Re: What is your perfect neck?
I tend to like fairly thin, 1-11/16" nut width necks the best, typically with a mildly flattened back, as opposed to a "V" or strong "C" shape.
That said, I have always found the original Wizard profile by Ibanez (17mm at 1st, 19-20mm at 12th) a little
too thin and flat, but liked the later Wizard II (19mm at 1st, 21mm at 12th) a lot.
In 1-5/8" nut width, I had a 1990 Epiphone Les Paul (short-run "narrow open-book" headstock) with what I believe was a '60s profile that was the nicest I've played on an LP style guitar.
PRS' "Pattern Thin" profile (20.5mm at 1st fret, not sure about 12th) is also really comfortable to me.
Here are some measurements I've taken from other necks I've really liked the feel of (1st fret, 12th fret):
- Jackson Kevin Bond Rhoads - 20mm, 23mm
- 1989 ESP M-II Neck-Thru - 20mm, 21.5mm
- Washburn HM Series Idol - 20mm, 21mm
- 1988 BC Rich Gunslinger - 19.5mm, 22mm
- Warmoth "Standard Thin" - 20mm, 21.5mm (very similar to older USA Charvel necks)
Somewhere I have specs for the early Yamaha Pacifica 921/1221 necks, which were crazy thin, but also felt great! Warmoth produced the necks for the early 9XX and higher series and they featured a dramatic 9.5-16" compound radius. Really unique!
