Guitar Neck profile question

[Glaurung25]

I'm wondering if anyone has good indepth descriptions of different shape necks. You know of the C profile or U profile.

I'm finding that my epiphone sg's neck feels too thin and flat for me and I want to know others opinions on their favorite neck profiles. I kind of have longer skinny fingers so I'm looking for a neck that will fit my hand nicely. When i got to the guitar store I want to have a good starting place on which guitar to try.

I play lots of hard rock and metal so I prefer humbucker equipped guitars.

 

[Elpelotero]

check out a wide fat neck PRS cu22.

 

[ja22y]

The C, U, V, etc. are just reference to old fender's neck profile. If you look at the cross section it looks like a C, U, or V. It doesn't really mean much though. Fender necks even with the same profile are different. There are just too many factors. You just have to try them out to see which ones you're comfortable with. To me neck radius has more of an impact then profile. I prefer not to too thick (Vintage Gibson '50s), not too thin (PRS thin). So I like a wide fat PRS, or current Gibson '50s with flater radius (10 to 14).

 

[inmyhands]

Warmoth has a pretty good reference page with diagrams and dimensions for different types of neck shape, radius etc.

They call them by different names in some cases but they're easy to identify. 59 roundback=59 LP. Also lists wizard, SRV, boatneck, wolfgang etc.


http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm?fuseaction=back_profiles

 

[phaboo]

You can also profile you're own--that's what I do. The Warmoth necks are a great place to start--since it's not part of a finished guitar you don't feel so bad about cutting on it.

I have smaller hands, so I like a thinner neck. I've experimented over the years with different shapes. I'll go through a set of frets about every six months, so I just replace the whole neck. It's not much more expensive than having a refret. I'm also using their compound radius neck (HIGHLY recommended!) and I've discovered (the hard way) that not everyone can refret one of these properly.

Anyway, I used to put the neck on the guitar before finishing it, string it up, and see how it felt. Then I'd take it down a little at a time with one of those little hand orbital sanders. Just a little bit off here and there can make a HUGE difference in how it feels. You can fit it to your hand this way. When I was done, then I'd take the neck back off and seal it.

After doing this a few times, now I know exactly the thickness and shape I like (very thin--20 mm at the nut, 21 mm at the 12th fret) with kind of a "U" shape, so I can do it pretty quickly.

Yeah, it sounds like a lot of work (I guess it kinda is) but I end up with a neck that fits my hand perfectly.

 

[Rocky]

You should switch to stainless steel frets.

 

[inmyhands]

If you want a selection of guitars with different neck profiles you can check out at most music stores like Sam Ash, Guitar Center, etc. I would recommend the following:

Any Gibson Les Paul with the 59' neck profile. (Full bodied feel).

Any Gibson Les Paul with the slimmer 60' neck profile. (Slimmer and faster for smaller hands).

Any American Standard Strat. (A standard with many fans).

A SRV Strat neck. (good for large powerful hands).

A Peavey Wolfgang Neck. (feels similar to SRV but all proportions are smaller).

A 52' Telecaster reissue Neck. (somewhat U shaped).

An Ibanez Wizard neck. (wide and flat).

A V shaped Fender Neck. (The Eric Clapton model has one).

All of these necks will give you examples of different profiles. No two are alike.

If you find one that really fits your hand like a glove you can ask the salesman about similar models.