1 5/8, 1 11/16, 1 3/4 and 1 7/8 and fatback profile - which one feels huge?

tildeslash

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Say we have 4 necks with identical specs except nut width.
Compound radius
6105 frets
Fatback profile

From these nut widths  1 5/8, 1 11/16, 1 3/4 and 1 7/8
Which one feels fuller?

I guess no matter the nut width the depth will stay at full at 1 inch on the whole neck shaft.
So does that mean the neck feel thinner as you go up with a wider nut width?
 
To answer your question directly: it's up to you. For me, a 1 11/16"  wide standard thin profile is just right. Anything else feels either tiny or huge.

The hand is a magical thing. It's super-sensitive to dimension and texture. You can easily feel tiny differences that seem much larger than they actually are. If you're used to a 1 11/16" nut width and you pick up the same profile at 1 3/4", it'll feel like the big end of a baseball bat even though it's only 1/16" wider. 1 7/8" will seem unplayable. Also, in all cases, the biggest difference is at the nut. As you move up the neck, the difference gets smaller and smaller until you get to the heel, where they're all 2 1/16" wide. But, oddly enough, it'll feel wider all the way up.

A lot of people will talk about fitting neck size to hand size, but the difference from the smallest to the largest neck is small enough that hand size has nothing to do with it. It's all about how big it feels relative to what you're used to. If your entire guitar collection had its necks bumped up to the next size, you'd have a deep, unpleasant visceral reaction to the realization that they were all absolutely ruined and will need replacement. But, it would probably only take a week or so of regular playing and you wouldn't even notice it.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to diminish the importance of it at all. Feel is critical, and size does matter when it comes to muscle memory. Some techniques depend heavily on things being where they were the last time, or you'll miss notes, particularly on faster pieces where you're not so much playing deliberately as running a pattern in a particular direction. A few thousandths off here and there will turn you into a stumbling fool.
 
^ Absoutely brilliant. I hope you have all your notes and write a book..I would buy it in a heartbeat!
 
Thank you for the kind words. But, there's no need to write a book. The internet never forgets  :laughing7:
 
To more directly answer the question asked, the necks with the larger nuts will not feel thinner, but they will feel flatter. The curve from the middle of the neck to the edge is gentler on wider necks, as it's spread further. This is the reverse of how fretboard radius feel more and more curved the wider the neck is.

If you're familiar with the idea of neck profiles being in a 'V', 'C', 'D', or 'U' shape, you can think of it this way: the smaller the neck is the closer to 'C' and the wider it is the more you move to 'U'.

Hence, the 'standard thin' Warmoth profile with a 1 11/16 nut is nearly identical to the standard thin U ESP neck shape, but with a 1 5/8 nut it is closer to Epiphone's 'D' profile. (Note: I completely refute the idea that Warmoth's 'standard thin' is ever like a Fender 'C' neck, 'cause you only have to measure 'em to see that they are well off, let alone actually handle one.)

(As far as Warmoth goes, only the 'boatneck' and 'Clapton' approach a 'V' [and they're both very soft 'V's])


For the 'fatback', it's the same deal. The narrower the nut the closer it comes to a 'C' and the wider you go the more of a 'U' it is. So if you like a flatback and high shoulders, go for the wider nuts. If you like a fully rounded neck, go for one of the narrower nuts.

As a general rule, rounder necks fill your hand more if you play 'thumb over' or 'palm' the neck, while flatter necks will feel more substantial if you keep just your thumb on the back of the neck and your hand below. But how much either 'fills' your hand also depends greatly on the size and shape of your hands, so it's not really something anybody can guess for you. Your best bet is to measure your existing guitars to get a better idea of what you might like; failing that, just think about the C/D/U shape, and go with whichever of those you think you'll like most.
 
tildeslash said:
Say we have 4 necks with identical specs except nut width.
Compound radius
6105 frets
Fatback profile

From these nut widths  1 5/8, 1 11/16, 1 3/4 and 1 7/8
Which one feels fuller?

I guess no matter the nut width the depth will stay at full at 1 inch on the whole neck shaft.
So does that mean the neck feel thinner as you go up with a wider nut width?

"Fuller" being the concept, is it good or bad?  One reason Warmoth is where I buy guitar necks is the 1 3/4" nut width option.  I like to be able to play chords without muting adjacent strings.  Easy example, open A.  I actually play it Frank Gambale two finger style, but even so, the high e has to ring out.
 
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