HBII - Maple neck vs Mahogany

[edhamgtr]

Looking to pickup a HBII and its a face off between a Maple neck one vs the regular Mahogany neck.
Live in Hawaii so have to buy blind (and it gets expensive selling off and shipping away if its not a keeper).

Is the Maple neck version just end up being "too much Maple".

Appreciate thoughts from those that have played both - especially HBII's as they are already maple top and back.

thanks

 

[JasonE]

I am not sure how many they have put maple necks in. I have an HBII and a SCHBII and both have mahogany necks. Mine are core models. I think the core models all had mahogany necks in them. Maybe the SE models have maple in some models?

 

[Lewguitar]

Is the maple neck version a bolt on and the mahogany version a glue on?

 

[SinSir]

Is the maple neck version a bolt on and the mahogany version a glue on?

No, the HB doesn't have a bolt on.

 

[László]

Some WL models and special runs have had maple necks.

I find that there's a bit of a tone difference; the maple emphasizes different harmonic overtones, and I'll hazard al guess there's a different (higher) resonant frequency. I call it a more flute-like tone that's most audible with the neck pickup.

Whether that floats your boat or not is anyone's guess.

 

[Lewguitar]

Generally, I find guitars with maple necks to have a sound we associate with Fender. More pure. Clearer. Cleaner.

Gibsons best jazz guitars always have maple necks. Violins always have maple necks, backs and sides.

When I think of mahogany I think of a Gibson solid body sound or PRS McCarty sound. Warmer. Fuller. Deeper.

A PRS CE22 w/bolt on maple neck and vibrato, kind of combines both of those worlds in a cool way

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

I can't speak to the mahogany neck version, but my HBII has a maple neck and ebony board. With those two woods, one might think it'd be super-chimey and overly bright. But, that isn't the case. It is, I will say, very defined with piano-like articulation and resonance. Acoustically, there isn't a whole lot of warmth to it, but does have a decent mid-range. It also rings like a bell....very, very resonant.

Mine has the 57/08 pickups in it, and the neck sounds absolutely magnificent. I don't care for the bridge tone at all, though...not sure what it is, just don't like the sound of it.

 

[Lewguitar]

I can't speak to the mahogany neck version, but my HBII has a maple neck and ebony board. With those two woods, one might think it'd be super-chimey and overly bright. But, that isn't the case. It is, I will say, very defined with piano-like articulation and resonance. Acoustically, there isn't a whole lot of warmth to it, but does have a decent mid-range. It also rings like a bell....very, very resonant.

Mine has the 57/08 pickups in it, and the neck sounds absolutely magnificent. I don't care for the bridge tone at all, though...not sure what it is, just don't like the sound of it.

Articulate is a good word for the sound of maple.

An all maple guitar can be too articulate for me.

I don't like that sound. Strats feeling hard and bright and ringy.

Needs some mahogany to balance it out.

 

[László]

Generally, I find guitars with maple necks to have a sound we associate with Fender. More pure. Clearer. Cleaner.

It's just an emphasis on different frequencies, they're all there with both woods, it's the balance that changes. This is exactly what one might expect if in fact the resonant frequency is higher, as I suspect it is.

Except for my PS acoustic that I ordered in all-maple, including neck, for a specific reason, I've learned that I prefer mahogany set necks in an electric guitar to get 'my sound'. I've had a few with maple, recently including a 594 and McCarty. However, my set-maple neck CU22 Soapbars were wonderful. Probably down to a difference in the pickups I'd guess.

I doubt it comes down to a single factor, there's lots of stuff involved.

Seems I also prefer rosewood fretboards on an electric guitar; I've had several with ebony, most recently a Semi-Hollow Special, and I finally gave up. I surrender. This might not include arch top jazz boxes, however. I like the sound with ebony.

I hoped the semi-hollw nature of the Special would work with ebony, but alas...sounded great but couldn't get my tone. Perhaps I could have learned to work it if I'd hung onto it longer.

 

[Lewguitar]

It's just an emphasis on different frequencies, they're all there with both woods, it's the balance that changes. This is exactly what one might expect if in fact the resonant frequency is higher, as I suspect it is.

Except for my PS acoustic that I ordered in all-maple, including neck, for a specific reason, I've learned that I prefer mahogany set necks in an electric guitar to get 'my sound'. I've had a few with maple, recently including a 594 and McCarty. However, my set-maple neck CU22 Soapbars were wonderful. Probably down to a difference in the pickups I'd guess.

I doubt it comes down to a single factor, there's lots of stuff involved.

Maple has more top end pop I think. I can feel and maybe hear the pluck so it has a more defined sound.

I grew up playing Strats, Les Pauls and ES335's.

So all those sounds are a sound of mine.

Haven't plugged in my Gibsons or Fenders in over a year though.

 

[edhamgtr]

Thanks gang. Appreciate the responses.

 

[Max Headroom]

A PRS CE22 w/bolt on maple neck and vibrato, kind of combines both of those worlds in a cool way

Exactly what I have with my 2002 Emerald Green CE22.

That was definitely not hitting the tone I was searching for yesterday, much leaner tauter sound overall.

 

[László]

Maple has more top end pop I think.

That's all about emphasizing upper midrange frequencies (including harmonic series overtones from the bottom strings, hence the twang). I think maple works extremely well for certain styles of both playing and type of music.

I had PRS use maple on my acoustic for that very reason - I wanted to hear the damn thing in a dense mix!

It's like a microphone with a 1Khz peak. It's there to make that part of the vocal range have articulation and impact. In other words, have it pop out of the mix. Many condenser mics people love for vocals have a bit of an emphasis there.

A guitar operates in the vocal range much of the time. That's why they're panned hard left and right in many stereo mixes. Otherwise, they have to be lowered in volume in order to avoid stepping on the vocal.

So yeah, I agree with you!