Author Topic: Wenge (Read 528 times)

funkyjazzjunky · « **on:** July 07, 2008, 09:49:49 AM »

Warwick Basses preaches that Wenge gives all of the benefits of Ebony for less weight and less money.

Any oen have experience with Wenge as a neck wook laminate (or fingerboard)

funkyjazzjunky · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2008, 10:06:28 AM »

Previous Post should read 'Anyone have ...

elwoodblue · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2008, 12:11:20 PM »

I have no experience with wenge...I have noticed it's more porous...which to me would seem to make a difference.
I'll look forward to learning as comments pour in.

glocke · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2008, 12:38:16 PM »

I once owned a warwick with a wenge fingerboard.
The grain certainly did have many more open pores than any other wood I have seen. I never really cared for it and I didnt own it very long, I sold it to get a '72 jazz bass.

Ive always thought of ebony as a very closed grain, dense wood. I dont see how the open grain of wenge could be compared to ebony in any fashion.

elwoodblue · « **Reply #4 on:** July 07, 2008, 01:39:00 PM »

I guess that's why we are here instead at the warwick discussion board.

bsee · « **Reply #5 on:** July 07, 2008, 01:55:31 PM »

Wenge may have a different grain, but it is a pretty dense wood. Based upon what I have read, it isn't quite as dense as ebony, but is heavier than maple and probably in the ballpark for rosewoods. That sounds like it would have at least some properties suitable for use in a guitar neck.

olieoliver · « **Reply #6 on:** July 07, 2008, 02:21:09 PM »

I have a Warwick Dolphin with Wenge fretboard and I like it just fine. It does sound and play different than my Thumb bass with a ebody neck. The Wenge is more open grain but you can't tell while playing (fingers rest on the strings) but you can feel it if you run your finger down the finger board when changing strings.

While my Alembic basses are by far my favorite, my Warwicks are in the top 2 or 3.

OO

LMiwa · « **Reply #7 on:** July 07, 2008, 02:22:53 PM »

I have a Warwick Thumb 6 neck through with a Wenge neck and fingerboard. The bass weighs a TON! While Wenge is open grained, it is also very dense. IMO, Wenge does not produce the same bright high end that ebony does.

From Warwick -
Wenge is a dark brown wood with blackish streaks. It sometimes has a bleached appearance. It is open to medium grained, hard, dense, and heavy.

(Message edited by lmiwa on July 07, 2008)

jbybj · « **Reply #8 on:** July 07, 2008, 07:42:18 PM »

When I was in Jr. High, (1973) I made a lamp. It was a redwood base, that I scorched with a blow torch, and then scraped with a wire brush. The ridges of the grain stood out after this abuse, and it looked an felt very textured. The one Wenge fingerboard I played for a day or two, (fretless) reminded me of this lamp. The grain edges stood out. I don't know if it would have flattened out with more sanding, I returned the bass without altering it. Because the grain made the surface somewhat uneven, I felt that it made the tone somewhat dull and thuddy, lacking in sustain. When I discussed this with a coworker, he told me of his own fretless Warwick with Wenge that he sold for the same reasons. The uneven grain has far more influence on a fretless of course, but that was my experience/impression, FWIW.

hifiguy · « **Reply #9 on:** July 07, 2008, 07:42:25 PM »

Owned a Warwick Corvette Pro Line (J/J) with a 2-piece (fretboard and neck were separate pieces glued together) bolt-on neck for about ten years. Second most of the comments above - wenge is dense as hell and very open pored. It took a few weeks to toughen up my fingers as those open pores can be a bit tough on the hands, even if you have well-developed fretting hand calluses.

Sound of the bass was not unlike a really nice Gib T'bird; top not as extended as ebony, but there was a hard, almost farty sound in the upper mids that could really cut through a mix. Think Jack Bruce even before he started playing Warwicks and you'll get the picture.

Sold the Warwick last year, Kept my Alembic. Nuff said.

(Message edited by hifiguy on July 07, 2008)

funkyjazzjunky · « **Reply #10 on:** July 08, 2008, 07:00:22 AM »

Seems like I should pay extra for the Ebony neck laminates and forget about Wenge.

Thanks for the feedback.

LMiwa · « **Reply #11 on:** July 08, 2008, 08:28:52 AM »

While I have no problem with the wenge in my fretted Warwick, I would never recommend it for a fretless fingerboard.

And if your question is Wenge or ebony for an Alembic neck laminate?, then I would say absolutely go for the ebony. I would think that having very open grained wenge laminates between other closed grain laminates would feel REALLY weird.

georgie_boy · « **Reply #12 on:** July 08, 2008, 08:48:34 AM »

I have a Cort Curbow bass at home that has a complete Wenge neck/board
It seems that she is a rather rare beast now and tends to command a higher price.
Personally, I LOVE it. It seems about twice the volume of the other Maple necked Curbow, and just seems to respond so well
The down side is that it feels a little sticky on the rear of the neck after a bit of playing, but for the bucks----I'd put it up against anything at 3 x the price

Just my 0.02

G

bassjigga · « **Reply #13 on:** July 08, 2008, 09:04:10 AM »

The only basses I've played with it were Warwicks as well. The tone wasn't for me. Don't know if it was down to the wenge specifically or just the overall bass. I suspect a lot of it has to do with the body woods they use as well, but they sounded too dark to me. And the wenge has a very pronounced midrange thud to my ears which I didn't like for every situation.

georgie_boy · « **Reply #14 on:** July 08, 2008, 09:31:58 AM »

Try a Curbow original Dude

G