Old man yelling at cloud : neck specs

lysander

Why is it that manufacturers find it so hard to list the bloody neck measurements for their guitars on their website?
If you’re lucky they might tell you the nut width, but very few bother to list the contour shape, thickness measurements, or heel / last fret width...
It’s one of the most important ergonomic information for a guitar and it’s not that difficult to copy paste from your CNC settings now is it  

earwighoney

I'm in agreement.

Guild seem to be one of the better ones for listing details of their instruments,

eg

https://guildguitars.com/g/jetstar-in-seafoam-green/#Guitars

Jalapeno

Yes, agree.  Also commonly used "C" profile for anything from what is really a "D" 50s log to something uber-thin.

GoldenEraGuitars

Because they want you to order/buy their instruments on a whim that it *might* be your dream guitar. 

If they mention 7.25” radius apparently you might not order... if they mention small frets then you might not order..

Having said that, it’s amazing how many players know little about the neck specs they like. As players, we are more interested in the pickups, body colour, wood type etc... start rhyming off neck width, depth at the first and twelfth, where the truss rod gets adjusted and players lose interest fairly quickly. 

Personally I’d say the neck is the most important part of the spec sheet.

lysander

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Because they want you to order/buy their instruments on a whim that it *might* be your dream guitar. 

If they mention 7.25” radius apparently you might not order... if they mention small frets then you might not order..

Having said that, it’s amazing how many players know little about the neck specs they like. As players, we are more interested in the pickups, body colour, wood type etc... start rhyming off neck width, depth at the first and twelfth, where the truss rod gets adjusted and players lose interest fairly quickly. 

Personally I’d say the neck is the most important part of the spec sheet.

Yeah I suspected it to be the case.
I wonder how effective that is - best case the player keeps the guitar until he realises he doesn’t like the neck and flips it on the second hand market, worst case he sends it back and the retailer gets pissed off with a particular model that keeps coming back all the time and stops stocking it.
Either way it can’t be great for the manufacturer in the long run?

Personally I’m just not buying a guitar without knowing these things and them being right for me, which unfortunately removes 90% of guitars on the market.

earwighoney

GoldenEraGuitars said:

Because they want you to order/buy their instruments on a whim that it *might* be your dream guitar. 

If they mention 7.25” radius apparently you might not order... if they mention small frets then you might not order..

Having said that, it’s amazing how many players know little about the neck specs they like. As players, we are more interested in the pickups, body colour, wood type etc... start rhyming off neck width, depth at the first and twelfth, where the truss rod gets adjusted and players lose interest fairly quickly. 

Personally I’d say the neck is the most important part of the spec sheet.

Agree.

IMO, the type of fret wire/brand of fret wire makes a difference as well.  Some manufacturers use incredibly soft fret wire which just won't last.

bacchanalian

Wis'd @GoldenEraGuitars as the neck spec is the most important information when buying.

That is why I like to see the floor traveller if I am interested in a CS Fender. Collings do a good job on their website.

Someone on here pointed me to the Wildwood site as their listings are comprehensive.  Mark @guitars4you also lists all the important stuff

GoldenEraGuitars

@lysander i think it’s very effective. The name on the headstock ultimately sells the guitar. Even if it plays like a dog the name will do all the work. I guess that’s the world we live in.

Having said that, perhaps the big boys are happy not to bore you with specs. I suppose if you’re looking at an Ibanez then you’re not after a 9.5” radius and a vintage trem bridge... likewise why would you go to fender for a floyd and flat radius? 

Still, spec disclosure should be their priority on their product pages.

lysander

@GoldenEraGuitars I suspect that works for Fender and Gibson but not so much for smaller brands where people buy primarily on specs rather than on name, yet many fail to do so.
Otherwise I agree.

GoldenEraGuitars

lysander said:

@GoldenEraGuitars I suspect that works for Fender and Gibson but not so much for smaller brands where people buy primarily on specs rather than on name, yet many fail to do so.
Otherwise I agree.

I should have added that if I built a bunch of S types with 7.25 radius necks with skinny frets I guarantee you I wouldn’t sell one. My name wouldn’t mean anything to a wider audience unfortunately 

meltedbuzzbox

I dont get pinning your trousers to mast when it comes to neck specs.

All my guitars have a different neck specs. I own them all because I sat and played them first and loved them for how they play. I have everything from 7.25 with vintage frets to a 24 fret monster with jumbos.

I am massively confused by this declaration on neck profiles. A lot of people swoon over vintage guitars on here and they have the most variable neck profiles going. But they're all great right because they are old and full of mojo?

p90fool

meltedbuzzbox said:

I dont get pinning your trousers to mast when it comes to neck specs.

All my guitars have a different neck specs. I own them all because I sat and played them first and loved them for how they play. I have everything from 7.25 with vintage frets to a 24 fret monster with jumbos.

I am massively confused by this declaration on neck profiles. A lot of people swoon over vintage guitars on here and they have the most variable neck profiles going. But they're all great right because they are old and full of mojo?

People like the drama and the general nerdiness is a fun talking point. To be fair now I'm old I have a slight stamina issue with some neck profiles on three-hour gigs, but even that is cured by playing a couple of songs on a spare guitar. 

Some players insist on a forearm chamfer or at least a heavy radius, then you find out they also play acoustic, or that a scale length "has to be" 24.75", but they also own a bass. 

Having strong preferences can be a badge of identity, but the most obsessive player I've ever met when it comes to fret size and radius can, after 30 years of trying, barely limp through the Smoke on the Water riff with one finger. 

