50s neck on a LP

[desertdude]

Hello,
I played 2 LPs today, one with a 50s Rounded Neck. and one with the 60s neck. For some reason the 50 neck felt way more conforatabe to me, I thought it would have been the oposite. I do have small hands, Am I trippen?
Thanks

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

No, the 50's neck has the best transfer of tone from neck to body on a Gibson IMO.

I've had them all, and can get used to 60's or 50's, although slim taper 60's bugs me because of it's smallness around the open chords.

IMO, the best Gibson necks are somewhere right in between a full 50's and regular 60's....basically a smaller 50's, and there's a lot of Gibsons that feel like this.

I think it's much better to get used to a 50's neck on Gibsons, because it's a natural carve for most hands. By filling the hand, your hand get's used to a normal fat C shape.
Thin necks often cause hand fatigue, and while they feel fast for lead, they sometimes cramp your hand when playing rhythm all night. But, I'm talking about the thinnest Gibson necks....the ones like Schecter and Ibanez.

 

[desertdude]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

No, the 50's neck has the best transfer of tone from neck to body on a Gibson IMO.

I've had them all, and can get used to 60's or 50's, although slim taper 60's bugs me because of it's smallness around the open chords.

IMO, the best Gibson necks are somewhere right in between a full 50's and regular 60's....basically a smaller 50's, and there's a lot of Gibsons that feel like this.

I think it's much better to get used to a 50's neck on Gibsons, because it's a natural carve for most hands. By filling the hand, your hand get's used to a normal fat C shape.
Thin necks often cause hand fatigue, and while they feel fast for lead, they sometimes cramp your hand when playing rhythm all night. But, I'm talking about the thinnest Gibson necks....the ones like Schecter and Ibanez.

Thanks for the info, Im glad someone feels the same way. I was just supprised.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

The funny thing is that I gravitate toward chunky necks, but sometimes I play thinner necks and totally rip it up.....then I scratch my head and wonder which is best for me.

And the answer is all of them. I've almost stopped concerning myself with the issue and just buy guitars I like. Then, I simply get used to them all. After playing guitar 2/3's of my life, I don't even care anymore. I just pick something up and dig what it does.

Nitpicking is for guys who think too much and obsess over some small detail. I could eat a different food, drink a different drink, smoke a different strain, and play a different guitar every day of the week, and not even think about the transitions.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

love the 50s neck, its so substantial. Maybe it's just that I've gotten used to the Gibson 50s shape but it feels like it just sits in my hand perfectly.

OK so it's not the easiest thing to get my thumb over (not that I always need to do that) but I get it done.

 

[guitarkid]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

I use to hate 50's necks, but now I love them. The neck on my 2006 Les Paul Studio Faded is my favorite neck on any guitar I have owned. Not all 50's necks feel the same though, from my experience. I have played some "50's necks" that felt like baseball bats and others that don't.

 

[Coma]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

I'm loving my 50's neck less and less. But then again, I have small "girlish" hands.

 

[jumble jumble]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

To me the neck just gives a guitar a different feel. If I'm going to be digging in and being aggressive, I like a nice big neck to fight back a bit. If I'm going to be shredding (or rather, trying to) then I like a really thin neck. And a lot of the time I like to be somewhere in the middle, especially on Fenders.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

A fatter neck isn't necessarily hard to play. It depends on the person. It's more about how the neck fits your hand and your style of play than about pure thickness. I prefer fatter necks, for the most part, Us or Vs. I can play a thin neck, but the fatter ones suit me better. Also, FWIW, the Gibson '50's neck is not all that big. Bigger than the '60's profile, but not really "big" the way I think of a big neck. My '04 Les Paul Standard came with a choice of '50's or '60's neck, and I got the '50's. But it feels like a "normal" neck to me, not like a fat neck. OTOH, I've played some Historics, and they have what I would call a truly big necks. And they feel great!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

I've owned fat necks before, but now I just can't get along with them. I've always had very small hands, but now they are small and weak. Most of my guitars are 60s type, but my favorite neck is a slightly thicker modified "V" shape.

 

[blueman335]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

No, the 50's neck has the best transfer of tone from neck to body on a Gibson IMO.

+1. That's what Lindy Fralin says. I think you're better off with the thickest neck you can play comfortably. I don't see the obsession with thin necks and low actions. Bunch of girly men! :14:

 

[Varg]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

How is the neck on your SL2 desertdude? The neck on my SL3 is the thickest I've played, and it's also my favourite.
But I like thin necks too, I can play anything happily enough.

 

[Aceman]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

I personally prefer the 70's neck above all. I know "WTF is a 70's neck?"

The Maple Norlin necks were not as thin as a 60's, but not as thick as the 50's.

If I had a second choice - 50's all the way. Bring the chunck!

 

[phil_104]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

My favorite is the 30-60, like I have on my 339

From Gibson :
The 30/60 slender neck is a '60s style neck with an extra .030" front-to-back to preserve the semi-hollowbody tone, sustain, and feel while providing smooth playability

 

[desertdude]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

How is the neck on your SL2 desertdude? The neck on my SL3 is the thickest I've played, and it's also my favourite.
But I like thin necks too, I can play anything happily enough.

Effortless not to thin, very fast. one of my favorites to. Ive been playing my buddys EVH, it seems pretty similur, I know its made by fender modern C neck. I cant play my Epi korina but than I can play my friends. More conforatable, weird.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

I find that a thicker neck corrects my fretting hand angle quite a bit because of the filled gap between palm/thumb/neck, and another thing ive realized with guitar is that with patience you can train yourself to play very well on any half decent neck, there are just certain things that are healthier and I believe a fuller neck is one of them.

 

[PunkKitty]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

I'm partial to chunky necks. The Gibson 50s neck is great. I also like chunky Tele necks. FWIW, I have average to large size hands for a woman.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

I don't like chunky anything...

Thin neck, thin waist, slender thighs, wide (not chuncky) hips, moderately sized boobs.

Oh, wait...we were talking about guitars?? Sorry, I got distracted.

 

[Coma]

Re: 50s neck on a LP

+1. That's what Lindy Fralin says. I think you're better off with the thickest neck you can play comfortably. I don't see the obsession with thin necks and low actions. Bunch of girly men! :14:

It's all about middle ground, man. Just as there is too fat, there's also too thin. I can't get along with superchunky necks, but the Ibanez Wizards don't stroke me right either.

EDIT: Actually, I'm curious about something. If anybody other than me (in this thread) has a 50's necked LP, would you pleace measure the thickness and then post it here? I'm wondering just how much play there is when it comes to neck shapes, esp since there seems to be quite a wide span of sizes that somehow qualify as 50's necks over at Gibson.
For empirical reasons, I'd say measure right behind the 12th fret (unless someone has a better idea?).