Boatneck!

[mayfly]

Allright!  As some of you know, I've been thinking about a larger neck than standard thin for my telecasters.  What you don't know ('cause I haven't told you) is that the reason for this is chronic thumb pain.  I broke my left thumb skiing a few years ago, and although it healed up fine, now there is constant pain in the joint.  This could have started because I'm constantly picking up my young son, or it's because I need a new toy to play with.  I'm going with the latter!

Enter the boatneck:

This thing is a really manly-man neck!

I spent last night installing the tuners, dressing the nut, doing a quickie setup, and putting it on my favorite tele. Here's the results:

Well, playing this thing is an experience.  The neck is freaking huge - but it feels surprisingly good.  I spent the rest of the night soloing and playing songs with lots of barr chords - the pain is greatly diminished.  As a side effect the tone has improved.  The guitar as a lot more zing to it with harmonics popping out all over the place.  It feels really alive.  Made me want to play it all night - and so I did!

i plan to play it for a few months to confirm the results, but it's really working for me so far.

Stay tuned folks; there may be some "gently used" standard thin necks available in the future  :headbang:

 

[NonsenseTele]

First I thought the Boatneck would be horrible to play... Now I'm thinking the oval shape perhaps could be more alike the shape of the hand...

Cool that improved the tone!  So, fat is good! :glasses9:
Let's everybody adopt the fat way of life  :laughing7:

 

[mayfly]

Let's everybody adopt the fat way of life  :laughing7:

I'll drink to that!  ccasion14:

 

[Kostas]

I haven't tried the boatneck, all my necks are FAT (C shape). How the V feels compared to a C?

And what is that color on the tele? It looks great :icon_thumright:

 

[mayfly]

The soft V feels interesting.  I actually selected it because my favorite acoustic has a soft V.  I like it because for some chord shapes I play I need a fairly shallow neck near the edges - which the V gives you.

The colour?  that would be Sherwood Green!

 

[Kostas]

The colour?  that would be Sherwood Green!

It looks different that Warmoth Sherwood Green http://www.warmoth.com/paint/paint.cfm?fuseaction=metallic_sherwoodgreen
Is it a Fender?

 

[mayfly]

The colour?  that would be Sherwood Green!

It looks different that Warmoth Sherwood Green http://www.warmoth.com/paint/paint.cfm?fuseaction=metallic_sherwoodgreen
Is it a Fender?

Nope.  It's a warmoth, ordered right off the showcase.

 

[DangerousR6]

Allright!  As some of you know, I've been thinking about a larger neck than standard thin for my telecasters.  What you don't know ('cause I haven't told you) is that the reason for this is chronic thumb pain.  I broke my left thumb skiing a few years ago, and although it healed up fine, now there is constant pain in the joint.  This could have started because I'm constantly picking up my young son, or it's because I need a new toy to play with.  I'm going with the latter!

I'm going to have to say probably more like old age setting in... :laughing11:

 

[blue313]

Damn....you had to go and remind me.  I'd almost forgotten about getting myself one and moved on to another project.  :laughing7:

Warmoth radius?

 

[mayfly]

Warmoth radius?

Yep - it's a warmoth "pro" neck with a satin finish.  I'm a utilitarian kind of guy.

An update - I've been playing for two hours straight, and I finally stopped just now.  My thumb feels great!  and there are some fast pull-offs that I could not get before that are now falling under the fingers.  Looks like a weener!

 

[pauldogx]

mayfly---what color pickguard ya got on there???  Just picked up a sherwood green tele and I can't decide on a pickguard color.
Yours looks great!!

 

[blue313]

So man, its been over a week now on the new neck.  Hows the hand?

 

[stubhead]

I find that there are certain kinds of things - three-note pulloffs and stuff - where a flatter neck makes them easier to do. (I like seven-strings not for the extra low notes as much as for the hand positioning.)
I also know that if my hand is tired after playing "normal" guitars for 3 to 4 hours, I can switch to my boatneck Tele and get at least a few more hours in. :hello2:

I try not to play it all in a row, but sometimes I get overstimulated and just can't let go of the damn thing.... :help: If you're going to wear out your body, might as well at least like it, huh? (wankwankwankwankwankwankwankwankwankwankwankwankwankwankwank....)

If you go to an old-guy guitar forum like TDPRI or the Steel Guitar Forum and read about hand problems, the near-universal agreement is to get a bigger neck. It seems kind of counter-intuitive, until you look at your hand. Point your fingers and thumb right toward you, and try to spread your fingers. Notice how much farther they spread when your thumb is farther away... opposable thumbs, your Gramma was an orangutang, etc. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb. Who knew all that swinging from trees would come in so "handy"...

 

[mayfly]

so far so good.  I plan to do at least one gig with it and see how things hold up.  BTW, the standard thin neck on my Red tele now seems like a toothpick.

Oh pauldogx - I can't remember the pickguard color off the top of my head.  I'll have to check the paperwork when I get home.

 

[rounce55]

So the boat neck isn't uncomfortable?

 

[lafromla1]

Its very similar to when a golfer has joint pain in his/her hands, especially from arthritis, and they go to a larger diameter grip.  It's much easier on the hands.  The trade-off is that it is a little more difficult to rotate the hands to hook/draw the ball.  I am curious to know what the trade-off is for you, if any, by going to the larger neck.

 

[mayfly]

...and may I have the envelope please - thank you (rustle rustle).  Ahem.  The pickguard on the Sherwood Green tele is...

... White Pearl!

Back to the BoatNeck: We just finished our first rehearsal in the new year.  Yes, we're lazy since there are no immediate gigs lined up.
We played for about 3 hours, and I had to keep going back and forth between the green one (boat) and the red one (standard thin), since the red one has a bender (required for some songs).

I can no longer stand to play the red one for any length of time.  The green one has become the new favorite.  I'm placing an order for a new neck for the red one as soon as possible!

I hope that answers all questions on this matter  :icon_biggrin:

 

[pauldogx]

Thank you kind sir.  I had kind of decided on that color as well.  When I get the neck PG I'll post some pix.

Its has the silver pearl PG on it now and it looks like *ss with the sherwood green.

 

[NonsenseTele]

Run Trevor, the prices will rise soon :laughing7:

 

[mayfly]

Run Trevor, the prices will rise soon :laughing7:

Just placed the order.  For S&G I'm trying a 59 roundback.

the hard part is the waiting...