Morgan Monroe V Neck Profile?

[rjoxyz]

I have been eyeballing a couple Morgan Monroe dreads at various internet retailers (no where to play them around here). I was pretty set on either the M-20 or 50.

 

Now that the search function is back, I found a couple posts from DonK, indicating that the necks are extremely thick in profile. This was not good news for me.

 

Apparently the standard neck is .90 inches deep and the V neck is .92 . Very close. In looking at the cross section of these profiles, it actually seems like the V would be easier to get my stubby hands and fingers around than the standard neck, as they are only .02 different, and the V neck has less "shoulder" matrerial to get around.

 

Does this assessment make sense?

 

I never thought I would favor a V neck (have played the Martin and preferred the low profile on my HD-28). However, if the standard neck is about as deep as the V (unlike the Martin comparison), I suppose the V would be more playable for someone with hands like mine?

 

Of course, I read the 2 reviews here on HC of the M-50, and both refer to a thin/low profile neck, and I am even more confused.

 

Any thoughts before I abandon the Morgan Monroe GAS?

[MePeel]

I just ordered a Blues 32 with a V neck. I have small hands as well. I'll let you know how it works out.

Mel

[redhawks2]

I had an M50 with the V neck and I really liked it although the V is very subtle. I have a Martin HD-28V that is ever so slightly "thicker" than the M50. So if you can get somewhere where you can play an HD-28V and then imagine the neck with virtually the same profile only just a little thinner, that's what an M50 feels like. I really liked the Monroe but was wanting to get another Martin back in the stable and I couldn't afford both. Now I'm sorry I sold the Monroe as it had a great sound right out of the box. I also have a Blueridge dread that has a very low profile neck, makes it very easy to get your fingers around. Plus it has the sound! Hope this helps.

[DonK]

Just keep in mind, that apart from the V vs. D issue, .90" and .92" are on the very thick side. I've played the MM's and love them, but I'm partial to thick necks. As an example of how the MM neck thickness stacks up against others, consider the following (I've been compiling data on my various necks and will eventually post a cheat sheet with illustrations and measurements). All of the following are measurements at the first fret (like the MM measurement):

 

Taylor 414CE Ltd. - .825"

Tacoma DR-20 - .82"

Martin D-41 - .86"

EVH Wolfgant - .815"

Fender 60's Strat .83"

Fender Eric Johnson Strat - .84"

Fender Strat Plus - .80"

Gibson Les Paul Studio (50's neck shape) - .815"

Gallagher Doc Watson - .92"

Aria AD-80 - .76"

Warmoth Boatneck (on project Strat) - 1"

 

As you can see, .90" is thick.

[Bernie P.]

My Epi has a fairly thick v neck as did the 12 fret (real thick) I tried.I found even the thicker neck on the 12 fret was really quite comfortable and for some chords seemed to help.That said the low profile neck on the EF500RCCE is my all time favorite overall.All three are 1 3/4 nut width.So long as you have the full refund policy to fall back on I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.Good luck!

[rjoxyz]

Thanks to all. However, I am still trying to figure out if a V neck is of the same thickness as the D (in this case only .02 difference), shouldn't the V actually be easier to get around, as it does not have the additional shoulder material of the D?

 

I guess what I am trying to decide, is if I choose to take my chances with the thick neck, would it make more sense to order the V than the standard neck on this particular guitar, based on the above theory? Or, do I need to go back to geometry class?

 

For what it's worth, I considered the HD-28V when I bought my HD-28. I played the Martin V neck and did not find it a deal breaker. I just favored the low profile neck of the regular HD, given the choice. And, if I'm not mistaken, .92 (MM D neck) is only 6 hundredths thicker than the Martin low profile neck, which I find very comfortable. That does not seem like much (slightly less than 1/16").

 

Wish there was an MM dealer around here so I could just try one (no time to drive up to Elderly--they have one in stock).

[Bernie P.]

Cant say for sure as I've never tried a D anywhere near as thick as the V's I'm familiar with but yes I think not having so much meat around the shoulders is what makes getting round on them thick V's easy.

[DonK]

This is probably a more technical answer than you're interested in, but it shows one way of considering your question in a logical way, and shows how subtle the difference is.

