lightweight body - thin neck or thick neck?

[appar111]

I'm putting together a strat that is pretty lightweight (a 3 lb. 1 oz. poplar body) and wondered if it would do better with a thick neck. I read (on TDPRI, I think) that a lightweight body sounds better paired up with a beefier neck. Better resonance between the mass of a thicker neck and the light body, perhaps?

I'm at the point where I'll be ordering a neck soon, and I'm down to either an SRO-FAT/SMO-FAT strat neck (i.e. ballbat profile) or the SRO/SMO (which is a medium C profile, 12" radius and jumbo frets).

The guitar in question will be for rock (dual humbucker, rear routed--i.e. no pickguard), so the 12" radius and jumbo frets would be welcomed, but I can definitely hang w/ the Allparts FAT neck as I have one on my esquire.

So, with such a light body, will the overall tone/sustain of the guitar be noticeably better with the fat neck over the more traditional one?

[pbenn]

Yes, I think. With a real dramatic weight contrast, you might be courting neck dive without, say, repositioning your bottom strap pin a little.

[boris bubbanov]

If you are selecting a body so light that a 525 gram TMO or SMO-FAT will give you neck dive, respectfully, you are putting your priorities in the wrong place. The right neck comes first; Any body that is too light for use with the best necks is of no value to me - except to sell it to someone who doesn't agree, I guess.

[appar111]

I guess the question is--- is a 3 lb. 1 oz. body too light for the SRO-FAT neck? I'll be putting a 57/62 Reissue strat trem on this one (the one with the full size steel block), so that should add a few extra ounces to the body end. Plus I'll just go w/ Gotoh klusons to keep the weight down at the headstock end.

I've seen a few 3 lb. strat and teles on Revelator, etc. that use the big fat necks. I wouldn't think that they'd put a neck on a body that would cause it to neck dive, since they care so much about the overall feel, tone & balance of the instrument.

[Rob DiStefano]

No brainer - we play off the neck/frets - pick out the neck first, the body last.

FWIW, I routinely assemble 2.4#-3.2# Thinline bodies with large TMO-FAT necks and Gotoh staggered vintage tuners - never had any "neck diving" syndrome. If I did, a few ounces of fishing sinker lead epoxied in the body or control cavity does a fine balancing act.

[appar111]

Originally Posted by Rob DiStefano

No brainer - we play off the neck/frets - pick out the neck first, the body last.

FWIW, I routinely assemble 2.4#-3.2# Thinline bodies with large TMO-FAT necks and Gotoh staggered vintage tuners - never had any "neck diving" syndrome. If I did, a few ounces of fishing sinker lead epoxied in the body or control cavity does a fine balancing act.

Well, I already have the body, so I can't go the "neck first, body last" route. If you've assembled some sub-3 lb. teles with the Allparts FAT necks with Gotoh vintage tuners without problem, then it looks like I should be ok!

Do you find that strat bodies are more or less balanced than a tele body? A tele is such a beautiful slab of wood, and the strat is just much more refined, curvy, etc. I'm still mainly a tele guy, but I'm starting to see the advantages of the strat body shape & contour.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by appar111

Well, I already have the body, so I can't go the "neck first, body last" route.

Of course you can - pick the *right* neck and use it on the body you have - that was my point, don't be concerned with the body.

If you've assembled some sub-3 lb. teles with the Allparts FAT necks with Gotoh vintage tuners without problem, then it looks like I should be ok!

You'll be OK, one way or another/

Do you find that strat bodies are more or less balanced than a tele body? A tele is such a beautiful slab of wood, and the strat is just much more refined, curvy, etc. I'm still mainly a tele guy, but I'm starting to see the advantages of the strat body shape & contour.

They're all good, they're all excellent tools of the trade.

........

[Jeffscreamedcorn]

For what it's worth, this body is a one piece swamp ash, and weighs 2 1/2 lbs. The neck is a USA Custom that is a baseball bat. The guitar is balanced and is super resonant.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by appar111

Do you find that strat bodies are more or less balanced than a tele body? A tele is such a beautiful slab of wood, and the strat is just much more refined, curvy, etc. I'm still mainly a tele guy, but I'm starting to see the advantages of the strat body shape & contour.

The Strat upper button is thrown way out to the player's left, and consequently a Strat with weight X body and weight Y neck is MORE likely to balance correctly. The Tele is more likely a challenge, when it happens.

There's always choosing a Bigsby on a Tele, right?

[appar111]

I tell ya, with Rob and Boris on the boards, I always get great advice and never have to worry about guitar projects anymore. Thanks to both of you for the consistently great tips and answers!