Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

[ImmortalSix]

OK, so I need a neck for this guitar!

The body I'm working with USACG on will likely have a Stratocaster neck pocket (spoiler alert!), and I HATE how thin and narrow most Stratocaster necks are, so I am going to have to get a neck made.

So, I'm soliciting your input to fine-tune my big-picture decisions.

Whenever you see bold, red text, that's me asking you for advice! Please respond!

Let's get started:

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Neck wood:

(we are not talking about fretboard, just the neck "base" material. This will be a 2 piece neck)

The old standby is Maple. I like Maple better than Mahogany, but I am open to recommendations on other woods for the neck.

It's fairly likely that I will go with maple, but tell me about some of those beautiful darker woods, like rosewood, and how they feel and sound as neck materials!

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Fretboard:

I want a dark fretboard.

I like the way maple fretboards sound more than I like the way rosewood boards sound, so Pau Ferro is in the running, obviously.

What else is in that ballpark?

For reference, my favorite sounding neck is a 2 piece neck, maple neck + maple slab fretboard. (Think of a maple neck + rosewood fretboard, but the slab is maple, not rosewood).

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Profile:

My ideal neck would be "fatter" than the Tele neck on my Squier '51, but "not-as-fat" as the Wide-Fat on my PRS.

I am looking almost exclusively at USACG necks, because I love their headstock: Stratty, but not exactly a Strat headstock:

Their ready-to-go profiles are:

Fatback - C Shape 1". Little to no taper at all.
Boat Contour - Soft, but not super soft “V” with some shoulder…like a boat hull!
Texas Blues - Asymmetrical .860" (.070+ taper)
Texas Blues Brother - Hard V that changes into a C around the 9th fret. Usually anywhere from .830"-.850" (.070+ taper)
Slow Hand - Medium V - around .860"-.870" (.070+ taper)
The '54 - .850" Soft V that changes into a C with a .090"+ taper
The '63 - Taken directly from an actual ’63 Strat, it’s a “C” shape that starts out at about an .830 with a .090+ taper.
E.B. Contour - Asymmetrical .850" (.070+ taper)

PRS Wide Fat is 0.844" deep at the nut, and 1.69" wide at the nut, 2.25" wide at the body.

I could deal with a little deeper neck, and a teensy bit narrower.

I am thinking Asymmetrical Contour, .870" to .880" What say ye?

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Frets:

I'm thinking 6150 (.104" x .047"). I love jumbo frets. Big secksy jumbo frets.



Sound good?

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Width:

At the nut:
1-11/16", methinks. That's 1/16" wider than my favorite neck width, the SX STL50, and exactly that of the PRS Wide-Fat, which I love down low, but don't love as much up in the higher frets.

At the body:

I'm not sure I have much of an option with the USACG neck.

Thank goodness, because I am tired of all these numbers!

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Radius:

I love love love my PRS's 10" radius.

I also love my SX's 13.7" radius.

I am thinking about going with a straight 12" radius to meet in the middle.

Is that a stupid idea? As in, is it stupid to like 10", like 13.7", and think that the center of those two things will be a winner?

 

[Koreth]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

Just my opinion: USACG's website also says they can do compound radii. If you find yourself loving two different radii, especially one radius in the low register and other in the high register, then perhaps a compound radius will let you get even closer to the best of both worlds than splitting the difference with a single radius would.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

Just my opinion: USACG's website also says they can do compound radii. If you find yourself loving two different radii, especially one radius in the low register and other in the high register, then perhaps a compound radius will let you get even closer to the best of both worlds than splitting the difference with a single radius would.

The bummer is, I like the 13.7" radius down low, and the 10" radius up high :laughing:

I don't think anybody's going to sign off on making a reverse-compound-taper neck! :laugh2:

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

Scale Length:

25" :cool2:

I know it's not classic, but this is one "compromise" that I just happen to love.

I play G-style guitars and F-style guitars equally, and my one PRS guitar is just straight up "the sweet spot," scale length wise.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Fretboard:

I want a dark fretboard.

I like the way maple fretboards sound more than I like the way rosewood boards sound, so Pau Ferro is in the running, obviously.

What else is in that ballpark?

For reference, my favorite sounding neck is a 2 piece neck, maple neck + maple slab fretboard. (Think of a maple neck + rosewood fretboard, but the slab is maple, not rosewood).

