Chunky Necks

thegummy

A question for people who prefer chunky necks to slim - is it a compromise in feel for a tonal benefit or do some people just prefer how fat necks feel?

I personally much prefer slim, maybe because it's what I'm used to, but taking inspiration from a few great players, it can be good to have a change to the unfamiliar which may inspire to play differently.

Danielsguitars

somewhere in between is good for me, it also depends alot on the profile, you can have less shoulder and still a fairly thick neck and it still feels good to play, a soft v is my ideal 

Schnozz

I prefer chunkier necks for comfort and tone, but I can play slim necks 'side to side', but if it's too slim 'front to back' then my hand (thumb) gets fatigued from chords - I notice this more when playing sitting down as opposed to standing up...Don't know why.

Funkfingers

thegummy said:

is it a compromise in feel for a tonal benefit ...

In my opinion, no. There is no "feel versus tonal benefit" compromise. I either like something or I do not. (Very arbitrary of me, I know.) On any given day, a guitar either inspires you to play something worthwhile or it doesn't.

thegummy said:

... do some people just prefer how fat necks feel?

Yes.

Human hands come in all shapes and sizes. A set of neck dimensions that suit one player might annoy the hell out of the next.

amarok1971

i find that small necks give me cramp nowadays

octatonic

This is what a love of big necks and thick strings gets you:



10 years ago this November.

Philly_Q

Feel for me, I hate skinny necks, they just feel wrong.  I can't give a rational scientific explanation. 

Nothing to do with playability because I can't play for toffee anyway.

I don't know if there's any tonal benefit because I'll never be able to play the same guitar with a skinny neck (I know I could swap the neck on a Fender, but that's a whole different neck, not just fat or skinny).

earwighoney

octatonic said:

This is what a love of big necks and thick strings gets you:



10 years ago this November.

Wtf? 

Nasty looking scar.  What did you have the surgery for?  Was it a bone or muscle etc injury? 

I agree with @Danielsguitars about the shoulders, a V profile can be very comfortable if you play with your fretting hand's thumb on the back of the neck. 

proggy

Purely feel for me. I always find it comforting to have a heavy fat neck in my hand.

octatonic

earwighoney said:

octatonic said:

This is what a love of big necks and thick strings gets you:



10 years ago this November.

Wtf? 

Nasty looking scar.  What did you have the surgery for?  Was it a bone or muscle etc injury? 

Tendons- two became fused and had to be separated.
It stopped me doing a lot for about 5 years but I am well beyond it now- albeit with decidedly thinner necks and I use 9-46 on Fender scale and 10-52 on Gibson scale.
No neck larger than a PRS Pattern- my favoured neck thickness is Anderson Even Taper.

earwighoney

octatonic said:

earwighoney said:

octatonic said:

This is what a love of big necks and thick strings gets you:



10 years ago this November.

Wtf? 

Nasty looking scar.  What did you have the surgery for?  Was it a bone or muscle etc injury? 

Tendons- two became fused and had to be separated.
It stopped me doing a lot for about 5 years but I am well beyond it now- albeit with decidedly thinner necks and I use 9-46 on Fender scale and 10-52 on Gibson scale.
No neck larger than a PRS Pattern- my favoured neck thickness is Anderson Even Taper.

Thanks for the info. 

I picked up some tendon pain/RSI in my right hand from fingerpicking, which never got as bad as yours but was incredibly painful for a long time nonetheless, it came from at the time I was using a guitar that's string spacing at the saddle was far too cramped.  FWIW, I believe it's important to find the 'right' fit for your own individual hands, as otherwise it can lead to playing pains. 

10-52 is pretty heavy even for a Gibson scale!  

thegummy

Funkfingers said:

thegummy said:

is it a compromise in feel for a tonal benefit ...

In my opinion, no. There is no "feel versus tonal benefit" compromise. I either like something or I do not. (Very arbitrary of me, I know.) On any given day, a guitar either inspires you to play something worthwhile or it doesn't.

thegummy said:

... do some people just prefer how fat necks feel?

Yes.

Human hands come in all shapes and sizes. A set of neck dimensions that suit one player might annoy the hell out of the next.

See I have quite big hands and long fingers yet still prefer slim.

I wonder if I position my hand slightly differently or something, personally can't think what would be preferable about the feel.

octatonic

earwighoney said:

10-52 is pretty heavy even for a Gibson scale!  

About the same tension as 9-46 on Fender.

SteveRobinson

octatonic said:

This is what a love of big necks and thick strings gets you:



10 years ago this November.

I have a scar in the same place



but done 45 years ago.

octatonic

Mine looks more like yours now than it did 10 years ago when the picture was taken.
It does ache in cold weather.

guitars4you

Funkfingers said:

 There is no "feel versus tonal benefit" compromise. I either like something or I do not. 

Human hands come in all shapes and sizes. A set of neck dimensions that suit one player might annoy the hell out of the next.

I think this is totally valid - I don't have an issue with the larger necks like an R9 or Black Guard early 50's Nocaster - Providing they are set-up with an easy action - Don't mean shred metal low - A big neck and a high action is just a total bitch - But big necks are not hard to handle with that slick action - If you have to fight to play it, then it is a no no for me

As an overview, 2 guitars that are available with different necks - Gibson LP Standard with 50' s or 60's neck profile - And a PRS Custom with wide/thin + wide/fat - Both are eminently playable, but in both instances I prefer the larger option - Likewise a 60's Custom Shop Strat/Tele, with the regular oval 60's C profile or Large 65 C then again I prefer the larger option

I'm an old traditionalist, so much prefer the classic neck profiles - I find I don't enjoy playing the slim waif like necks on many modern Ibanez based guitars etc

TheMarlin

I prefer fat necks. Skinny necks strain my wrist.  I love how they feel, and the bit of extra beef in the tone.  There are exceptions to the rules - Gretsch don't really do chunky necks, so i make so with what I have.  

ICBM

Can't stand them. I do have quite small hands though.

Clecko

Is there a piece of received wisdom on the 'best' neck profile for the thumb-over-the-top method of playing the low E? I fond that very difficult to do cleanly on many guitars, but sometimes I find it quite easy on guitars with chunky necks, which is a bit confusing.

I think it might have more to do with how far from the edge of the fretboard the string sits and how wide the fretboard is, rather than how chunky the neck is.

guitarfishbay

I think it’s more complex than thick vs thin neck determining tone, because resonance and overall rigidity are factors.

IMO it’s always worth going for comfort, whatever that means to you. I’m not a fan of huge necks, they’re just not comfortable to me. There’s no way I’d choose to be uncomfortable for tone, especially if it could lead to injury. Just not worth it.

TTBZ

It's nothing to do with tone for me, I doubt I could tell any difference anyway. If it's too thin or more importantly wide and flat I get hand cramps. I don't like huge necks either though. Whatever is on my SG is just right, it's not slim taper but doesn't feel as "baseball bat" as some Les Pauls have. Think it's 50s rounded if that's such a thing, it's more of a D shape than a U. But I was also fine on my old Epiphone which have pretty thin necks.

I like a chunky soft V shape on a fender too, fills the hand without feeling too chunky. Modern C isn't that bad either.

Hate the PRS wide fat. It's huge. That and Ibanez Wizards are basically unplayable for me.