PRS Pattern "Regular" Neck Profile

[Masta' C]

Can anyone tell me about the pattern "regular" neck profile?

Fairly certain the handful of PRS guitars I have owned all had the "Pattern Thin" or "Wide Thin" profiles. How does the "Regular" compare? Is it similar to any other profile from a popular manufacturer?

Thanks!

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

"The new "Pattern Regular" neck shape is similar to the traditional PRS regular neck found on guitars made in the late 80’s at PRS’s former Virginia Avenue location."

https://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/support/article/neck_profiles

 

[ErikH]

Well, that certainly says a lot.....LOL

 

[Bogner]

Similar to the Wide Fat. The Private Stock "pattern" neck I have is a little rounder in the back and fuller fretboard to midpoint on neck back (hope that makes sense). I have numerous other PRS guitars and it seems to be the fullest of them all but not by much. It isn't a huge variance from the Wide Fat. Since mine is a Private Stock it may be ever so slightly different than the other models. My overall nut width is very very slightly wider on this particular guitar as well in comparison to all my other PRS guitars. I have a west street limited that has a similar rounded feel like the pattern. Again, not much of a departure from the Wide Fat. My guess would be if you didn't know any better or were playing a different guitar and went right to the PRS you probably wouldn't tell the difference between the Regular and Wide Fat. Hope that helps. If you have more specific questions, please ask and I will do my best to help and answer.

 

[alex1fly]

In my limited experience, PRS' neck profiles do not vary terribly. Nothing like going from a Fender to a Gibson. I have a Wide Thin and a Wide Fat currently, and the difference is like... 1.6? in thickness. I've never owned a Regular or Pattern necked guitar to extensively compare, but I played a few in shops recently and they felt familiar.

Here are some good details straight from the horse on all kinds of measurements for PRS necks: https://prsguitars.com/index.php/support/article/neck_profiles

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Man, I personally dislike the Wide Fat so much. So round and thick with a round fretboard. Literally feels like a baseball bat.

 

[Ascension]

Patter regular is more a C profile and slightly thicker than a standard non 1960 Les Paul Profile. Not a bad neck. I personally don't care for any of the PRS profiles but the Wide thin. Really like my 08 Custom 24 core with the Wide Thin.

 

[pskorz]

I'm not too well versed in American PRS necks. I have some experience with the SE liine. An SE custom 22 or 24 has the "wide thin" and I don't care for the feel of those. It's got a bit more depth and a rounder radius than a 90's era Ibanez Wizard neck - but not much. To my grip, that's the closest approximation. I have a Zach Myers with the "wide-fat" neck, and to my feel, it's not a world away from a newer Gibson neck. Somewhere in between the 60's and 50's profiles Gibson offers.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I can't speak to measurements in millimeters, but I'm another who doesn't feel a radical variety among the various PRS necks.
To me the differences between them seem pretty subtle - nothing very fat or very thin.

I've loved their standard profile ever since '87 and I'd call it a medium C - the thickness and shape feel perfect in my hand.
I also have two in the Wide Fat profile. Still very comfy for me; they aren't super wide and I wouldn't call them chunky.

Not sure I've ever played a Wide Thin.

I did have an SE Cust24 for a couple of years and that wasn't what I'd call a thin neck. Not very much like a Wizard IMO.
However, mine was a 30th Anniversary model and might not have had a typical SE Cust24 neck.

Just to be clear, I have very thin necks on a few guitars, and I find them uncomfortable after playing a while.

 

[alex1fly]

OP: I found this thread on the PRS guitar forum. It may have some information that helps you. https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/what-fender-neck-is-closer-to-pattern-regular.45339/

 

[allstarrme]

Here’s a visual representation of them:

I have a few of the pattern regular necks, albeit on a slightly longer 25.25” scale. They feel to me similar to some of the fender necks. I also have a pattern thin and a few pattern vintage and they all feel sort of close. None of them are wizard thin or very flat but none of them are 50’s Gibson baseball bats either. Best thing you can do is try one out that has the profile you are interested in.

 

[Mincer]

Here’s a visual representation of them:

I have a few of the pattern regular necks, albeit on a slightly longer 25.25” scale. They feel to me similar to some of the fender necks. I also have a pattern thin and a few pattern vintage and they all feel sort of close. None of them are wizard thin or very flat but none of them are 50’s Gibson baseball bats either. Best thing you can do is try one out that has the profile you are interested in.

I never knew what the hell they were talking about. The picture explains it all. Thanks for posting it!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I always thought the Wide Fat in my old PRS SE had a very subtle V shape to it, and that pic almost confirms it. Man, I hated that neck.

The Wide Thin has none of that. It's definitely not flat or thin like the Wizard in my RG570, but it's thinner and faster than the Thin U in my LTD. A little more C-scaped too.

 

[PoorMan]

I do not have large hands. Pattern Regular feels really big to me. I definitely prefer Pattern Thin.

