USA Santana neck size

Uncle Salty

Uncle Salty

New Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2023
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53
I'm really interested in a USA Santana. My concern is the neck.

10 years ago I would not have cared about it. I would seek out a bigger neck.
Now I have issues with a my hand. It will swell and cramp after about 45 minutes
of playing. It might stay that way for a few days.

Part of it is from a disc issue in my neck. But it is what it is and I'm not complaining.
I don't have a problem finding something that works for me. After 45 years of playing
at age 60 my hand is not going to get better. But there is a solution and I will find it.


A few weeks ago I posted about my Santana SE. I found out the Wide Fat neck
is not so wide and fat. It's .835 at the first fret. .945 at the 12th. I can play it for
a while with no issues. This guitar is fun to play and is enough to give me GAS for a USA
model.

I bought a 2002 McCarty. The wide fat neck is a little bigger that the listed specs.
Mine is .895 at the first, and .970 at the 12th fret. I switched to .009 gauge strings and it helps.
It's a great guitar and it sustains like crazy.

I don't think I would get along with a similar neck carve. I'm thinking the smaller
scale on a USA Santana might help. But I'm interested in any help/info I can get
with the Santana neck carve over the years.
 
I've got 3 different iterations all are my favorite necks to play with the DGT coming in a very close second. They share the slightly narrower width and thicker dimensions that fit my hand better than my 3 McCarty's . The 24.5 /24 fret also fits my fingers the best.

I'm almost 70 and have arthritis and more injuries than Evel Kneivel so I play what doesn't hurt the most often ... thankfully they also sound the best
 
The neck radius on Santana's has varied depending on year ..


https://www.ultimatesantana.com/gear-tone/paul-reed-smith-guitars/prs-santana-guitar-specs-chart/

for general reference


lighter

NECK DEPTH AT THE NUT

Pattern, Wide Fat - 28/32”

Pattern Thin, Wide Thin - 26/32”

Pattern Regular, Regular - 27/32”

Pattern Vintage - 57/64”

JM – 53/64”


Former PRS Neck Specs​

The Regular (sometimes called Standard) neck is a round neck shape that is 1/32 narrower and not quite as thick front to back as our Wide Fat neck.

The Wide Fat neck has the same nut width as the Wide Thin neck, but it has a deeper profile. Because of its strength and longer "heel", the Wide Fat neck produces warm tones with lots of sustain.

The Wide Thin neck has a thinner profile front to back than the Wide Fat. Guitars with these PRS neck profiles are a favorite of fast players and lead guitar players.
 
I own a core Santana and I wouldn’t describe the neck a particularly wide or fat.

It’s a very comfortable rear radius to play, not at all “baseball bat” like.

Maybe see if you can test drive one, if at all possible, see how it suits you.
 
Uncle Salty said:
I'm really interested in a USA Santana. My concern is the neck.

10 years ago I would not have cared about it. I would seek out a bigger neck.
Now I have issues with a my hand. It will swell and cramp after about 45 minutes
of playing. It might stay that way for a few days.

Part of it is from a disc issue in my neck. But it is what it is and I'm not complaining.
I don't have a problem finding something that works for me. After 45 years of playing
at age 60 my hand is not going to get better. But there is a solution and I will find it.


A few weeks ago I posted about my Santana SE. I found out the Wide Fat neck
is not so wide and fat. It's .835 at the first fret. .945 at the 12th. I can play it for
a while with no issues. This guitar is fun to play and is enough to give me GAS for a USA
model.

I bought a 2002 McCarty. The wide fat neck is a little bigger that the listed specs.
Mine is .895 at the first, and .970 at the 12th fret. I switched to .009 gauge strings and it helps.
It's a great guitar and it sustains like crazy.

I don't think I would get along with a similar neck carve. I'm thinking the smaller
scale on a USA Santana might help. But I'm interested in any help/info I can get
with the Santana neck carve over the years.
Click to expand...
Have you tried the newer style Mcarty models. Having said the I get problems with trigger Finger in the ring finger as well as arthritis in both hands. Have you tried the Yamaha SG1820 necks I think they are less deep and not quite as wide as the Mcarty neck. I also used a Singlecut satin and that is fine also. Some necks cause issues.
 
PXR5 said:
Have you tried the newer style Mcarty models. Having said the I get problems with trigger Finger in the ring finger as well as arthritis in both hands. Have you tried the Yamaha SG1820 necks I think they are less deep and not quite as wide as the Mcarty neck. I also used a Singlecut satin and that is fine also. Some necks cause issues.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I have not. I'm going to play the Santana for a while.
 
Last edited:
sergiodeblanc said:
Other guitars are trash.
Click to expand...
I can see why you have several.

A few thoughts on the guitar so far.

It's more versatile than I thought. The neck is just right. That was my main concern. The guitar
is just shy of 8 pounds. That's a great weight for this guitar.

I was on the fence about the ceramic bridge pickup and it's output. It just took a little time to
get used to it. I just lowered it a little. At first I had the idea of putting the neck pickup from my
2002 McCarty in the Santana bridge. The tone and volume controls work so well that it became a non issue.
Plus I like having the extra push when I need it.

I like the interaction between the pickups in the middle position. I was not expecting that.

I was also surprised how both pickups can be on the verge of feeding back
if I want them too.

I was thinking about decking the bridge. I like to rest my hand on the guitars bridge.
Regardless, I'm just going to leave it alone. I think I'm going check out the tremolo bar.
 
Uncle Salty said:
I can see why you have several.

A few thoughts on the guitar so far.

It's more versatile than I thought. The neck is just right. That was my main concern. The guitar
is just shy of 8 pounds. That's a great weight for this guitar.

I was on the fence about the ceramic bridge pickup and it's output. It just took a little time to
get used to it. I just lowered it a little. At first I had the idea of putting the neck pickup from my
2002 McCarty in the Santana bridge. The tone and volume controls work so well that it became a non issue.
Plus I like having the extra push when I need it.

I like the interaction between the pickups in the middle position. I was not expecting that.

I was also surprised how both pickups can be on the verge of feeding back
if I want them too.

I was thinking about decking the bridge. I like to rest my hand on the guitars bridge.
Regardless, I'm just going to leave it alone. I think I'm going check out the tremolo bar.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you have bagged a great guitar. The Mcarty I had almost sounded like it was feeding back even when played acoustically. I know it sounds odd but it was a great guitar. A guy who I knew had 2 PRS older core guitars and he said the same thing about his Guitars. Now I have a problem this has fueled my GAS for Core Santana. I'd have to sell my Yamaha SG1820.
 
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