[r akers (wrick)]

I know some say this is costly to do,but how? I know it has been done in the past with varied results,that was then.A fat 59ish maple bolt on neck with thick LP mohogany body (faded brown),fixed bridge with three p90s (middle out of phase),five way switching.No pick guard,use the neck volume knob for switching.Maybe six in a row tuners.Dont know but it sounds cool to me once the CNC machines are set,production on this should be fast.Even two split coil humbuckers would do.

[r akers (wrick)]

Should mention,no arch,just flat LP mohogany body.

[S Bryant (stageman20)]

Maple would be a lot cheaper than importing Mahogany. I think that`s why Fender guitars are generally cheaper as they use woods more local to North America such as Ash, Maple, and Alder. I think it would add a unique aspect to a Les Paul, lol. In fact, an ALL Maple Les Paul would be neat for a limited run.

[J Davidson (JasonD)]

How about the Raw Power Les Paul Studio from '09?

And we may see more Gibson USA models with maple bodies/necks/fingerboards in the near future.

[S Bryant (stageman20)]

J Davidson (JasonD), on 25 February 2011 - 03:04 PM, said:

How about the Raw Power Les Paul Studio from '09?

And we may see more Gibson USA models with maple bodies/necks/fingerboards in the near future.

That looks pretty cool, forgot about that model.It would still be cool to have a full blown Standard or even Custom with these Maple specs.

[r akers (wrick)]

The raw power is cool, but alway liked the idea of mohogany body with a bolt on maple neck.I like the three piece maple neck that I have on my old G3 Bass,the neck is still perfect.Could be wrong but a bolt on with choices of body wood, maple neck with a option of head stock (six in line or tradition LP) would think it hold production time down.With a faded and satin finish.Working mans guitar without the bling and the worry about being knocked over,chipped and abused.Fender did it with a strat but wasnt interested as I own enough strats.Bottom line is rugged,cant break head stock dont worry about looks and a mean player.For all of us that still play honky tonks with the hazards.Still think the combo would look sharp.

[D Thompson (rockstar232007)]

Pass! Many of the LPs that I've played with maple necks (specifically Norlins) have always felt very "dead"/unresponsive to me, not to mention, they are very bright sounding?

Nothing beats the feel/tone of good ole' fashioned mahogany!

[r akers (wrick)]

They would be bright sounding,thanks to the maple neck.The point being a Gibson that does what a strat does,looks like a LP or SG and has Gibson name on it.A work horse without the horns and whistles.Again no pick guard,use neck volume knob for switching and who would dare to take a Standard or Custom in a place where things happen without notice.Have your rack of guitars knocked over a couple of times by drunks and fights that spill on to the stage area or stolen.Gibson is known for fine instruments but, see know reason not to make something that us working guys in the trenches that didnt make it to the top(think most of us) or collect guitars handle the abuse without worry.Dont see how it would hurt the Gibson name when I think the average customer is a still playing the club scene,futher more it is me and another guy that use Gibsons in my area and the question I am always asked,you dare to bring that in here.That explains why I dont see others play live with them around here,cost and holding up in that enviroment.

[J Luekemeyer (ACELUEK)]

I agree, I have maple on two other guitars.. Love the mahogany on my 3 LPS and Dean..

[S Bryant (stageman20)]

r akers (wrick), on 26 February 2011 - 12:43 PM, said:

They would be bright sounding,thanks to the maple neck.The point being a Gibson that does what a strat does,looks like a LP or SG and has Gibson name on it.A work horse without the horns and whistles.Again no pick guard,use neck volume knob for switching and who would dare to take a Standard or Custom in a place where things happen without notice.Have your rack of guitars knocked over a couple of times by drunks and fights that spill on to the stage area or stolen.Gibson is known for fine instruments but, see know reason not to make something that us working guys in the trenches that didnt make it to the top(think most of us) or collect guitars handle the abuse without worry.Dont see how it would hurt the Gibson name when I think the average customer is a still playing the club scene,futher more it is me and another guy that use Gibsons in my area and the question I am always asked,you dare to bring that in here.That explains why I dont see others play live with them around here,cost and holding up in that enviroment.

