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Measuring width?


Pinch

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The GAS is strong, but I'm not sure I'll like the neck... It's a lot of money to order one and then have to shop it back internationally.

Dagan from PMT (?) reviewed it as a 59 neck... I've played the Epi 59, and that was super comfortable. Others say it's fat, no doubt. Fluff, I think it was, said he didn't get along w the 50s Standard neck but loved this one as it was slimmer... One poster commented, bollocks mate, it's as fat. 

I don't know what to think. I doubt I'll get my hands on one over here to try it out this side of 2040. 

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35 minutes ago, Pinch said:

Am I correct in assuming this guy is measuring fretboard width, not neck girth? I have to be, right? 

 

Looks like he was measuring the "girth". 

I have a 50s Standard and I love it. It is chunkier as describe, but not so much so as to be off putting. 

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38 minutes ago, Big Bill said:

Looks like he was measuring the "girth". 

I have a 50s Standard and I love it. It is chunkier as describe, but not so much so as to be off putting. 

Cheers. 

I can't tell a screwdriver from a crowbar, more or less, so I have no idea what tool he used. 

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When I measure mine I embarrass myself.

Width is across the fretboard, he was measuring thickness, or as BB alluded to - girth. Are there blue pills for guitars?

Or is girth just width, but the other way?

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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35 minutes ago, ghost_of_fl said:

Just hold a bic lighter in front of it.  If you can only see the lighter now, it's too small.  Oh wait, we're talking about guitar necks? 😳

Were you holding one of those Bic mini lighters? That's more my speed.

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On 1/19/2023 at 6:42 PM, Big Bill said:

Looks like he was measuring the "girth". 

I have a 50s Standard and I love it. It is chunkier as describe, but not so much so as to be off putting. 

I've only ever played a Tribute with a so-called 50s neck, so I'm in the dark. Maybe I'll order one come summer and see what I think. Shipping's easier when it's warm out. Returns, too.

Come to think of it, everything is easier when it's warm out. 

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I have a pal that has an actual 59 Gold Top.  He's had it for years.  Bought it off a guy that was a guitar tech for a pretty big act back in the 70s which is where the tech got it.

Although it's the only one I've ever played, it had the fattest neck I've ever put my hands on.  Nothing at all like the 59 profile my 95 standard has.

 

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12 minutes ago, kidblast said:

I have a pal that has an actual 59 Gold Top.  He's had it for years.  Bought it off a guy that was a guitar tech for a pretty big act back in the 70s which is where the tech got it.

Although it's the only one I've ever played, it had the fattest neck I've ever put my hands on.  Nothing at all like the 59 profile my 95 standard has.

 

That's the odd thing, isn't it? I played Epiphone's '59 model and it was no fatter than my 60s Standard's neck

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1 hour ago, Pinch said:

That's the odd thing, isn't it? I played Epiphone's '59 model and it was no fatter than my 60s Standard's neck

Making the neck skinny and calling it a '59 is how they make them so inexpensive. They save on wood for the others they are cranking out.

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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And didn't the strings on that gold top at the end of the clip appear really loose? 

And yeah, width would be how wide the neck is, and "girth" would be how thick.  And what I'm getting from the clip is that LP necks increase ever so slightly in width from nut to 12th(and likely beyond), which is something I've never noticed.

Whitefang

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26 minutes ago, Whitefang said:

And didn't the strings on that gold top at the end of the clip appear really loose? 

And yeah, width would be how wide the neck is, and "girth" would be how thick.  And what I'm getting from the clip is that LP necks increase ever so slightly in width from nut to 12th(and likely beyond), which is something I've never noticed.

Whitefang

So he's measuring the width? It LOOKS like he does, because how would he measure the thickness with the neck resting in the case? And 40+ mm would make the neck an inch and a half (ish) thick... 

But I could be wrong. Not a tool guy.

