Ash for Necks

[Chops]

I have seen a few Private Stock guitars listed for sale online recently that use Ash for necks. I had never seen that wood used for guitar necks before. I wonder why PRS is using Ash for necks and how it compares to more commonly used woods in terms of tone and stability. Has anyone out there played a guitar with an ash neck?

 

[László]

Good question - but I've never seen or played one. Except in the case of PS runs, PRS makes a PS with the woods the customer requests, so I guess that would be why they're doing it.

Assuming they're actually making the necks with ash, it'd be interesting to know if they're reinforcing these necks with carbon fiber rods.

 

[Chops]

Good question - but I've never seen or played one. Except in the case of PS runs, PRS makes a PS with the woods the customer requests, so I guess that would be why they're doing it.

Assuming they're actually making the necks with ash, it'd be interesting to know if they're reinforcing these necks with carbon fiber rods.

Thanks for the reply. Do you reckon they might use carbon fiber because Ash is inherently weaker than other woods typically used for necks?

 

[László]

Thanks for the reply. Do you reckon they might use carbon fiber because Ash is inherently weaker than other woods typically used for necks?

I honestly don't know - I've read ash varies quite a bit in density, and depends on the particular wood blank. Swamp ash is softer, there's a northern ash that's supposed to be harder.

I have carbon fiber rods in a PS acoustic with a maple neck instead of an adjustable truss rod. It's been one hundred percent stable for 7 years. Seems to me like it'd be a great option on any neck wood.

My other PS guitars were all PRS limited runs, so I didn't decide on any of the specs (thankfully, since I had a hard time deciding on the acoustic!) However, if I were ever get lucky enough to spec a PS electric for myself, I'd absolutely spec it with a carbon fiber truss rod setup.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

I have carbon fiber rods in a PS acoustic with a maple neck instead of an adjustable truss rod. It's been one hundred percent stable for 7 years. Seems to me like it'd be a great option on any neck wood.

Les, that's great...I gotta admit I was a doubter of Carbon fiber rods over truss rods...but you've mentioned the stability before. Great to hear!

 

[László]

Les, that's great...I gotta admit I was a doubter of Carbon fiber rods over truss rods...but you've mentioned the stability before. Great to hear!

Bill, I have nothin' but praise for the carbon fiber rods. Before getting this PS acoustic, I had the early Tonare Grand Artist model, and it came with a carbon fiber truss rod, too. It also stayed perfectly stable.

In fact, I can take my acoustic out of the case after not playing it for weeks, and it's still nearly perfectly in tune, which you have to admit is pretty unusual for an acoustic guitar - though I do use the D'Addario humidipaks, which probably helps a bit.

I've noticed another great thing about these guitars with carbon fiber rods: the guitars sound very "woody", the way old Martins used to before they went to adjustable rods and only had a T-bar. I would guess it might be that the less metal inside the neck the better. Carbon fiber would have a very different "resonant ring" from metal. However, I admit it may not be a factor and the guitars might just be woody sounding for other reasons.

I suppose one never knows for sure with this stuff, but no adjustments of any kind since I got the guitar in 2013? Seems like a good track record.

I just re-read my statement that I can go weeks without playing it, and now I feel guilty that I'm not giving the guitar enough love!!

 

[jak3af3r]

I've been shopping for Ash for guitar builds and there's some out there that is waaaay heavier than typical tonewoods. Some pieces were as heavy, if not more, than a similar sized piece of oak.

 

[WEDGE]

I had a PRS core acoustic with the fiber rods and no truss rod, neck never budged.

 

[garrett]

Ash is plenty hard and stable if you choose the right boards. Louisville Slugger makes Major League Baseball bats out of the stuff. You would want denser pieces instead of the lighter "swamp" ash we're familiar with for guitar bodies.

 

[dogrocketp]

Morgan sports cars used to have English Ash frames, which had some flex. Here’s where a wood buyer makes all the difference. Weight and rigidly vary from tree to tree with every wood. There are no worries to me with any wood PRS uses for any guitar part. Their sorting, grading, and drying is the best.

 

[11top]

Ash is plenty hard and stable if you choose the right boards. Louisville Slugger makes Major League Baseball bats out of the stuff. You would want denser pieces instead of the lighter "swamp" ash we're familiar with for guitar bodies.

Also, ax and shovel handles.

 

[Per Harald Myrvang]

Also, ax and shovel handles.

Yes, and (historical) longbows - really agile and plenty powerful. Got one made by a national master builder champion (apparently they compete), nice resonant twang, but now I fear I’ve lost track of the direction this thread is heading…

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Bill, I have nothin' but praise for the carbon fiber rods. Before getting this PS acoustic, I had the early Tonare Grand Artist model, and it came with a carbon fiber truss rod, too. It also stayed perfectly stable.