The Nighthawk can sound very Strat-like, so did the Corvus.

[V Russelavage (Vic Russelavage)]

S Bryant (stageman20), on 28 February 2011 - 12:34 PM, said:

The Nighthawk can sound very Strat-like, so did the Corvus.

More Nighthawks coming up later this year, plus Epiphone Nighthawks will be delivering soon

Vic

[r akers (wrick)]

Thanks Vic,a Night Hawk with mohogany body and maple neck would fit the bill and maybe regular routing for bridge pickup.I know being fussy now,those are just little quirks.Even the Night Hawk is to nice.Dont have an issue paying a grand,the same as Fender American strat with case.No bells and whistles on there either,just a work horse.Think Gibson could come out with something for the same price,nothing fancy or with the weird looking ones of the past.Models you make now,but just plain looking great playing guitars that can take a beating.Just my opinion.

[T Sigurdson (Siggy14)]

Either you have extremly bad luck, or you just have a notion in your mind that a maple neck guitar sounds bad. I have played many norlins and 90% of them sound great and not dead as you say. My number 1 and number 2 are both Norlin customs, #1 is a 78 BB and #2 is a 79 silverburst custom, both guitars beat out every other guitar I had or still have, including some custom shop reissues.

As to a maple neck making a guitar sound bright, I have said this before so I will say it again, on a set neck guitar the neck wood is only going to have minimal effect on tone, maybe 5 to 10% at the most. The true tones come from the body, the electronics and the fingers and amp.

Now if the guitar was a neck thru, then the neck would be a large part of the tone.

D Thompson (rockstar232007), on 26 February 2011 - 01:15 AM, said:

Pass! Many of the LPs that I've played with maple necks (specifically Norlins) have always felt very "dead"/unresponsive to me, not to mention, they are very bright sounding?



Nothing beats the feel/tone of good ole' fashioned mahogany!

[r akers (wrick)]

I snub those models from the Norlin era back then and now kick myself in the a**.Like the new models that came out that everyone is b**ching about and they could be awsome.Seems easy to get a idea in ones head early on,but changes later in life makes for regrets.

[D Thompson (rockstar232007)]

T Sigurdson (Siggy14), on 24 March 2011 - 09:30 AM, said:

Either you have extremly bad luck, or you just have a notion in your mind that a maple neck guitar sounds bad. I have played many norlins and 90% of them sound great and not dead as you say. My number 1 and number 2 are both Norlin customs, #1 is a 78 BB and #2 is a 79 silverburst custom, both guitars beat out every other guitar I had or still have, including some custom shop reissues.

As to a maple neck making a guitar sound bright, I have said this before so I will say it again, on a set neck guitar the neck wood is only going to have minimal effect on tone, maybe 5 to 10% at the most. The true tones come from the body, the electronics and the fingers and amp.

Now if the guitar was a neck thru, then the neck would be a large part of the tone.

I never said they "sounded dead", I said they "felt dead". Huge difference.

And, you have it backwards. The neck of a guitar is less rigid than the rest of the body, because it's smaller and has less mass, therefore it is more prone to absorbing vibrations, so it acts as a "tone filter". And, since maple is very dense as opposed to mahogany, it will absorb less vibrations/lower frequencies, which in turn cause a certain amount of brightness in the tone.

I've played/dealt with hundreds of Gibson LPs (vintage, Norlin, and new) since I was 5 years old (23 years), and every one of them that had maple necks, sounded very different than their mahogany-necked counterparts, even with the same pickups. So, the choice of neck/fingerboard woods DO make a difference, not necessarily a "bad" difference, but a difference nonethe less.

[r akers (wrick)]

The brightness would be welcomed,and love both woods.A combo as mentioned with Gibsons name on it would fit the bill.I play through old Boogies and have for thirty odd years and love the Gibsons through them but can be on the dark side,no matter what speaker cab,pickups and etc.Fenders on the other hand adds brightness but make the bass flubby.If you were to have a Les Paul knocked over by some drunk,I wish it to be a maple neck over Mohogany any day.The chance that Gibson walks down that road again is slime,but thinking about building one.This is only a idea and many or most may not like it,but would solve alot of issues on my end.

