Neck selection guidance requested ...

[strat.tenor]

Updated!
[size=14pt]With some decisions and info below.
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(Thanks for all for reading and responding.)
​

Greetings ...

Well, I've been researching Warmoth necks for over 3 weeks, and still can't pull the trigger on a selection.  I'm starting to feel a bit stupid, so any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

First, I'm a lefty, so it's very hard to find necks to actually play that represent a real guitar.  Hence, the "go with what feels right" method has limited application and can't draw on a large set of experience.  Second, I have big hands for my size.  I own a Squier Standard Strat which I like but I need to swap the neck out because it is too small for my hands.  I know I want a solid maple neck, matte finish, and a Warmoth cut nut.  It took a while, but I found the tuners I want, 18:1 Grovers.  So the open questions are scale, contour and nut width.

Physically, my palms are slightly longer than my fingers, so I'm thinking I want a 1 11/16" nut.  My Standard, though supposed to be 1 5/8", seems to actually be 1 9/16"; I have a Martin cutaway that is 1 5/8", so going up a little further seems right.  But I keep considering 1 3/4".  I hold off because there must be a large universe of people who have longer fingers than I, so 1 3/4" in theory should be reserved for them.  I'm about 80% settled on 1 11/16".

Contour I go back and forth with.  I've played enough guitars to know that 1" depth will definitely feel more comfortable.  I'm a singer, so most of my playing will be chording.  Boatneck or Fatback?  More on this in a minute.

I did manage to play an Epiphone SG (lefty) at a store.  That neck felt great compared to the slimmer Fenders.  Also, chord changes were much more relaxed - say the "Born To Be Wild" intro riff.  So I'm thinking of a 24 3/4" scale neck (correction from 24 5/8", thanks '.ro').  But I've been a bassist for the last 15 years, so you see, I'm a little skeptical of this ease of play thing with the SG because I haven't been EGuitaring for long - been playing my Martin for years - but not an EGuitar.  But the SG experience is where my scale question comes from.

Would still want a neck larger than the SG - it's roughly .84" deep.  But it looks to be a rounder, boatback type.  Fenders do tend to be flatter, which "seems" (in theory) to give a better, more consistent angle of attack for your thumb (more thumb surface touches the neck with a flatter, less rounded back) - so that says fatback.  But experience - which is admittedly very limited because of being a lefty - says a boatback (the SG).

And that little circle of logic represents the whole problem.

I've dissected each of these elements on the Strat/Squier site.  Righties don't seem to understand and Lefties do, but can't offer much help.  One nice fellow over "there" suggested I come here and said you guys are very good at clarifying things.

I hope so.

I want a new neck for my Strat.
I want a Warmoth.

Just can't settle on which one.

TIA.

.R.

 

[.ro]

Given your reported hand-size, I'd recommend the boatneck, although the '59 Roundback should also definitely be considered (really depends on how much you like that classic Gibson-sized kind of neck - I think that the neck on the SG you played is more similar to the roundback than the boatneck). I assume you meant to say that you wanted a 24 3/4" scale-length neck (Gibson style?). I strongly support that - I have always preferred the Gibson length to the Fender length.

 

[DslDwg]

My opinion only - of course.

Take a set of calipers and go the local Guitar Center - play every style and brand of guitar you can - and when you arrive on something that feels wonderful to you - takes some measurements and then see how that translates into a Warmoth model.

Hand size may be related to neck sizes and profiles but I don't think it is the whole story. I have small hands and stubby fingers - but I learned to play - playing classical guitars and Jackson's and Ibanez electrics. So a wide nut and a thin neck feel like home - but of course someone else with small hands may hate my setup. I go 13/4 Nut with wizard profile and tiny fret wire 6105 or 6230 with 25.5" scale and it feels great - probably because that's what I've always played.

Guys will tell you all day long what the best set up is - but it doesn't mean that's what will work for you.

