So we all know that different guitars have different kinds necks, fretboards and frets. Ibanez have Wizard II necks which are very slim and very wide fretboards, Gibsons have the very meaty 50s neck and a slim tapered 60s neck, both have larger frets, Fenders have the usual necks and the V necks, and usually have unbounded and a more rounded fretboards compared to others, with thinner frets, PRS with 25" scale thick necks...etc.

I'm wondering how does different types of guitar necks(scale, sizes), fretboards(radius/materials) and frets influences it's sound and playability. I would like to know whats your choice of neck as well. Keep the posts coming thanks!

I'm not too bothered about radius and never made it a point to research on the subject as I believe, the less you know about it the less things you would have to worry about.

As for neck shapes, I've played V shape neck once and it's really uncomfortable. It takes time to get used to it and unless you have a big pair of palms, you would most probably prefer the D or U necks.

For materials... maple 1-piece neck for Fender and Ebony fretboards for Gibsons. Personal preference.

This post has been edited by led_zep_freak: Dec 9 2007, 12:57 AM

i prefer flat necks that you can find on ibanez, easy to play, fast, and very comfortable.

i'm not bothered by fret sizes, scale length and fretboard material...as long as it's flat (neck that is) i'm fine with it...

Thin necks, like on the Ibanez. 24 frets.

reasonable thin and flat, like the jackson pro

Not a big fan of flat necks, but I can see why shredders love them. They're so inviting and playing anything slower than 8nps on them is simply criminal.

I prefer the MIJ Fender necks, which apparently are Oval shapes. Slightly flatter than the U-shape I think.

So thinner necks are supposed to be better for faster playing but not so much for other types of music? I have mixed feelings about the 60s neck of a Les Paul because I thought even though they're great for rhythms, it is a bit thicker at the lower part which makes playing speedy high notes a chore. But now after trying a thinner neck I think it is even less comfortable, my hands can get easily fatigue with them.

I actually quite likes the finished maple fretboard/maple neck of the SX tele, I guess it's pretty much the same as a Fender but with a flatter fretboards and bigger frets. I think unfinished necks are fast but too slippery for my sweating hands

it completely depends on what I'm playing.
If i'm going for speed, pure speed, and not much sustain, I'll grab the thinnest neck around, which is currently my warlock.
If I want sustain for those long-drawn out Slash-esque solos(november rain anyone?), I'd look for something with a think neck. According to something I read, neck thickness and materials affect sustain drastically.

gibson 60's necks [or anything somewhat close to it] = awesome
not too thick not too thin, with nice and round fretboard radius. 24" scales are my best friend sucks having short fingers no? lol

fender necks are fine to the V necks feel a little awkward though.

my rg570's neck is awesome, but i somehow prefer my epi lp's neck.
suits my hand more i think.

Not too particular on the necks, but I find Fender's string spacing a little wide for me, but then I kinda like it's compounded radius.

I like both super chunky and super thin necks, can pretty much get use to them pretty quickly, as I frequently switched between a Les Paul and an RG some time ago.

I'm not an advocate of XXX-is-not-suitable-for-XXX-type-of-music-crap, your technique and amp settings makes much more difference than the wood of the guitar.

as for me its not really about the neck but the string spacing. F space seems abit too wide for me and messes me up when i do string skipping or sweeps.

+1
It's true that it's all in the fingers.

But still, if you compared a Les Paul equipped with EMGs VS a Strat with EMGs...... a Les Paul still have a much richer, warm tone.

Oi sesat thread =p no neck talks
i ban you XD
jkjk zomg banhammar!!! halp!!!

@echobrain
played too much with epi/gibby ?
same here, i find most trem equipped guitars having a wider spacing ><



doesn't anyone think playing one very thin necks gets your hand fatigued quick? or am I just weak =(
I think I'm weak =(

This post has been edited by sean392: Dec 9 2007, 07:52 PM

Wide necks might be more cumbersome when it comes to gripping chords, if you play alot of Hendrix style two-line melodies, also makes gripping those jazz chords though, especially if you need to use your thumb as well

and you still want a floyd rose guitar?
guess thats where kahlers come in
my kahler has a 2 1/64 string spread, basically same as tune-o-matics.

also if im not mistaken, the newer fender highway one's have a string spacing just as similar.

anyway, i got all different style necks.
baseball thick, gibson 60s slim taper, peavey pencil thin...
one thing they all share is the flat radius.
for me the fender 9.5" radius and its wider spacing isnt that comfortable.

