neck radius and material

[OklaCaliT]

Hi, I'm curious if anyone has played on a mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard & what the general consensus was for neck radius. I'm a riffy type player, and want to get into more lead work.

Thanks

[Kam]

Re: neck radius and material

I'm...not quite sure what you're asking?

I've played several guitars with mahogany necks and rosewood boards. They all sounded different. Generally both those woods are thought of as quite warm-sounding, with more of a focus on mids and lows rather than treble. The guitars I played had a relatively thick finish on the neck, so I can't comment on how it would feel with just an oil finish or something.

What woods the neck is made from has no bearing on what the radius of the board will be, as far as I know.

Neck radius is a personal choice based on your own feel and preference. Some guys are more comfortable with vintage style 7.25" while others go for flatter boards with a radius of something like 16". Personally, I tend to like necks around 9.5" but I like more curved ones as well. 9.5" is just curved enough to be really comfortable for chord work but flat enough not to interfere with those deep bends that I like. That's a very personal preferance based on my hands, though, and I much prefer higher action on my guitars.

The general consensus is that more rounded vintage boards are more comfortable for stuff like barre chords, while flatter boards are better for shred techniques and bending. They allow for these techniques to work well with a lower action, while a more arced board will usually require higher action to bend those strings without fretting out.

That's by no means set in stone, though, and personal playing comfort is most important.

This page has some more information and may prove helpful to you.

This is also handy:



My suggestion would be to go to your nearest store and play a tonne of guitars with different neck radii to see what you like yourself. It's the only way to really know for sure. We don't have your hands so we can't tell you what you'll like, ya know?

[BloodRose]

Re: neck radius and material

What he said! ^^^ Nice info Kam!


I have an explorer thats mahog/rosewood. And its a great lead machine. Not sure the radius off the top of my head.

[CTN]

Re: neck radius and material

You are asking the wrong question. sorta. Actually you didn't ask anything.

what you need to be asking is "how does neck radius affect playability for riffage and leads?"

Answer:

First of all, the materials the neck is made of has no bearing on the radius and the superficial playability.

Second, you need to be mindful of the fretsize as well, because coupled with radius, it can have a significant effect on playability.

Generally speaking, more curved radii (7"-10") tend to make complex chords and barre chords easier. Flatter radii (12"-16") are better for sweeps, fast legato leads and the like.

The little chart that Kam posted is kinda useful to get an idea of how different radii fit different styles of guitars.

The truth is that it's such a bloody subjective, personal thing that you just gotta play the guitar and find out if you like it.

For the kinds of stuff that I play (jazz chords, blues with lots of bends, fast tight metal riffage, ripping leads and whammy stuff too), I need a radius that can do it all. My choice is 12". Curved enough to still allow for chording, but flat enough to rip faces off.

That said, I am an oddball. I have a 9.5" radius Strat that I use for all the above playing styles as well. It slays at everything except the really extreme blues bends.

I also hate extra jumbo frets which most metal players seem to favour for their ability to supposedly make fast playing easier. All my guitars have medium or medium jumbo frets, because I like the feel of them.