Straight 14" Radius Necks

JOLLY

JOLLY

Super Simonologist
Anybody play with one? I just ordered a new neck from Warmoth, and that's what I went with. My reason for that is that I played Gibson guitars for years, and they have a 12" radius. However, I've been playing Charvels for about the past 7 years, and they have a 12"-16" radius. I figured I'd stay somewhere in between the two for my Iceman builds.

For those of you doing the same, what type of bridge are you using? Mine will be a tuneomatic.

Thanks!!
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

My favorite boards are in the 14"-16" range. My prestiges are maybe closer to 17" (430mm), but as long as they're between 12" and 17" I'm comfortable enough.
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

My ESPs have that radius and I'm not really a fan. As an alternate to 12" it'll do (for 24.75 scale specifically), but probably only if the nut is 42mm as well.

It's easier to play up and down the neck and for bending, tapping... all the fleet-fingered stuff essentially.
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

Why not use Warmoth's compound radius? It's 10"-16" which is pretty close to the Charvel.
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

My guitars from from 10" (my AL HH which is my main axe) to 20" (Strandberg, Kiesel AM6) and it makes exactly 0 difference to me.
I enjoy compound radii and usually go with 10-16" or 12-16". But 10" is flat enough to never fret-out during bends, and comfy for chording. I don't notice 20" as any less comfortable though.

It's funny, a few years back I would have been a lot more picky over this. Not as much these days :)

TOMs are tougher to adjust for fingerboard radius than bridges with individual saddle heights. It should be fine out of the box, but replacements will have to be checked for correct radius or you'll need to get new saddles to compensate.
 
Straight 14" Radius Necks

Straight 14" Radius Necks

I switch between warmoth's compound radius and straight 12". I just got a Kramer that runs 14" straight. I can't feel the difference in radius either. 14" straight plays great for me. I'm using a Gotoh FR, so the only thing I felt immediately was a bit of stiffness from the system. It's been awhile since I've had a guitar with a FR, so I had to readjust for a bit. No issues now.


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Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

I've realized that overall I don't care. I hear people all the time saying "oh, I like the guitar but 7.25" = fret out cause I like big bends". I think it's one of those things people make out to be a huge deal when it's not something you run into that often, unless you want you ultra low action on a rounder radius. I'm cool with any radius. 14" isn't a common one though except for Carvin, and I really like how those play. There's other stuff I'm a lot pickier about though, like the bridge radius actually matching the fretboard. I never understood why the old Les Pauls would have 12" radius TOMs with a 9.5" fretboard radius from the factory.

I wouldn't mind trying a 7.25"-9.5" or 7.25"-12" compound board though. I've always thought that compounds that go from flat to ultra flat don't make much sense.
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

Nothing wrong with a straight 14" radius. Personally, I like compound boards, but I've played plenty of great guitars that utilized a straight radius. In fact, I just sold one that was straight 14" and it was a nice player.

It's true, though...going from 12" to 16" yields a much smaller difference in playing feel compared to going from 9" to 12". That said, I'm not a fan of boards over 16" or so. I mean, there's flat and then there's FLAT!
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

One thing to note with compound radii: the radius at the bridge has to be FLATTER than the one at the last fret. This is because compound radii are usually given from nut-till-last-fret.

Hence on a 10-16", if you set your bridge to 16", your strings will actually be slightly more curved than the rest of the neck. It takes maths to figure out the correct radius at the bridge, but I usually go about an inch flatter (in this case, 17"), which may or may not end up being a commonly used radius at all.
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

Ken Parker (Parker guitars) used to do a good job of explaining the naturally conical shape of guitar strings between the nut and bridge and the advantages (to him) of using compound radius fretboards.

In the real world, however, the choice in radius is entirely "subjective" and not every radius, compound or otherwise, works well for every player. I think 14" straight is a nice compromise on several fronts.

I can't wait to see how these Iceman projects turn out!
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

My Peavey Wolfgang has a straight 15" radius. I love it.

The new neck I just got from Musikraft is 10-12".
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

A 14" radius is pretty flat to me. I like 9.5"-12" - to me it's the best balance between chords and leads. Also, fretting out on bends on a rounder radius shouldn't happen if the fretwork is good. If the fretwork sucks, then you'll encounter the lower action/fretting out problem. My MIM tele could use a fret job, but for the price I probably might as well get a new neck.
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

Hamer necks are 14.5" radius and I love them. For me, the straighter the better. I can enjoy anything from 12" to 20" or so, but don't like less than 12". I hate 7.25". Makes bending a pain and the structure of my hands/fingers don't really make it any easier to play chords with a round radius. I can chord just as easily on a flatter board.
 
Re: Straight 14" Radius Necks

Well, thanks to this thread I've gone back to my ESPs (14" radius) and raised the strings to match my axes with 12" radius. Now, I can only play my ESPs! lol
 
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