I am so damned confused ---- Neck Profiles

matonanjin

matonanjin

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Not about the different profiles specs, but about what profile is appropriate for me! I thought I knew. I now realize I have no clue.

Some may remember my shopping in Chicago a few months ago for a Santana. When I finally go to try one out at Chicago Music Exchange I was shocked by the chunky neck. And I thought this isn’t for me.

More recently, and thanks to the advice of @bodia @Mozzi @DrCarver and others on here, I've been seriously looking at the Special Semi-Hollow. I’m 83.7% certain that is going to be my next PRS. I've been looking at this one. The guy that owns the store that one is at called me yesterday; he was just unpacking a new blue one. Of course, I had to drive over to the store and check it out! Predictably, it plays beautifully, and it is gorgeous. I mean gorgeous. I can’t remember the name of the blue finish. It almost has some yellow in it. But that’s an entirely different issue.

While I was trying it out, I asked to try the McCarty 594 again. This time the chunkier neck didn’t feel badly at all! Like all learning guitarists I found barre chords a challenge but I’m getting comfortable with them. Yesterday on the 594 they almost seemed easier! Possible? I’m still struggling with one song that has a switch to a Bm but I’m working it a few minutes each day. On the 594 that chord change also seemed easier?!?!?!? Possible?

While I was there, I asked the store owner about this and he said he prefers the thicker neck.

Does anyone find a chunky neck to actually be easier to play? At least for barre chords? Are there people that prefer the thicker neck? Obviously, the store owner is one but is there a significant number of others that find the thicker neck preferable? I thought that people just tolerated a thicker neck. There was the poll awhile back and 11% preferred the Pattern Vintage.

So many questions! And I know that I am rambling. GAWD! am I rambling.

Is it possible my preference is changing? @pauloqs , who started the poll stated, “The more I play Pattern Vintage, the more I like it”. I wonder if that is going to happen to me. I’m going to get a Special Semi next because, as @Mozzi pointed out, it is a limited edition. But beyond that I want to purchase guitars that are going to be best for me long term. If I were a more experienced player I would probably know what I want.

Is the Santana Retro neck chunkier than the Pattern Vintage neck? Maybe the Santana neck just shocked me.
 
I have Pattern, Wide Thin, Wide Fat and I'm sure some other neck profiles. They all serve their purposes, I really do like that thicker necks for some styles of playing. I am head over heels with my Mira neck though. Not too thin and not too chunky.

I think my favorite neck I have is my CU24 which MODCAT says is a Standard neck.
 
sergiodeblanc said:
I cramp up less with a bigger neck, and I used to prefer thinner necks.

So it is possible to change preferences, I also kinda believe in the whole “bigger neck bigger tone” thing too.
Click to expand...

CyFan4036 said:
As you progress as a player ALL necks will feel better to you than they did early on.
Click to expand...

I right there with these two. Not that I play that often, but I am at the point that neck shape doesn't really bother me anymore. Although, I will say that the 20" radius, and chunky neck on the Holcomb sent my forearm and hands into cramps that I hadn't gotten in ages.
 
You are right about the Santana but I used to feel kinda like you. What neck do I feel best with? Which neck is best for me to play? Until I realized every one of my guitars, and I have a lot, has it's own thing in totality.I stopped focusing on the parts so much a while back and more on the whole instrument build. So now w many necks, when I pick up a guitar I never even notice or think about neck shapes as much as is this the tone I want and is my back broken after slinging this thing nonstop for 4 hours. How easy in the dark can I find what I want when switching and how long can this thing stay in tune before I need to worry and check. That just me so neck size is not a deal killer when I look for another guitar.
 
Ergonomically, a thicker neck keeps your fingers closer to their relaxed position which makes quick changes for all fingers easier as does proper hand/wrist positioning which a larger neck somewhat forces the player to adapt.

The drawback is if you have small hands and have to start reaching really far and dropping the wrist way down you start putting more tension back on your muscles and tendons.
 
@matonanjin The Pattern Vintage neck is a bit thicker but its also Asymmetric which means that its not the same thickness on the bottom half (the thin strings side) compared to the top half (the wound strings side) and if you cut through the neck and looked at it, you would see how it differs where as the other necks are symmetrical and form a 'C'. What that means though is that the thicker Pattern Vintage feels thinner than it is but also fits the hand shape more. If you look at your hand as if you were gripping a neck, the shape you make between you thumb and forefinger isn't a perfect C shape.

For a lot of people who have tried the Pattern Vintage, they say it feels 'thinner' than the expected and a LOT say that the asymmetric carve feels like its more worn in to their hand - as if some of the wood as been worn away through years of playing and why its also been a very popular neck carve.

I have all the Pattern Neck shapes and not one is what I consider thick or chunky, none are particularly thin either and can happily pick any PRS guitar and barely notice the necks - for me, the most difficult thing to adjust to when swapping guitars is the switching and knob positions. I also have an acoustic but compared to that, my Electrics feel a bit small - and my acoustic wasn't much bigger than my old Epiphone Les Paul Custom which is one of the reasons why I bought it. It felt closest to my electric whilst others were bigger and/or wider with higher action.

