50's vs 59 neck.

[Sefrez]

Is there a difference between the two? Is the 50's thicker at all?

[deepblue]

The 1950's has at least two neck sizes that im aware of...

I have a '59 (reissue) and its pretty beefy. Im told, the '58 is even MORE beefy.

[Riffster]

Neck profiles vary widely on Gibsons.

 

What is now referred to as "early 50's" is almost always thicker than a '59 profile. How much varies by guitar.

 

My R8 has a huge neck, it measures 0.953" at the first fret 1.033 at the 12th and it has "shoulders" I was quite blown away when I got it but I have gotten used to it for the most part, now everything else feels like a twig in cluding the '59 profile on my other LP.

 

I bought my Guitar at Mark's Guitar Loft, take a look at his inventory and you will see neck measurements for each guitar, that will give you an idea as to how much neck profiles vary. The difference between say...0.90 and 0.95 is huge on you hand, completely different feeling.

[pippy]

... The difference between say...0.90 and 0.95 is huge on you hand' date=' completely different feeling.[/quote']

 

+1.

 

I didn't think such a small amount would be noticeable but I was very wrong!

 

Try some out to see what suits you best.

 

Also whether the neck has a C- or D-profile makes a big difference to playing comfort. If you like to cradle the neck you may prefer a D-profile as your hand might wrap around in a more comfortable way.

 

If your style of playing is such that you don't really put much pressure on the rear of the neck you may find the C-shape faster to play.

 

Try some out.

[CaptainNemo68]

Did a search on different types of Les Paul necks and found this thread.

 

This is a very interesting subject. One of my LPs has a 60's slim taper neck. Another has what is called a '59 asymmetrical slim taper neck, and it is different than the 60's neck - it seems to have a flatter feel in the palm. The '59 asymmetrical is also nothing like a 50's neck - at least not the one I have. Then my Custom has what is called a C-shaped neck, and this also is not like a 50's neck. The C-shaped neck seems to be more of a medium-sized neck.

[rockstar232007]

'50s necks ('52-'58) = Baseball bats

'59 = A tiny bit smaller

'60 = Broomsticks

 

:)

[vincentw]

keep in mind that only the historic reissues get the "early 50s" (baseball bat) necks. If you see "50s rounded" as the neck profile for any Gibson USA model then it's comparable to the '59.

[Gator Slim]

keep in mind that only the historic reissues get the "early 50s" (baseball bat) necks. If you see "50s rounded" as the neck profile for any Gibson USA model then it's comparable to the '59.

 

That's what I always thought, but the 339 we purchased recently is all fat, all the way up to the headstock. We quite like it. Its specs say "50s" neck. There's still a bit of variance in the necks, no?

[Guest rogerb]

Early 50s 1st fret - .900” 12th fret – 1.00” 50’s Rounded 1st fret - .818” 12th fret - .963”

[tbonesullivan]

well, are we talking ACTUAL necks from that period, or reissue necks?

 

Back then everything was done by hand, so necks could and did vary from guitar to guitar of the same year and time period. Even today there will be some variation.

[vincentw]

Gator Slim -- Yeah...my ES-339 "Fat Neck" was definitely chunkier than I expected it to be. I liked it. But yeah there is some variation and I do believe the Memphis factory is making their "fat necks" (whether the 339 or the 335) chunkier than '59 rounded profiles. My earlier post had Gibson USA guitars in mind.

[Gator Slim]

Gator Slim -- Yeah...my ES-339 "Fat Neck" was definitely chunkier than I expected it to be. I liked it. But yeah there is some variation and I do believe the Memphis factory is making their "fat necks" (whether the 339 or the 335) chunkier than '59 rounded profiles. My earlier post had Gibson USA guitars in mind.

 

Gotcha.

 

I love the baseball bat. Would love to get one on a Les Paul some day.