He's still happy to tell long time pros they're "wrong" though, and should listen to his opinion on it. 

Funny old world.  

lysander

meltedbuzzbox said:

I dont get pinning your trousers to mast when it comes to neck specs.

All my guitars have a different neck specs. I own them all because I sat and played them first and loved them for how they play. I have everything from 7.25 with vintage frets to a 24 fret monster with jumbos.

I am massively confused by this declaration on neck profiles. A lot of people swoon over vintage guitars on here and they have the most variable neck profiles going. But they're all great right because they are old and full of mojo?

It’s very simple really - if you’ve found a type of neck you really like and that feels like home in terms of comfort, you may want to find guitars that are a bit different but similarly comfortable for your left hand.

I personally find thick necks with narrow nuts very tiring to play, and any such guitar I’ve had ends up not being played.

I don’t give a toss about vintage guitars and my guess is that the vast majority of people who do are not really very much into playing anyway ( nothing wrong with that - I also do like old guitars as pretty objects but I have better things to do with my money ).

impmann

Perhaps if you only ever buy the same things, you’ll never find something better...
I get it - it’s needed for folks who can’t be arsed to visit a decent guitar shop and try stuff out with an open mind. Everyone is an ‘expert’ these days because they are so well informed thanks to the internet - you can read lots of opinion that combined with YouTube clips creates facts.

Personally speaking - I have everything from 50s baseball bats to 80s thin here. If it’s well set up, it matters not a jott to me. I’m more interested in how an individual instrument sounds, feels and plays rather than getting hung up on a specs table.

Final point - no guitar goes from cnc direct to paint, there is a degree of handwork in creating every neck. Therefore those specs can be notional...

GoldenEraGuitars

I think calling the OP lazy and narrow minded is a tad OTT. He wanted to know why companies don’t tell us what specs they’re using. If you’re spending your money on their products a little more info shouldn’t be too hard for them to enclose. I’m also not sure he should be judged IF he only likes one radius, profile, fret size etc... that’s up to the individual. Certainly not something to be told off for.

I disclose my preferred neck specs on my website because I want buyers to know what we, as a business, prefer and advise. It gives them a rough idea of what to expect. It also cuts down on the volume of emails I get asking about neck details.

TINMAN82

GoldenEraGuitars said:

I think calling the OP lazy and narrow minded is a tad OTT. He wanted to know why companies don’t tell us what specs they’re using. If you’re spending your money on their products a little more info shouldn’t be too hard for them to enclose. I’m also not sure he should be judged IF he only likes one radius, profile, fret size etc... that’s up to the individual. Certainly not something to be told off for.

I disclose my preferred neck specs on my website because I want buyers to know what we, as a business, prefer and advise. It gives them a rough idea of what to expect. It also cuts down on the volume of emails I get asking about neck details.

Very true. No one criticises Steve Vai for only playing his Jem

impmann

TINMAN82 said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

I think calling the OP lazy and narrow minded is a tad OTT. He wanted to know why companies don’t tell us what specs they’re using. If you’re spending your money on their products a little more info shouldn’t be too hard for them to enclose. I’m also not sure he should be judged IF he only likes one radius, profile, fret size etc... that’s up to the individual. Certainly not something to be told off for.

I disclose my preferred neck specs on my website because I want buyers to know what we, as a business, prefer and advise. It gives them a rough idea of what to expect. It also cuts down on the volume of emails I get asking about neck details.

Very true. No one criticises Steve Vai for only playing his Jem

Perhaps he wouldn’t be so dull and boring if he tried other stuff... but hey, opinions and all that.

My point (expressed with a hint of humour and sarcasm missed by the above it seems) is that perhaps if folks actually visited music shops and played different guitars, they’d find that there are guitars out there that may not be on their radar that they like.
Unfortunately the majority of folks appear to be fixated on minutiae and on specs - and because internet wisdom tells them that’s what’s wanted...

But hey... just an observation.

p90fool

GoldenEraGuitars said:

I think calling the OP lazy and narrow minded is a tad OTT. He wanted to know why companies don’t tell us what specs they’re using. If you’re spending your money on their products a little more info shouldn’t be too hard for them to enclose. I’m also not sure he should be judged IF he only likes one radius, profile, fret size etc... that’s up to the individual. Certainly not something to be told off for.

I disclose my preferred neck specs on my website because I want buyers to know what we, as a business, prefer and advise. It gives them a rough idea of what to expect. It also cuts down on the volume of emails I get asking about neck details.

I think that's fair, he is only asking for detailed info in advance if an expensive purchase. 

All I would add though, is like @impmann I've had to persevere a few times with necks I really didn't like much, and they've ended up being my favourites. 

Nikc

Its funny I only play modern C profile neck guitars - unless its my PRS or one of my acoustics of course or a Les Paul or there's this Start I keep playing in my local guitar shop

lysander

@impmann what guitar shops  we all know it’s getting very hard to try guitars in a shop.

And yes I know nothing comes straight out of a CNC and specs are nominal - in fact some manufacturers put ‘nominal’ next to the specs which is obviously fine. 

Anyway, getting borderline insulted or passive aggressive responses for no good reasons seems standard fare here but is getting on my tits a bit to be honest.

fandango

GoldenEraGuitars said:

@lysander i think it’s very effective. The name on the headstock ultimately sells the guitar. 

Not quite, as the headstock name doesn't guarantee you'll get the neck you want.