gunstock finish helps keep the neck surface very clean (it still feels like raw wood, super slippery) but there isn't an obnoxious layer of finish causing any internal reflection or damping. An unsealed raw neck may move and warp over time, it's just the luck of what piece of maple you got and how the internal stresses release over time due to moisture movement (hopefully, you only get a small amount of overall shrinkage which doesn't ruin playability.)
You do a good job with these. I could hear the slight extra brightness of the roasted neck, mainly in the cleaner tones. You might consider organizing things more in terms of gain levels. I saw a Rick Beato video that compared gauges of strings, and it was quite apparent there that gain levels really affect how the underlying setup works.
I stuck my neck in the oven to roast it. I guess I should have taken the tuners off because they changed color. The binding is all messed up too. Heck it sounds so roasted now though. So worth the sacrifices. It sounds amazing
Aaron is a champion. So nice to us ❤️ Seems to me that the difference between them, tonally, is so negligible that you should just pick whichever you think looks nicer w/ your build 😅 Is one more stable than the other, though? 🧐
Seems to me like the Roasted Maple is more harmonically rich than the regular maple. Two or three years ago I bought a roasted maple neck from Warmoth for a Telicaster project. I went with the stainless steel fret wire, and I had a nitrocellulose finish put on it, along with the ebony compensating nut. I put this on a homemade telicaster I found in the trash at an acquaintance house who said that he made the guitar in high school in his father's cabinet shop. He was throwing it out because he thought it was a piece of shit. So I took it home just to see if it evan would work. And wouldn't you know , it was a player, with a bad neck. But still a player. I put the new neck on it along with a Babicz bridge and some scholler short locking tuning machines on it. It's my go to guitar. I actually prefer it over my American delux stratocaster with all of its bells and whistles. It just has a tone and playability that I prefer.
I heard a bit of difference and also have a Warmoth roasted maple super flamed too on a complete Warmoth tele build. Since I’m not able to do the test personally I’ll probably never know for certain. Luv your demos and looking forward to any build project.
big difference! regular is very clear, bell-like and "talky" - no place to hide. roasted adds a huge blanket of mids to the tone and takes off extreme high end and maybe some of the lows too, perfect for a player like me who doesn't want every nuance heard. roasted is the one i'd go for...
Thanks for the work! If you didn't know this was a compare video you wouldn't tell the difference, especially in the wild. Are you sure a black nut sounds the same as a white nut? :^)
thanks for this video. Assuming everything is the same, other than the necks…. What really stood out to me, watching on an old iPhone… the rhythm sounded much better on the roasted neck, due to the slight nasal character. It is very desirable and classic. However, the more distorted sounds are hard to discern the difference. Maybe, the cleans are slightly more even on the natural. ? That could just be a difference caused by other things? So I’m probably leaning towards the roasted, since it has other desirable properties. It would be interesting to see more of these, with other woods, and especially, other types of guitars & pickups. Likely, there is a sweet spot for each guitar style or pickup style, and sound/genre. For example, does a snappier wood sound better with twangy style pickups on a tele? Does a rounded buttery wood work better with hum buckers, for soloing? I’m sure there’s somebody, a luthier, who already knows this.
Great comparison! Thanks for the effort put into this video. Listening here through a bi-amped system with a crossover at 200hz. It sounds like the roasted maple neck samples have more immediate attack and a focused tone in the upper mids. The regular maple neck seems to spread the harmonic content more evenly, which sounds like a boost in the low mids with a less pronounced string attack on single notes by comparison. It must be the color of the nut! (just kidding =)
I did not hear a super big difference. Perhaps CZcams compression might have tweaked it. I have been wondering why there is no option for quartersawn roasted maple in your options ... I would think that would be the benefit of the grain pattern *and* the caramelized "more stable" state of being roasted combined. I am also wondering when Warmoth would offer Evertune bridges, to build modern Super S types recipe.
I appreciate the lengths you go to in order to isolate the feature you're comparing. The ordinary maple is perhaps a little more 'midsy'? I'd have to listen again. It would be interesting to do, as a control, two different maple necks, or two different roasted maple necks, just to see how much the actual piece of wood that you get affects the tone.
Finally a demonstration on the clear tonal differences between white and black tusq nuts!
What the????!!! Lol. :)
Those nuts even sound different when you drop them on the work bench. The black ones are bright and glassy, while white Tusq just sound like plastic to me.
