Anyone agree that the AV and AO fretboards are OVER-rolled?

i love rolled fingerboards. and i liked the AV necks just fine....except for the stickiness. My american special tele neck is the most comfortable of any ive tried. i think they are lightly rolled.

 

I wonder what Mr. Kirn would have to say about this? I've owned two of Ron's guitars, both of which have a pretty pronounced roll to them. I tend to like them, but I can really go either way.

 

I have a roasted AV52 that is beautiful and sounds wonderful, but I have pretty much stopped playing it because I can't get on with the overly rolled edges. The neck is already narrow and then you go and take away more fretboard with the rolling. I bought it online without having played one. Probably wouldn't have gotten it if I had tried it first. I like the semi-rolled edges on Musikraft necks. Thought about replacing the neck on this one, but who wants a $2000 partscaster.

 

A few years ago I sent back a 50s lacquer tele because I was missing the rolled edge of my AV52.
To each his own I suppose

 

I personally think the AV52’s neck is the best neck profile I’ve ever felt. The rolled edges I had to get used to but I’ve grown to love them, quite quickly actually.

Each to his own though.

 

Well, you could still change the neck, store away very carefully the original one, and put it back on in case of resale (which would leave you with a nice Musikraft neck to be married to a new body, or to be sold separately).

 

Seems like it's too fine of a line to offer on a production model. Personally I really like it but I would hate it if I was having problems with string roll off on mine. That's a fairly common problem on a lot of guitars but the chances are increased when you take away fingerboard area.

 

the degree to which a fingerboard is rolled is more a variable that is subject to interpretation. I have had guys that wanted none.. and sharp fret ends.. saying it makes it easier for them to "index" their positioning... others wanted a very pronounced roll.

It's one of the "things" manufacturers use to "steer" ya toward a more expensive guitar... a 299.99 guitar has little chance of receiving the treatment.. However an 899.99 just may, and a 1899.00 almost certainly. If you aren't aware of what you're experiencing, you will think the expensive guitar just has a better neck.. when it's probably not much different than the cheep one, with just a little more "finesse" given to shaping etc..

When I'm doing one, I roll the edges enough so you can actually feel it...

rk

 

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January 2019 I bought an Original 50's Telecaster. I have always played a Stratocaster and currently have an AS 1992 with a 2006 Highway neck. I love it. Before that, I bought an AS 1972 Strat new when I was a soldier. I miss that one...tough times and had to sell.

I've had this Telecaster now for 1 year. I did not notice the strings rolling off the edge until a couple of months ago when I started to play it in performance, standing. I suppose I was not comfortable and pressed too hard which causes the issue. I had a local tech try and get more room on the fret-board with a setup and I think it may be worse as all he could do was slightly move the saddles and now the 6th E string easily rolls off. The 1st E string is a little better so all he was able to do was shift the issue to the top and the bottom is slightly better.

Not sure what else can be done other than cut another new nut. The saddles being where they are can't be changed so the spacing will still get close as it gets to the pocket.

The fix for me...I changed my technique and just am much more precise when I play this instrument. I'll probably trade/sell this guitar in the near future. I'm playing the Strat much more because of this neck issue. Too bad. The Tele has great tone.
~R.C.

 

I have an AO 50s Strat and the frets do seem to be a bit over-rolled. As a result I have, on rare occasion, slipped the low E over the edge, but it isn't even close to being a nuisance. The only time it's happened was while noodling at my desk. I've used it in 2 rehearsals, each about 2 1/2 - 3 hours long and it never happened once. I love the sound and feel of that guitar!

Many guitars will have a little quirk that requires a slight adjustment in how it's handled and that doesn't bother me.

 

It's not the rolled edges that are the issue. Look at any 50s Fender neck with a true 1.625 nut width and wide vintage bridge spacing.

Two years after the post started I'm hear to say I'm still using the '56 RI and now a quiver of '54 RIs with even thinner necks.
Necks with out the rolled edges don't feel right anymore.
My '64 RI which has a slightly wider neck doesn't feel as good.
When you grab a chord with the thumb over technique on a guitar with the strings close to the edge it's a fantastic feeling!

 

Yes, they are awful. I bought a brand new 2016 52 in April of 2016 and it was by far the best guitar I've ever played-acoustically, plugged in, looks, wood grain, 1 piece body(dispute me all you want but it was), 6.8lbs.

BUT

I kept it for a year and a half and the over rolled edges just killed it for me. I ended up selling it and only losing around 300, which is amazing. The edges were unfixable without sanding down the sides like Golfnut did to flatten it, and recut a nut- but then you're losing neck real estate. Both E's were ridiculously close the their edges and slipped off constantly.

I bought a new(forgot in warehouse) 2013 58 last March and its neck was fine with no over-rolling.

I like rolled, but play a ton before buying one. The issue is if you can't do that, and have to order sight unseen and the store you buy it from is anal about sending back, then people are **** out of luck.

 

They should compensate by rolling those specific necks. That would be ideal imo.

I like rolled necks but not at the expense of the edges. Some of those sharp edges though... crikey.

 

I have no experience with them but thought as much of a 2012 Custom Shop Tele and Gibson 339 I tried the other day. Now to be precise the problem is not how the fretboard is rolled but how the FRETS are excessively rounded.

 

That's part 2 of the Fender issue(forgot to mention this in my original post).

The neck edges are over-rolled, but then they bevel the fret edges so agrresively to match the neck roll, so it makes it even more slippery for the E strings to slip off.

 

Rolled edges aren’t the problem.

1 5/8 or 42mm or 1.65 or however you want to term the standard toothpick width that Fender attaches to 90% of their bodies ?

That’s the problem.

I’m a man not a boy. Don’t offer me necks sized for little boy hands...

 

So, the neck is big problem on two counts? Must have some significant saving graces for you not to want to be getting shot? A new neck maybe?

 

Not sure when ‘nicely finished’ evolved into ‘rolled’? My 2003 Am Series Strat has a beautifully finished neck with rounded edges whereas it’s Strat knock off predecessor had almost square edges. ‘Rolled’ wasn’t a mentioned feature at the time. My AmPro Tele has, perhaps, slightly more of a rolled edge but it’s not what I consider excessive nor does it create a problem. Can’t remember having seen ‘rolled edges’ mentioned with regard to the AmPro Tele in Fender’s blurb. Is it an after market term, used in reviews, which has slipped into general usage?