Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisN
I envy your skill set! Thanks for your help, and for the story behind that beautiful guitar. I like the same things for the same reasons, but my skill set limits me to plunking down dollars for a used Taylor GC (which I do like).
What you say about Tru Oil needing a rougher surface makes sense and may be the reason my bare wood neck maker stopped at 200 grit. I've read lots of folks get a good result with 2-3 coats of Tru Oil, then smooth it out with some fine sandpaper, which I is what I understand you mean by just sealing the neck. You then refer to another path to a "speed neck," by which I understand you to mean "a neck on which you can play really fast." From your other post, I think you are referencing this product - https://www.onetreestudio.com.au/pages/osmo but please let me know if you mean another.
My goals for the neck are (1) it feels smooth to play with easy hand movements, and (2) it's sealed so it doesn't soak up skin oil and get ruined. My skill set is limited to "spray it from a can," or "rub it on with a cloth, buff excess and/or fine sand as needed." I am not a speed player kind of guy, by any means, but I do love the satin-smooth neck on my G&L. I notice it every time, just like I notice the "been too long since it was polished" sticky nitro neck on a Gibson. More G&L, less Gibson, please.
For my goals, do you recommend the Osmo product over the Tru Oil? |
Absolutely nothing wrong with playing A Taylor GC, I own a 322 myself, and it's a great guitar.
"Speed Neck" is simply a generic slang used for instruments that have neck finishes that don't get sticky, soft, or inhibit hand movement by causing the hand to grab against the finish when moving around on the neck.
Some players resort to sanding all of the finish off the neck, but I'm not an advocate of that. The problem is that many factory finishes as well as many of the small / home shop finishes react in adverse ways depending on a player's body chemistry, temperature, humidity, time of day, phase of the moon, etc. You get the idea...
The challenge for the "home shop" builder is to find an appropriate finish that satisfies the requirements of being protective and still having that "bare wood" feel.
The Osmo Poly-X satin is probably the closest I've come to an ideal neck finish.
I'm getting ready to do a topic on Talkbass to follow a walnut short scale P bass build and both body and neck will be finished with Osmo Poly-X satin.