@@helixworld The man knows his nuts.
@@warmoth he's being sarcastic what he is saying is since there's no real difference between the two neck sounds so we might as well just be listening to the difference between the nuts 😂
@@helixworld Man, i feel the same of you about the sound. But i was wondering If that was not the rostead thing. Or the finish
For me, and my untrained ears, it comes down to the aesthetics. What neck looks best with the body finish.
I am a simple man.
Gods will
same for me
Everybody talking about the necks but nobody mentions Aaron's slick jacket
Honestly, not sure he needs the jacket with those "hot" licks he's got stockpiled - I'll see myself out...
Haha....it just feels right, like something Joe Satriani would wear. :)
@@warmoth Looks super comfy and stylish. But how versatile is it? ;)
Aaron look like he's about to drop the hottest track time of 2021 on Nuremberg
@@warmoth Hey Aaron: how about a video comparing different fretboard woods, sorta like you did with vintage vs. modern neck construction video? For example, rosewood vs. maple vs. ebony?
Compared to light beer, darker lager definitely makes me less bright but a lot louder.
I agree most bone headedly.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
😂😂😂👌👌
You are correct sir beer always makes me louder
Or, if you're a mature educated adult, you see no need to consume poisonous mind-altering substances which have addicted and killed more people than all wars combined, along with destroying more marriages, careers, and families then by any other means.
Interesting... on the clean stuff, the roasted sounds warmer, not as clear as regular maple....but on the distorted tones, I think the roasted cuts better.
I’m a fan of the roasted necks for many reasons.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
I'm with Aaron on this, Roasted maple seemed tighter and brighter
Way to go Aaron! Most other comparisons I've seen online aren't able to keep all the variables the same. Most have different fretboard radiuses. You're the best!
Aaron, You are the reason I now own two amazing warmoth guitars that I specd out and assembled during lockdown with a third build on the way. These videos and builds have gotten me through lockdown and I am ever so grateful for you taking the time to do these demos and videos explaining all the detailed options available. It get us fellow guitar enthusiasts excited about amazing quality Warmoth products and service that hasn't disappointed despite the pandemic. Keep up the good work and "keep on picking"
Thanks Heavenreck....that means a lot!
I thought the roasted maple neck sounded more like a French horn than the regular maple. I did not expect that.
John Entwistle would have liked that.
Definitely dude......regular maple was more well rounded and baked was way to snappy
lol
I've got 2 basses with your roasted maple necks. The improvement in playability goes without saying but the improvement in tone is beyond what I hoped for! Thanks again guys!
Did you get the neck with a finish or without?
@@tonyinbrazil1 Got them unfinished. Been a few years and zero issues. Plus they feel killer!
The BEST comparison videos on YT but far… These cover every variable us indecisive guitarists could conjure up. 👍👍👍👍👍
The midrange structure is definitely different. The tightness of the roasted maple is very desirable and the smooth high mids make it seem great for the blues, not to mention the tuning stability differences. Here’s a suggestion for another video if you haven’t already, is to test tuning stability roasted vs not over time in a time lapsed video with equal playing time storage etc. great video
The biggest difference I caught was in the lead example at the end. The roasted maple neck seems to be catching harmonic overtones. I know that sound because out of all my guitars, only one does it. I've had multiple pickups in it and it's always present, I think it has to do with the relationship between the woods in the neck and body. You've got the winning combo there, I wouldn't change out that roasted maple neck for anything haha
Subtle difference for sure. The roasted one sounds tighter, but the standard maple one sounds more rounded.
I Agree
I thought it would me more of a harmonic thing than bright/ dark thing. I could hear a difference, but I'm not sure how to describe it. The standard maybe less tame.
It comes down to feel IMO. The roasted maple just feels like an old friend.
the regular maple sounds great but there seems to be an extra "oomph" to the roastie than the regular
its too pronounce, it lacks fullness
Like you said Aaron, the isolated changes are very subtle , glad you’re doing some real scientific tests to verify these common guitar perceptions. I love my roasted maple neck , it just feels amazing every day when I pick up the guitar!
The best comparison videos as usual. Well done!!! The difference is subtle but existent. Keep up the good work!
Cool test as usual! The roasted maple has a bit of a darker, richer sound for my ears, I'd go with that.
