How thick must a neck be for you?

[Jimi75]

It is always fun to discuss with one of my friends about how thick a guitar neck should be or shouldn't be. My friend plays an Ibanez model with a neck called the wizzard neck. It's almost as thin as a toothpick and I always wonder how he can play on it - the guitar is great but the neck destroys it all. Another friend has a Petrucci Ernie Ball model and this guitar has a flat neck, it's convenient to play on it but it could be thicker for my taste.

Well, I like them necks most in the medium category, especially with a v-shape like the JV Strat neck. I also like super meaty necks like on a Fender Esquire, but I prefer the medium sized neckies....My 60's Strat has a u-profiled thick neck, very nice to play...

How 'bout you guys? What is your favourite neck type/thickness?

 

[sunvalleylaw]

My favorite is my Fender modern C. So if you called your JV V shape a medium, that is how I vote. My Hagstrom neck is also really nice, and it is just a bit thinner. I would still call it medium. I do not really click with very thin necks. I like a little meat to grip. Super big necks are too much for my kinda short fingers.

 

[ragnarpk]

my dad's old acoustic has a pretty thick neck and i love it except how it makes it a little harder for me to play the low e string sometimes (i use my thumb for most barre chords).. necks any thicker than that though, and im pretty much screwed for barres... my lp has a nice, what i would call medium neck though, and for an electric its pretty much perfect... although my friend's esp eclipse had a pretty damn thin one and it played like a wet dream... hmm...

 

[marnold]

I like the kind you hate, Jimi. Flat and thin. Of those two attributes, flat is more important.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

I used to be real picky about necks but now I don't care if they're thick or thin. As long as the guitar plays and sounds good.

 

[pie_man_25]

not very picky, but I generally play thin-medium stuff

 

[just strum]

I didn't vote because I never played a guitar that was so drastically different that it made that big of a difference. I tend to have days where the Fender feels a little better, and then days where the Epi's feel better. However, I can switch back and forth without it being an issue.

So, if there was a "doesn't matter" that's where my vote would be.

 

[markb]

The comfiest neck I ever played was a CIJ tele with a soft V. I like the C shape of modern Fenders too.

 

[Ch0jin]

Honestly for me it's no so much the thickness as the smoothness (for what of a better term).

I can hack anything from those Ibanez wizard necks (which I do enjoy actually) to a few baseball bat LP necks I've tried, but the pleasure for me comes from a neck that I can slide my hand up and down without sticking. I've noticed though this seems to come with well played guitars of any type. Both my Maton's have the same neck and finish but one is under 2 years old and only played (so far) in my room. The other did 3-4 years on the road with a professional musician before I got it. The well played guitar has a neck like oiled butter (although the finish doesn't appear "worn" at all) compared to the less played guitar. I've found pretty much the same thing with new guitars Vs 2nd hand ones in stores too.

Oh and jumbo frets. It's gotta have big fat frets.

 

[thekiwidisciple]

Well, I my new Warmoth has their "fat" contour. It's huge...and it doesn't fill my hand up...not even close...but it definitely feels great for me!

 

[Ro3b]

I like 'em fatter rather than thinner, but I can get used to just about anything. I'm definitely with Ch0jin on the big frets, though.

 

[sumitomo]

I have guitars with all sizes and shapes (except v)and I tend to like a thicker neck and not real wide because it really helps and feels good with vibrato and using my thumb to fret,I dont look so much at the fret board, it feels more natural and this reflects in my playing.Sumi

 

[marnold]

I'm with Ch0jin on the big frets too. The more vintage frets on my '51 don't really appeal to me.

 

[Jimi75]

Nothing better than big frets. :bravo:

 

[Spudman]

I've got more than my share of variety of neck shapes and I like them all with one exception. If the neck is too fat and round I don't enjoy playing it for long periods. It has its merits however. They are very stable and less prone to shift.

I like the thin necks on the Ibanez guitars at times and I like the vintage thin frets on some of the Strats. Mostly I like a medium thickness but narrow at the nut going wider toward the bridge.

I'll pick up a guitar with a flat round neck and play it for a while and think 'man I love this. I could be happy with this the rest of my life,' until I pick up an Ibanez and then start thinking 'man I love this. I could be happy with this the rest of my life,' until I pick up a Strat with that smaller rounder neck and then I just go 'ya that's it.' They're all good.

 

[Plank_Spanker]

I'm partial to the Gibson "Slim 60's" profile, but I can play just about any neck as long as it isn't a huge ball bat.