Are You Sensative.................. to Neck Shape??

Tim

Are 2 heads better than 1
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
739
I posted this in the general section as I didn't really want a Wide Fat Vs Pattern poll...... just a general discussion.

I definitely have preferred neck carves, and I have preferences on particular guitars, for example I liked the Ibanez Wizard as a younger man, but woudln't necessarily put that on a LP, and vice versa. But apart from the odd guitar that I didn't gell with I don't think I am that fussy. Like I said, I definitely have preferences, but I don't think it takes me long to adapt (just as bad with any perhaps!!). Maybe sub-conciously that is why I prefer the brands I prefer?? not sure.

So to my questions......

Are you particularly sensative to neck carve? (beyond a 'preferred')
What happens if you don't have your carve? (Can't play? miss bends? Can't swap between guitars when gigging? hand pain?)
What lengths do you go to to get what you need?

or if you are not that fussed about it, let me know too!!
 
To me it really doesn't matter. What matters to me is the lacquer on the back the neck. I like the MusicMan, Fender necks where it is just wood. But my favorite guitar is the custom 22. My PRS's have the thin necks.
 
Wide/Fat. I dig DGT too. I only have PRS with those carves. I don't buy otherwise.

I also really like Tom Anderson Happy Medium on their 6 string models and Slim Taper on their 7 string guitars.
 
Wide/Fat. I dig DGT too. I only have PRS with those carves. I don't buy otherwise.

Jesse, do the other shapes cause you a problem, or is it more "if I am paying $X,000, then I am going to get exactly what I want"
 
like wide/fat and wide/thin. do not like regular. and since we're talking about necks, i do NOT like the jumbo frets at all. it's like running your fingers over railroad tracks!
 
Last edited:
I have noticed that on a big neck like my R9 or Nocaster I tend to play 2 notes per string licks, where as on guitars with slim necks like my Ibanez I play more 3 notes per string licks. Not when I am playing something pre-thought, more when juust noodling I notice this a few years ago. Not 100% certain it is just the neck.... possibly just the overall vibe and mojo I associate with those guitars. With some of the Suhrs and the PRS Regular I don't seem to favour 2 notes per string or 3.

Anyone else notice this?
 
I have a preference, but will play just about anything.
When going to a narrower neck, I sometimes pull the high E off the edge of the board until I adjust - a small number of minutes. Or I might accidentally dampen a string with my left hand - but I get over it after a couple of chord changes.
The shape of the neck doesn't impact me much, but I prefer a bit of meat to it.
I've never noticed a neck having any impact on the licks I will play.
 
I cut my teeth in the 80's on slim profile necks, mostly Charvel, Jackson and Kramer. So I assumed that anything other than wide/thin would bother me. I was pleased to find however that that is not the case at all. My Les Paul Customs all have very fat neck carves, but I still love them. It wasn't until I got my Mayones Reguis Pro 7-string did I find neck carve that effects my playing style.
 
I am really affected by scale length and the number of frets, and I just can't get along with certain ones. When it comes to neck shape, though, I really don't have a problem. I prefer wide/fat, but I can play any PRS neck shape.
 
the number of frets,

Clayton is the number of frets a tone/uumbucker placement things, or is it more using the last fret as your point of reference when you are up that end of the neck and affecting your fret choice??
 
Like necks with some heft to them, one of the reasons I moved away from ibanez, but don't really care either way.
 
I'm a relatively new player, so my opinion doesn't have much weight, but I'll chip in here anyway :)

The only guitar I had ever played up until I bought my 1st PRS was a cheap Fender Strat that my Grandfather left me, not knowing much (if anything) about guitars, I figured the neck felt like any other guitar and it was ME that was the problem.

Then I bought my Custom 24 with a wide/thin carve, wow, what a difference, it felt amazing and it felt like it was much easier to play then that old Strat.

About 6 months later, I bought my SE245 Soapy (awesome guitar btw) with a wide/fat carve. NOW I know what a guitar neck is supposed to feel like, at least to me.
 
I prefer smaller necks since I'm a short guy. However, I don't have any issues with neck sizes. I have a Music Man Axis, my PS on order has a Pattern Thin neck, my Gibson R8 has a huge neck, and my Kotzen Tele has an even bigger neck than the R8. The only difference I notice is that with bigger necks I can't do "Hendrix"/thumb over top licks and chords.
 
To me it really doesn't matter. What matters to me is the lacquer on the back the neck. I like the MusicMan, Fender necks where it is just wood. But my favorite guitar is the custom 22. My PRS's have the thin necks.

Fender and Music Man necks aren't unfinished wood, they're simply satin finished and not tinted (for the most part, some are given a "vintage" tint). Except that some Fender relics have bits of the finish removed to simulate wear.

Edit: I forgot to indicate my own preference! It's the Pattern neck, but my #1 has a Pattern Regular, so go figure.
 
I'm pretty oblivious to neck shape (and scale length too!). I honestly don't notice that much difference between the various PRS neck shapes.

The only necks I can't deal with were some of the Gibson ones that felt like the business end of a Louisville Slugger!
 
back in the old days, the LP scale felt comfortable but the shape was less so. Contrarily, the Fender shape felt great but the scale was not for me. ESP's felt fine but I could not tolerate the Jackson and Ibanez offerings. When i got my first PRS, a Cu24, I just could not deal with the regular neck but the wide/fats on my first SC's and McCarty's really hit home with me. For some odd reason, the DGT carve fits like a glove. Some say it's my imagination, others say it's the shoulder. And for whatever reason, I get along fine with my 513. Right now I'm really digging the 245 scale on my Ted and Santana. as i continue my journey, i just have to find carves that accomdate my playing style, which is my thumb wrapped around the neck and huge friction point on the fleshy palm pad of my second metacarpal.
 
I like wide/fat neck carve but I don't have issues going to other carves. I had a Kramer American Pacer series back in the day. It was kind of a Dean Dimebag body shape but it had a really fat neck that I was fond of. Scale length means more to me than neck carve. I don't care for short scale necks.
 
Back
Top