In fact, I can take my acoustic out of the case after not playing it for weeks, and it's still nearly perfectly in tune, which you have to admit is pretty unusual for an acoustic guitar - though I do use the D'Addario humidipaks, which probably helps a bit.

I've noticed another great thing about these guitars with carbon fiber rods: the guitars sound very "woody", the way old Martins used to before they went to adjustable rods and only had a T-bar. I would guess it might be that the less metal inside the neck the better. Carbon fiber would have a very different "resonant ring" from metal. However, I admit it may not be a factor and the guitars might just be woody sounding for other reasons.

I suppose one never knows for sure with this stuff, but no adjustments of any kind since I got the guitar in 2013? Seems like a good track record.

I just re-read my statement that I can go weeks without playing it, and now I feel guilty that I'm not giving the guitar enough love!!

Hell, Les, I'd call that a great track record.
I'm looking into full Carbon/Graphite Composite acoustics, as we are camping in WV lately, and I don't want to worry about what the humidity would/could do to a "normal" acoustic. (Rainsong, etc...)

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I've been shopping for Ash for guitar builds and there's some out there that is waaaay heavier than typical tonewoods. Some pieces were as heavy, if not more, than a similar sized piece of oak.

I bought a figured Ash plank, still in the shape of the trunk and where it opened out into two branches.

One piece is book-matched and glued for a Strat build that I may one day complete, if I ever get that room built in my garden!

 

[Revad]

I have seen a few Private Stock guitars listed for sale online recently that use Ash for necks. I had never seen that wood used for guitar necks before. I wonder why PRS is using Ash for necks and how it compares to more commonly used woods in terms of tone and stability. Has anyone out there played a guitar with an ash neck?

I had a bad experience lately with a custom 24 private stock with an ash neck, but i dont know if its all about the neck.
I felt something was wrong as soon as i played it (even if i was initially charmed by how nice that guitar was looking), unplugged it sounded muffled, like anything i felt before (or after). I already have a custom 24 and i already have a private stock, so i wasnt expecting that… the strings were very hard to bend, there were buzzes when playing the third and the fourth strings … doing an A/B comparison with my custom 24 artist was just painfull … (probably one of the worst guitar i played, the worst PRS for sure).
I thought that something was wrong with the settings but everything seemed ok … so i send the guitar back to the seller … he also check the settings and did not find anything wrong … and told me maybe i wasnt into the ash …

But i dont really think its only about the neck being ash … sometimes it doesnt work, at least this one was not made for me … but i am pretty cold now when i hear about an ash neck

 

[Chops]

I had a bad experience lately with a custom 24 private stock with an ash neck, but i dont know if its all about the neck.
I felt something was wrong as soon as i played it (even if i was initially charmed by how nice that guitar was looking), unplugged it sounded muffled, like anything i felt before (or after). I already have a custom 24 and i already have a private stock, so i wasnt expecting that… the strings were very hard to bend, there were buzzes when playing the third and the fourth strings … doing an A/B comparison with my custom 24 artist was just painfull … (probably one of the worst guitar i played, the worst PRS for sure).
I thought that something was wrong with the settings but everything seemed ok … so i send the guitar back to the seller … he also check the settings and did not find anything wrong … and told me maybe i wasnt into the ash …

But i dont really think its only about the neck being ash … sometimes it doesnt work, at least this one was not made for me … but i am pretty cold now when i hear about an ash neck

Wow! Thanks for that input; that must have been a huge disappointment. As you say, your observations may or may not be attributable to the ash neck but you never know.

 

[Rosewoodsteel]

Bill, I have nothin' but praise for the carbon fiber rods. Before getting this PS acoustic, I had the early Tonare Grand Artist model, and it came with a carbon fiber truss rod, too. It also stayed perfectly stable.

In fact, I can take my acoustic out of the case after not playing it for weeks, and it's still nearly perfectly in tune, which you have to admit is pretty unusual for an acoustic guitar - though I do use the D'Addario humidipaks, which probably helps a bit.

I've noticed another great thing about these guitars with carbon fiber rods: the guitars sound very "woody", the way old Martins used to before they went to adjustable rods and only had a T-bar. I would guess it might be that the less metal inside the neck the better. Carbon fiber would have a very different "resonant ring" from metal. However, I admit it may not be a factor and the guitars might just be woody sounding for other reasons.

I suppose one never knows for sure with this stuff, but no adjustments of any kind since I got the guitar in 2013? Seems like a good track record.