You can actually pick out tone differences of guitars loaded with actives? Or it's probably me, since I don't listen to actives very much. All i hears is blast blast blast.

kinda depends. Thicker necks absorb more of the vibrations and transfer it to the body, instead of your hand feeling the full brunt of it. Probably why. but after loadsa practice with thin necks it shouldn't be a problem.

Can post a pic of your peavey's neck? I'm interested to see ho thin it is in comparison to the others.

Yeap I seem to like flatter freatboards too. At one time I was testing the Fender Tele and Strat in Bentley, at first I thought they're more or less has the same feel of the tele copy. But it wasn't the case, I actually felt it's harder to play. I feel that Squiers have the similar shapes too, that's why I think I couldn't bond with my previous Squier.

There was one time I tried the SX SG copy that has a friggin thick neck, quite hard to play. I guess they're modeled after the 50's.


This post has been edited by quarantined: Dec 9 2007, 11:05 PM

the thinnest neck i ever played ----- serpent ash's rhythm...whoops.. second guitarist's jackson stealth i think its something like 18mm on 12th fret..

Corrected for justice! It's either left or right... no first or second.

you lie!!!!!!! mine's just over 2cm -____- No ruler so i don't now exactly, but i can see it's just over 2cm
j/k la, but still, 18mm is freggin small man. how thin are wizard II necks at the 12th fret?

This post has been edited by liew90kw: Dec 9 2007, 11:42 PM

now his guitar neck had grown fatter, wider and one extra string

but seriously, the stealth got a very slim neck

ibanez is 20mm at 12th fret..

I love my GRG neck, kinda same to the normal RGs, but havent tried out Wizard I necks (RG570,550). People say its as thin ashell, dunno.

But kinda looking to go the opposite way,I wouldnt mind shredding on an LP

god my guitar is like 20mm on the first fret =/

You d**ned RIGHT!!

Corrected for epicity!

Anyway, I think the Stealth profile is probably very close to the Wizard I profile... anorexic as h3l!

Actually, once you get the hang of any technique, the neck thickness or string spacing won't have very much impact... unless you're playing at the upper limits of your technical ability.

funny thing i like the fender neck. . . and the ibanez thin necks. . . but it depends on your hands tho. . . i tend to like bigger and wider spacing for the strings. . .

another way is just shape the neck to fit your hand =D

thats true if ure playing with ur eyes looking down at your guitar. i prefer looking at the crowd when im performing, so string spacing difference tends to affect my playing lot.

Wow, really? I've never noticed that. I find that if I'm comfortable with the technique, it doesn't matter what type of neck or string spacing the guitar has, even if I'm not looking at the fretboard.

I find that my fingers will automatically "adapt" to the difference in spacing/thickness... unless it's a technique which I can barely grasp, like tapping!

but as for me, the necks do major roles
thinner necks easier to play, and flatter makes them even much easier.
u guys pro wan, Big fat V necks oso tak rasa la

actually V necks are very nice to play.
you get the mass in the neck, yet it feels slimmer.

Last time I used to like thin necks and all, like the Wizard I neck or something.. Thinking it would be alot easier to play.

Although yes it is easier to hold and all, but then after awhile my palm gets this cramped feeling. Weird eh?

It's like at the bottom of the thumb, where we normally press against the back of the fretboard. I get that cramp feeling there.


After buying a guitar with a Wizard II neck (thicker) I realized I like slightly thicker necks better, I can feel the neck better too. Palm don't get that tired feeling already.

Some of my friend just LOVE my previous guitar (Ibanez SA160QM) with the super thin neck though.. Lagipun the damn light and thin shaped body, fooh.) I love that thin neck too, but in the end we still have to go with what we're most comfortable with right?

I think there are players who seems to be able to adapt or get used to different kinds of necks, while some others don't. Maybe the differences in our hand/finger/palm size contributes to it. Like handphones for example, some like them small, some like them bigger etc.

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Added on December 11, 2007, 12:23 pmSkindred, it sounds KORNY but you like ADEMA don't you? I love them when they started but haven't check them out on their post debut releases. Heard they gone thru some line up changes.

This post has been edited by quarantined: Dec 11 2007, 12:23 PM

I don't really think palm/hand size really has much to do with ability to adapt to different necks. Look at gapnap, he has short fingers but he seems to be able to play any kind of neck, be it thin/thick/wide/narrow/LP style/fender/ibanez style. Respect !

