Does the nut width affect the carve of the neck?

[xParallax]

Hey all!

In March-May I buolt my first Warmoth guitar, and absolutely love it!

It's by far my favourite guitar to look at and hear, but it's not quite my favourite guitar to play. Then again it was all a bit of a trial run, and I got pretty damn close the first time. I still love it.
Now I think I'm coming in to fine tune what I actually like from Warmoth.

My favourite playing guitar has a Fender Modern C shape neck, and a 1.650" nut width, and there seems to be a little more curve and body to the neck down near the nut end of the neck, still maintaining it's skinniness, but not going too 'flat' on the back, something I have always really liked. In all, I love a nice skinny Modern C shape, but I think my Standard Thin, 1-11/16" feels a little flat on the back where I'd like a tiny (and I mean miniscule) bit of curve and fullness. I want to make it clear, I don't want a fat neck or anything like that, just something slightly more curved than the Standard Thin.
I have a sample size of one, but I think I disagree with Warmoth when they say a Standard Thin feels like a modern Fender, it feels a bit more like my 'Wide Thin' on my PRS SE C24 to me.

My question is: would reducing the nut width down to 1.650" force the carve to be a little more aggressive down near the nut, thus bringing out a little more curvature?
A second question would be:Is the difference between the Standard Thin and 59 Roundback very noticeable, because if it's VERY slightly thicker/fuller, I think it'd be something that I'd like?

Cheers for your help
Rhys

 

[stratamania]

I would say it probably would not do so. Comparing standard thins I have in 1 5/8 and 1 11/16" they both have the feeling you describe. 1.65 sits between those two sizes so I can only assume it would be similar.

I find the Warmoth standard thin to be a good feeling neck but it is not quite as C like as I would prefer compared to others in the stable.

 

[ragamuffin]

I agree the standard thin feels a little thinner and flatter than a Fender Modern C. Unfortunately I don't think that the nut width will change that.

The 59' Roundback is a nice big comfy "C", but noticeably thicker than Standard Thin or a Modern C. While I like both ST and Roundback, I wish Warmoth offered something in between the two. They could call it "Happy Medium" lol

I'ver heard from other forum members that the Wolfgang is sort of an in between, but is an asymmetrical profile.

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

The smaller nut size will probably do the opposite of what you want.  It would make the nut and lower end of the neck feel less substantial.

IMO it is better to choose the nut width to finger chords most easily at the lower end of the neck.

Personally I love the Warmoth Standard thin using 1-11/16" nut.  I have fat fingers, but my hands aren't as large as I would like for guitar playing.

 

[ChrisMC]

I’ve ordered my first build. Before ordering, I wanted to play a few of the profiles before deciding. Thankfully I have a lot of guitar playing friends, many of which have built guitars through Warmoth. I was able to play a Standard Thin, Wolfgang, and 59 Roundback before placing my order.


Now, I should tell you that I’m an Ibanez guy; I’ve been playing Wizard necks for decades. Maybe I’m getting old or maybe my preferences have changed, but my current #1 is a Prestige RG 652 AHM, with a Wizard HP contour and a 16.9” radius.

MUCH to my own surprise, I went with the 59 Roundback. My hands found it the most comfortable; who would have guessed?! My buddies were all warning me that the standard thin felt too thin and definitely thinner than a Modern C carve (I could have played about six Standard Thin equipped guitars, but...why?! So I played two.), and I’d have to agree with them. I’ve owned many Strats over the years, all except one having a Modern C neck, and the Standard Thin just felt...weird to me. For whatever it’s worth, the Roundback to me feels like the newer Fender Deep C, which I like, I just dislike the frets on those necks (narrow tall). The 59 Roundback felt very good and again that’s coming from a guy who has traditionally played thin neck profiles. I was surprised that I picked it, to say the least, but specs on paper are only a good starting point, they don’t tell you the whole story.