Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

[Young Angus]

Okay so im pretty sure im getting the paul, and i think im gonna go with heritage cherry. But now i gotta decide between the thick and thinner neck. Please help!

I played one of each briefly today and didnt mind either of them. But am concerned about tonal differences between the two. Im used to my jackson ps2 which has a reasonably thin neck compared to at least what my 137 had, which was quite thick. And i want to be able to solo with ease and reach around as much as possible and my hands arent huge. So logically i should go with the thinner 60s neck, but i dont know what other advantages/disadvantages lie with either of them.

So what does everyone think of each neck, and is there a tonal difference?

Cheers

 

[beandip]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

well, I'm not one to think that neck size has a signifigant effect on tone. On the thinner neck, your hand will tire faster, but you'll be able to play more complex chords with ease. On the fatter neck, your hand is able to relax more and feel more at home, but you're not able to shred your little heart out on 'em.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

If you go out and play both necks, the answer will come to you fairly easy. I gravitate toward the 50's neck on Pauls, but ironically like smaller necks on certain types of guitars. On Les Pauls, the 50's neck seems more suited to the guitar IMO.

 

[McLaughysSN]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

i love the 60's necks.. the ease of play is great for speed. and as far as your hand tiring out, personally i dont notice a difference, i can still play for a good 3-4 hours on it

but it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

I play both, don't notice any tonal difference, but I prefer the feel of the 60's slim taper.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

I prefer the 50's style neck but some have a bit to much shoulder and feel to blocky pr to chunky to me. But not all. I love the 50's neck on my '00 59RI Les Paul but didn't care for the 50's profile on my buddy's Historic ES335. So you need to try before you buy if possible. Lew

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Yeah ill try some tomorrow. I like the idea of the thicker neck just because like jonesy said it sorta suits the guitar more but i think ultimately i should get the thinner one just for playability and stuff.

Will it really make my hand get tired faster?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Yeah ill try some tomorrow. I like the idea of the thicker neck just because like jonesy said it sorta suits the guitar more but i think ultimately i should get the thinner one just for playability and stuff.

Will it really make my hand get tired faster?

Go with what feels comfortable and your hand won't get tired. If it doesn't feel right, don't try to talk yourself into liking it...just pass on that guitar. Go for one that feels "right"...and only you can decide on that. In fact, it won't be a decision...you'll just know! Lew

 

[dystrust]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Hand strength makes a difference too. I never used to be able to tolerate the 50s neck. These days it's the only thing I'll play on a Paul. I can't stand the 60s neck as it substantially thins out the tone. If I wanted a Les Paul that bright and thin, I'd play an SG.

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Hand strength makes a difference too. I never used to be able to tolerate the 50s neck. These days it's the only thing I'll play on a Paul. I can't stand the 60s neck as it substantially thins out the tone. If I wanted a Les Paul that bright and thin, I'd play an SG.

Interesting point???

 

[rspst14]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

If it were me, I'd go with the thicker neck. I'm no Les Paul expert, so take anything I say with a grain of salt, but I've never liked thin necks. I have average sized hands, and I just don't feel comfortable playing on them. Yes, I can play slightly faster on a thinner neck, and if all I did was shred it might be a good choice. Overall, thicker necks are much more comfortable to me, and I prefer the tonal response of having that extra wood. In addition, Gibsons with thin necks are notorious for having breakage problems at the neck and headstock. I think you'd be better off going with the thicker neck. As others have mentioned, it's very important that you play a bunch of Les Pauls until you find the one that's right for you. I love Les Pauls, but I would never buy one without spending a significant amount of time playing it first. As you've learned from having to send back the Gibson you've just bought, Gibson's quality control is such that occasionally a bad one gets through. No matter how expensive the guitar, all companies have a problem with this now and again, but I've heard too many stories of people getting brand new Gibsons with major problems. You just don't hear that about Fender, Hamer, Peavey, PRS, etc. You really can't beat a good Les Paul though, once you find the right one for you.

