Neck Thickness

[frustrated_jazzman]

Background story, my first warmoth build was a year ago, dual humbucker telecaster with mahogany body with 1 piece mahogany neck, dark rosewood fingerboard, standard thin profile. While I'm quite happy with the sound and playability of this build, I was hoping it had a overall fatter, fuller tone.

So now I'm about to charge my credit card for a 2nd warmoth build, but still undecided about my neck if I want it same standard thin or thicker like maybe a 59 roundback or boatneck. I've read posts where thicker necks had fatter fuller sound with better sustain. I'm aware and convinced that of course, most of the sound you hear is from the pick-ups and amplifier, but has anybody done a direct comparison between a thicker and thinner neck? (same body, same pick-ups, same amp, same set-up). I'm not after which plays easier or faster, I need to know which one yields a better sounding instrument. Thicker or thinner neck? thanks

 

[Kostas]

I replaced a FAT IN RW neck/BR RW fretboard with a '59 Maple neck/Pau Ferro fretboard. I used the same tuners, different nut material. The sound changed slightly, it's a little brighter and a little more detailed. I did it because this specific FAT neck was really fat, thicker than the two other FAT necks I have so I won't suggest you to get another neck expecting a big sonic change.

Be careful with the BOAT & FAT neck profiles, if you haven't played such a thick neck it would be better to try a guitar with a similar neck profile. The '59 is not to thick for someone to get used to it, at least that's what I think.

 

[bagman67]

Second the suggestion you don't go nuts and go huge without knowing what you're getting into.  My GOTM/GOTY has a boatneck and it's REALLY fat.  It really changes the way the guitar feels in my hands.  I like it, but it was a pronounced change.  Be prepared to change your mind about whether fat is the answer, is all I'm sayin'.


I can't help you on whether it sounds any different than a thinner neck, because it's the only neck the guitar has ever had.

 

[frustrated_jazzman]

Thanks for the replies, I did try a 50's les paul yesterday at a local guitar shop, which probably had a neck thickness of about a roundback or thicker, and I actually liked it (I'm not so sure if i like it more than the standard thin). I'm quite used to playing fat necks, as I'm mainly a classical guitar player. I also believe that anyone can get used to a reasonably fat neck if they play it enough (okay, maybe a boatneck might be too fat...).
Anyone else had experience directly comparing 2 different neck thicknesses (same wood, same grade ideally) on the same guitar?

 

[croquet hoop]

I am not sure that neck thickness alone is the answer you're looking for. With the variability of wood, I am sure that you could find a neck that sounds "fuller" than the one you've got while being the same thickness.

 

[Cagey]

Going by what you've said/done/are used to, I think I'd recommend an Ebony over Wenge neck, '59 roundback contour, 1 3/4" nut width, and of course, SS frets (whatever size floats your boat, but the bigger the better if you ask me). It'll be both warm and articulate, it'll give you something to grab onto without being a baseball bat, and it'll play like a dream. Plus, it's an attractive part and doesn't need a finish. Leave the inlays off - it'll look better and you won't miss them for more than 8 to 10 seconds.

 

[Kostas]

Ι played classical guitar for a couple years, their necks are not as thick as the two thick profiles we are talking about. Classical necks have a wide nut that gives the player the impression there are bigger that they really are.

If you played a standard (non CS) Gibson the 50's neck is a medium to thick neck profile, only their CS models have really thick necks. If you can find a PRS (US or Korean) their WideFat profile is similar to the '59. The US is thicker than the Korean but both are similar. See if you like this, then think that BOAT & FAT are thicker from the first to the last fret.

 

[SoundAsAnOldEngineer]

I can't answer the question about changing the neck profile whilst keeping everything else the same, but I do have a related story. Before I found Warmoth, I had a 90's Fender Japan Precision bass. I changed the pickup to a Seymour Duncan P-bass and everything was cool. Then the neck ran out of truss rod adjustment and the remedies offered by the local shop (the excellent Manson's) seemed expensive and they promised only uncertain results. I bought an exact replacement for the neck from the Stratosphere. The new neck was (of course) straight, but it also sounded very different from the original. From this I learned that you can get a very different tone by changing a neck for another (seemingly identical) one. How then should we interpret the effect of changing to a different neck?

I have the '59 Roundback profile on a Tele and I like it a lot. It doesn't even feel big to me.

 

[Rick]

I second Cagey's recommendation.  I just got a wenge / wenge neck, 1 3/4 width, 59 profile, stainless s frets 6105, from the showcase and it feels so good, the wood is slick, it gives my old over size fingers room to maneuver, the wenge gives a nice low end dimension and I'd imagine ebony would be awesome.  Though I have to say the difference between the old maple / rosewood neck and the new wenge neck is subtle, you can definitely notice it.  I'm not saying it's better it's just different.  I have a guitar with a mahogany / ebony boatneck 1 11/16 width, and it plays nice too, sounds great  ... jeez any time I'm playing the guitar is great, go for it, get something with the 1 3/4 width and 59 profile ... you'll love it.

 

[Ace Flibble]

I've changed the neck on a Tele from a Standard Thin to a much thicker classic 'baseball bat' Tele neck and the difference in tone—though the woods, fret wire, nut and everything else stayed the same—was huge. The extreme treble and bass came through stronger, I'll be damned if it didn't help the sustain and the previously very thin-sounding plain strings began to equal the wound strings in power and smoothness.

Incidentally, I've noticed the exact same difference when changing other parts of various guitars from thin/light to thick/heavy. Stopbars on a Les Paul are a classic example; even though they are well away fromt he pickups and the strings have alreayd stopped vibrating by the time they reach the stopbar, changing from a thin and light stopbar to a thicker and more solid one dramatically thickens up the sound of the guitar.

Also, if your hands are larger you'll find a larger neck supports your hand better, which should allow you to play faster and more accurately. It's common to think that a thin neck aids playing, but really this is only true if you have smaller hands; larger hands can tense up on a thin neck, or even cramp. Unless you have very small hands, I always recommend trying a thicker neck.

Also, of course, you can always sand down a thick neck if it's a little too much for you.

 

[musicispeace]

I did something similar. I had a standard thin and ended up replacing it with a .870 soft V from USACG. I would caution you to be sure a boatneck would be a comfortable fit for you before going that far. I thought I could be happy with one and the last time I trotted off to a store to play a Nash that had one it made me change my mind. I think the '59 Roundback could be great. I have a pending Warmoth project with a bubinga pro Warmoth neck with Clapton profile (I think it is .85 with some V in it) and only went with that instead of a '59 Roundback because I find I have been liking the V contour. As for tone, the jury is still out for me on that one. I don't dispute that thicker is probably better but you have to have player comfort or your won't use the guitar much.

 

[fdesalvo]

I've had a maple/ebony pro fatback and a maple/maple wolfgang that was replaced by a one piece maple vintage-modern 59 and the only change I noticed was a huge increase in resonance (and comfort lol).  This neck is lively and the acoustic volume of the guitar has increased by about 15-25%, as well. 

I've also had wizards and standard thins in pro construction and found them to be quite dull.  Maybe I've had bad luck with the last 4 warmoth necks I've ordered, but all the ones in that construction style were very dead, so to speak.  No lack of sustain, but hardly any resonance or liveliness to be had.  On top of that, acoustically, my strings always sounded dull! 

From now on, I'm in the vintage modern 59 camp. 

Just my .02uf..