So technique is the key?

i feel if you're used to bigger necks, its easier to adapt to thinner than the other way around.

I switched from the thin LP-100 to the baseball bat sized ZW with relatively no problems.......

Hehehe actually I was kinda just wanting to put an avatar so it wont be so empty, but yeah I do listen to Adema and their kind.

Yeah they had some lineup change.. Vocalist changed, and then they started to sound sucky.. I only like few of their old songs anyway, so can't really say. Adema's not really that great to me lah.. Dengar awhile then boring already hahahaa.. But still good.. Especially "Unstable".

Yeah... Val's ex-Stealth had a really anorexic neck, can probably give the Wizard I a run for its money. But I think the current Ibanez Wizard/Jackson Pro necks which are slightly thicker feel more comfortable.

The most comfortable, IMNSHO, is of course Ibanez RG7 necks... never have to worry about your thumb peaking out over the top of the neck, hehe...

BC Rich FTW!
Seriously, nobody here plays BC other than me? I honestly think their necks are amazingly comfortable.

i always wanted a BC RICH BICH ...(NJ series or higher)

unless its the Butt graphic finish ..

anyway..back to the topic ..so far my best neck is Fender "C" shape...Satriani's Neck also not bad..

Ever tried the 10-string Bich NJ Exotic? Or at least seen a shop in malaysia stock it? I honestly wanna check that beauty out.

fvck..the re stringing is a pain in the ass...

anyway..seriously ..BC RICH is dead here..

we dont have people bringing it in..

heck..Davis also rather do LTD ...
thats why i will make sure the next time i go to U.S ..i bring home a BC RICH ..

They have some in Chambers in Sungai Wang.
A few warlocks, I THINK a hummingbird...... you should check them out too..... but their stock is DAMN old.

I don't usually like the BCRiches shapes and finishes but the Bich looks just right! btw JS neck is really comfortable, love it.

u mean mocking bird?
anyway, i saw it too, n yeah, its DAMN old.

i think theres a transparent white warlock too.
if it was the transparent black one, i might've gotten it...provided it was at its original price of under RM2k.

the BC Rich market here died with ironwood right?

No more NJ series Mockingbird with fr =(

rephrase that.
ironwood killed bc rich here.
when asked why theirs was like almost RM1k more than what guitar collection or whatever were selling...
the stupid asses at ironwood claimed theirs was better.

then the stupid asses at ironwood had a cheap ass brand called nashville also, they say it was built at gibson plant.
gibson, needless to say, had never heard of a nashville brand.

basically, ironwood makes bentley look good.

I think this is waaaaaaaaaaaaay going off topic already.
Keep back to the topic or move the discussion to the general thread.
Thankyouverymuch.

when i play maple necks and rosewood necks i cant really tell the difference?

what is the difference?

i really like thin neck coz easy to play..

dude..what the name of fretboards that malmstein used??
i see its not a flat fretsboard rite?
and can anybody tell me what the best using that types of fretboards??
do it makes more sustain? or what??
im really want to know..

another old thread resurrected?

malmsteen uses maple fretboard. scalloped, that's why it's not flat.

huhuhu...
do i miss a flight here??
didn't realize dat..

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Added on September 5, 2008, 4:04 pmnway thanx dude for the answer..
im newbie here..
juz wanna find sum extra information..

This post has been edited by apique: Sep 5 2008, 04:04 PM

talking about necks...
http://buildingtheergonomicguitar.com/wp-c...-Twist-Neck.jpg

time to play some twited riffs !!!

This post has been edited by Pix: Sep 6 2008, 07:29 PM

^Wow, it supposed to enhance playability? THough weird it looks playable.

This, however, is kinda messed up..

it will definitely enhance ergonomics (that's the point of this twisted neck)... i found something great too.. check out this link:
http://www.truetemperament.com/site/index....id=17&Itemid=36

click on "guitar necks"
check out videos and the techniques.. that's amazing !!! the sound, the look...

Yamaha's Gambale's signature have one or two frets like that too. I wonder, can the strings be bend with these frets?

quarantined..what type of guitar is dat?
it's look weird but i think its kinda good stuff rite??

godin sd,

not a shredder guitar, shredding on it is like wanking on a fender the neck it tooo thick to be fast. (exact same style of necks) but once you top the overdrive and pummel some blues and classic rock riffs it feels just like home.

if you check out the videos and the explanations, they claim that yes, bending is easily possible.
man, the sound of the power chords with this neck. It's fantastic !