Its very difficult to feel necks from anothers perspective. What may be 'chunky' or wide to you may be small and thin to me because I was more accustomed to playing acoustics for example whilst you started with a wizard neck. I would certainly recommend any of the PRS necks as I find them all perfectly useable with no discomfort or issues to play. I love the Pattern Vintage neck carve but at the end of the day, its not my money and its not me who will be playing. Regardless of what you 'hear' about necks for example, its always much better to gauge it yourself because no one can tell you how that neck will feel in your hands. If you look at the cross-section of all PRS necks, they don't vary massively and, according to the figures, they are on 1/32nds (0.8mm) differences here and there.

I think that Blood Orange Special looks 'very' special - that is one good looking Guitar. I recommend though that you try it. You've tried a 594, which is a great guitar too so go try the Special. Don't get all worked up about what 'neck' these guitars have, that's not important and only becomes important once you know how that neck feels in your own hands. If you liked the Pattern Vintage after trying it, then you know that you can order a Pattern Vintage 594 online and be safe in the knowledge that the neck feels good to you. Without trying the neck, then you don't know how chunky, if it is chunky to you or what the asymmetric carve feels like. As soon as you have tried it, you know if it works for or not and know whether you can buy a guitar with that neck or not. As I have all the Pattern Necks, if PRS made a completely new model but with any of the 4 pattern necks, I know instantly that the neck won't be an issue for me.

All you really need to know about a neck is whether you find it comfortable or not, not whether I think its small or someone else thinks its chunky. If you find it comfortable, make a mental note about what neck shape it is and know that you can buy any PRS with that neck carve. That's all that matters because its your money, you who will be playing it.
 
matonanjin said:
Not about the different profiles specs, but about what profile is appropriate for me! I thought I knew. I now realize I have no clue.

Some may remember my shopping in Chicago a few months ago for a Santana. When I finally go to try one out at Chicago Music Exchange I was shocked by the chunky neck. And I thought this isn’t for me.

More recently, and thanks to the advice of @bodia @Mozzi @DrCarver and others on here, I've been seriously looking at the Special Semi-Hollow. I’m 83.7% certain that is going to be my next PRS. I've been looking at this one. The guy that owns the store that one is at called me yesterday; he was just unpacking a new blue one. Of course, I had to drive over to the store and check it out! Predictably, it plays beautifully, and it is gorgeous. I mean gorgeous. I can’t remember the name of the blue finish. It almost has some yellow in it. But that’s an entirely different issue.

While I was trying it out, I asked to try the McCarty 594 again. This time the chunkier neck didn’t feel badly at all! Like all learning guitarists I found barre chords a challenge but I’m getting comfortable with them. Yesterday on the 594 they almost seemed easier! Possible? I’m still struggling with one song that has a switch to a Bm but I’m working it a few minutes each day. On the 594 that chord change also seemed easier?!?!?!? Possible?

While I was there, I asked the store owner about this and he said he prefers the thicker neck.

Does anyone find a chunky neck to actually be easier to play? At least for barre chords? Are there people that prefer the thicker neck? Obviously, the store owner is one but is there a significant number of others that find the thicker neck preferable? I thought that people just tolerated a thicker neck. There was the poll awhile back and 11% preferred the Pattern Vintage.

So many questions! And I know that I am rambling. GAWD! am I rambling.

Is it possible my preference is changing? @pauloqs , who started the poll stated, “The more I play Pattern Vintage, the more I like it”. I wonder if that is going to happen to me. I’m going to get a Special Semi next because, as @Mozzi pointed out, it is a limited edition. But beyond that I want to purchase guitars that are going to be best for me long term. If I were a more experienced player I would probably know what I want.

Is the Santana Retro neck chunkier than the Pattern Vintage neck? Maybe the Santana neck just shocked me.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain as I've been through a very similar journey. I thought I liked thick necks better, then found that I liked thinner necks better and sold all my thick neck guitars in favor of the thin necks. Then I discovered the Pattern Vintage of the McCarty 594's. Now I'm back to liking fat necks again, but ONLY the Pattern Vintage style of fat necks.

So I still have thinner necks on my Custom 24 (both Pattern Regular and Pattern Thin) and I'm keeping those. But I also like my 594's. So I have both.
 
sergiodeblanc said:
I cramp up less with a bigger neck, and I used to prefer thinner necks.

So it is possible to change preferences, I also kinda believe in the whole “bigger neck bigger tone” thing too.
Click to expand...
This x100!

Pattern Vintage was a game changer for me. I was convinced Pattern Regular was perfect for me. Then it was Wide Fat. Then Pattern. Nope, Pattern Vintage! And shorter scale length!
 
11top said:
Ditto

Nothing beats a ‘59 LP neck carve for me.
Click to expand...

I'm a PRS player first and foremost, but Gibson makes the best necks with Fender not far behind. The 59 like you said is perfection, as are my L5 Lee Ritenour and L5premier necks. All different, all nice and chunky. I dream of PRS making a neck like any of those. I get along with PRS wide fat, pattern and pattern vintage, but none can touch a good R9 or other chunky Gibson neck.
:mad:
 
When I started playing, no one around me ever talked about wide/thin/fat/narrow for the necks, only if the action was good.

I played an Ibanez RG-550 for years int he 80s, and replaced it with a PRS with a Wide-Thin, as I thought that was the closest neck I could get in a PRS. It felt much thicker (as you can imagine) comparably, but it was more comfortable to play, so I gave it a thumbs up.

Recently I have realized that the thicker neck profiles are generally more comfortable to play, with the wide-fat on my ME1 being my current fave, just barely ahead of the one on the 20th ANV CU-22 (which is a better weight and balance over all).

So, uhh, I guess tl;dr: PRS Pattern necks are the best.
 
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