I love these tests that you do with the different components Aaron! I thought the difference was very subtle as well but did notice the slightly brighter high end on the roasted neck too. On a couple of the tests, I purposely scrolled the video down so I couldn't see when you switched and I didn't even notice the jump between the two parts. That really is a testament to how closely you play the parts the same way. Nice going!
It’s all in the tone-pigment in the nut.
To my ears, the roasted maple had more definition especially dirty. The notes popped more with it. I opened this thinking I wouldn't be able to hear a difference, maple is maple, but it was pretty apparent.
🌟
I agree, There is a brilliance and definition in the roasted one that the regular one doesn't have. Im shocked not everyone heard this.
@@KAIOabstrct Many listen with their eyes and hear what they want to hear, that's why. Neck doesn't really have any tonality in itself, much less in an electric guitar.
Here's a great vid that really goes into the meat and potatoes of where the tone comes from; czcams.com/video/n02tImce3AE/video.html It's 12 min so it's not too long and is accurate.
So black nuts don't give a darker sound?
these comparison videos you guys do are state of the art, great stuff
I heard a slight but definite difference in the two maple necks. The roasted maple neck had a slightly brighter but nice sparkle to it with a more defined mid-range and low end. In a word, the roasted maple neck had a more "produced" sound to it. In a recording, this may be significant. In a live setting, likely wouldn't matter much. A lot of what we hear or think we hear is about perception more than audible difference. That said, I think I would opt for the roasted maple neck. I do think finish on wood makes a difference in the overall tone stew. I definitely would be interested in hearing this comparison using unfinished maple necks. Great job!! I've been a user and fan of Warmoth guitar necks for decades!!
I thought the roasted had tighter and more forward mids...
thats what I heard, not like id be able to pick one or the other out in a blind test tho
For me, the notes on chords are more separated and distinct on the roasted neck. The roasted neck also has a little more sustain. Chords on the standard maple can get a tad bit muddy sounding. I'm getting ready to order my third neck so I watched this video to see if I wanted to change back to regular maple on one of the necks. The first two roasted maple Strat necks are great albeit some cracking problems when installing one of them. That's something everyone working with roasted maple should be aware of. I love the brighter look of the standard maple but after watching this video, I'm sticking with roasted on the third neck too. I live in southern Louisiana and humidity can be a problem especially at outdoor gigs. It's nice to know that the roasted maple more impervious to moisture, especially when a light lacquer finish is applied.
I live just a couple blocks down from you in southern Georgia, and humidity here is nuts too. My roasted maple necks shrug it off like it is nothing.
@@warmoth Funny humidity story (I have several), we were playing an outdoor gig at the Indian Hills Nudist Park in Lacombe, La. As soon as I hit the property, we had one of those cloud burst deluges that drop about 4" of rain in an hour. You know what it's like after the water hits that hot asphalt; you can swim in the humidity. That night when it cooled down a little, all of my vintage guitars were completely soaked and I had to keep a towel in my pocket and wipe the neck off about every minute or so just so I could play. I thought I had ruined everything because they were vintage guitars and really didn't have much finish left on them. Plus, I had my 1960 Bassman out there. By the way, people that join those nudist parks are not pretty. I'll stick with something that is almost impervious to that humidity.
Interesting difference! I love these videos.
One thing I'd be fascinated to see in a future video is a comparison between a Warmoth hard maple body and a more commonly used body material such as mahogany. I see speculation online that hard maple guitar bodies would have too bright of a sound, and others who swear the sound is usable and amazing. Warmoth could put this to the test!
Can we get a Rosewood vs Ebony fretboard sometime?
Those are not neck woods. Rather, they are fingerboard woods.
yess!! +1 on this video!
@@TallSomeone there are high end guitar luthiers who make necks out of those woods.
@@MisterRorschach90 ...including Warmoth. They had a Tele Rosewood neck in stock until this weekend and had Brazilian Ebony necks in stock recently (although likely a trial run, not something always available).
@@MisterRorschach90 I don't know if this interests you.. Phillip McKnight did a nice tone comparison of the one piece rosewood neck guitar, compared to an identical guitar with raw maple neck. czcams.com/video/C1J-0hyDEIE/video.html
I replaced the next on my Strat with a Warmoth roasted maple neck. Didn't notice any tone difference, but it sure feels way better. So slick and precise.
Aaron, great work! I always appreciate the diligence you put into your videos! Thanks
6:22 Exactly! You have to change the whole recipe. Know what sound you're trying to get and pick the right ingredients to get you close!
