I am so damned confused ---- Neck Profiles

[WA Paul]

You’re on your way to a Santana or even better, a West Street Limited.

I did try one a few months ago and really liked it -just weighed over 9lbs - ugh! Sucks to have herniated discs!

 

[WA Paul]

Ditto

Nothing beats a ‘59 LP neck carve for me.

I tried the R8, R9 and R0 at my local pusher who now carries them. R9 felt pretty good, but I like my new Huber better. Slightly shaved down version of his standard 59 carve which is typically somewhere in between a 58 baseball bat and a R9 carve.

 

[WA Paul]

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.

That’s good, the Koa Sister has a Pattern neck carve

 

[danktat]

I am 5'5" tall and everything [unfortunately] is in proportion to everything else [except for this gut] and the WIDE / FAT is my neck of choice. Even with my little hands, it is the most comfortable for me to play. Sounds counter intuitive, but it is the reality for me. I have had a CU22 with a wide thin. And though it wasn't "bad"....it wasn't my Wide/fat. It really comes down to what you get used to as well. If you have only ever played Fenders, you will have a different idea of what a neck should feel like than if you have only played "baseball bat" older Gibsons. Tinker around with several if you get he opportunity and see if one or the other calls out to you. Again, for me, the Wide/Fat is my preference. But each person has to find that feel that is right for them.

 

[Utkarsh]

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.

As much as I love PRS, I have to agree

 

[matonanjin]

I did try one a few months ago and really liked it -just weighed over 9lbs - ugh! Sucks to have herniated discs!

Try having 3 spinal fusions. The last one they fused from Lumbar 2 to Sacral 1, a 5 hour surgery. I'm asking about necks but weight is way more important than anything else to me

 

[WA Paul]

Try having 3 spinal fusions. The last one they fused from Lumbar 2 to Sacral 1, a 5 hour surgery. I'm asking about necks but weight is way more important than anything else to me

Brutal! I can’t begin to imagine going through and dealing with the aftermath of all of that!

I have L5 (sciatica) and now starting with some C6 issues.

Just got a Slinger guitar harness to help with my new Orca since they went way over my weight target of 8lbs.

https://slingerstraps.com/products/harness-strap-guitar-strap

Helped quite a bit since I can’t play sitting down.

I hope you can find some relief and keep playing!

 

[ViperDoc]

It's all about the feel. There's no way to tell you.

That said, I prefer the Wide Fat and Pattern Vintage. But I agree with 11Top and Sergio, there are different plays for different days.

 

[Bsic]

I prefer bigger necks and I’d say I’m average size (from the waist up of course).

I was intimidated by fat necks the first 20years I played. I got an R9 and bonded insanely well with it’s baseball bat. Loved it and continue to love it.


But going back to my pattern and pattern regular necks, they just feel like home. A certain comfort that the R9 certainly doesn’t have. But it’s more the sum of parts- weight, radius, etc.

Point being you may life fat necks and thinner necks. They may be different but just as easy for you to rock at without fighting if.

 

[matonanjin]

...

Just got a Slinger guitar harness to help with my new Orca since they went way over my weight target of 8lbs.

https://slingerstraps.com/products/harness-strap-guitar-strap

Helped quite a bit since I can’t play sitting down.

I hope you can find some relief and keep playing!

@WA Paul thanks for that link! As many times in as many forums as I have whined in I have never heard about Slinger. I am ordering one today. Thanks again.
I have been using Lakota Straps. Really soft and wide. But they just extend slightly how long I can play, as you know.

It was interesting (I'm sure you use a different word) to me that you can't play sitting down. I can play longer sitting down. People always say "Well just play sitting down". They don't realize even that hurts. It hurts to lift a heavy guitar to play sitting down!

It was funny in the Slinger ad the choice of guitar they used! Of Course, it was a Les Paul!!!

 

[Bill SAS 513]

ALWAYS personal preference...but for me...the BIGGER, the better!!! (I have bigger hands, a little fatter fingers) (old Wide Fat, from my SAS...perfection.)

 

[WA Paul]

@WA Paul thanks for that link! As many times in as many forums as I have whined in I have never heard about Slinger. I am ordering one today. Thanks again.
I have been using Lakota Straps. Really soft and wide. But they just extend slightly how long I can play, as you know.

