Question on birdseye necks

[Rich#6]

Charvels like the one here at the music zoo

http://www.themusiczoo.com/Charvel_USA_San_Dimas_NaturalKoa_TheMusicZoo_C7847.html

have this amazing looking birdseye figuring.
The ones at warmoth and this mighty mite neck on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140216001032&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=004

just don't look even close.
My question is, is it just the grade of figuring that makes the charvels look better or do they do something different? Do they sand or cut the wood differently or do they use a stain or tint that brings it out more?

[JetFixxxer]

I would think its just the plank it's cut from. A friend of mine has a MIM Strat he picked up fairly cheap. It has a very beautiful birdseye neck (pretty close to the first link). I keep telling him don't leave me alone with the guitar or the neck is mine.

We both are in agreement that we've never seen a MIM Strat with a birdseye right out of the box.

[Bengal65]

It's the plank it comes from. Both Mike and Mike at the Jackson Custom Shop were telling me that you can go through a lot of wood to get a neck (or body) with the ideal figuring. Even cutting the wood to size can reveal changes in result you wanted in the first place.

[Learn Guitars]

Jackson/Charvel are very specific if not picky about the neck woods. I was impressed with the stuff they threw out. HEHEHHE

[straycat]

The GC near me had a MIM strat that had a stunning BE neck.

[shreddermon]

All figured woods - birdseye, flame, quilt, etc - come in different grades of figuring. The generally accepted convention is a grading system of A ("single A" - lowest) to AAAAA ("5A" - highest). AA and AAA are the most commonly used by many manufacturers, especially for figured tops used on bodies. AAAA and above is the premo stuff you typically see on custom shop pieces.

[j4vice]

The eBay neck is a Mighty Mite. I got one last year and I sanded, stained and lacquered it before I installed it. It's o.k. but it is nothing compared to the guitars and necks that you can get a music zoo. Those are way better.
SHREDDERMON has the good info with the 'AA' type grading. 5A look the best but you're gonna pay.

[fett]

Just a bit of history. I was reading that Leo Fender, way back when, rejected figured maple boards and necks on the very early Strats. Something about he wanting all his guitars to look the same. He missed that one.

[toejam]

Just a bit of history. I was reading that Leo Fender, way back when, rejected figured maple boards and necks on the very early Strats. Something about he wanting all his guitars to look the same. He missed that one.

I've also heard that birdseye and figured maple necks are not as stable as regular maple.

[fett]

Is knots.:ROTF:

[SEEGERMANY]

I've also heard that birdseye and figured maple necks are not as stable as regular maple.

And you've heard exactly right. When I had my '63 Strat built, I had a choice between birdseye and quartersawn. After much research, I went with quartersawn and am 100% satisfied.

[anuske9]

That custom charvel is amazing... if I had the money, I'd hit it tonight.

[Rich#6]

Thanks for the info guys. I was afraid that it was just the grade of birdseye. Even the $700 birdseye warmoth necks don't look even close to as good as the charvel ones. they don't look much better then a few of those mighty mite ones up on ebay right now for $155 ( and of course all the nice ones have medium frets).
Back to wishing for a nice one.

Does having a oil finish instead of a satin or poly finish made the brideye stand out more? I have a really cheap esp neck that has some birdeye in the maple, but I didn't see it until I sanded down the neck and used a tung oil finish.

[TommyD]

Question on birdseye necks

> Birdseye maple is typically pretty hard,but that isn't always the case. The higher the concentration of eyes,the more unstable it is. Chances are if someone actually got a big enough piece of 4/5A to make a neck out of,it would have to be reinforced with those carbon fiber rods along with the truss rod.

The age of the maple itself is also a factor. If the piece is less than 20 years old,it has a higher chance of moving on you than a piece that was part of that Timeless Timber project,where submerged logs from the bottoms of major lakes like Lake Superior are brought up. Some of that stuff is 3-400 years old.

The eyes themselves are the result of a fungus,so actually the wood is diseased.

It's used in high-end pool cues too,I can show you pieces that would blow your mind. One in particular where the cuemaker said it took him over 4 hours to count all the eyes,he stopped at over 300,on a piece that was only a foot long and started as a 1 1/8 dowel. That dowel alone was 125.00. The cue sold for over 3k. A piece that highly figured and large enough to make a neck would cost 500.00 for the blank alone,no exaggeration. Tommy D.

[Rich#6]

It's used in high-end pool cues too,I can show you pieces that would blow your mind. One in particular where the cuemaker said it took him over 4 hours to count all the eyes,he stopped at over 300,on a piece that was only a foot long and started as a 1 1/8 dowel. That dowel alone was 125.00. The cue sold for over 3k. A piece that highly figured and large enough to make a neck would cost 500.00 for the blank alone,no exaggeration. Tommy D.

A guy at work has a birdseye veneered cue that he paid $900 for. I thought he was nuts for paying that.