onewilyfool Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I like those big chunky vintage necks.....My Gibson L-2 '23, My Kay, and old Washburn....etc....("V" necks, half baseball bat necks....you know what I'm talking about!!) Problem is.........They actually "tire" my fretting hand more quickly than the more modern thinner necks. Don't know why, I love the feel of them, but my fretting hand seems to tire and get painful more quickly....so I usually don't play them for long periods of time.....any of youse guys have this experience???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotneck Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I like 'em too...but I'm having a hard time playing any guitars lately due to arthritis in my hands... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I have a 1939 J55 which has a pretty chunky neck, but not as chunky as my Martin D28 Marquis. I have no problem with the Gibson but the Martin took a while to get used to. It does tire my hand in a way the Gibson doesn't. I am 67 and starting to get a little arthritis in my index fingers but after the first few "C" chords it gets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 They actually "tire" my fretting hand more quickly than the more modern thinner necks. It's the exact opposite for me. Thin necks bother my thumb muscles, especially the one that runs down the back web area. I guess it's from having to squeeze harder, tighter or further. Give me a Louisville Slugger anyday. I had a '64 Firebird that had the thinnest neck of any guitar I ever owned. I really did not like the neck on that guitar. My '47 L-7 is the thickest, and it suits me just fine. I find vintage Fender V-necks very comfortable also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonCarlos Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Yes, I am a fan of the big fat necks on electrics but not acoustics (no reason but my own preference). For electrics I prefer Fenders, and I love my older Jeff Beck strat and it's fat baseball bat neck. For leads, you can kind of wanderer around on the fretboard without bumping into things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchristo Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I have a 37 L-50 with a fat neck.....I like the new thinner necks better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Love the fat necks, too! You probably need the action set a bit lower - mine play like butter ('35 L50), but the luthier fairly well knows what I play and when I said it was a bit tough to play, he looked from the other side of the room and said the b string was a bit high and overall the nut a bit uneven and that will be $180 etc, etc.....whatever, but when I got it back the 12s seemed a bit 'flappy' so I went to 13s.......I seriously would not have even considered 13s when I first got the guitar.... Here is a fearful looking contraption for sore hands: http://www.nationalg...OR_12STRING.pdf (Do you still have the National, Wily? How is the 1.825" nut treating you?) BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfbird Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Recent Martin necks seem designed to annoy us all. Those V shapes are like nature's way of telling you to never go past the 5th fret for anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Two points from here... 1. I think one's choice of necks will change over time. Bunches of personal variables will enter the equation. 2. One's physical geometry and technique will result in a given neck feeling better or not so good. I have a '50s higher-end archtop with the baseball bat neck but with a shorter 24-inch scale. I played it gigging country/rock about two years and felt quite comfortable with it. It's still relatively comfortable, but not ... really. Yeah, I think aging or other factors affecting one's hands also make a difference. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pschaafs Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Another factor is the changing style of music we play as we age... sure, I still play some stuff I used to all those years ago, but now I play more fingerstyle and the wider neck is better (for me) for that... I also have the other factors present, and the getting older factor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Every so often I have to reassess and adjust my fretting force to get to that ideal agility/precision paradigm. It's harder when you play with passion to harness the balance but it's an important element to get that good sound in a song, and often it happens that playing a reserved relaxed fret hand gives you better endurance and overall sound. The great players seem to fret effortlessly. I'm older now too and think much of the hand difficulty we're all talking about is simply the result of old bones and muscles. I just slow the dang songs down and bore the crap out of my family by dragging the tunes out. The more verses, the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 My Gibson F-25 has a big neck, the same size as a classcal guitar. I've always have since 1962 have played a big wide neck and even at age 66 they are easier than those skinny necked guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 While the pre-truss rod necks are something to behold I still have never played a Gibson with a truss rod that had what I considered a really fat neck. I was actually surprised by some of the 1930s upper end archtops which had necks which felt downright modern. But the older I get the more I appreciate a big fat old neck. I think it is the way it cradles my hand. But I also found I play cleaner because of how they force my fingers to position themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 My Gibson F-25 has a big neck, the same size as a classcal guitar. I've always have since 1962 have played a big wide neck and even at age 66 they are easier than those skinny necked guitars. Those are as wide as you will find on a Gibson while flat board makes them feel even wider. But like the B45-12 the neck profile is pretty shallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debonnaire Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 But the older I get the more I appreciate a big fat old neck. I think it is the way it cradles my hand. But I also found I play cleaner because of how they force my fingers to position themselves. I agree with all of this. I am a mediocre player, so take this with a grain of salt, but I have an HG-00 conversion and the triangle neck seems to move my hand into a more-correct playing position. I sort of hang my thumb off the point of the triangle and it opens my hand more to the fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubee Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I am sure different than some of you guys because I don't love any neck that causes pain! May love the guitar but not the neck. I've had big necks but like my 2003 AJRI (a perfect C for me) and many early '50s Gibsons. My left thumb has complained about necks that don't fit for about 15-20 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I like my big, chunky baseball bat neck of my 43' LG-2, however when learning new fingerpicking pieces I normally learn them on my SJ. I find the neck is a bit more forgiving for learning new pieces, but once I know it I love applying it to the chunky monkey LG-2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 (Do you still have the National, Wily? How is the 1.825" nut treating you?) BluesKing777. Wide nuts and necks don't seem to bother me....and I LIKE the chunky necks...love the feel, just tire my hands out more quickly..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 I also like throwing my thumb over the low E string to fret Bass notes from time to time, and that chunky neck makes that a little more difficult... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grOOved Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Yes, I am a fan of the big fat necks on electrics but not acoustics (no reason but my own preference). Me too. Fat on electric and thin profile on acoustic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I also like throwing my thumb over the low E string to fret Bass notes from time to time, and that chunky neck makes that a little more difficult... That is the only way I know how to play but have never had any trouble. And I have some guitars with necks that are so thick folks tell me they find the guitars unplayable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I also like throwing my thumb over the low E string to fret Bass notes from time to time, ... I never could do this. The first knuckle of my thumbs basically do not bend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 There are also other things that impact the feel of neck. Many of the pre-War non truss rods guitars wil have a 1 7/8" to 2" nut and a totally flat board. When you add that to say a hard V neck profile they feel alot bulkier than a guitar with a radiused board, 1 3/4" nut and round back D neck profile no matter how thick it is. A friend of mine has a '43 Gibson J-45 with no truss rod and he always claims that after playing one of my Stellas or Kay Krafts it is a relief going back to the Gibson which he finds less of a struggle to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 A friend of mine has a '43 Gibson J-45 with no truss rod and he always claims that after playing one of my Stellas or Kay Krafts it is a relief going back to the Gibson which he finds less of a struggle to play. Ha Ha! Shimmies back to his J45, I like it, ZW. Anyone try the Rev Davis C7 chord with the thumb over the 6th and 5th strings/ 3rd fret - and move it down the neck.....good test for the 'thumbover'! BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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