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#1
06-20-2016, 02:55 PM
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Spanish cedar for steel-string necks
I know that spanish cedar is often used for classical guitar necks. I am planning a very light build, and I wondered if I could use spanish cedar for a steel string guitar. I usually use mahogany or maple, both being quite heavy.
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Brian Evans Around 15 archtops, electrics, resonators, a lap steel, a uke, a mandolin, some I made, some I bought, some kinda showed up and wouldn't leave. Tatamagouche Nova Scotia. 
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#2
06-20-2016, 03:48 PM
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Sure. Martin has been doing it for a few years now.
SC is not as stiff as mahogany, but with proper reinforcement, it does fine.
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#3
06-24-2016, 12:48 PM
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I have a Halcyon that's a couple years old now with a Spanish Cedar neck. Fairly thin as well. It's always had light gauge strings but the neck relief hasn't budged at all. Not even a fraction.
The smell is wearing off but it smells absolutely fantastic as well! I think the name throws people off as true Cedar is pretty soft. Spanish Cedar is not Cedar, it has way more in common with Mahogany. The Janka hardness is double that of Western red Cedar.
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#4
06-25-2016, 06:19 AM
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I've used it on several guitars with no problems. I would not build any neck without an adjustable truss rod but even more so for SC. Wear a dust mask as the dust is more irritating than mahogany and if you get a tiny bit in your mouth it tastes horrible.
If you are going for a light neck, I have found that an ebony fingerboard and Rotomatic style tuners are extremely heavy, and will add a lot more weight than you will save by using SC for the shaft. I strongly recommend a lighter rosewood FB, and open back tuners like Grover Sta-tites. I use ebony fingerboards all the time, but not when the customer has specifically asked for a light neck.
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Larry Nair
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#5
06-25-2016, 06:40 PM
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The difference in weight between a rosewood and an ebony fingerboard is about 20 grams. The difference in weight between a mahogany and a SC neck is about 50 grams. Grover Rotomatics (which I don't recommend for any guitar) weigh about 110 grams more than open back Grover Statites.
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#6
06-26-2016, 05:18 PM
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I'm curious John if the 50 grams is for a carved neck or a blank?
You made it much clearer than I did. If you go with a cedar neck and a rosewood FB you save 70 grams over hog and ebony. If you go with rotomatics you throw all that away and then some.
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Larry Nair
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#7
06-26-2016, 05:30 PM
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Quote:
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