It was interesting (I'm sure you use a different word) to me that you can't play sitting down. I can play longer sitting down. People always say "Well just play sitting down". They don't realize even that hurts. It hurts to lift a heavy guitar to play sitting down!

It was funny in the Slinger ad the choice of guitar they used! Of Course, it was a Les Paul!!!

Hope the Slinger helps! I just found it last week myself. No way I was sending my custom Orca back, way too good!

My L5 issues started because my job was long hours for over a decade plus lots of travel. My sciatica flares up more when I sit too much so it’s best when I don’t! Plus I tend to roll my neck and shoulders even more peaking over the fretboard trying to work on technique

With the on-set of my vestibular migraine illness nearly two years ago, I can’t really practice technique without getting dizzy so that somewhat ‘solves’ my C6 issues in the short run!

I use a Roc N Soc stool for sitting down to try to play (typically acoustic), but it’s really too high for me. Best if my feet were flat on the floor.

 

[Mozzi]

@WA Paul thanks for that link! As many times in as many forums as I have whined in I have never heard about Slinger. I am ordering one today. Thanks again.
I have been using Lakota Straps. Really soft and wide. But they just extend slightly how long I can play, as you know.

It was interesting (I'm sure you use a different word) to me that you can't play sitting down. I can play longer sitting down. People always say "Well just play sitting down". They don't realize even that hurts. It hurts to lift a heavy guitar to play sitting down!

It was funny in the Slinger ad the choice of guitar they used! Of Course, it was a Les Paul!!!

Its things like this that really emphasise why you must try the instruments your self. For someone, 8lbs is a 'light' guitar and a thick padded strap is all anyone with back problems need. If you are a seated player, weight doesn't matter at all - forgetting that you probably have to lean to grab a guitar up or put down in a stand. I know some that weight itself isn't just a problem but where that weight is mostly distributed. In other words, 1 8lb guitar maybe OK but another 1 not so much - I think it was if the weight was mostly in the body as that made it more difficult to pick up than if it was more evenly distributed.

This started off about necks and the confusion of those. As many have come to realise by actually picking up a guitar they think may be too chunky, too thin etc for whatever reason, find that they actually 'like' a neck. As I said, you really have to try a neck first and then worry about what the neck is described as. If you like the neck, then you know next time that you can buy a guitar with the 'same' neck and likewise, avoid the necks you disliked. What someone - inc a Company, describe as 'thick' may well be another companies 'thin'. Ibanez Wizard players for example may think the Pattern Thin is thick. The name/shape/dimensions only really matter once you know what that actually feels like to you and enables you to buy with confidence. If you try a 594 in one shop, find you really like the neck, you can order any PRS with Pattern Vintage and know that it will be remarkably similar. If you try a Pattern Thin neck and not all that keen, prefer a Pattern Regular, then you know to look for Custom 24's with the Pattern Regular neck and avoid any Pattern Thin. Its essential that you TRY the Necks yourself because no-one can tell you how you will feel that neck. A pattern Vintage neck may feel 'Chunky' to one but to you its perfect - it doesn't mean that its as Chunky as a baseball bat because someone (or even PRS figures) make it the 'thickest neck they do - its how it feels in your hands that matters - especially as its your money and you that will play it...

All I can say is enjoy the hunt, enjoy discovering which necks you like, which guitars you want to play, which guitars are comfortable (inc weight as well as neck) to play for you. No-one can tell you what you feel, what should work for you. Even a strap (thick padded should be adequate) may not be right for you... There is a LOT of great advice, people can point you in certain directions that may help you but at the end of the day, some things you really need to get your own hands on and see if that fits for you or not...

 

[Lister]

Mmm, Lidgett is like a candy store for sugar addicts so I'm very careful about how often I make that trip. As for neck size, I don't have SRV sized hands, but I do find the thicker necks to be comfortable for me.

 

[pauloqs]

My least favorite PRS profile is the Pattern Thin. My hands cramp up with thinner necks. My sweet-spot is the Patter, which is very close to the neck on my R9. Then going chunkier than that, the cramping of my hands start happening again. Slimmer necks seem to be the choice of modern metal players, who have a very distinct technique to allow for those jaw dropping speeds. However, for a lot of people such as myself, the slimmer necks are more of a hindrance.

