I need advice on ordering a warmoth neck.

hillerheilman

Newbie
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Hello everyone. So I'm having a guitar body custom made for me, and I'm going to order a warmoth short scale neck for it.I'm planning on getting an exotic wood, as the idea of not having a finish intrigues me. The problem is that I can't decide what back shape, radius and fret size to use. Although I do know I'll be ordering stainless steel frets. I started out playing a fender style bass that had what I would assume from looking at it had some kind of c shape neck. The other guitar I've had was an epiphone les Paul special 2, this had a "slimtaper D" profile. I hated that neck with the fiery passion of a thousand suns.  They both had the same problems however, the neck didn't feel like there was enough in my palm, and the frets felt like they were a bit too far apart for my hands(they're somewhat small) and that I had to press pretty damn hard. (yes, the action was low, I'm not sure if having a short scale neck will fix this, and the nearest guitar center is several hours away so I can't really go try one) Anyway, based on that what would you recommend?
Thanks in advance,

~Hiller
 
I too was scarred with a crappy Gibson neck with a D profile.  Standard thin is different and I suspect you'll like it as you state you've got small hands.

I have large hands and I initially tried the standard thin.  It felt pretty good, but my hand would end up cramping at the end of the night.  I eventually went to a boatneck profile and have been happy.  But as previously mentioned, the standard thin might work great for you.  And on the plus side - it's the most popular neck shape.  If you don't like it you can sell it!  :headbang:
 
I had the same issue deciding on frets too as I got into this. If any shops near you stock Nash guitars go and get your hands on one. They use 6105 nickel frets and it would give you a chance to check out 6105. 6150 are going to be the same height but a little bit wider. At this point I have and use both fret sizes and like them both. Supposedly most current Fenders have something close to 6150. The 6105 are often said to be a good, general purpose fret size. One of the issues I have with most Gibsons or copies of them is that they have little, little vintage style frets that seem barely there. On the other end of the spectrum 6100 frets are quite large. Unless you know you like a lot of contact with the fret only and not really any fret board I would not start with those. bear in mind many of us have experienced an evolving taste in features over time and different guitars. That is fine too but you need a starting point you will likely enjoy.

As for neck profiles. If you get your hands on a Nash he does two profiles: a medium C supposedly around .83 and a boatneck he says averages .97. I started out with the Warmoth Standard C with an 1 and 11/16 nut width. It felt fine. And it has the benefit of the nicest looking necks in the Warmoth Showcase are almost all Standard thin. Apparently my hands are larger then I thought because now I have ordered fatbacks after finding a boatneck was even more comfortable to me. But boatneck and fatback are indeed a chunk of timber. Unless you know you like a V profile I would give the Clapton a miss. I have one and play it but would not order it twice as it is very close to the Standard Thin just with a pronounced V really.

Having tried two sort of extremes in the Warmoth selection (Standard Thin and Fatback) I'd at least start with the Standard Thin. From what you say about your hands if you found you still had room in the palm that you wanted to fill I would then suggest the '59 Roundback as your option B. One way in is to order a Roasted Maple neck (that does not need a finish and is very smooth) if you at all like those (with whatever fretboard you'd like between maple, rosewood, or pau ferro) and you could get in for about $200 and shipping on top of that. Not like shelling out a lot more for some of the other options. But you also need to order what excites you because it is your guitar, you may be set on regular maple with a finish, which is fine. You may like mahogany, which is fine. With a Standard Thin you would at least have a playable neck even if you decided you wanted a bit more to fill the palm when you were ready. Read the return policy in case you really don't like something but I think there is a restocking fee deducted before your refund.

Lastly, the 1 11/16 nut width is considered standard these days and with the Standard Thin I found it helped fill my palm compared to the "vintage" width neck on the strat copy guitar I had been playing that had a really thin neck. As I went to thicker necks I personally went to the 1 and 5/8 figuring fatter and slightly narrower would work and it does for me. If I was ordering another Standard Thin though I would order 1 and 11/16.

Take advantage of the Showcase as you see what you are getting. The Builder option is fine too but obviously the neck is a bit of the unknown in looks until it arrives. That said I have not been disappointed and generally have used the Builder because I came to prefer 21 fret necks just because I did. no real reason.

Good luck and enjoy whatever you put together.
 
Thanks everyone. I'll look at the standard thins in the showcase, and if I don't like that I think I'll get a boatneck, and then sand it down if it's too big.
 
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