I love my roasted maple necks. Not sure I'll ever get another regular neck that requires a finish. One bit of advice for one-piece roasted maple or roasted maple on roasted maple: Get the white side dots rather than the black ones. In a darkened room or stage it is nearly impossible to see the black side dots because of the darker wood. But the white dots stand out just fine. If you already have one with the black side dots, a little dab of white nail polish or model airplane paint on each dot fixes the issue, and can be lightly sanded off if you ever decide to sell it.
I agree!
Oh man, I found this out the hard way. I made 2 custom guitars with roasted flame maple necks. The dots were made from paua abalone. I can't see them at all under the lights in a stage! Ive even made mistakes playing live because of it...Its so frustrating because the guitars were not cheap and are dream builds but I fucked up on the inlay material, should have gone with white pearloid. Now I can put stickers but it may damage the nitro finish. Getting new necks is very expensive as well for both guitars. Maybe ill have to compromise and put the stickers on....lesson learned
I’m sticking with regular necks. I’ve seen some photos of roasted necks with cracks. They look amazing but there is that possibility of cracking that lurks
Absolutely hear it. And agree with everything you said.
I think the roasted as is would cut through killer in a mix, but neither has any quality that couldn't easily be shaped like the other with EQ.
In fact that's what they sound like, the same guitar EQd differently.
Aaron, we all know you love free guitars - who doesn't? - so could you guys make a video of you actually picking out woods and parts and putting a guitar together step by step? I'd like to see the entire pricess from a piece of wood to a finished guitar 🙂
Great video .. confirms there is no noticeable difference for me, purely an aesthetic thing.. that guitar looks better with a roasted neck, therefore the roasted neck sounds better 🤣🤘🎸😆😂
lol
Power of suggestion for sure.
I’m actually shocked that I could hear a slight, slight difference. The Roasted Maple seemed to have a bit more “clarity” in its fundamental, and the underlying harmonics. That seemed to be true across all gain levels?
The fact that you can have a stable neck that is unfinished, is a HUGE bonus. My next project will have a Roasted Maple neck…
I have always used Warmoth Necks ONLY. ABSOLUTELY THE BEST.
Aaron just makes quarantine so much better!
Fantastic demos, every one! I appreciate the brief back to back comparison, very effective
I thought there was a very subtle difference between the two necks. When you were playing clean, the roasted maple neck seemed to prove a little more high-end response, however, when you pour on the dirt the difference pretty much disappears. That kind of surprised me, because I thought (or assumed) it would be the other way around.
I did wonder if the necks were finished or not, but you did clarify that at the end of the video.
I think I would go for the roasted maple neck, mainly because I like the way it looks. A roasted flame-maple neck would look very nice.
You’re a beauty Aaron. Thanks for the time and effort. Not enough tone difference for me to worry about but the look, feel and stability definitely is. Cheers.
I hear a different kind of attack in the roasted maple. Maybe more crispness in the cleans. Maybe just a touch darker with heavy distortion?
No you don't. You just think you do. You don't have bionic ears!
@@sihall1975 I hear what I hear
Oh I missed these comparisons! Glad to see a new one. And yes that's my experience as well. Roasted maple necks seem to be super tight but also have less body. Which can be helped with a fatback profile I suppose! PS I'd love to hear bass comparisons as well!
Always enjoy these videos and comparisons - presented in a way that only Aaron can. Thank you.
Love that Warhead headstock. Cool design.
Warmoth's one-piece raw maple necks generally sound fat in the low-mids, just like Aaron said. That wasn't news to me. I prefer the tone of the roasted maple.
To me the maple neck had a bit of a squishy tone in the mids and high end, where the roasted was more crisp and clear. I definitely liked the roasted more, the tone was much more accentuated with a light overdrive
Interesting comparison. I hear a difference but it's hard to categorize....in a way the roasted sounds a bit brighter but that's not quite it....maybe clearer. I think the response of the wood is complicated and you get a different response to various techniques/styles of playing and types of music that you're playing. I think I prefer the roasted but need to try it for myself to know.
Yes, I agree Aaron! I would argue that the to my ears the roasted maple neck had more Presence and definitely a tighter lowe end. You can hear the differences in the low end more clearly in the distortion riffs!
Thanks for making such good videos! They are quite insightful (especially the tone tests)
I have two of your roasted maple necks, one has a rosewood board. Both are awesome! Love your stuff!