There is one aspect of the Pattern Vintage that make it so comfortable for some people, the asymmetric carve. The asymmetric carve for some will make the neck feel less chunky. Some people don’t like asymmetrical necks, others do. Just to say that there are other aspects of the shape of the neck that do not translate so easily in measurements.

I do not have confirmation on this, so please take it with a grain of salt, but even among the non Pattern Vintage, there are variation in the shape of the carve across profiles. For instance, I think the Pattern have less shoulders than a Pattern Regular. Although, both might be technically C shaped necks, the Pattern have a hint of soft V, while the Pattern Regular feels more like a conventional rounded C. I suspect Paul in his amazing attention to detail and perfectionism, realized that 1959 LPs didn’t have a perfect rounded C carve, but a C shape with less shoulders and a slight hint of soft V. These are merely conjectures, but based on owning at least one guitar for each of the main profiles, Pattern, Pattern Regular, Pattern Thin, and Pattern Vintage. I feel a tad more shoulder on Pattern Regular carves than I do with Pattern.

 

[AZGiant]

The more you play, the more you will be able to play other guitars. Personally, I think it is easier going from a thick or wide next to a narrow one, then the other way around but that is totally personal preference. I own a Santana SE, neck profile is wider the most of the other guitars I have, but I like it and adjusted to it fairly easily. Then I move to an EVH Wolfgang, the neck felt like a toy in my hand, but adjusted to that. The shape of the neck also comes into play (wide D, C, V, etc.)

 

[Screamingdaisy]

The thing with PRS necks is that the W/T isn’t all that thin and the W/F isn’t all that fat. They’re both kind of middle of the road, nowhere near the extremes people think they’ll be based on the name.

As for the OP, I think it’s a mistake for a beginner to focus on specs. Your ear and tastes will change over time. Something you love today you’ll hate tomorrow and vice versa. Further, I think that focusing on specs/features leaves you more susceptible to marketing (the classic example being when the cheaper guitar sounds better but you leave the store with the more expensive guitar because it’s a “better” guitar).

Myself, I prefer to pick up a guitar and play it. If I like it, then I like it. And if I don’t, then I don’t. The specs are largely irrelevant in this test.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

The thing with PRS necks is that the W/T isn’t all that thin and the W/F isn’t all that fat. They’re both kind of middle of the road, nowhere near the extremes people think they’ll be based on the name.

As for the OP, I think it’s a mistake for a beginner to focus on specs. Your ear and tastes will change over time. Something you love today you’ll hate tomorrow and vice versa. Further, I think that focusing on specs/features leaves you more susceptible to marketing (the classic example being when the cheaper guitar sounds better but you leave the store with the more expensive guitar because it’s a “better” guitar).

Myself, I prefer to pick up a guitar and play it. If I like it, then I like it. And if I don’t, then I don’t. The specs are largely irrelevant in this test.

Absolutely! There is no comparison to being able to sit and play a guitar with no distractions. No one hassling you, no one staring at you or someone djenting in the background, unless that’s your thjing?

Get a guitar in your hands, if you have a favoured amp and the shop has one, ask to use it if they will allow, or take your own if practical. Try to emulate your amp set up, so you will be comfortable and know within reason the sounds you’re likely to achieve at home or when playing live.

Try to get a feel for the guitar. Salesmen/women will come at you with a barrage of info about various specs/gizmos. It’s their job, I know. However, try to look past that and listen to what you’re getting back from the guitar.

As you gather your guitar collection (as most of us here have!) you will find that not all your instruments will have the same rear radius (neck profile) and you will be ok with that. You will just naturally adjust your playing style to match the guitar.

Good luck in your journey.

 

[László]

Dear Abby,

It’s gotten difficult to tell where my chin(s) end and my fat neck begins. I had a beard, but my wife hated it, so I shaved it off. I think I need a thinner neck, but I believe at this point dieting will only give me one of those turkey necks. What can I do about my neck situation?

Mush Necked

Dear Mush Necked,

You need to see a neckodontist.

Abby

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Dear Abby,

It’s gotten difficult to tell where my chin(s) end and my fat neck begins. I had a beard, but my wife hated it, so I shaved it off. I think I need a thinner neck, but I believe at this point dieting will only give me one of those turkey necks. What can I do about my neck situation?

Mush Necked

Dear Mush Necked,

You need to see a neckodontist.

Abby

Is that a W/F Les?!








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