My 'Neck' of the 'Woods'!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Bob Faulkner

I've been kinda wondering about something as well. I've been contemplating how a bass would perform with a walnut neck and maple stringers. Is that something you've tried before Ken?

I've come to like the tone of walnut, and one of the things I'm contemplating for my next high end bass is one with as much walnut in it as possible. Something like a BSR5EG with walnut core, top, and maybe koa or ash laminates. I was wondering if a walnut neck with the maple stringers would be possible (and desirable) on that bass (I know you don't have any already made so you couldn't put one of these out for quite awhile).

Would this bass be like wearing a ball and chain over your shoulder?

First, No. I have not made Walnut necks BUT I have seen a few. Also, Walnut has many hidden defects like Pin Knots and is not the best thing for a Neck. Walnut has the density of soft Maple and not Hard Maple that we use. Also, Walnut is on the brittle side and not flexible like Maple under stress so it would be more prone to shock cracks than Maple is.

We take years in the process for Every Smith Neck we make from the Lumber to the finished Bass. We would take no less time with your experiment BUT, we will not warranty the Bass if using Walnut as you describe. If you like the sound of Walnut as you say, make sure the Bass you are comparing it to has the same Fingerboard, Finish, Pickups and Electronics (and body woods, shape and thickness) as a Smith Bass so you don't get caught comparing Apples to Oranges kinda syndrome.

That being said, If I thought Walnut was good for Necks (and we have about 25,000 bf feet of it in stock), then you can bet it would be on the Menu just like the choices for body wood parts are.