The roasted maple neck sometimes sounded "brighter" sometimes "warmer" I'm totally confused, really interesting comparison though thanks for sharing!
Exactly. At first roasted sounded warmer for me, while I expected brighter, but in the end, while I used to that order, roasted started to sound brighter suddenly.
In the end I liked roasted one for clear tones more and normal one for distortion. For some reason roasted sounded overdistorted for me. Too much harmonies.
The raw maple tends to have an emphasis on the mids, so it can sometimes sound brighter when playing through a distorted amp. There are also differences in the clean tone depending which part of the neck is being played, whether its open chords or higher up the neck.
@@helixworld I found really interesting that some playing "styles" sounded brighter like arpeggios while open chords sounded warmer, but like Aaron said, it's not really noticeable. I guess it all comes down to the adding longevity and less seasonal arching due to the roasted process
@@taokichavez9319 I'm not sure I hear things the same way as you. I'm not saying its right or wrong. When he plays the chords with raw maple at 2:52, I hear the D and G strings getting a boost, but the higher notes in the chord are getting a bit lost. Whereas with the roasted maple, all the stings can be clearly heard. IMO the roasted maple is makes a clearer and more balanced sounding guitar in this case. For people who are critical listeners and have good hearing its noticeable, but for actually making music its probably not so important.
@@helixworld well, I meant it's noticeable but not enough to make a huge difference in the overall sound like a different wood, body construction, pickups setting, strings and so on. And that is not even considering the amplifier and effects factor. Like I said, it's interesting but not critical
200 to 400k range? i can't hear that high.
i just ordered a roasted replacement neck for my strat - can't wait.
great videos!
It’s important to speak on other virtues of the two woods. Does roasted stay more stable over time? What finishes help?
I think that those factors are if not well known, talked about enough to the point that someone deciding would take them into account in addition to this video's details.
Roasted wood is pretty much sealed against moisture at the surface so it doesn't change in weight or dimension over time. You can order and play them unfinished.
Regular maple is more porous to movement of moisture in/out of the wood so in a dry climate it can shrink a bit over time, causing fret sprout... but that's usually nothing more serious than a quick once-over with a fret end file. Even lacquer finished maple necks can settle over time causing sprout, while I think roasted necks should not.
Warmoth will warranty an unfinished roasted neck, but if you don't finish a raw maple neck you're on your own - it's because unfinished raw maple can be more prone to humps and warping than roasted.
This doesn't mean every unfinished or sanded-down raw neck will warp, it's just a chance you take if you go that route. For greatest stability in every case I would order a Boatneck profile, there's simply more solid wood there. 1 inch neck depth.
I would agree. I heard the brightness in the roasted neck. Both are great and definitely very slight. I would agree that the aesthetics of matching the body and the neck are important. It is nice to know how those decisions will impact the tone of the instrument. Great video. I learn something every time.
Dang! On my monitorings, TV and phone: can't hear a noticeable difference!
I'm very happy with my latest Warmoth Maple Flame Roasted Neck purchase!
Unboxing / Review / Build ➡️ Slap my face ! 😉👍
I too heard a very small increase in high frequencies with the roasted maple neck. But again, it was very subtle, so other preferences such as color, price, feel, cosmetics, should probably take precedence over this very small difference.
To my ears~the roasted maple just looks cooler~...lol...love all things Warmoth~great work dudes~
Love your tone tests. The effort you put in to give the most unbiased examples. This was interesting, very small but still audible difference. As if the roasted one was the slightest bit "softer", darker, less mid present to me. I suppose I'm trying to say more balanced over the whole spectrum.
Here's a couple of ideas I'm interested to hear:
Neck constructions (bolt-on, set-neck, neck-thru, I know they're different but how much if you keep the other parameters the same?),
Bridges (telecaster, stratocaster, tune-o-matic, evertune, floyd rose, even bigsby? People say they can hear the difference between two-point and synchronized six screws strat bridge even, and I "know" that a floyd will change the tone. Supposedly tele bridge also affects the pickup operation) and
Nuts (there are so many options, whatever plastic, bone, TUSQ, brass, zero fret and it's another one of those critical points where the string sits and it's supposed to change the tone more or less noticeably).
