22 vs. 24

[Wrangler]

Alright guys here it is:

    When you order a 24 fret neck, everyone knows the neck pickup has to be moved torward the bridge to compensate for the last two frets. After doing a little research I found out that these extra two frets can make a huge difference on the neck pickups tone on the guitar (http://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1670). So heres my question:

    Are the extra 2 frets of a 24 fret neck (meaning the neck pickup naturally has to be moved toorward the bridge, meaning a fatter, less "tubular" neck tone) worth losing the natural tone of the neck pickup on a 22 fret neck?

Thanks  :rock-on:

 

[Nando Vallart]

Man, there is NOT a "only one answer" to that question, PERIOD

For some, the extra frets is very important and for others is useless... Usually shredders fell like needing it, what kind of music do you play?

 

[Wrangler]

I hate to say it, but i play all kinds. Metallica to the Stones and The Who. But mainly i'd say im a rock player that uses his clean chanel. I love using my neck pickup on the clean chanel and coming up with weird chord progessions.

 

[jimh]

You do realise you are here at Warmoth, dont you?

I'd say to you...........BUILD BOTH  ! ! ! !  :icon_thumright:    :icon_tongue:

 

[Nando Vallart]

I hate to say it, but i play all kinds. Metallica to the Stones and The Who. But mainly i'd say im a rock player that uses his clean chanel. I love using my neck pickup on the clean chanel and coming up with weird chord progessions.

So you're not wanting to have a SG with P90, a Telecaster and a ESP with EMG (to keep things simple, just those three) in the same guitar, are you?  :icon_scratch:
That just DOESN'T EXIST...
Build something that you actually like the tone or is the most necessary to your rig, and if you need to get the upper notes, use a slide or bend the sh*t out!  :laughing7:

 

[koshersteel]

This is a very personal decision but having played several 22 and 24 fret necks I have decided that for myself the 22 fret neck is the way to go. I so rarely find myself playing in that register that it's just not worth the loss of tone at the neck pickup. If you really need to play that high E then just bend the string.

Just my 2 cents but also remember that Paul Reed Smith is a huge proponent of 22 fret necks (in fact, you can only get a PRS with a rosewood neck at 22 frets, not 24) even though the Custom-24 is the companies top seller. Cheers,

 

[jackthehack]

Real men build up their hand strength and bend the 22nd fret note to the 24th!

 

[Wrangler]

Thats exactly what i was thinking; if i need another E all i have to do is bend up to it. I just don't use those extra two frets enough to sacrifice the tone.
   
    Thanks keep em' comin'  :rock-on:

 

[DocNrock]

Real men build up their hand strength and bend the 22nd fret note to the 24th!

Au contraire, mon frere.  We bend our 24th to the 27th.   :icon_thumright:

Seriously, if done with a 24 fret "conversion," as is offered by W, the neck pup has to be moved toward the bridge.  If done with a true 24 fret scale, this does not happen.  Look at Jackson guitars as an example of many.  I have two Jacksons with 24 fret necks.  One is an HXH config, and the other is an HSH.  You could not do an HSH with a 24 fret extension.  Further, the upper fret access is not as good with the extension, even with the Soloist body.

 

[simple]

Seriously, if done with a 24 fret "conversion," as is offered by W, the neck pup has to be moved toward the bridge.

There is no 24 fret extention offered on a Warmoth Conversion neck.

 

[DocNrock]

Seriously, if done with a 24 fret "conversion," as is offered by W, the neck pup has to be moved toward the bridge.

There is no 24 fret extention offered on a Warmoth Conversion neck.

Sorry Gregg, that is not what I meant.  I didn't mean the conversion length neck, just the extension converting the 21 fret scale into a 24 fret neck, hence the quotation marks around conversion.

 

[Funky Phil]

Real men build up their hand strength and bend the 22nd fret note to the 24th!

Au contraire, mon frere.  We bend our 24th to the 27th.   :icon_thumright:

Seriously, if done with a 24 fret "conversion," as is offered by W, the neck pup has to be moved toward the bridge.  If done with a true 24 fret scale, this does not happen.  Look at Jackson guitars as an example of many.  I have two Jacksons with 24 fret necks.  One is an HXH config, and the other is an HSH.  You could not do an HSH with a 24 fret extension.  Further, the upper fret access is not as good with the extension, even with the Soloist body.

It doesn't matter which way a guitar is made (24 fret overhang extension, or neck designed for 24 frets), the relative position of the neck pickup would be the same.
That is to say that it would be slightly nearer to the bridge in both cases.
That being the case, I can't see why you couldn't go for HSH on a Warmoth with 24 fret extension.

 

[simple]

Real men build up their hand strength and bend the 22nd fret note to the 24th!