I don't think you can draw that conclusion about Pau Ferro.

I would get a Warmoth Vintage modern with 59 roundback and ebony board. I have pretty much the same thing as a Tele neck and it's great, sound wise and feel wise. Or USACG equivalent.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

I don't think you can draw that conclusion about Pau Ferro.

I would get a Warmoth Vintage modern with 59 roundback and ebony board. I have pretty much the same thing as a Tele neck and it's great, sound wise and feel wise. Or USACG equivalent.

How would you compare ebony and Pau Ferro, soundwise?

For reference, my interest in darker wood is purely cosmetic, but it's still important to me.

My favorite sounding neck of all time (knowing that each piece of wood is different, and the construction materials themselves may not be a winner every time) is a maple neck with a maple slab board.

So I want that sound (full and warm!) but with a dark look.

Is that ebony?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

I never tried Pau Ferro. What I said is you can't draw any conclusions about it unless you ebay some random neck with it and try.

I don't think Ebony is warm. Why not get a maple slab board and paint it black?

 

[tone4days]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Re: Babycaster Thread II: NECK

Neck wood:

(we are not talking about fretboard, just the neck "base" material. This will be a 2 piece neck)

The old standby is Maple. I like Maple better than Mahogany, but I am open to recommendations on other woods for the neck.

It's fairly likely that I will go with maple, but tell me about some of those beautiful darker woods, like rosewood, and how they feel and sound as neck materials!

i owned a rosewood neck/fingerboard guitar (the PRS McBLE that got me my gloss ) ... they dont call it crackwood for nothing ... felt perfect in my hand ... to me, it made the guitar have very pronounced mids and lows and muted the highs ... all this despite a maple cap on the body, so the neck REALLY contributed to the sound

i think you are right for staying with maple neck and rosewood or pau ferro for the fingerboard

 

[tone4days]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

my fav carve is the 54 - it is their take on the EJ strat neck which i am over the moon for

and yeah, 6150s is a great answer too

i am starting to love flatter radii too ... my EJ is 12"... my PRS 245 is 10" ... and my brian moore is probably best of all at 15"

i think you are onto something with your compromise

i prefer 25.5" on strat-ish axes like this babycaster ... i am in love with gibson scales for H-H guitars ... i just cant get on with 25" ... but if you dig it, rock on!

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

my fav carve is the 54 - it is their take on the EJ strat neck which i am over the moon for

and yeah, 6150s is a great answer too

i am starting to love flatter radii too ... my EJ is 12"... my PRS 245 is 10" ... and my brian moore is probably best of all at 15"

i think you are onto something with your compromise

i prefer 25.5" on strat-ish axes like this babycaster ... i am in love with gibson scales for H-H guitars ... i just cant get on with 25" ... but if you dig it, rock on!

Thanks for all the input Bill!

Glad to hear that meeting in the middle of two comfortable radii is not heralded by all as a terrible idea!

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

Also on the 25" scale thing --- the goal of this guitar is to get it into the hands of my son as soon as possible --- and I know that a 25" scale, however minute the difference may be, is "easier" than a 25.5.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

i think i understand the logic behind a slightly shorter scale getting it into his hands sooner, but i dont think there would be a practical difference observed e.g in months sooner with a gibby scale as compared to a fender scale or prs scale

also, stainless steel frets for easy of bending?

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

i think i understand the logic behind a slightly shorter scale getting it into his hands sooner, but i dont think there would be a practical difference observed e.g in months sooner with a gibby scale as compared to a fender scale or prs scale

also, stainless steel frets for easy of bending?

I agree - no real big difference. The main reason I'm going with a 25" conversion neck is that the point of this guitar is to combine everything I like into one place and see if it works.

I was thinking about SS frets pretty hard, but the luthiers at USACG are as adamant as they can be while remaining polite about how they can't recommend SS frets for tonal reasons.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Babycaster Thread II: Neck Choices

I agree - no real big difference. The main reason I'm going with a 25" conversion neck is that the point of this guitar is to combine everything I like into one place and see if it works.

I was thinking about SS frets pretty hard, but the luthiers at USACG are as adamant as they can be while remaining polite about how they can't recommend SS frets for tonal reasons.

ah, then robert is indeed your mother's brother