 

A "perfect" V neck can be viewed as a right triangle with a hypotenuse plus two sides of equal length (i.e., a triangle forming one-half of a square). If you remember Pythagoras' theorem, then you'll recall that the hypotenuse squared is equal to the sum of the sides squared. Assume for the moment a nut width of 1.75", which represents the long side of the triangle (the hypotenuse). 1.75" squared = 3.06". The square of each of the equal-length remaining sides must thus = 1.53". The square root of 1.53" is approximately 1.24", which thus must be the length of each side. Thus, if your thumb could perfectly trace the shape of the two sides, the total distance would be 2.48".

 

Alternatively, imagine a perfect circle with a diameter of 1.75". The circumference would be roughly 3.14" X 1.75", or 5.50". Half the circumference would be 2.75".

 

Thus, the perimeter of a perfect half-round neck would measure 2.75", while the perimeter of a half-square (a triangle) would measure 2.48". The latter would represent a low-shoulder design compared to the former. These two measurements can be seen as marking the extremes of a typical neck profile. You could have a less acute triangle, i.e., less than 90 degrees, or a more eliptical curve as opposed to a half-round shape.

 

Still, in looking at the practical extremes, there's not a tremendous difference, measured objectively, and that's assuming your thumb, curved around the back of the neck, perfectly follows the shape of whichever of the two shapes you're considering.

 

So, in THEORY, your observation about a low shoulder neck being a little easier for small hands would objectively be "true". In practice though, I think it's much more subjective, and I don't think you can say that one will be better than another: it's going to come down to personal (subjective) preference.

[rjoxyz]

Thanks Don.

 

Just as I expected, back to geometry class. I definitely get your point regarding the subjectivity, which applies almost everytime the same object is held in the hands of different people. I was just trying to understand the relative distances around the back of the neck with each profile.

 

I was thinking the V neck might offer more leverage if I brought my thumb down the back a bit, giving me a little better reach on the other side. Of course, changing hand position from neck to neck could become troublesome.

[PanchoStern]

Not sure about your specification on the V neck profile etc but I teach at a store that sells Morgan Monroe guitar & I can attest to the fact that they are GREAT guitars at the price they are at. We also carry Alvarez & the Morgan Monroe's are better. At least when compared to the Alvarez guitars that we have in stock at this time. Personally I'm saving up for a MM electric acoustic with a cutaway. We had one but a friend of mine beat me to it. I want one as well now. They are truly VERY good guitars. You can check out the stores webpage at musiccenterusa.net

[MePeel]

I recieved my MM Blues 32 today, and here is

the promised report on the V neck: It's fantastic! It seems to fit the hand like

a glove. Smooth going all the way up the neck. I'll have a review soon.

Mel

[rjoxyz]

I recieved my MM Blues 32 today, and here is the promised report on the V neck: It's fantastic! It seems to fit the hand like a glove. Smooth going all the way up the neck. I'll have a review soon. Mel

 

Thanks! You were true to your word.

 

So...after careful consideration, I called an internet vendor (whose name I will not mention) this past Monday to order the V-neck M50. Talked to the guy on the phone (who was very nice and helpful) about the neck profiles and he convinced me the D neck was not that much different than a modern Martin neck and he felt I would be more comfortable with it. Alrighty then, standard neck it is. Asked him how long to ship to Michigan from Kentucky. He tells me it will go out that day and should get here by Wed. I call the next day for a tracking # and the formerly helpful and friendly gent tells me "Don't worry, we will get it to you" before practically hanging up on me.

 

No guitar Wed. Yesterday I call and he is calmer, telling me a long story about not having one ready to ship as planned from their Indiana store and having one in KY that he had to set up before shipping Wed. He gives me the UPS #. UPS has no information under that no. for 2 days. I call back this afternoon. He says he was about to call me. It did not go out Wed. as he thought. Says the warehouse guys scratched up the back during packing and though they buffed it out, the damage was still apparent. To his credit, he was very apologetic and wanted to make things right.

 

Long story longer? It was the only D neck model he had. Soooo...he says he would ship out the V neck he talked me out of on Monday...today. Says he will email the UPS # to me. I get home and no email. Tune in Monday...

 

But enough about me...I am glad yours arrived and that you like it. Look forward to the review.

[MePeel]

I got mine from Instrument Alley. They

do a set-up before shipping. I ordered it on Thursday, and it shipped on Monday. Good service.

Mel

[Bernie P.]

Mel whats the nut width and how thick is the V at the first fret on those?

