What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

I have smaller hands and hate small necks. I dont buy that small hands need small necks BS. I have hand issues and cannot play small necks at all, but even before that I hated skinny and/or flat necks. IME they have no redeeming qualities in playability or tone. None. But thats just me.

Fyi, my MIM roadworn tele has a pretty big chunky nocaster style neck.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

A couple of personal experiences/ observations ....

Thicker necks have more tone

Thicker necks maintain more stable tuning under the heat of stage lighting

Thicker necks cause less hand cramping and pain


and a speculation ....

Maybe since the 80s, guitar players who are coming to the world of electric guitar are all about rawk, dirt and ...speed. If that was the case, it's likely that they assume they must have thin, fast necks and the industry panders to them, because they're probably the people who are flipping instruments more frequently in their searches for what suits them .... players who've been playing for more years have probably worked out what works for them and flip instruments less often. (same principle as music shops selling ten or more student models for every Fender or Gibson they sell).
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

^^ Interesting points. About the cramping, it depends, I think, on the way you play and the setup - if you've got 12s on your Ibanez and you wring the neck like Homer Simpson is wont to do with Bart, sure it's gonna happen; but if you've got 9s and play with a light touch, different story.

About classical guitars: I often wonder about the reasons for the massive neck and no radius; I get the feeling that some dude started this trend (Torres? or his immediate predecessors) and everyone else followed - deviating from that today would be considered heretical.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

I like fat necks (like the one on my Jackson SL3), I like thin necks (like the one on my Jackson JDR94). I can play either comfortably, and I tend to play with my thumb behind the fretboard "classical style".

If you want a fatter neck on a strat - buy a fatter neck and put it on. It's a strat, not a neck through.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

I can adjust my playing style to accomodate a different neck carve faster than you typed that rant.

And it was full of inaccuracy. Most SGs have fat 50s necks. Classic Players Baja Teles come to mind.

Basically, chill out and play guitars.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

Well, it's kinda like having big feet...you have to buy custom made shoes to fit em. Expensive!

If you like really big necks on your guitars, you are the minority and have to relenquish to the fact that you will need to buy more unique guitars, or extra necks to replace the stock ones. Expensive!

I actually wish I had big hands and could play fat necks, I would prefer the extra stability and tone from the baseball bats.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

Meh, I know what works for me and allow for some variation. I don't not Ibby Wizard necks. The only Ibby profile I like is on the PGM models. They are thicker than a Wizard. I'm not a fan of Jackson profiles either. I don't mind the Fender medium C at all and I've actually grown accustomed to the Gibson 60's profile. I did have a Tele where the profile was such that it bothered my hand and wrist.

My favorite profile is the Warmoth boatneck. So comfortable.
My Kramer Focus has a pretty chunky neck.
My Baretta has a slim D profile but not as thin as others from that era. Maybe a little more than what came on Charvels BITD.
The SG Jr I assembled has a slim 60's profile, not too thin.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

Some guys like skinny girls, some like 'em toned, and some like 'em curvy. Same deal with guitars. :)
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

LOL @ EP.

For some reason I kinda like fat necks for drop/open tunings and thinner necks for standard tunings, I think maybe I play with different technique as well as different styles with different tunings.

Fretboard width is what I have always had problems with. The old narrow nut slim taper is something I can't deal with at all, super wides are almost as bad, kept me from buying the most badass beat up (and cheap!) '63 SG Jr ever, and made my Kamikaze, Serpent and Sunburst Tiger expendable.

What I HATE is V necks, to me that's about the worst thing ever.
 
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Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

Try the AVRI '52 Hot Rod.

It's 1-piece maple, but it's much fatter than the normal AVRI. The closest thing I'd compare it to is the '59 neck of my 339.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

I play 2 SX strats. There is no Fender made which has necks as chunky as these.
I just spent an hour last week playing all the Fenders on the wall at my local. I'll stick to my SX's!!!!!
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

I was just thinking, just in the last year I've played a real '55 Esquire and a real Charlie Christian Gibson (1939, I think), I don't recall the necks being very thick on either. What I do remember is lots of skinny 60's and 70's Gibsons I've played.

I don't think this is a new thing.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

I bought a G-400 from Epi and that neck is a ****ing baseball bat. To be honest though, it doesn't bother me when I go from my Gibby's to my Fenders. Yeah the Fenders are a little thinner, but not a big deal. If I ever replace the necks though, I'm going with a D shaped neck.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

I still remember back when I started playing, trying out a friend's Strat. That thing had the beefiest neck of all his guitars. He was mostly into shred/prog, so constantly contemplated selling it. I absolutely loved it in my hands. But, I thought only Strats had that size necks and I must want a thinner neck to play metal. I so wish I could go back and buy that off of him.

I love my 335 Studio, but if I could change one thing, it would be a thicker neck. It's got, what I understand to be, a 60's slim. Depending on what I'm playing I find my hand gets tired more quickly than when using my Squier Tele (thickest neck I have).

I find it a little awkward going between the 2, although I can adapt pretty quickly.

Anytime I build a wishlist Warmoth it's got a Fatback neck.

I'm eying a couple of Explorers, but that thin neck isn't very appealing.

I love SGs that I've tried, since they've all had thick necks. Just awesome.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

Varg said:
I like fat necks (like the one on my Jackson SL3), I like thin necks (like the one on my Jackson JDR94).
Click to expand...

Varg, I don't think the shallow D-shaped necks on our Soloists are really all that thick. Some of the guys are probably talking about really fat baseball bats, and some of those V-shaped necks are crazy thick.

I know the thin Jackson necks you're talking about; my Dinky Reverse has a neck that's about like an Ibanez Wizard on the back. And the SL3 neck is certainly thicker than that -- but not thick-thick. Personally, I like the shape of the Soloist necks as well as just about anything I've played.
 
Re: What the heck is with guitar manufacturers and thin necks?

As long as it isn't super ridiculous thin ( Ibanez wizard) I can get a long with it just fine. My favorite profile is Jackson sl1
 
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