a question to those who use 1 5/8" nut width

[vtpcnk]

i read this comment in the les paul forum which is true for me as well. my palms are longer than my fingers (though in no way 'huge') and i have difficulty doing barre chords on 1 11/16" while it is easier on 1 5/8". i used to think that i just needed more pratice and better positioning ...

>1 and 5/8'' is perfect for me as i also have huge hands with short fingers . i played a rip off les pal for years that had a 1 5/8" nut and it was perfect . i can't barre chords with the 1 >11/16'' for the life of me .

appreciate some inputs on this issue from those who use 1 5/8 nut width.

 

[Dan025]

i also have HUGE palms, and normal sized finger. it may be a problem if your fingers are very thick. i have guitars all over the map in nut width. there are times when my circulation is poor and my hands stiff and the wider nut is better, more room between strings. my ring figer is very long and my grip is strong so i can play and reach all the strings on most guitars but i do get fatigued from the positioning i need to use for barre chords. when i am warmed up and all the dexterity is there i prefer the narrow nut as i can use my pinky for all the strings as well as play barre chords with ease.

 

[Unwound G]

I like 1-5/8" nut width because I have got used to after playing Strats and Teles most of the time.  My Gibsonesque builds now all have this nut width which is perfect for open chords.  However, we have to note that W necks all have 2-3/16" heel width so the taper towards the last fret make a 1-11/16" nut neck almost the same as we get past the G position area.

 

[strat.tenor]

Greetings ... my hand is 7 3/4" long.  I can palm a basketball when my hands are strong and I'm working out.  My palm/finger orientation is like yours (palm a little larger).  I'm also a lefty, so I admittedly have a much smaller sampling of guitars to play, and in my history.  The 1 11/16" neck I found on an Epiphone SG felt remarkably better than the standard Fender - both the depth and the width.  Chording of all types seemed easier to me.

I tend to theorize about things since, again, I can't play tonnes of guitars.  Do you find that palm size correlates to neck depth (boatneck/fatback) and that finger length with nut width?  My theory is that the palm diagonal from thumb to base of little finger is a type of yardstick for neck depth.  In golf, for years people played with grips that were drastically too small for them.  My theory is that necks are too small right now for guitar players.  I find it amazing that Warmoth does not offer necks up to 1 1/2" deep.  I have big hands for my height and the 1" deep is about the only thing I am certain about at the moment.  But there are hamhocks out there bigger than my hands, where do they go above 1"?

Enjoyed the post, thanks.

 

[dmraco]

Greetings ... my hand is 7 3/4" long.  I can palm a basketball when my hands are strong and I'm working out.  My palm/finger orientation is like yours (palm a little larger).  I'm also a lefty, so I admittedly have a much smaller sampling of guitars to play, and in my history.  The 1 11/16" neck I found on an Epiphone SG felt remarkably better than the standard Fender - both the depth and the width.  Chording of all types seemed easier to me.

I tend to theorize about things since, again, I can't play tonnes of guitars.  Do you find that palm size correlates to neck depth (boatneck/fatback) and that finger length with nut width?  My theory is that the palm diagonal from thumb to base of little finger is a type of yardstick for neck depth.  In golf, for years people played with grips that were drastically too small for them.  My theory is that necks are too small right now for guitar players.  I find it amazing that Warmoth does not offer necks up to 1 1/2" deep.  I have big hands for my height and the 1" deep is about the only thing I am certain about at the moment.  But there are hamhocks out there bigger than my hands, where do they go above 1"?

Enjoyed the post, thanks.

MY EYES!!!!!! 

the best this with W is the customization.  I would like someone with huge palms and short fingers (a carnie  :laughing7 would like a fatter profile neck with a 1 5/8 nut. 

I am considering a smaller nut on my next build.  Everything I have now is 1 11/16.  I want sothing smaller becuase sometime I just want to man-handle the neck....was that to graphic?? :toothy10:

 

[strat.tenor]

MY EYES!!!!!! 

the best this with W is the customization.  I would like someone with huge palms and short fingers (a carnie  :laughing7 would like a fatter profile neck with a 1 5/8 nut. 

I am considering a smaller nut on my next build.  Everything I have now is 1 11/16.  I want sothing smaller becuase sometime I just want to man-handle the neck....was that to graphic?? :toothy10:

... didn't follow some of your post ... did you mean "I would think" in your second sentence?
But, to continue ... on the other hand, the wider nut allows you to man-handle the strings.
Just another perspective.

