Neck feel #87 - Radius.

[strat.tenor]

So ... I went to another guitar store, found a used guitar that had a simply great neck.  However, it's on a body that I despise.  The luthier there can't measure the radius for me, but I know the flatter face is due to a larger radius.  How many inches of radius change happen before you notice?  I've played lots of 9.5" and 12" and there is a slight difference, nothing big.  This one yesterday was a HUGE difference.  Is it valid to assume that it must be at least 2.5" greater in size than the 12, because I find it so noticeable?  So that makes it a 15 (or more) radius neck?  Or is there a known tipping point, like "anything over 13.5 inches you instantly notice, anything under 12 inches is not usually felt"?

Any radius help would be appreciated.

 

[Dan025]

as the radius gets bigger the change in the height of the arch is smaller. 12" radius is fairly flat so going to a 14 isn't that much different but going to down to a 10 is more noticable. honestly the warmoth compound is great.

a compound radius is better than a strait radius because if you put a strait edge on a cylinder diagonally it will contact only one spot in the middle and because the bridge is wider than the nut this is what the string does.
the outer strings need more height or releif than the inners so you raise the action just a touch and have slightly more relief than the minimum.

a properly engineered compound radius forms a section of a cone and if you extended the strings way past the nut till they intersect then that point should line up over the tip of the cone that the neck forms. a compound with the right nut and bridge should allow lower action and less relief. but it is unknown to me what the ideal combo of string spacing is for warmoth. i could draw up a model though.

but if you like flatter than 12 go for a 14 or 16" if you want flatter than 16 you might as well skip to 20 or 21. but i don't think warmoth makes that.

 

[TroubledTreble]

You can find neck radius guides on the net, print them out, cut them out then take them with you to the store and see what you've got. It'll take the guess work out of it.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

..or use a ruler and length of string.  A 12" radius neck is simply a circle with a 12"diameter.  Trace a series of circles out on paper, and there you go.  Home made neck radius reference tool.

 

[-CB-]

There's a lot more to "feel" than radius.  I know the ES's I've got are the same 12inch radius as my SG's.. feel is totally different.  They feel FLATTER somehow.  Both my LP's seem not that flat, but again... its just me.  The back contour is different - and the way yer hand sits on the neck is different, and so the way your fingers lay on the fretboard... also just feels different.  I generally like a slightly flatter neck, but have got 7-1/4 inch radius necks, no probs with those.  Its not a deal breaker.