I just re-read my statement that I can go weeks without playing it, and now I feel guilty that I'm not giving the guitar enough love!!

Laszlo,
Sorry for replying to such an old post, but are you still happy with the carbon fiber re enforcement on the Tonare's neck? Do you need to switch saddles from summer to winter use? Do you miss an adjustable truss? Thanks, Rosewood

 

[László]

Laszlo,
Sorry for replying to such an old post, but are you still happy with the carbon fiber re enforcement on the Tonare's neck? Do you need to switch saddles from summer to winter use? Do you miss an adjustable truss? Thanks, Rosewood

Yes, I've had the Tonare since Fall, 2013, and I absolutely love it. I haven't shopped for an acoustic guitar since I ordered it. I don't miss an adjustable truss at all. Doesn't mean someone else won't, but once a guitar works for me, I'd rather not have to adjust one.

I don't switch saddles from summer to winter. My top is stable, for the reasons below, but the carbon fiber isn't in the top, so it'll do what any top does seasonally unless it's cared for in certain ways.

However, with the D'Addario or Boveda (same manufacture) humidipaks in the case, the top doesn't swell or shrink. I think that makes maintenance a lot simpler. Before I used the humidipaks, I kept the guitar in a humidity controlled room, cased. And that was fine, but the beauty of the humidipaks is that there's no humidifier adjustment, and they control excess humidity as well as too little humidity!

There's no monkeying with buckets of water or refilling them daily. They keep the case's RH at 45-50%, there's no refilling them, they don't drip, they don't get stinky like the rubber hose or other water-sponge/plaster humidifiers do, and you replace them every so often when they dry out completely (In my case that's around 3-4 months). However, you have to use a case, which I do with all of my guitars anyway.

If you hang your guitar on a wall, or keep it out on a stand, obviously a humidipak (or any humidity control other than a room humidifier or dehumidifier) does no good, so your seasonal experience with a saddle might be very different due to the top drying out or holding more moisture in a given season.

 

[Rosewoodsteel]

Yes, I've had the Tonare since Fall, 2013, and I absolutely love it. I haven't shopped for an acoustic guitar since I ordered it. I don't miss an adjustable truss at all. Doesn't mean someone else won't, but once a guitar works for me, I'd rather not have to adjust one.

I don't switch saddles from summer to winter. My top is stable, for the reasons below, but the carbon fiber isn't in the top, so it'll do what any top does seasonally unless it's cared for in certain ways.

However, with the D'Addario or Boveda (same manufacture) humidipaks in the case, the top doesn't swell or shrink. I think that makes maintenance a lot simpler. Before I used the humidipaks, I kept the guitar in a humidity controlled room, cased. And that was fine, but the beauty of the humidipaks is that there's no humidifier adjustment, and they control excess humidity as well as too little humidity!

There's no monkeying with buckets of water or refilling them daily. They keep the case's RH at 45-50%, there's no refilling them, they don't drip, they don't get stinky like the rubber hose or other water-sponge/plaster humidifiers do, and you replace them every so often when they dry out completely (In my case that's around 3-4 months). However, you have to use a case, which I do with all of my guitars anyway.

If you hang your guitar on a wall, or keep it out on a stand, obviously a humidipak (or any humidity control other than a room humidifier or dehumidifier) does no good, so your seasonal experience with a saddle might be very different due to the top drying out or holding more moisture in a given season.

Thank you for such a quick response! I use the humidipaks, as well. My 74 D-35 doesn't have an adjustable truss rod, either, and it hasn't bothered me in the least bit since I bought her new at Chuck's in 74. I just heard that PRS had issues with the carbon reinforcement necks on their earlier acoustics and I wanted to make sure it wasn't a load of crap. BTW, have you ever re-activated your humipaks? It saves the hassle of continually buying them not to mention saving a few bucks..

 

[László]

Thank you for such a quick response! I use the humidipaks, as well. My 74 D-35 doesn't have an adjustable truss rod, either, and it hasn't bothered me in the least bit since I bought her new at Chuck's in 74. I just heard that PRS had issues with the carbon reinforcement necks on their earlier acoustics and I wanted to make sure it wasn't a load of crap. BTW, have you ever re-activated your humipaks? It saves the hassle of continually buying them not to mention saving a few bucks..

I've never reactivated them, I just buy new ones. The less do-it-yourself, the better for me!

I had a couple of early '70s Martins as well, without the adjustable rods. One had to go to the factory to straighten the neck, though. That was a several-month hassle.

False or true, I haven't heard a thing about problems with the carbon fiber rods. Don't tell me - One less thing to worry about!