 

[Superlizard]

I use 1 5/8 nut width on my Warmoth stratty necks (vintage modern), but only because it's the traditional strat nut width.

What's far more important is the porn-star CBS-era strat headstock...

 

[Superbeast520]

I never realised how important neck width was until I tried a 1 5/8ths and walla,.... It seems so much easier for me to do thumb over the top blues style chording and open string lead playing, that its now the only width I will buy.

I also started to realise I didn't really like thin necks, as my hands seemed to cramp, or tire quicker.....so I tried a Fatback and was in love..which is weird because it seems like it would be contradictory to comfortable playing, but for me It seems to be the perfect combo....1 5/8ths nut width and Fatback neck thickness.....I have considered going to the 59 roundback so I could feel the taper a bit more ...but Im so happy with the comfort I found with Warmoth's Fatback and compound radius that Im afraid to change things up.

I think alot of it has to do with the fact I used to do alot of electric blues lead stuff on accoustic for years (I used an unwound G string) and did alot of bending with heavy gauge strings....so that may be why I find the Fatback more comfortable...but I also didn't feel comfortable chording with a 1 11/16ths nut width.....

We are so blessed to be playing in a time when you can handpick every neck detail..... :icon_thumright:

 

[fdesalvo]

lol

MY EYES!!!!!! 

 

[shaggydawg]

I notice a few posts here mentioning that Fender Strat nut width is 1 5/8. I'm not sure I buy that. One of the main reasons I built a Warmoth Strat is because Fender Strats are NOT 1 5/8 at the nut, and that's my preference. I believe Fenders are somewhere between 1 5/8 and 1 11/16.

I'd be happy to be corrected, but every spec sheet I see puts the nut width at some decimal or metric value that ends up being  between 1 5/8 and 1 11/16, at least on modern instruments.

 

[Cagey]

I've always thought Strat necks were 1 11/16", too. I know mine are. My Les Paul is 1 5/8". But, there's only 1/16" (.062") difference between the two (5/8 = 10/16). You wouldn't think you could feel that, but you can. Still, it's no deal breaker for me, and nothing I need to acclimate myself to or compensate for when I pick up one or the other. That sixteenth of an inch is spread out over more than an inch and a half of fretboard width, so the string spacing difference is only about .010" from one neck width to the other. 

As for palm vs. finger length, I don't have an issue with that. One of my first teachers back 100 years was a jazz player, and he was adamant about left hand positioning. Even made me use a bowler's wrist straightener while practicing until I got in the proper habit. As a result, my palm rarely even touches the neck, let alone has to wrap around it. Unless, of course, I'm carrying the thing by the neck in my left hand to put it away <grin>

 

[JaySwear]

my hand is about 7 1/2" from palm to the tip of my fingers, but i've never really had a huge problem with narrow nuts. i rest my thumb on the back when i'm doing anything but just open chords, and i think a slightly larger back would help.

 

[hannaugh]

Geez, I just read this post and measured my hand.  6 1/2" from the very bottom of my palm to the very tip of my middle finger.  This is why I love Warmoth.

 

[-CB-]

Never before measured... from tip of middle finger to where palm joins wrist... 8 inches.

I have no issue with 1-5/8 but wouldn't want to go smaller.. the L6s 1-9/16 was definitely too narrow.  I also, have no problem on 1-11/16 or even 1-3/4, but on the wider ones, I have trouble on those little pinky-boogies at the lower frets... say 3rd fret down or so.  Then again, that guitar has a 25-1/2 inch scale, and almost anything is possible on 24-3/4.  I can REALLY tell the difference, and like each for what it is.

 

[Mor Paul]

Yeah, CB, my guitar teacher's L6-s Deluxe has that very narrow neck. I'm definitely more of a 1-11/16 guy. I was playing his Gibson CS 335, and it felt great. Then I went to the L6-S Deluxe... I think part of the problem was the fact that the body was shifted down to get 24 frets on easier, and I was (and he does too) playing a fret sharp for most notes by accident.

 

[BigBeard]

See I'm the opposite, I like the 1 3/4 nut, because of the space between the strings.  It gives my fingertips the room to contact the actual string they are intended to contact, and not infirnge on their neighboring string, like what happens with my 1 11/16 carvin spaghetti noodle profile neck through guitar.

Boatneck and 1 3/4" for me as far as a custom neck for me goes!!!

Again the beauty of the turtle, you get what you want, not what a cross section of a focus group wants!!!!