 

[Masta' C]

Thank you guys! On a whim, I ended up grabbing an S2 Singlecut with the "Pattern Regular" profile. The "Regular" definitely feels a tiny bit larger/rounder than the "Thin". That said, it doesn't feel "huge" at all, just slightly fuller throughout, sort of like my favorite Jackson Rhoads neck if it snuck in an extra Twinkie every once in a while.

One thing that annoys me a little, especially for a "USA" model...it's spec'd with a 1/32" narrower nut than the "Pattern Thin" profile, yet the width of the actual fretboard at the nut is still 1-11/16" (1.695" measured).

PRS used a 1-21/32" (1.660" measured) nut, presumably to give it a narrower feel, but the result is that the sides of the nut aren't entirely flush with the sides of the neck. I thought I was crazy, but it seems others on the internet have noticed this, as well.

So, the "Pattern Regular" and "Pattern Thin" profiles are both based on a 1-11/16" nut width, regardless of what PRS marketing states. I'm not complaining too heavily, though, because it seems to combine the best of a slightly narrower string spacing with the fuller in-hand feel of a true 1-11/16" profile. That said, they could easily have had the nuts made slightly wider for a better fit and finish without changing the string spacing from that of the narrower nut. Guess PRS is getting cheap in their old age, LOL!

 

[PoorMan]

One thing that annoys me a little, especially for a "USA" model...it's spec'd with a 1/32" narrower nut than the "Pattern Thin" profile, yet the width of the actual fretboard at the nut is still 1-11/16" (1.695" measured).

PRS used a 1-21/32" (1.660" measured) nut, presumably to give it a narrower feel, but the result is that the sides of the nut aren't entirely flush with the sides of the neck. I thought I was crazy, but it seems others on the internet have noticed this, as well.

So, the "Pattern Regular" and "Pattern Thin" profiles are both based on a 1-11/16" nut width, regardless of what PRS marketing states. I'm not complaining too heavily, though, because it seems to combine the best of a slightly narrower string spacing with the fuller in-hand feel of a true 1-11/16" profile. That said, they could easily have had the nuts made slightly wider for a better fit and finish without changing the string spacing from that of the narrower nut. Guess PRS is getting cheap in their old age, LOL!

Interesting. You've piqued my curiosity. I have and S2 and a CE...time to grab my calipers.

 

[Masta' C]

Interesting. You've piqued my curiosity. I have and S2 and a CE...time to grab my calipers.

Nice! Which S2 do you have?

 

[richard parker]

I have a 2016 S2 Singlecut with the pattern regular neck and a Bernie with the wide fat neck. The necks are nothing like one another. The wide fat is much chunkier. I like them both.

 

[Bogner]

Thank you guys! On a whim, I ended up grabbing an S2 Singlecut with the "Pattern Regular" profile. The "Regular" definitely feels a tiny bit larger/rounder than the "Thin". That said, it doesn't feel "huge" at all, just slightly fuller throughout, sort of like my favorite Jackson Rhoads neck if it snuck in an extra Twinkie every once in a while.

One thing that annoys me a little, especially for a "USA" model...it's spec'd with a 1/32" narrower nut than the "Pattern Thin" profile, yet the width of the actual fretboard at the nut is still 1-11/16" (1.695" measured).

PRS used a 1-21/32" (1.660" measured) nut, presumably to give it a narrower feel, but the result is that the sides of the nut aren't entirely flush with the sides of the neck. I thought I was crazy, but it seems others on the internet have noticed this, as well.

So, the "Pattern Regular" and "Pattern Thin" profiles are both based on a 1-11/16" nut width, regardless of what PRS marketing states. I'm not complaining too heavily, though, because it seems to combine the best of a slightly narrower string spacing with the fuller in-hand feel of a true 1-11/16" profile. That said, they could easily have had the nuts made slightly wider for a better fit and finish without changing the string spacing from that of the narrower nut. Guess PRS is getting cheap in their old age, LOL!

To me, that is just tacky. No reason for the fit and finish to be off. I had this problem on one of my private stocks and could feel it when playing and it bugged the hell out of me. I went round and round with PRS on this issue and got nowhere. It cured me from ever buying a new PRS. You can get a Graph Tech nut (Model 6143) and it will sort it out. In my case, I thought it was completely unacceptable for a private stock build. After going 12 rounds with PRS I sent the guitar back and they replaced the nut and it was such a half A$$ed job and so bulky on the top edges, shaping and height that I had to fix it myself. Sorry....I got triggered and my rant came out.

Just get the 6143 nut and it will help a great deal.

 

[Masta' C]

Thanks for the note about the GraphTech nut. I may have to look into it.

Currently trying to decide if I will keep the guitar or not. I bought it on a whim, despite trying to downsize my collection. I may hold onto it for a bit and see. Plays great, but not sure if I'm sold on the neck profile.