Oh and your talk about finish at the end of the video brought up this to my mind: many people have said that when they removed the lacquer from their neck, or the paint, it became significantly brighter to the point they couldn't stand it. There's another idea for the video, painted vs clean necks, on top of that finished vs unfinished necks. And same for body I guess, sometimes people claim cheap guitars have the thickest paint jobs killing the body, and that removing the body finish or only lacquering it makes a clear difference.
Brighter overall for the roasted. Might also be a bit more scooped in the lower mids.
There's definitely an overall improvement with the roasted maple, but it's a small difference. Would I pay for it? Yes. The roasted wood sounds more open and resonant.
There only one thing about the roasted maple that gives me pause. In my dreams I want a transparent blue guitar with a matching blue headstock, and the color of roasted maple makes a transparent blue finish less vibrant. I also want a vintage tint gloss on the neck, but that has a similar effect over a blue finish, so I'm hoping Warmoth can do a non-roasted peghead veneer and spray the peghead front with clear varnish , but the rest of the neck with the vintage tint varnish. If not, I'll have to consider a different color finish than blue, or just go with a non-roasted neck. The truth is, unroasted maple has always been good enough in the past, and as I said, the different, while noticeable in direct A/B testing, is small. Decisions, decisions!
I heard precisely...........zero difference in this test, at least trough YT sound compression.
In the past, the biggest sound difference in these Warmoth tests i heard, came from the neck thickness test, but most surprising to me, the fingerboard material test, which made a more drastic difference than i was expecting.
light is like an open door, and a dark door is not closed
When I first listened I heard a slightly brighter tone from the roasted maple. Then I closed my eyes for a better comparison and there was no difference. I did that because I didn't want to be swayed by my eyes.
Hearing slightly more harmonics from roasted maple.. spot on Aaron. Keep rocking and running dude
I believe I hear a subtle difference in the mids, really not something you'll notice in a mix. Neat video, guys!
Thank you - that took a lot of work. I agree with your results. they both sound good.
I've built a parts--caster (about 2.5 years ago) using a Warmoth Korina body and a Musikraft roasted maple neck and besides the incredible sustain this combo produces the main issue for me is the stability of this neck : no fret-sprout (i.e. the neck does not shrink when the air gets dry in the winter months > the fret ends do not start to protrude out of the fingerboard), it simply does not move one iota. I'm a happy camper and the extra cost was well worth it for me !
Here we could have a Danish guy with a German neck and an American body 🙂 🙂
For the finish, you could always test a roasted neck against itself, before and after being finished. Thanks for the vids!
Unfortunately roasting doesn't work that way. The lumber gets roasted before you cut the neck.
@@warmoth Sorry, I mean testing the same neck; once before and once after applying the finish (finish being lacquer, not completed). Cheers!
I was wanting a roasted maple neck and I would surely want it without finish so I can't wait for that test coming up. Thanks Aaron!
You could play them both raw if you apply a very thin oil and wax 'gunstock' style finish a la Roy Buchanan. Can look up videos on how to sand any neck and do this. The fine sanding just takes a little bit of patience.
A gunstock finish helps keep the neck surface very clean (it still feels like raw wood, super slippery) but there isn't an obnoxious layer of finish causing any internal reflection or damping.
An unsealed raw neck may move and warp over time, it's just the luck of what piece of maple you got and how the internal stresses release over time due to moisture movement (hopefully, you only get a small amount of overall shrinkage which doesn't ruin playability.)
You do a good job with these. I could hear the slight extra brightness of the roasted neck, mainly in the cleaner tones. You might consider organizing things more in terms of gain levels. I saw a Rick Beato video that compared gauges of strings, and it was quite apparent there that gain levels really affect how the underlying setup works.
I stuck my neck in the oven to roast it. I guess I should have taken the tuners off because they changed color. The binding is all messed up too. Heck it sounds so roasted now though. So worth the sacrifices. It sounds amazing
That thumbnail pic had me thinking of Michael Angelo Batio for some reason LOL! Beautiful guitars!
Aaron is a champion. So nice to us ❤️ Seems to me that the difference between them, tonally, is so negligible that you should just pick whichever you think looks nicer w/ your build 😅 Is one more stable than the other, though? 🧐
thx u for this VDO , great comparison
i also agree with u about the tone.
Man, God bless your ears... I cannot tell any difference... Good video...!
I got a roasted maple baritone neck from you and it’s the best baritone neck I’ve ever played. So stable
I appreciate your commitment to the scientific method.
Love the videos Aaron!
