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 types of necks - fast action?
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Jeff Strouse Member From: Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
posted 03 January 2005 03:30 AM
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I noticed some different sizes and types of necks while shopping around...some are maple, rosewood, ebony, jumbo, medium, etc.. One of the Tele's I saw advertised a "fast action" maple neck. Would this mean it plays "easier"? Should the neck be a factor in my purchasing a guitar (I'm looking for a pretty basic, entry level axe that is good enough to use on gigs too). Seems like I could feel a difference in my left hand on the tele neck vs. the ibanez. Not sure what the difference was but the size seemed a little different on the two. Would the type of neck make a difference on the "fingertips" - especially related to the that dreadful period of building callouses? |
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Ian Finlay Member From: Kenton, UK |
posted 03 January 2005 03:44 AM
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Oh yes - big difference. I could write at length on this, but in the end it's down to the shape of your hands, your style of playing, muscles etc. For a view on Tele neck shapes, check out the Warmoth site which has a good primer on necks, shapes etc. Browse around a bit. Sounds like you're after a Tele, so go to a Fender dealer and try a '52 reissue ("boat" neck ish) for a fat neck with vintage fingerboard radius, a Standard Tele (modern ones have a fairly slim neck and flatter radius) and see what you like. I used to like thin necks, thinking they were easier to play, but I now have a custom Tele with a Warmoth "boat" neck with compound radius and it's just so easy to play. Basically, try every guitar you can lay hands on! Ian |
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Jeff Strouse Member From: Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
posted 03 January 2005 03:55 AM
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Oh nooo....Now another variable to consider!  I'm mainly wanting to learn some basic swing style rhythm chording. Would one neck be preferred over the other for bar chords and rhythm type playing?
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David Mason Member From: Cambridge, MD, USA |
posted 03 January 2005 04:37 AM
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A larger, deeper neck with a fairly curved fingerboard radius (10" -7.5") is generally considered easier to play rhythm on, and modern metal speedsters seem to prefer flatter, wider, thinner-through-the-back necks, but - over the years, people have managed to play just about anything, on any kind of neck. I have also switched to a Warmoth "boat" neck, and it's been a great boon to my creaky old hands. You would really benefit if you can find a guitar store with a variety of different instruments, and a sales staff that understand you need to try them out without hard-sell sales pitches. |
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Jerry Hayes Member From: Virginia Beach, Va. |
posted 03 January 2005 06:16 AM
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I've got 4 Tele's, a Strat, a couple of archtops, etc. but my easiest to play guitar is an old Ibanez Artist which is about 25 years old. It has a wider neck than the Fenders and an ebony fingerboard which is pretty flat. I have the action pretty low but I can still play slide on that guitar. One of my Tele's is an '83 top loader which has a wider neck than the others and is flatter. I have a rosewood neck Tele which I don't play much as the neck has a more curved radius and with the low action I prefer, when I bend strings up the neck they cancel out sometimes. ------------------ |
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Tim Wallis Member From: Warrensburg, Illinois |
posted 03 January 2005 07:05 AM
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Fastest neck I've ever played was on a Hagstrom II. It's a very thin neck with extremely thin frets. I've heard the Hagstrom Company has reopened but the word I got was their not making the same neck they did in the 60's and 70's. Tim Wallis |
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D Schubert Member From: Columbia, MO, USA |
posted 03 January 2005 07:28 AM
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You will have to find a neck that fits your hands comfortably. It's a personal fit, like cowboy boots or underwear. If the neck doesn't fit ya, the rest of the guitar really doesn't matter. Try lots of guitars in the store. Pester your friends and try all of theirs. Form an opinion from experience, and go with it. If you're like most guitar players, you will still be looking at other guitars within a few months. (Unlike women, guitars don't care how many others you play with). I have found that a relatively thick Fender U-shaped or mild-V-shaped neck with a 7.5" old-school fingerboard radius, maple board, small/medium frets, and 0.010-0.046" strings fits my hand very nicely. So does a standard Martin neck with 0.013-0.056" strings. But, I've had to own about 50 guitars to be able to say it with any certainty. [This message was edited by D Schubert on 03 January 2005 at 09:14 AM.] |
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ajm Member From: Los Angeles |
posted 04 January 2005 06:22 PM
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The gentleman sounds like a semi-beginner and is looking for an entry level guitar. You are probably going to run into guitars with all basically the same thin to medium neck shape in that price range. However, Yamaha makes a sort of Les Paul looking thing in the $500 range that has a fairly beefy neck. Take a baseball bat and grip it between the pads of your fingers (the area where your fingerprints are). Now go walk around with it for a while. Next, grab the bat by wrapping your fingers around it and walk around for a while. Which is more comfortable? Which way made your hand cramp up? A fat neck is the only way to go. The only neck I've ever played that was too fat (for me) was a couple of 50's Les Pauls, and I'd still rather deal with that than hand cramps all of the time. [This message was edited by ajm on 04 January 2005 at 06:26 PM.] |
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