necks

[Wayne]

I have a 2002 J-100. It can hardly be considered to have a chunky or wide neck (I think most would find it the opposite), yet I still find some easy things very hard because of my small hands, or more precisely, my short stubby digits. I'm not aware of Gibson making even smaller/slimmer necks than what this has, but if they ever did in a Jumbo or Super Jumbo I would like to know which ones to look for.

[rar]

I'm not aware of Gibson making even smaller/slimmer necks than what this has' date=' but if they ever did in a Jumbo or Super Jumbo I would like to know which ones to look for. [/quote']

 

Gibson necks got quite narrow in 1965, often as narrow as 1-9/16" at the nut, so you might want to look at a late-'60s Jumbo. These are not exactly known for their superior tone, but a number of rockers -- Pete Townsend, Jimmy Page, George Harrison, ... -- seemed happy enough with them. I don't know of any modern full-size Gibson acoustics with necks that narrow, except for the Iron Mountain AJ. (The Pete Townsend Limited Edition J-200 does have a special "slim" neck profile, but I don't believe it's as narrow as the neck on his '68. I don't recall having played one, though, so I could easily be wrong.)

 

-- Bob R

[Jerry K]

Isn't the J-100 a long scale guitar? I wonder if you wouldn't be more comfortable with short scale, like a j-185.

[strive2walk]

+1 on the short scale. they are usually very comfortable to play.

[Wayne]

Most of my problems arent up and down the fingerboard, they are across the neck. Those may come later...I think I would like a short scale anyway, but I love the sound of this guitar too much. It will always be good for strumming, but I also love the way it sounds fingerpicked...Its just hard to do

[larryp58]

I do believe that the '60's Slim Taper neck is by far the best neck Gibson has ever made! IMHO, of course!

[Jerry K]

You may also want to check your string height off the board. If you get the action lower you may find some of the difficulty goes away. I would definitely suggest trying out a short scale guitar if you haven't already. You could also consider the Arlo Guthrie model, but it's not going to sound like your J-100!

[Wayne]

I wonder if 1 9/16 might be too narrow, even for me...I'd sure try one though, if I could find one.