Au contraire, mon frere.  We bend our 24th to the 27th.   :icon_thumright:

Seriously, if done with a 24 fret "conversion," as is offered by W, the neck pup has to be moved toward the bridge.  If done with a true 24 fret scale, this does not happen.  Look at Jackson guitars as an example of many.  I have two Jacksons with 24 fret necks.  One is an HXH config, and the other is an HSH.  You could not do an HSH with a 24 fret extension.  Further, the upper fret access is not as good with the extension, even with the Soloist body.

It doesn't matter which way a guitar is made (24 fret overhang extension, or neck designed for 24 frets), the relative position of the neck pickup would be the same.
That is to say that it would be slightly nearer to the bridge in both cases.
That being the case, I can't see why you couldn't go for HSH on a Warmoth with 24 fret extension.

When you speak in Warmoth offerings, the 24 fret "extension" is on a 25 1/2" scale. The 24 fret with a standard overhang is at 24 3/4" inch scale. I suppose if you didn't like the tone you were getting in a particular neck pickup position, you could change pickups until you found the tone you were looking for.

 

[Shmoopie]

23 frets, now shut up about it.

 

[Mor Paul]

Oh, boy. A compromise that makes nobody happy
I'm fine with my 21 frets, personally. My other guitars are acoustics, and the body gets in the way at about the 14th fret.  :tard:

 

[Wrangler]

Greg thats not the point . . .
   
    The overal sound that results from the 24 fret extension would not be able to match the (superior sound claimed by the) 22 fret neck. Therefore, because of the movment torwards the bridge, not matter how many times you change the pickups (SD, Dimarzio, etc.), you will not be able to have your neck pickup in the so called "sweetspot." - - No matter how many times you change the pickup, you wont be able to move it closer to the head stock.

    For this reason . . . Warmoth should make an actual 25.5 24 fret neck . . . not just an extension.

 

[DocNrock]

Greg thats not the point . . .
     
     The overal sound that results from the 24 fret extension would not be able to match the (superior sound claimed by the) 22 fret neck. Therefore, because of the movment torwards the bridge, not matter how many times you change the pickups (SD, Dimarzio, etc.), you will not be able to have your neck pickup in the so called "sweetspot." - - No matter how many times you change the pickup, you wont be able to move it closer to the head stock.

     For this reason . . . Warmoth should make an actual 25.5 24 fret neck . . . not just an extension.

I'm sure its in the works for the future.  W as a business must weigh the R&D effort that would go into that vs. cost for that offering.  They've got a lot of cool offerings, as it is.  If I want to build a 22 fret bolt-on, I go to Warmoth.  If I want a 24 fret +/- neck-thru, I currently have to go with commercial offerings...good thing I like Jacksons.   

 

[line6man]

i used to play a cheap ibanez guitar with 24 frets when i was just getting into playing guitar.
i loved those extra frets!
i used them on a regular basis, not just occasionally.
but then i played a strat again and pretty much said "F*ck this, i will only play strats from now on"
i am a big strat guy, but thats a different story.

anyways, i hated going down to just 21 frets, it was a big limitation, but i just got used to it.
nowadays i dont really care. i would actually rather go for a 21 fret strat than a 22 for the sake of tradition.

in my opinion, that stratocaster neck pickup sound is pure gold, and i would never even think of trading it for extra frets.

with a 21 or 22 fret guitar, all the "24 fret notes" can be accessed on the string above 5 frets back. the only thing you miss out on are the highest notes on the high E.
and as stated above, you can just bend your way there of you need to.

 

[guitlouie]

Just to stir the pot a bit, it seems to me that the OP is going on " I heard that" kind of information.  What I mean is that I wonder if there is an actual difference in sound, or if we just expect that there would be a difference in sound.  I don't suppose that anyone here has the 24 fret neck as made by Warmoth as well as a standard 22 fret neck, and could A-B them and tell us what if any sonic differences are really there as opposed to the ones that we would imagine to exist? 

 

[TimC]

Alright guys here it is:

     When you order a 24 fret neck, everyone knows the neck pickup has to be moved torward the bridge to compensate for the last two frets. After doing a little research I found out that these extra two frets can make a huge difference on the neck pickups tone on the guitar (http://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1670). So heres my question:

     Are the extra 2 frets of a 24 fret neck (meaning the neck pickup naturally has to be moved toorward the bridge, meaning a fatter, less "tubular" neck tone) worth losing the natural tone of the neck pickup on a 22 fret neck?

Thanks  :rock-on:

I don't think moving the pickup towards the bridge is that big a deal. The position of the neck pickup on some guitars places the neck side row of magnets under the open string node of the second octave. Any fretted note would move this node away from being centered on the magnets anyway. I'm about to install a humbucker on a Lead I in the neck position that I had to move about 5/8" toward the bridge due to the route being too close to the neck pocket in the traditional position. I'm confident it will sound fine.