Question about Masterbuilt series

[rewind]

Hello. I would like to know if the neck profile and size are the same between the Masterbuilts and regular Epiphone acoustics.

 

I had purchased a low end acoustic a couple of months back but sadly had to return it due to the "chunky" feel of the neck, especially from the nut up to 7th fret. I have small hands and short fingers. While it was still playable, it just did not feel comfortable.

 

I haven't seen any Masterbuilts locally. There are online stores available but am wary of them as I cannot try before I buy.

 

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

mitch

 

Edit:

 

The model I am interested in is EF-500 (M or R) and main use will be fingerpicking.

[theDeuce]

The EF has a V neck that might be considered chunky, but oddly enough it is designed for fingerpicking. It has slightly wider string spacing.

 

When I play it I notice the V at different parts of a song, not all the time. I think that means depending on how I hold my left hand and where I am on the neck then I might notice the shape/size and I might not. I have never found it uncomfortable, just the opposite. This is my 2nd V neck guitar (first being a 70s Ventura) and the EF feels a lot better than the Ventura did, partly because it seems a bit rounder.

 

I doubt this helps you much, I don't think I described it well. Hopefully you have played a V neck and understand. Or better yet, find an EF to try out.

[jefleppard]

all the epis and mb's i've played have the same lower profile neck but i've not played the ef series. my aj500 and el-00 both have lowpro necks and are very playable for a guy like me with a hand that looks more like a paw.

is that a juarez machado in your avatar? that guy's art is cool.

[YerDugliness]

I played an EF500 a week ago, and was surprised at how "chunky" the neck was for such a small guitar. I must admit, however, that it was only a fleeting issue for me, about the time I was two bars into the song I had adjusted to it (and my hands are not large, either). My overall memory of the guitar was one of being quite impressed!

 

Dugly

[rewind]

Thanks for your replies. I guess I should have mentioned that to compound my issue, the fingertips of my middle/ring fingers (of both hands) had been mashed off in an industrial accident a few years back. If you can, visualize half of your nails (from the cuticle) blunted off. They are like stumps now, mushroomed at the tips. Which is another reason I am looking for a wider nut width.

 

cunkhead, my avatar is actually "borrowed" from Sebastian Kruger but thanks for the heads up on Juarez Machado. I also see that you are from Windsor, Ontario. I was wondering if you had heard of or dealt with l.a.music in Mississauga? That is the online retailer I was talking about.

 

YerDugliness, that is the thing with these Masterbuilts. I have yet to read a bad review/comment about them.

 

mitch

[jefleppard]

no, i have not heard of la in miss but i will check them out and thanks for the heads up on sebastian kruger as well. justin bua is another artist that does alot of musician stuff. posters.com et al have alot of his stuff.

[YerDugliness]

Thanks for your replies. I guess I should have mentioned that to compound my issue' date=' the fingertips of my middle/ring fingers (of both hands) had been mashed off in an industrial accident a few years back. If you can, visualize half of your nails (from the cuticle) blunted off. They are like stumps now, mushroomed at the tips. Which is another reason I am looking for a wider nut width.

mitch

[/quote']

 

I might suggest you consider a classical guitar, Mitch...the nut widths on a classical guitar can run around 2".

 

If you must have a factory produced guitar, maybe consider a Seagull. Many of them are made with large nut widths, but you probably should check them out quickly. I've heard that they quit making them with the wide nuts and the NOS is selling fast.

 

B/C I have a 32 year history of playing classical guitars before I picked up a steel string, I tend to like the wider nut widths, too. When I went shopping for a steel string guitar with a classical guitar width nut/neck, there just weren't any out there. I ended up getting a custom shop Breedlove Revival 000, a pre-war design slot-headed 12-fretter. It is almost identical to my high-end Darren Hippner classical guitar, the only differences would be that the body is not quite as deep as the Hippner and the upper bout is not as wide. As for cost, well, they were within $500 of each other.

 

Good luck, dealing with mushroomed finger tips might be enough to make me take up open tunings and slide guitar!

 

Dugly