comparison of AVRI52, Nocaster, TMNF-FAT necks?

[shinigami747]

hi guys!

bought a fender standard ash tele recently. i love the guitar. to my untrained newbie eyes, the body looks like it was one piece of swamp ash, but is actually made of three pieces. nice wood matching. (if and when i do get a decent digicam, i will post pics...) sounds insanely loud and lively for an electric when played acoustically. pickups are kinda dull for me. the neck is great for blues except...

i was thinking of learning more fingerstyle jazz (not that i can actually play the stuff, i'm still learning waaaayyyy slowly...) and i find the neck too skinny for this. my hands cramp up a bit and my thumb hurts because i have to prop it up really hard. and that's on a set of stock 9's. and i need more space between strings. my nails buzz on the strings above them, esp on the D and G strings.

so i'm thinking of a neck swap so i can get a fatter neck and wider string spacing. not right now, but as a project to be kept in the back burner until cash and time becomes available.

had a chance to play an AVRI52. the neck was not as big as i was expecting it to be. more comfy than the standard's neck, but not as big as i want a neck to be. and i didn't get a chance to play a nocaster. and i have never held a TMNF-FAT neck.

so, if i may ask whoever has experience with those necks back to back, how do they compare in terms of fatness? i need a point of reference for the aforementioned neck swap i have in mind.

i know i might have to go custom for the string spacing, and any info you guys can share will help me with the neck thickness variable will help a lot.

any help/ideas/insights would be so cool

[Demo]

I've played both. Nocaster necks are radically larger and more round in profile. I don't know how to tell you what the difference feels like, but it would be worth your wile to try the Nocaster.

[tele12]

Originally Posted by shinigami747

hi guys!

so i'm thinking of a neck swap so i can get a fatter neck and wider string spacing.

A wider neck will only help with the string spacing by the nut. If the guitar is
string thru body (I don't remember if Standards are) the body thru holes are going to set the string spacing. You might be able to take a string thru bridge and drill top-loaded holes slightly further apart.

[HBamps]

The difference between a 1 5/8 nut and 1 11/16 is only .062" at the nut but it feels soo different.

[Colt W. Knight]

nocaster necks are like baseball bats, and AV52RI are like regular guitar necks with a little more meat thats makes them more comfortable for me to play. If you will look at the back of your guitar neck, you will notice that there is a dip after the peghead and before the heel. On a 52, there is no dip, it runs flush, but has a very similiar profile. A nocaster on the other had feels twice as big because its a thick neck with a very pronounced shoulder slope( or lack there of). The nocaster has less wood carved away on the sides which dramatically changes its feel and the way you play it. A 52 is simply like your guitar, but a little thicker.

The above isn't really a good technical evaluation, but I was trying to give you a good interpretation.

[shinigami747]

thanks for your inputs and sharing your experiences with the different necks!

Demo, Colt W. Knight, thanks for the comments regarding the nocaster / av52 profiles. now i know i have to look for something with a nocaster-ish profile.

HBamps, thanks for the string spacing insight. 1 11/16 might be the thing for me, maybe not... have to try the 1 11/16 first and other wider spacings... don't wanna go classical wide, though.

and tele12, thank you for reminding me that i also have to readjust the string spacing at the bridge end... i forgot about that. MIM standards are indeed string through. might have to try a modified toploader as you suggested when i do get to mod my guitar.

once again, thanks for your inputs!

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by HBamps

The difference between a 1 5/8 nut and 1 11/16 is only .062" at the nut but it feels soo different.

They do feel different, but stranger still, these "1 + 5/8ths nuts" are actually around 1.65, sometimes more. So the difference IME is .035 inches.

Back to Your Question:

The Girth of the No-caster and TMO-FAT necks is very similar, except the Allparts is 9.5 radius and the frets are tall and should be finished. Big shoulders, and a full 1.0 inch depth as well, both pf them.

The AV neck you tried had one eighth inch off its girth at the first fret, a sixteenth at the 12 fret, but as was said (more importantly) the AV neck, while not "boatneck" has very little No-caster type shoulder.

No-Caster necks being hard to find, the Allparts TMO-FAT or its finished versions are pretty close. Better, USACG from Washington State. Best way to get it all just so.

[shinigami747]

just read your post, boris.

thanks for the details. the nocaster vs allparts tmo-fat comparison really helped a lot.

if and when i scrounge up the cash to do so, i will give USACG a call for my tele's neck. specs just the way i want them, and no need for me to buy so many tools for one guitar.

thanks so much, guys!