Please do a comparison of the same unfinished vs finished body. It'd blow up the internet (or at least the gear page)...
Seems to me like the Roasted Maple is more harmonically rich than the regular maple.
Two or three years ago I bought a roasted maple neck from Warmoth for a Telicaster project. I went with the stainless steel fret wire, and I had a nitrocellulose finish put on it, along with the ebony compensating nut.
I put this on a homemade telicaster I found in the trash at an acquaintance house who said that he made the guitar in high school in his father's cabinet shop. He was throwing it out because he thought it was a piece of shit.
So I took it home just to see if it evan would work. And wouldn't you know , it was a player, with a bad neck.
But still a player.
I put the new neck on it along with a Babicz bridge and some scholler short locking tuning machines on it.
It's my go to guitar.
I actually prefer it over my American delux stratocaster with all of its bells and whistles. It just has a tone and playability that I prefer.
I heard a bit of difference and also have a Warmoth roasted maple super flamed too on a complete Warmoth tele build. Since I’m not able to do the test personally I’ll probably never know for certain. Luv your demos and looking forward to any build project.
great comparison! i just ordered one. thanks! and great playing by the way.
Finally this video came out. Thanks! Are both necks quartersawn?, or just hard maple?
Yes, both were Qsawn.
Great video demonstration Aaron. IMO the roasted maple sounded brighter, slightly more distinct.
I sence more attack and brightness in the roasted.
I hear totally opposite man jejeje
big difference! regular is very clear, bell-like and "talky" - no place to hide. roasted adds a huge blanket of mids to the tone and takes off extreme high end and maybe some of the lows too, perfect for a player like me who doesn't want every nuance heard. roasted is the one i'd go for...
Exactly what I heard also
I love those warhead head stocks
Thanks for the work! If you didn't know this was a compare video you wouldn't tell the difference, especially in the wild. Are you sure a black nut sounds the same as a white nut? :^)
I have a warmoth fat 59 strat neck /body for over 15 yrs now, excellent quality
thanks for this video. Assuming everything is the same, other than the necks…. What really stood out to me, watching on an old iPhone… the rhythm sounded much better on the roasted neck, due to the slight nasal character. It is very desirable and classic. However, the more distorted sounds are hard to discern the difference. Maybe, the cleans are slightly more even on the natural. ? That could just be a difference caused by other things? So I’m probably leaning towards the roasted, since it has other desirable properties. It would be interesting to see more of these, with other woods, and especially, other types of guitars & pickups. Likely, there is a sweet spot for each guitar style or pickup style, and sound/genre. For example, does a snappier wood sound better with twangy style pickups on a tele? Does a rounded buttery wood work better with hum buckers, for soloing? I’m sure there’s somebody, a luthier, who already knows this.
Great comparison! Thanks for the effort put into this video. Listening here through a bi-amped system with a crossover at 200hz. It sounds like the roasted maple neck samples have more immediate attack and a focused tone in the upper mids. The regular maple neck seems to spread the harmonic content more evenly, which sounds like a boost in the low mids with a less pronounced string attack on single notes by comparison. It must be the color of the nut! (just kidding =)
I did not hear a super big difference. Perhaps CZcams compression might have tweaked it.
I have been wondering why there is no option for quartersawn roasted maple in your options ... I would think that would be the benefit of the grain pattern *and* the caramelized "more stable" state of being roasted combined.
I am also wondering when Warmoth would offer Evertune bridges, to build modern Super S types recipe.
You can get Roasted Qsawn if you call in.
One of the most beautiful headstocks.
Amazing content! Thanks for the good work, please keep it up!
Any chance of a video about "burnishing" roasted maple?
You make this a great channel, Thank you!
I really like to hear that roasted maple finished vs unfinished comparison!
Finally, a comparison of which neck I would sound more horrible on.
LOL. :)
Thank you for so usefull videos!
I would like to hear the defference between 22 and 24 fret neck
Roasted maple FTW! You can definitely hear playing dynamics coming through in the tone.
To my ears the maple neck sounded a little bit more open and the roasted version has a little more mids.
That's what I hear, too. I was expecting the opposite.
I appreciate the lengths you go to in order to isolate the feature you're comparing. The ordinary maple is perhaps a little more 'midsy'? I'd have to listen again. It would be interesting to do, as a control, two different maple necks, or two different roasted maple necks, just to see how much the actual piece of wood that you get affects the tone.