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Wenge Neck Club
- Thread starter HowieD72
- Start date
I am really liking the Wenge neck on my jazz. Sound is similar to the roast maple neck I had previously, but this wenge neck has almost infinite sustain, it's freaky crazy. And that's on top of the amazing looks. Thanks, @HowieD72 for starting the club
I have a roast maple neck on my active jazz & it's a nice neck. I'd say a close resemblance in sound as my wenge neck jazz., but they do have the same single coil pickups also. Roasted Maple would be my 2nd choice although ebony looks nice.
Also, I was worried about the open grain wenge has feeling rough. Yeah, others have said it's fine, and Aaron at Warmoth did an exotic wood shootout video a few years ago where he said it was a fast feel. Well, OK, it's good, I admit. I think the open pores reduce the friction or something, dunno.
On looking at wenge, I thought the same. But man, oh man, I reckon the wenge necks are super-fast necks. And smooth......
The neck I bought was a generic ebay Chinese special. I had a previous Chinese maple neck that had a lot of fret issues I had to fix, but this neck is really good for a low price. A tiny bit of ski ramp on the last few frets, but no buzzing elsewhere or dead spots. I'll level and crown the last frets one of these days if it starts bugging me.
Yes, mine was bought from China on Ebay. I've bought two from the same seller and @Pep bought one as well. All that needed some attention was the fret ends were a bit sharp. Once that was fixed, the neck was near perfect for me. Not to mention........cheap!
I don't think I'll swear off maple shaft necks, but certainly wenge checks all the boxes for a neck wood. And it doesn't require a finish to be applied.
Roasted Maple are very nice & I even like the maple necks on Sterling Ray 4 (Sub series) basses. I found them to be great for such a cheap workhorse. But Wenge..............all day every day!
Looking forward to thoughts from others on this thread.
Ok, I know everyone has their own way of taking care of their wenge neck and what they put on & swear by. Let's hear what product & method you use.
This is mine & "for me" it works perfectly. I just put lemon oil on the fretboard & the neck. I wipe it on with my fingers, leave it for a minute or two then wipe it off. It cleans my neck & fretboard and gives it a smooth & fast neck. And as a bonus, leaves a beautiful fresh lemon smell
I only do that maybe twice a year & that's it.
This is mine & "for me" it works perfectly. I just put lemon oil on the fretboard & the neck. I wipe it on with my fingers, leave it for a minute or two then wipe it off. It cleans my neck & fretboard and gives it a smooth & fast neck. And as a bonus, leaves a beautiful fresh lemon smell
I only do that maybe twice a year & that's it.
Mine lands Monday Whoo! Still undecided on what tuners to use.
I personally use dunlops F-One Oil. I use a very small amount direct on the wood, rub it around and in with a soft cloth, and then with a new cloth wipe off the excess. Makes the neck super fast and smooth. After i do this, my hands feel like they glide around.Ok, I know everyone has their own way of taking care of their wenge neck and what they put on & swear by. Let's hear what product & method you use.
This is mine & "for me" it works perfectly. I just put lemon oil on the fretboard & the neck. I wipe it on with my fingers, leave it for a minute or two then wipe it off. It cleans my neck & fretboard and gives it a smooth & fast neck. And as a bonus, leaves a beautiful fresh lemon smell
Not really sure whats actually "in" F-one oil, but i only do this about 2 to 3 times per year.
For regular cleaning i just use a clean microfiber with nothing on it to wipe the grime.
I use the Warwick wax a couple times a year. I got 3 tins of the stuff when I bought my Streamer so I might as well use it
So many options. I used Hipshot Ultralites. But Gotoh make quite a few cool options.
Yep, don't want to waste itI use the Warwick wax a couple times a year. I got 3 tins of the stuff when I bought my Streamer so I might as well use it
All these pictures of these beautiful Warwick's with wenge necks is making me get GAS for one now 
Music Nomad F-One is what I’ve been using for a while. Haven’t tried it on the Wenge yet.Ok, I know everyone has their own way of taking care of their wenge neck and what they put on & swear by. Let's hear what product & method you use.
This is mine & "for me" it works perfectly. I just put lemon oil on the fretboard & the neck. I wipe it on with my fingers, leave it for a minute or two then wipe it off. It cleans my neck & fretboard and gives it a smooth & fast neck. And as a bonus, leaves a beautiful fresh lemon smell
Count me in! I love the look and feel of a good wenge neck. Two of my three Warwick basses have wenge necks (Thumb BO5 Wenge/wenge, Thumb Flaming Blonde Wenge/Maple laminate neck with a rosewood fretboard). But my favorite is the 1966 Thunderbird Tribute build I recently completed. It’s a Wenge/Wenge neck and just plays so nice.
Here she is next to the ThunderCaster I built at the same time…
Front and back of the North built 1966 Non Reverse TBird Tribute finished in Vintage Shoreline Gold…
Love that open grain and how it gets smoother and faster over time…
Even made a Wenge control cover for it and am considering making a Wenge pickguard as well…
If you’re handing out numbers, I’ll take one.
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I've always really liked basses with Wenge necks starting with an pair of Ibanez SDGR1306PM and a SDGR1305PM I owned in the 90s.
Here's my newest Wenge neck offering:
2024 Beardly Custom
Multiple Laminate top and back
Mahogany core
Zebrawood body stringer on back
PME magnetic control cover
Wenge/Purpleheart/Wenge neck w/Purpleheart block inlays and Purpleheart binding on Pale Moon Ebony fretboard
Turner Multi-coil pickups
Lusithand NFP double special pre
Kahler tremelo
Gotoh tuning machines w/hardwood heads
Here's my newest Wenge neck offering:
2024 Beardly Custom
Multiple Laminate top and back
Mahogany core
Zebrawood body stringer on back
PME magnetic control cover
Wenge/Purpleheart/Wenge neck w/Purpleheart block inlays and Purpleheart binding on Pale Moon Ebony fretboard
Turner Multi-coil pickups
Lusithand NFP double special pre
Kahler tremelo
Gotoh tuning machines w/hardwood heads
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When you do that custom wenge neck build, don't forget to show off the pictures and join the club!Well I once had a Wenge & Bubinga neck through Thumb. It was one of those dream basses that I sought for a long time - but later was a disappointment. Great neck, loved the way the body felt holding it.... but ultimately between neck dive & the lack of radius to the fretboard I had to let it go.
That P-Bass looks awesome !
Perhaps one day I'll do a custom build with wenge. I did like that neck, just not the board that was mounted to it.
Wow! That's something else right there!
How are you finding the combination of the Turner Multi-coil pickups and Lusithand NFP double special pre? I've just bought a Sterling Ray4HH with the same pickups & pre. I'm looking forward to its arrival to check out the different tones on that. Sorry to drift away from the wenge neck...............
Wow, just kidding. I guess I won’t be joining the Wenge club. After multiple delays to the delivery window, UPS says it was damaged in delivery. Lovely to see after almost of month of waiting in anticipation. 
Not the first time it’s happened with UPS and I know it won’t be the last either.
Not the first time it’s happened with UPS and I know it won’t be the last either.