[K Bolas (lespaul1963)]

I find it difficult to brighten up a dark sounding guitar to my liking. Generally speaking, I prefer a guitar that is just a tad on the bright side. I usually can warm up the tone to my liking by adjusting the tone control on the guitar and/or the tone controls on the amp. Those knobs are there for a reason and I take advantage of their presence where required. I've never played a maple neck Gibson, but I have played other brands with maple set necks on a mahogany body and those tone knobs do the trick every time.

[I Stoddard (Low-B 5-String)]

D Thompson (rockstar232007), on 25 March 2011 - 12:31 AM, said:

...

And, you have it backwards. The neck of a guitar is less rigid than the rest of the body, because it's smaller and has less mass, therefore it is more prone to absorbing vibrations, so it acts as a "tone filter". And, since maple is very dense as opposed to mahogany, it will absorb less vibrations/lower frequencies, which in turn cause a certain amount of brightness in the tone.
...

Bammmmmp. Sorry. Wrong assertion. Rigidity and mass have NOTHING to do with each other. They are separate material properties. When you look at the math (I do, daily, at work) of the physics behind the dynamics, you can see it. Fact, not opinion.
Also, "absorbing vibrations" is a property of material DAMPING. Vibrations dying out quickly is a property of lower stiffness.

Maple is STIFFER (harder to bend 0.001) than mahogany, but mahogany is DENSER (weighs more per cubic inch) than maple. (not my opinion, but that of many luthiers).
The US Forestry Service puts out a great reference called The Wood Handbook. Some tables from it are online.

Maple necks sound brighter because as stiffer objects, they reflect more vibration back into the body, and as a result the higher frequencies do not die out as soon.


Not to be a complete wet blanket: I agree that some axes feel dead. And neck/fingerboard wood choice definitely makes a difference. ;-B

[T Sigurdson (Siggy14)]

I started playing guitar at age 14 when I received my first guitar, i will be 41 this July so I have been playing for almost 27 years now. You eyes play tricks on you when it comes to tone, what I can tell you is this, you take a maple neck les paul and a mahogany neck, set them up with the same electronics, pickups and have the same player play them they will sound damn close. However no two guitars will ever sound exactly alike, just like amplifiers will never sound alike because they are too many variables that make a difference in tone.

As to feeling dead but not sounding dead, that does not make sense. I tell you now my two norlins sound and feel so responsive and they pretty much play themselves. Like i said I have put them up against historic's, older gibsons, newer gibsons and everything in between and they sound better then anything I have ever played and I have owned over 30 gibsons, many jacksons, PRS's, Ibanez's, charvels, fenders etc..

As to the neck absorbing more vibrations, one of the other forum members below responded to that, but if you dont believe him or myself go ask some respected luthiers about the effect a set neck has compared to a neck through as compared to a bolt on.

D Thompson (rockstar232007), on 25 March 2011 - 02:31 AM, said:

I never said they "sounded dead", I said they "felt dead". Huge difference.

And, you have it backwards. The neck of a guitar is less rigid than the rest of the body, because it's smaller and has less mass, therefore it is more prone to absorbing vibrations, so it acts as a "tone filter". And, since maple is very dense as opposed to mahogany, it will absorb less vibrations/lower frequencies, which in turn cause a certain amount of brightness in the tone.

I've played/dealt with hundreds of Gibson LPs (vintage, Norlin, and new) since I was 5 years old (23 years), and every one of them that had maple necks, sounded very different than their mahogany-necked counterparts, even with the same pickups. So, the choice of neck/fingerboard woods DO make a difference, not necessarily a "bad" difference, but a difference nonethe less.

[r akers (wrick)]

One of the reasons I like about bolt ons,is the fact you can just change the neck if there is a issue.I havent had the best luck with set necks,not just Gibsons,but even a Fender Custom Mohogany special tele with a twist and many others brands.

The fact you can adjust a bolt on angle is a plus,not to speak of the after market sales they can make.Even a good stouty mohogany bolt on give you the option of changing it.

So the debate goes on,yea both have their pros and cons,but to have a choice as to repair it to your liking (very costly),or replace it with original spec.factory neck gives the owner a bit of control.Just my opinion.