Wheres the pics?

[rjoxyz]

 

I got mine from Instrument Alley. They do a set-up before shipping. I ordered it on Thursday, and it shipped on Monday. Good service. Mel

 

 

That is encouraging. I was going to order from them, but could not get a call returned to determine what neck shapes were in stock. I then Googled "Instrument Alley" and found some pretty disturbing posts about them in terms of business practices. I ended up going with the other vendor as they were running a sale at $629 with a $15 upgrade to an archtop tweed case, instead of the next lowest price of $699. Of course, the bargain has come with some complications. I'm just glad your experience was a good one.

[Razer]

Hey there, I sell these guitars and quite afew of them the v to d neck profiles run about 50/50 in sales. i prefer the v over the d just seems more comfortable. Be carefull with the cases most people do not like the fit of the m50 in the tweed case the guitar is just too loose in there in fact I am not sure which of morgans guitars its supposed to fit the black case fits right and a nice alligator case will soon be out. The early m50s had the enclosed tuners of unknown name with questionable plastic buttons, the newest have the grover openback sta-tite ones. I have less than average set up work to do on any of them and most of the time they are set right for flat pickers and we make them lower for finger pickers. Never had a finish issue with any of their products. I think they are the best buy out there

R

[PanchoStern]

If you continue to have trouble check out our store at musiccenter.net we have better customer service. We're a mom & pop store so service is our thing. We just got the site up. Not sure if the MM"s are even on there but if you shoot us an e mail or pm me here I can get it for you. Probably at a better price as well. They are VERY nice. I'm going to get one with a cutaway. So far trying to decide which one. The ones with the darker color are SO nice!!! A friend of mine bought one. That's the one I was going to get. I have another friend that wanted it as well. Good luck.

[PanchoStern]

Oh yes, I forgot to add the CASES for them are REALLY nice. Looks like alligator. They go great with my leather pants.

[MePeel]

Specs for the Blues 32 are:

M-00-TBV

 

Scale: 25 1/4

[Hudman]

Nice looking guitar.

 

How does it play? How about the tone?

[play4him]

I just got through sending a Blues 32 back. I really liked the look of the guitar, but had problems with the string spacing and tone. I have a Martin D16RGT with a 1 11/16" nut that I can play fingerstyle on without much problem. On the Blues 32, I really struggled with songs that I play easily on the Martin. I also was under impressed with the tone. It just never really did anything for me or others that listened to it. I wanted to like it and kept it for a couple of weeks before returning it. But I know that every guitar is different, so hopefully you get one that speaks to you.

[play4him]

Oh yes, I forgot to add the CASES for them are REALLY nice. Looks like alligator. They go great with my leather pants.

 

 

The alligator case only comes with the Creekside models. I received a black case with the Blues 32.

[MePeel]

I'm sorry that you didn't get along with the MM.

I'm very satisfied with mine. The neck feels good, and the tone is pretty ballanced. I've had guitars ( a Martin DM in particular ) that I never got comfortable with. I sold it to a guy who was tickled to death to get it.

 

Mel

[DonK]

 

I just got through sending a Blues 32 back. I really liked the look of the guitar, but had problems with the string spacing and tone. I have a Martin D16RGT with a 1 11/16" nut that I can play fingerstyle on without much problem. On the Blues 32, I really struggled with songs that I play easily on the Martin. I also was under impressed with the tone. It just never really did anything for me or others that listened to it. I wanted to like it and kept it for a couple of weeks before returning it. But I know that every guitar is different, so hopefully you get one that speaks to you.

 

 

I don't doubt your assessment of the tone of your Blues 32, but would point out for the benefit of others considering one that the sound of a typical small-bodied guitar is a world apart from a typical dread (especially one like a Martin dread). I love small-bodied guitars just because they have such a different tone. I primarily play small-bodied acoustics when I play fingerstyle, though there are a few songs where I prefer a dread, particularly ones where I want a really percussive, brassy sound - the kind where I'm snapping the strings against the frets, almost trying to get some buzzing. Something like Stephen Stills' Treetop Flyer or Black Queen comes to mind.

[MePeel]

I agree with Donk. A small bodied guitar is a whole different animal from a dread. I have a beater Alvarez dread for that great bass response. I wanted

something smaller for a more intimate, bluesey tone. I don't expect it to be something that it's not.

Mel