Guitar Neck Shapes.

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MatchBookNotes

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Every guitar has a neck, with a frett board, there are many styles, and such.
Which one is your favourite?
How do they help you play more comfortably/better.
Is wide frett and thin profile the best combo, or just alright?
 
Man, this is a topic near and dear to me. I really love all my guitars but the one that just feels right has a compound radius to the back side. Maybe I'm lucky in that my hand just happens to fit but there's nothing quite like it.

The flat Ibanez necks are nice. It's easy to keep the finger tips curled over and the reach is nice but my hand gets tired after awhile. The fenders and gibson baseball bats are comfy to my in the palm but just feel a little thick.

I have a couple Peavey Wolfgangs. I'm not dropping the name brand or performer's name for effect but it's my only point of reference. If I could take the neck of these things and put them onto gibson bodies...BAM! I understand that Warmoth makes a similar neck so, I'd expect that there are others. Oh, and another thing, unfinished or satin...they feel so smooth. The glossy finish just feels sticky to me.
 
C neck, D neck, U neck, Boat neck, V neck, and probably a few more terms to describe neck shapes are fairly common in catalogs. None are really superior to any other (thicker necks may be a little stronger but the wood used is more important for strength imo.) Some may argue but neck shape is largely a design factor for comfort. Hand size and shape will make some necks more comfortable to play. I have somewhat square hands, to me a D neck (similar to a C neck but with a somewhat flattened area in the center of the back) to be the most comfortable. I have found that too flat causes me to get hand cramps and too thick will tire my hand much faster. Boat neck and V necks take some getting used to but I know some players who swear by them. Largely it is a matter of what feels right to you, the more comfortable the feel, the more often and longer you will play it.
 
funny, i started learning what the specs meant on guitars so many years later.,..
I knew what I liked just didn't know the numbers and nomenclature.

So 9.5" ish radius, etc..etc.. and the C, rounded edges, finish types

this US 2000 standard strat specs is the flavor I like...rounded edges, satin finish......:D

i have a Squier 51 now, but after having two of them, I realized the necks were totally different! the size the radius, the finish!! I measured and setup and measured and downloaded the free poor mans Radius checker...it was a trip they were so different yet had the same specs!:eek:

but thats the confusion on cheap guitars, imo....you have to really do your home work and play them under a microscope.
 
MatchBookNotes said:
Every guitar has a neck, with a frett board, there are many styles, and such.
Which one is your favourite?
How do they help you play more comfortably/better.
Is wide frett and thin profile the best combo, or just alright?
Click to expand...
There is no best or right or wrong. The is only what works for you. One of the things I spend most time on when discussing buids with customers is what they like in a neck. I ask them to consider these questions in this order because from experience these are the determining factors for a neck made to suit you.

Type of frets, wide, narrow, etc.
Width of the neck at the first fret
Width of neck at 12th fret.
Radius of the fingerboard.
depth of the neck at the first fret.
depth of the neck at the 12th fret of nearest fret to the heal if shorter.
Bound or unbound
Neck profile, C, V, D etc.
Finish

A lot of people will ask to have the neck based on an existing guitar and I'll take measurements and use my judgement to get close depending on materials and style of guitar. A few will leave it to me, in which case on most electric based instruments I'll use something close to the PRS profile but a little heavier and on archtops and acoustics a recipe of my own for the dimensions. I have never had a single customer unhappy with the results of this.

If you change any of the things above you through the balance out if you compare one to another. It is really all down to preference.
 
i see, good information.


Now what about bolt on necks, set necks and neck thru body guitars?
 
To me...Any Wizzard or Wizzard II neck(Ibanez), is the perfect neck. I've had a Fender, and a close comparison to a Gibson (a Guild). Both had their good qualities but an Ibanez neck seemed to bring it all together for me..Well,...My neck on my Kramer KnightSwan was a very close second if I truely had to make a choice.
 
I'm not a tech, but I know my hands like some necks and not others. I have a Strat with a V-neck, and a Highway one Telecaster. The Strat is fast, and does not fatigue my hands. The tele is slower and wider, more like the neck on an old Gibson acoustic. I think that's one of the reasons why country guys love them, because they often have to switch back and forth between acoustic and electric. When I go from the tele to a Gibson/Epiphone electric or the strat, it takes me a half hour before I don't miss strings with the pick or my fingers. However, I can switch from my Taylor or my Epiphone acoustic to the tele without missing a beat. Real narrow and deep necks, like say, a Yamaha acoustic, just don't work for my hands. Mostly, I don't like the necks on Ibanez, most Martins (with some outstanding exceptions), or Ricks. I've never tried to break it down to what the real dimensions are. It's more like women. There are just some you like more than others, and you're not always sure why.-Richie
 
I don't think being bolt-on set, or through-neck affect playability at all, except perhaps on the heel, set and through necks tend to have a smoother transition to body...

I love a C-neck, good and round and solid. It shows as I play my guitars with slimmer necks, it's allright, but when wrapping my hand around the C, it just feels right. It's a V-type guitar, glued neck, hangs quite upright so easy to reach. Straight, no radius. Standing with it legs apart "metal-style" and taking a good grip on the neck just makes me feel like a guitarGod. My hands warm up, pulse rises, sweat burns the eyes and I get an urge doing "windmills" with teh picking hand.:o
 
i love a thing neck and not to wide of frets personally. a nice smooth non gloss is nice too.
 
What we have here...is...a failure...to communicate :D
 
punkin said:
What we have here...is...a failure...to communicate :D
Click to expand...
Not at all, All the answers are there considering the questions are a bit broad and not really thought through.

Anyone who tells you a C neck is better than a V neck is only expressing an opinion. Same with neck joints. Anyone who says a set is better than a bolt on is talking opinions or rubbish. There is no better or worse, there is only different. They all work perfectly well.

I think so far we have all bases covered.
 
Yeah, I mean no...my point exactly. There isn't a better or worse unless we throw into the mix poorly manufactured guitars. You're absolutely right. There have been a lot of replies pointing out the benefits and drawbacks based on personal experinces and preferences and I believe that is the message that doesn't seem to be registering. Assuming the original poster was looking at "decently built" guitars, it comes down to preference. That's the message I keep hearing.

Nothing wrong with the info and as far as I'm concerned you hit it on the head.
 
Classical guitar neck, because that's basically what I learned on. All those steel strings are too damn close together. :mad:
 
I don't really have a preferance, I seem to be able to adapt quickly to most common neck types. I like em all.
 
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