Ryan

 

[guymanperson]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

If it were me, I'd go with the thicker neck. I'm no Les Paul expert, so take anything I say with a grain of salt, but I've never liked thin necks. I have average sized hands, and I just don't feel comfortable playing on them. Yes, I can play slightly faster on a thinner neck, and if all I did was shred it might be a good choice. Overall, thicker necks are much more comfortable to me, and I prefer the tonal response of having that extra wood. In addition, Gibsons with thin necks are notorious for having breakage problems at the neck and headstock. I think you'd be better off going with the thicker neck. As others have mentioned, it's very important that you play a bunch of Les Pauls until you find the one that's right for you. I love Les Pauls, but I would never buy one without spending a significant amount of time playing it first. As you've learned from having to send back the Gibson you've just bought, Gibson's quality control is such that occasionally a bad one gets through. No matter how expensive the guitar, all companies have a problem with this now and again, but I've heard too many stories of people getting brand new Gibsons with major problems. You just don't hear that about Fender, Hamer, Peavey, PRS, etc. You really can't beat a good Les Paul though, once you find the right one for you.

Ryan

true, also i would get a 50s because if its too big you can always sand it down ....if your not worried about selling it :yell:

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

This is true, im starting to lean towards the 50s necks. Ill see how they play today (its 7:30am now so ill get to the shop sometime today).

 

[darkshadow54321]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

I have quite small hands... and I've noticed that when I play more complex chords near the nut (1-5 frets) on my Les Paul, my hand gets very cramped and so basically it tires out. Further down the neck it's fine...

Is there such a thing as a compound neck thickness? It could be fatter at the top and then thinner near the bottom. Would this work? Seems like the ideal solution, for me anyway.

 

[jpage]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Both!

 

[spidey]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

I played a classic fo 10 years with a skinny neck - great if you want to shred but want the look and tone of a Paul. I then bought a Paul with a 50s neck and suddenly realised I much prefered the fatter neck. It just feels so right on a Paul IMO. So much so that I then had to get rid of the classic as I then couldn't stand the skinny neck and did a part ex on another paul with a 50s neck.
Lew's right though - you got to get what feels right for you.
One other thing - I personally didn't get tired hands on the skinny neck and don't on the fat neck. It depends on the player.

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Well i tried out the two different necks today. A 60s neck on a classic and a 50s neck on a custom. First thing i noticed was that the custom actually had a really REALLY pronounced edge of the body near the join which got in the way when i went for the high frets. But the neck itself didnt feel harder to play, and on the standards this pronounced bit isnt there its more rounded.

The 60s neck did feel easy to play, but the more i played the 50s neck the more i realised that it too was easy to play, but it also just felt much better in my hands. Nothing hard to play about it, and it just felt fatter and better to me. Then after playing and liking the 50s neck i picked up the classic again and didnt really like it as much.

So i went with the 50s neck

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Well i tried out the two different necks today. A 60s neck on a classic and a 50s neck on a custom. First thing i noticed was that the custom actually had a really REALLY pronounced edge of the body near the join which got in the way when i went for the high frets. But the neck itself didnt feel harder to play, and on the standards this pronounced bit isnt there its more rounded.

The 60s neck did feel easy to play, but the more i played the 50s neck the more i realised that it too was easy to play, but it also just felt much better in my hands. Nothing hard to play about it, and it just felt fatter and better to me. Then after playing and liking the 50s neck i picked up the classic again and didnt really like it as much.

So i went with the 50s neck

So you bought a new geetar? Or still in the "kicking the tires" stage?

Lew

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Well its already bought because i took back my es137 and am trading it for a les paul standard. Now that ive decided on the colour and type of neck, heritage cherry and 50s neck, they can order it in and i should have it in a couple of days hopefully. Unless they hit some sort of snag which im hoping they dont.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Help me decide between les paul 50s or 60s neck.

Aha! Well good luck...hope you like it. :dance: :cool3: Lew