Guitar Necks. How Important to You? To Me ..... The Most Important Part of an Electric Guitar.

[dougstrum]

If the neck doesn't feel right the guitar just isn't going to get played.

 

[Fiesta Red]

I don’t have a single, specific neck profile that I demand (although I detest short-scale guitars)—all my guitars are different—but if the neck doesn’t feel good, I’m not gonna play the guitar…if I’m not playing it, I’m not keeping it.

The end.

 

[MTPoteet]

The neck is very important to me, I like to have one on all of my guitars.

Seriously...it's all about the neck for me. I have several guitars , and most of them are set up very well, but I do all of my exercises on the same one. In my opinion, it has the best neck.

 

[hopdybob]

neck, but the geometry when playing sitting, like i do, is i think more important.
in that these 2 score bigtime
cort

L6 copy of the brand custom


but this one, body shape is copy from spanish acoustic with long scale neck, did not work out like i hoped


and this one make me twist my wrist to much

 

[Engine Swap]

I started playing in the 1980s and had the “thinner is better” mantra drilled into my head. More and more, I’m discovering that a little bit of fat is more comfortable.

Right now, I’m thinking that the Warmoth “Standard Thin” is too thin for me. Not enough to get a consistent hand position.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

If the neck doesn't feel right the guitar just isn't going to get played.

That was definitely my experience with a few ( beautiful, good sounding) guitars I owned, but every time l picked them up the neck profile either cramped my hand, or that edge where the end of the end of the fretboard meets the back of the neck was too sharp- no rollover...

I do seem to like the middle-of-the-road, Fender/Squier C-neck with the 9.5" radius best, along with fat C or even fat V necks- fret type doesn't really matter, just as long as they aren't too worn.
What I don't like is either a sharp V neck (where that V edge is just digging into that 'web' area between thumb and index finger), or a wide thin/oval D neck with super square shoulders.
Had a few Epiphones like this, but current 2018 Epi SG is much better.

 

[Flaneur]

My local used guitar shop will text me, if a fat necked Tele comes in. They probably figured out, a while back, that I'm one of their best customers, for such things.
I can play anything, for half an hour, or so. For standing up- two or three hours at a time- give me a generous V, or U shape.
I used to think I 'needed' a flatter radius but I really don't. An aversion to tall, narrow frets was cured, when my local luthier re-crowned some worn ones, on one of my giggers......
So yeah- habit and old wives' tales. We guitarists should retain an open mind, to innovation- but sales data tells a different story.

 

[1stpitch]

I don’t have a single, specific neck profile that I demand (although I detest short-scale guitars)—all my guitars are different—but if the neck doesn’t feel good, I’m not gonna play the guitar…if I’m not playing it, I’m not keeping it.

The end.

+1 to everything you said.

 

[Boxla]

for me it's 100% about the neck size and carve and fret sizes. everything else will come after that. I've passed up hundreds of incredible guitars only because of neck size.

I can spot the necks that definitely will not work and ones that might just by looking at them on a guitar store wall. The nut usually says a lot.

Many years in and my EB Music Man Axis Sports still sport the best necks I've ever played.

 

[rxtech]

I love the neck on my Music Man Axis Sport! Small, asymmetrical back, nice radius.

 

[NeverTooLate]

Many years in and my EB Music Man Axis Sports still sport the best necks I've ever played.

I love the neck on my Music Man Axis Sport! Small, asymmetrical back, nice radius.

Do you guys have string spacing measurement at nut or fret 1 that you can share (from 1st to 6th)?
Thanks!

 

[Mjark]

Isn’t it a given? If it doesn’t feel good what use is it? No one that is serious about playing guitar buys one for the finish.

Except maybe Doctors and their PRS 10 tops perhaps.

 

[Tele-friend]

I agree, necks are important, the shape, the size... Also 24,75 vs 25,5 scale lenght plays a big difference in how it feels to play the guitar. Of course on any guitar you also need a good setup - right string action etc.
I will however say, that when I change a guitar, I immediately feel the difference in the neck of course, but after a minute or two when "I get in the zone", I dont think about it anymore. I get use to it and focus on playing.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I don't care about neck specs. It's like movie subtitles: A different neck takes five minutes to get used to.

But hey, Arlum, can you try writing in paragraphs? That's something that does matter!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Isn’t it a given? . . .

I've owned the thinnest, the chunkiest, and the betweeniest. They've all been fun to play, and I've gotten pretty good sounds out of all of them. You should try my mandolin sometime — a '20s Gibson Junior A, the thinnest neck in the mando world. Likewise, my '40s Gibson ES-150 jazz box's neck was a baseball bat, and it could swat the blues right over the fence.

So: no. Aside from price, which is a whole separate conversation, the first thing I care about is where it's made. Sweatshop gear is bad juju.

The second is the sound. The third is the playability, which, for me, has more to do with action than anything else.

The fourth, hopeless narcissist that I am, is looks. When I look like a dork, it reminds everyone that I am a dork.