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Neck shape more important than thickness...


billybilly

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First of all, I like thick necks and it has been a real problem finding stock necks which accommodate me.  While I used to adhere to the belief of measuring with calipers to give me an idea of what the neck would be like (buying online).  I have come to appreciate the shape contributing more to the neck itself, that is, the volume of the neck.  Currently, I am refinishing two necks, both measure .95 at the first fret and 1.0 on the 12th.  However, one neck feels considerably thicker as it has a D shape.  If I measure with a flexible tape measure around the neck, its 1/4 longer around.  Therefore, when it comes to neck size, I am far more comfortable measuring around the neck, to get a better picture of the volume of the neck rather than the thickness.  You wrap your hand around the neck so why wouldn't you consider measuring it that way?  I think companies who advertise their neck girth are not being accountable, although not on purpose probably, of how the neck would feel.

Example, if you were do go on a blind date, would you like to know just the height of the person or their height and weight?  To approximate volume of course.

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I'm not sure it's more important than thickness, but shape certainly plays a huge role in comfort for the reasons you stated.  It'd be nice to see a profile of each neck shape, or like you said, some kind of circumferance measurement.

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billybilly wrote:

 

 

First of all, I like thick necks and it has been a real problem finding stock necks which accommodate me.  While I used to adhere to the belief of measuring with calipers to give me an idea of what the neck would be like (buying online).  I have come to appreciate the shape contributing more to the neck itself, that is, the volume of the neck.  Currently, I am refinishing two necks, both measure .95 at the first fret and 1.0 on the 12th.  However, one neck feels considerably thicker as it has a D shape.  If I measure with a flexible tape measure around the neck, its 1/4 longer around.  Therefore, when it comes to neck size, I am far more comfortable measuring around the neck, to get a better picture of the volume of the neck rather than the thickness.  You wrap your hand around the neck so why wouldn't you consider measuring it that way?  I think companies who advertise their neck girth are not being accountable, although not on purpose probably, of how the neck would feel.

 

 

 

in my experience, my hands are more "aware" of width at the nut and fretboard radius than actual neck depth or thickness.  i have trouble adapting to guitars with skinny nut-width and/or a fretboard radius that is either very curved (e.g. 7.25" on the vintage Fenders) or very flat (like some of the Ibanez necks or a classical guitar).

i am most comfortable in the 9-12" radius range and with 1-11/16" nut width.

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