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He measures both the width of the fingerboard at the nut, and then he measures the thickness of the neck at the first fret and at the 12th fret.  The tool used is known as a digital caliper.  The video doesn't show him measuring at all - I'm sure he had to take the guitars out of the cases to measure, but the video only shows the different results.

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13 hours ago, Twang Gang said:

He measures both the width of the fingerboard at the nut, and then he measures the thickness of the neck at the first fret and at the 12th fret.  The tool used is known as a digital caliper.  The video doesn't show him measuring at all - I'm sure he had to take the guitars out of the cases to measure, but the video only shows the different results.

Thanks! 

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I was raised in a family that stressed faith, honesty, good grades, music appreciation, and baseball. I excelled at some of these qualities more than others. If my level of success at each of these could be expressed, over time, like freq dB readings on a graphic EQ with each quality listed above represented as different Hz, they would look like Aqualung by Jethro Tull. Some always present, but with varying levels of intensity, and some appearing and dissapearing from time to time, with wildly varying intensities when present.)

As a kid, I thought all baseball bats just came with one size, (girth), hand grip surface, (called the "handle"), and that all guitar necks (girth) were uniform as well. I was always a solid hitter, and one day in HS while working with my batting coach, he asked me what weight of bat I used/liked and what handle size/girth I prefered. Like a deer in the headlights, I processed what he said, and then meekly replied, "There are different sizes?" Needless to say, When I was able to use a bat with a handle size, and weight that felt comfortable to me, my already solid hitting improved greatly.

Not long after that, I learned that guitar neck girth can vary as well, including the girth variance on a guitar neck between the headstock and the guitar body. Choosing the "right" guitar now meant more than just tone, build quality, and appearance. After adding neck girth to my list of requirements for guitar purchases, and thus finally playing a guitar that actually fit my left hand, (and how I played), the quality of my playing improved greatly.

Even the best, highest quality tool, (guitar in this case), may not result in the best, highest quality output, if it's neck doesn't "fit" the hands and/or playing style of the musician playing it. Neck "girth", and similarly neck "girth" variance from end to end, tends to be ignored by most novice guitar buyers, who may focus only on brand, looks, tone, cost, and hardware. This applies to many experienced players as well. 

I truly think that, regardless of a guitar checking all of the requirement boxes on your list for purchase, if the neck doesn't fit your hand comfortably, it is not the guitar for you, nor will you ever be able to play it to your full potential.     

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Very good.  I've heard(and read) complaints over the years that some didn't like Strats because their necks were too narrow, which meant the strings were too close together for the fat sausage like fingers on their hammy hands to easily finger chords or play solos.  And too, other griping about the LPs necks being too wide.   Then still some not liking how thick the neck is, from the fret board  to the back of the neck(or nape, if you will).    And I would think that between the headstock and the guitar body would be the neck's length, not girth.

From Merriam-Webster:

girth

1 of 2

noun

 
1
: a band or strap that encircles the body of an animal to fasten something (such as a saddle) on its back
2
a
: a measure around a body
a man of more than average girth
the girth of a tree
 
And too, this  [wink]

humility

noun

hu·mil·i·ty hyü-ˈmi-lə-tē  
yü-
 
: freedom from pride or arrogance : the quality or state of being humble
accepted the honor with humility
The ordeal taught her humility.
Whitefang

 

Edited by Whitefang
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20 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

If you don't like the neck, or nut width, or string spacing then don't buy the thing. See problem solved.

I can't even try the damn thing. All music stores in most of the country have had the 50s and 60s Standards back ordered for YEARS now. Almost no stores carry the Slash Standard even for pre-order. So it's Thomann or nothing. 

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On 1/22/2023 at 4:34 AM, kidblast said:

I have a pal that has an actual 59 Gold Top.  He's had it for years.  Bought it off a guy that was a guitar tech for a pretty big act back in the 70s which is where the tech got it.

Although it's the only one I've ever played, it had the fattest neck I've ever put my hands on.  Nothing at all like the 59 profile my 95 standard has.

 

A gold top 59? Unless it was custom ordered or refinished I don’t think it’s a 59

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