Pain in the Neck

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I'm considering another W build and this time, I wanna go with a beefier neck.  On my current build I have a Wizard-profiled neck with the compound radius.  It's great for fretting chords and such up top but by the time I'm around the center of the neck, things get difficult, especially for quick hammer-ons and suck.  I feel like my thumb is extended straight out and it's just a bit uncomfortable and feels a bit unnatural.  Which profile would alleviate this the best?  I wanna keep a compound radius, but want something where I don't feel so uncomfortable.

FWIW, I have a 2003 Jackson KV2 with a "speed neck," and it feels great.  While it's a bit thin for fingering chords, my hand is far more comfortable as my fingers are around the center of the neck and closest to the bridge.  I would love to have something very close to this type of neck shape.

So, any suggestions on which would be the correct profile to go with?  The '59 round-back or standard thin appear to be close, I'd guess, but I'm not sure.

As for frets, I have the jumbo frets on my current guitar but would like to go with something closer to those on the Jackson "speed neck" as well, and I know those aren't jumbos.

 

[croquet hoop]

If the frets on your Jackson are high but not wide, I think you'll want 6105 frets (reference here : http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/FretSize.aspx)

 

[sixstringsamurai]

Me, I like the 59 profile with a 12in Rad, and 6150's.

I like my neck's like my women, Thick and Fast..... :icon_biggrin:

 

[stratamania]

Perhaps get hold of a profile guage, so you can profile the Jackson neck onto paper and then use that to compare against the profiles Warmoth has on offer.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Perhaps get hold of a profile guage, so you can profile the Jackson neck onto paper and then use that to compare against the profiles Warmoth has on offer.

Where can I find a profile gauge?  I've never heard of this.  :tard:

If the frets on your Jackson are high but not wide, I think you'll want 6105 frets (reference here : http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/FretSize.aspx)

The frets on the Jackson almost look "flat" on top.  They don't seem to be very high frets.

 

[Cagey]

Where can I find a profile gauge?  I've never heard of this.  :tard:

Lotsa places. They look sorta like this...

...but they come in a wide variety of sizes and constructions. Basically, it's a long line metal or plastic rods or flatstock held in a fixture that allows them to move, but stay in place. You straighten them out on something flat, then press it against what you want to profile. The pieces move to match the profile, then you can copy that to something else.

If you do a search for "Profile Gauges", you'll probably find something more suitable for neck profiles.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Where can I find a profile gauge?  I've never heard of this.  :tard:

Lotsa places. They look sorta like this...

...but they come in a wide variety of sizes and constructions. Basically, it's a long line metal or plastic rods or flatstock held in a fixture that allows them to move, but stay in place. You straighten them out on something flat, then press it against what you want to profile. The pieces move to match the profile, then you can copy that to something else.

If you do a search for "Profile Gauges", you'll probably find something more suitable for neck profiles.

I'm not following on how that contraption would work like that, Cagey.  I'm sure I could find some YouTube vids or something to get an idea how they would work.

Thanks!

 

[croquet hoop]

The frets on the Jackson almost look "flat" on top.  They don't seem to be very high frets.

6130 then? The best thing to do would be either looking up the specs of this model on a website, or even better, take a precision caliper/feeler gauge to measure the fret's dimensions on your particular guitar. Then choose frets with the closest dimensions (a bit higher maybe, to account for the first levelling work and wear).

 

[Cagey]

I'm not following on how that contraption would work like that, Cagey.  I'm sure I could find some YouTube vids or something to get an idea how they would work.

It's pretty straightforward; I just explained it poorly. But, a picture's worth a thousand words. There's a gentleman building a neck who uses a contour (profile) gauge to check his work in this video between the 15:00 and 16:00 minute marks. Have a look at that.

Actually, the whole video is worth watching.

 

[stratamania]

Yes exactly as in that video except you would compare the result from the Jackson with the profiles at  http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/backcontours.aspx

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I'm not following on how that contraption would work like that, Cagey.  I'm sure I could find some YouTube vids or something to get an idea how they would work.

It's pretty straightforward; I just explained it poorly. But, a picture's worth a thousand words. There's a gentleman building a neck who uses a contour (profile) gauge to check his work in this video between the 15:00 and 16:00 minute marks. Have a look at that.

Actually, the whole video is worth watching.

Okay, I'll check it out!