 

[Superbeast520]

Personally and its just my opinion, but I think you should go with the 1 11/16ths if its your first neck build and you have little experience with various neck widths....I say this because over the years I have witnessed a few different players on the site purchase the wide 1 3/4 necks you speak of and almost all the ones I have seen end up leaving it sit and end up buying a regular 1 11/16ths.

I would say if playing accoustic guitars with wide necks is your preference then maybe the 1 3/4s would be your thing, but I really think you would be happier and more unlikely to regret buying a 1 11/16ths.

 

[Dan025]

you are assuming that these measurements are small changes, they're not. 1-3/4 is big especially with a fatback profile. 1-11/16 is playable to most people and 1-5/8 can be tight for people with think fingers. trust me if you play a 1-3/4 with a fatback you will see what i'm saying. about right for some people but never too small, i dont care how big your hands are. 1 inch might not sound thick but it is. and small changes like 1/16in are very noticeable to your hands. even fret size and string thickness can be perceived easily.


the big question is how do you hold the neck? do you go classical/shred style with just your thumb on the back and the neck at a high angle or do you wrap your hand around the neck? 1-3/4 is great for shredding, 1-5/8 is great for the other way, especially for the old thumb fretting the low-E trick.

as far as back contour i dislike the srv, i like the wolfgang, standard thin is good for a wide nut. wizard feels too fragile. v-necks can support your hand and fill it without fatigue but i think it would only be comfortable for me on a 1-5/8 nut. the round back is a good overall starting point.

i'd decide what nut width fits your fingering style then think about how you want it to fit your hand.
you mention thumb contact so it seems you play with the neck or whole guitar high and your thumb is all that contacts the neck, for this i would not use a fatback or vee. standard thin, wolfgang, or roundback are my recomondations.

 

[NonsenseTele]

Gibson SG tend to have skinners neck, IIRC...

If you're okay with baseball bat neck, go with boatneck ( I have a Fatback and I think I would like a little better the boatneck)
Get a 24.75" conversion neck for THAT punch on tone!!!

And raw neck for the win!

 

[big bob]

I have a "red neck".

 

[Superbeast520]

I have a "red neck".

I've always been partial to the Red Necks myself....hehehe.... :laughing7:

 

[tfarny]

I agree that you should head to GC with a set of calipers and leave your shame at home - just measure everything in the store till they call security on you...
The guitar I would recommend you play is a PRS with the 'wide fat' neck contour - the McCarty model has that and the SE line (cheaper ones) do too. Even if you have to hold a righty, you'll at least get the idea. That is a 1 11/16, '59 roundback neck almost exactly. I have never played an SG with an especially thick neck, so I'm not sure about that aspect of your post. The 59 is supposed to be a classic Gibson shape and I find it to be great, I have largish hands.
1 3/4 is unusually wide for an electric, you won't find anything at GC with 1 3/4 in the electrics. If you really just do chording, though, and it fits your style, you might like it? In a couple years hanging on this board I've seen a few of those superwides go to Ebay for being too wide, though.

 

[strat.tenor]

... 1 3/4 is unusually wide for an electric ... in a couple years hanging on this board I've seen a few of those superwides go to Ebay for being too wide, though.

Well, I've got more data and made some decisions.

1) Nut width will definitely be 1 11/16".  That's decided.

2) Putting a 24 3/4" scale neck on a Strat no longer bothers me.  I'm leaning toward that scale, but I need to do some playing research tonight with my Strat to see how chording goes when barred on the 9th and 10th fret.  And need to double check my findings tomorrow with the SG and the Les Paul I found.

3) (... that's the good news ... ) Went back to my Sam Ash and found on the wall an LTD Hammett LEFTY!  (Are you not entertained?!)  And that neck was ASYMETRICAL!  A total first for me, and I sadly must say (psst, it felt kinda good) so now ... that dastardly axe man SRV is weaselling his way into the picture, that unscrupulous blues bastard!


Thanks all for your feedback.

[size=16pt].R.

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[tfarny]

SRV is a great contour, I like that one and 59. But no 24.75 w/SRV for the moment I believe. Just fyi.