Big Fat Neck, Big Fat tone?

[arealken]

So I acquired a Warmoth Fat rofile Maple Maple neckl with a 1 and 3/4" nut width ( 6150 Stainless frest).

As I've gleaned form being here, the neck makes a difference in the tone of the guitar moreso than the body does.

Admittedly, this neck is considerably too large for my short stubby fingers ( the one huge drawback to my playing- for instance you see a Vai with long long fingers and big enormous hands- and they say Jimi had long fingers and big hands) , so although i am pretty dexterous and get along well with a boatneck and 1 and 11/16's nut, for a neck that big as the fatback/ 1 and 3/4, the one redeeming factor would have to be tone.

All that wood on the the turtle neck, will it equate to a thicker fatter sound?

The neck will be mounted on a Warmoth 3.2Lb. Alder body.

 

[amigarobbo]

I don't know about that, but I do know the bigger the cushion, the better the pushin' or so I have read.

You need to get a neck you're comfortable with, you won't play a guitar if it's uncomfortable no matter how good it sounds.

Personally I like a chunker,  maybe it improves the tone, the tuning seems more stable, but its the feel of a good thick bit of wood in my hand that I like, so I get big necks.

:laughing7:

 

[bagman67]

As long as we are invoking Spinal Tap in the context of sturdy wood...


[youtube]S3nuI4oEal0[/youtube]

 

[fdesalvo]

LOL Ian!

I have found that the neck is the largest structural contributor to the tonal character of the guitar.  That's my experience.  Every neck I've installed consisting of a double/modern truss rod has resulted in a colder, harder tone.  My favorite sounding necks have vintage or single truss rods and a little beef on the back.

 

[mayfly]

You need to get a neck you're comfortable with, you won't play a guitar if it's uncomfortable no matter how good it sounds.

Ian's cricket bat aside, I think this is the best piece of advice:  get a neck that fits your hands first.  Worry about tone after that.  If you don't, then you won't end up playing the thing and it won't matter how good the tone is.

Oh - and sorry to be contrary, my favorite necks for tone have all been Warmoth Modern construction necks.  I've tried both vintage and vintage modern, and they don't have the liveliness and general 'zing' that the modern construction necks have.  But each set of ears are different.  YMMV, does not include batteries.

 

[spaceranger]

Honestly, it seems reasonable to me that the small variances of tone from neck woods could be compensated for in the signal chain, yes? Adjust the amp tone stack? Roll off some treble w/guitar's tone knob (or bass rolloff if you've got that)? Use an EQ pedal? Any tone controls on pedals you're using? Adjust pickup height?

It just seems to me that the differences are so subtle that they can easily be overwhelmed by that other stuff listed above. As such, I'd echo the suggestion to aim for the most comfortable neck profile above all, and simply leverage your pickups/pedal/amp tone adjustments and gain stages to get what you want.

 

[musicispeace]

I have heard from several sources who feel that larger necks have a positive effect on tone but the most important aspect is a neck you can physically play. I fully understand dialing in a sound you are happy with or experimenting with tone but at the end of the day an audience is going to be hearing an electric guitar, period.

 

[fdesalvo]

A lot of this also depends on the type of amps you are playing through, as well.  All of the amps I build/play through are single channel, tweed/blackface inspired, so you really do hear the subtleties that get buried in cascading gain stages.  Like most would say, in a live band scenario, all of that is lost.

 

[Tipperman]

I can say that I "perceive" a much brighter sound from my Warmoth Strat than my Fender Tele, but I don't think it's entirely down to neck profile. Both my Jaguar and my Strat have the "Fatback" profile, maple neck with an Indian Rosewood slab board. Tele is the standard Fender neck profile, one piece maple. It's probably partly bias, partly neck thickness, and the quality of the pickups. Although even then, that's up for debate I suppose. If the big fat neck will work for your hands, use it. Otherwise maybe try to trade it for a profile more akin to your preference? It needs to work for you, and if it feels too thick to work then it's probably too thick. Maybe it contributes a lot, but at the end of the day I think the most important thing is that it feels right. You can always tailor other areas to suit your taste and get your desired tone.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Regarding tone, the neck thickness is pretty irrelevant on an electric guitar. And I'll never understand why someone would want a neck that feels like a baseball bat unless they have large hands.

 

[frown]

I've got four custom order Warmoth necks - all fatbacks, as I have larger than average hands. I think one difference with a larger mass, is that it feels way more sturdy, therefore I play more aggressively and confidently than I would do with a skinnier neck.

I've had, and still have, thin necked guitars that I don't play anymore, because it feels like I'm going to snap them! I used to love a Yamaha I had until I heard it going flat when I played - after some checks I realised the neck was bending slightly!

So, fat backs for durability for me!

 

[arealken]

Got the neck mounted up and set up. Gotta say this thing is the most "woody" sounding Strat I have, and I have 6 or 8 Strats.
The neck is waaay to big for me. I have another Fatback that doesn't present near as much of a problem..maybe cause it has a smaller nut that the massive 1 and 3/4.

I was playing it last night, and my hand started cramping. I've had symptoms of Carpal Tunnel before, and I felt some tingling.

By and large I get along ok with it, aside from certain techniques, and am thinking maybe my tendons may stretch some if I keep playing it and do not overdue it, wheres something like a thin-D profile  is a total no-go for me and my hand cramps up in short order.

I got to thinking about having the neck planed down and re-lacquered with more or less the same profile, anyone done this? I'll post pics later of the neck on the guitar.

Thanks

 

[Cederick]

Get the profile you want, dont worry.

Adjust tone with pickup choice and amp settings.

Done.  :glasses9:

 

[nojazzhere]

Recently completed what I hope will be my FINAL Be-all...End-all guitar. It is a 1993 Korean Fender Squier tele. I've owned "Mortimer" for nearly 20 years, and it has been an evolving project almost since the first day. I have stripped the original finish to natural, with a tung oil finish, replaced the bridge TWICE (top-load, string through, back to a different top-load), added a middle pick-up, changed bridge p/u to a hot, Guitar Fetish (for a more P-90 sound), and (finally) changed the original Fender Maple neck to a Warmoth conversion (24 3/4" scale) of mahogany, rosewood board, fatback profile, 6150 frets,
1 11/16" at nut, compound radius, with Wilkinson Kluson-style tuners. (whew!) This neck just SINGS!! First off, it fit the body's neck pocket as well or better than the original. I don't know if it is the heft of the neck or the mahogany (or both) but this guitar (plugged in or not) resonates like a fine violin. Some people have expressed concern over a fat neck and small hands, but I have relatively small hands, and I find I experience LESS hand fatigue with the bigger neck vs. the slimmer Fender neck, not to mention the (to my ear) improved sound.
      The only caveat to the Warmoth neck is I still had to, after I had finished and installed it, take it to my guitar tech to dress the fret ends and file the nut slots to make the action acceptable. This is not unexpected. The biggest downside now is that I just don't want to put it down and get on with other aspects of life. So, my advice is go with the BIG neck...I don't think you'll regret it!!!

 

[swarfrat]

I'm a fatback fan, but don't worry about snapping your wizards. I'd still grab one for a club if someone was in my house and not worry that I grabbed it instead of a fatback.