What fretboard?

suspiciousminds · September 2013

A mate has just made me this body from oak - not sure what neck to fit - maple fretboard or rosewood - any suggestions?
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6372/rqu2.jpg

bertie · September 2013

...... rosewood, no other option

however, OAK ? what the hell does it weigh ?

suspiciousminds · September 2013

Havent weighed it but tbh its not that heavy.
Its slimmer than a normal tele as he copied the shape from a damaged affinity tele body.

octatonic · September 2013

Oak is an unusual body wood although I think Brian May's guitar was an oak body- although maybe it was the neck.

It is usually pretty darn heavy, unless chambered, which May's was/is (I think).

All bets are off on what fingerboard to use though- there isn't much in a way of an established match to go with an oak body.

You could try maple, rosewood, ebony, cocobolo- anything you like.

I'd suggest going for maple neck, rosewood board.

You're going to have to use a LOT of filler to finish that oak properly.

suspiciousminds · September 2013

I was leaning towards a rosewood board.

ICBM · September 2013

Sycamore, walnut... make it something interesting and English! To go with the oak.

(Sycamore is similar to maple, walnut is more like rosewood.)

Brian May's guitar body was made from top quality timber of the species 'blockboard'

.

I think the neck was oak - it came from an old fireplace.

octatonic · September 2013

ICBM said:

Sycamore, walnut... make it something interesting and English! To go with the oak.

(Sycamore is similar to maple, walnut is more like rosewood.)

Brian May's guitar body was made from top quality timber of the species 'blockboard' .

I think the neck was oak - it came from an old fireplace.

Yes I couldn't exactly remember which bit was oak- I knew it was something.

Oak is a weird wood to use on a neck- It moves around too much & prone to warping, which is nice in old bits of furniture or floorboards as it gives it a rustic look, not so great for a guitar.

ddlooping · September 2013

I'd say rosewood (or any similarly dark wood) if you're going to leave it au naturel.

OilCityPickups · September 2013

I believe the piece of wood was a mantle piece ... around 200 years old ... so by the time he made his neck it had lost any wayward moisture and had the become the shape it was happiest in. Once carved and shaped, and importantly, with a finish on ... it would be unlikely to move again. Much oak has been used unseasoned over the years for building purposes ... and of course warps and splits like an Italian coalition.

ChrisMusic · September 2013

I remember at the time, reading that Brian May's guitar was indeed made from an old fireplace, but it was mahogany IIRC, so beloved by our Victorian forebears for cutting edge interior design, and a display of the fruits of empire. Of course I believe everything I see in print, but that did make sense, and the pictures of it in the 70s looked that way too.

OilCityPickups · September 2013

Not likely to have been mahogany ... as May points out the woodworm holes he plugged with matchsticks in the neck ... and woodworm don't like mahogany ... they however adore oak. The red colour is from the mahogany finish 'Rustin's Plastic Coating' and the fingerboard was definitely oak ... given many coats of black 'Rustins' and with sawn up plastic knitting needle position markers.
The body 'frame' was block-board ... but it had a thin mahogany front and back with an oak centre block (most likely using up the rest of the neck material). So essentially the 'Special' is a chambered solid ... or even a semi acoustic.
My info comes from several articles that came out after the Special was renovated ... it was getting very battered indeed. The stripping down process revealed just how innovative May and his father were when producing the instrument.

ChrisMusic · September 2013

Fantastic stuff Mr Weasel, wisdom earned in style, and a bit of wisdom left for me to take away too, thanks for putting the record straight.

Both interesting and appreciated. Queen were part of my growing up, so it's nice to fill out the details. Thanks

bntylr · September 2013

Looks a bit dark as it it is, i'd go for a maple board to brighten the thing up.

But I wouldn't have anything other than that on a tele so I guess my opinion doesn't count

I guess it'll come down to how the thing sounds really, i'm not sure what the tonal properties of oak are?

Sporky · September 2013

Richlite.

luscombe · October 2013

I had always thought that the body on Brian May's guitar was made from a section of the bar in a London pub that was demolished. I also thought it was mahogany, but that doesn't mean it definitely is. If my first statement is correct, I would have thought oak was a more suitable material for a busy bar.

stickyfiddle · October 2013

I read a massive piece about BM's guitars and the RS clones thereof, and they were convinced the body should be a mix of blockboard and oak with mahogany veneers with a mahogany neck. Fretboard is black-painted oak.

Really good build thread here: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=909876&highlight=red+special+build

On topic: I'd go maple for the Tele.