WOOD Vs ALUMINIUM NECKS

[sheffield steel]

Hi all,

I would just like to set a debate going with regards to personal preferences on either a wooden neck or an aluminium neck for a PSG. I for one thought for many years that it made NO difference at all and never being able to A/B the same type of guitar side by side, so the jury was out, that was untill last week.
Kev Bartholomew brought his blue Sheffield (wood neck) to my house and played it against the Sheffield black pearl (aluminium neck), also Mike Wrixton came along and played both guitars. The outcome was that all three of us were left in NO DOUBT that there was NO DIFFERENCE at all in the tone between both guitars. I know it can all come down to personal choice and what our ears tell us, but am I just being a sinical old so and so and this is just another myth that Alu gives a brighter/toppier tone.
Mr Bobbe Seymour says it makes No difference, so what do you all think!
Lets have your thoughts & findings guys.

Dave.

[Zebedee]

My experience has been that solid aluminium necks (not the Carter method of folded aluminium plate) impart more trebliness to the instrument.
This isn't always a good thing, as notes in the higher register can be too 'tinny', and if this is eq'd out, then the lower register notes are too muddy.

On the other hand, some wood neck steels lack 'liveliness', and it's virtually impossible to get a decent tone out of them.

[Kevan Bartholomew]

The Sheffield Steel Guitars are quality guitars.We managed to prove that ther are no negatives to either neck and that the tone and sustain are equal.
Over the past 35 years of playing almost all makes of steel guitar I find that the superior quality of build in these guitars gives me the ultimate guitar.
The precision of all parts,manufature,and final assembly are remarkable.NO PEDAL & LINKAGE RATTLE,NO DRIFT in TUNING,ALL STRINGS RETURN TO NORMAL PITCH.
A Tribute to Dave Wheelhouse and his engineering skills and design.I have just taken delivery of THE BLACK PEARL and have all in one guitar.
I like most thought that if you played Pedal Steel Guitar it had to be made by the top stateside builders.Certainly not the case well done Dave. (Kevan Bartholomew)

[sheffield steel]

Kev you are too kind, thank you my friend.

The aluminium neck on the Sheffield is milled from a solid billet and has a serise of pockets milled out along the back, thus making it lighter but keeping the strength and rigidity needed.

Dave.

[Ken Byng]

I prefer the look of the aluminium necks in general, but the exception is on the ShoBud guitars. I did read on the US Forum somewhere that alloy necks were introduced to reduce the cost of the guitar. They can be mass produced fairly quickly and there is no inlay or laquering to do.

Tone-wise, Seymour removed the necks on some different makes (particularly the Emmons push-pull), and found that there was not a scrap of difference. I would have thought that any neck screwed to a PSG body would have had some effect, especially if the neck was screwed up tightly. However, who am I to argue with the esteemed Bobbe S.

[Happysteeler]

I did indeed play Dave's excellent Sheffield guitars one Aluminium neck and the other wooden when I visited him recently, and I agree that I too was totally suprised that the difference in tone between the guitars was minimal and the sustain was equal on both. After coming from Sho Bud to Emmons P/P years ago and experiencing huge tonal differnces and sustain, I was truly convinced it was mainly down to the Alluminium neck. I was wrong. Dave's guitars sound great and the sustain is awsome. Even through a Peavey 112 Dave. Ha Ha!!

Mike

[Basil Henriques]

Dave, a student of mine (on my reccomendation) has been trying to contact you for a couple of weeks with no response to his messages left on your 'phone.

He wants to commission a guitar...or at the least discuss the possibility of purchasing one.
Are you still "In Business?"
Basil