SS6100/Compound/59 Roundback vs 6100/Compound/Fatback

[slowhandy]

I agree string gauge and string action both affect bendability, but are whole other issues, and what I was referring to were mainly characteristics of necks.  A guitar can be "too bendy" depending on the application.  For instance it can be "too bendy" for rhythm guitar because you wind up damping the strings inadvertently.  It also depends on the style of music.  Metal or fusion calls for bigger bends than blues. arty07: :guitaristgif: :guitarplayer2:

I've never found string action to affect bendability. String gauge, scale length, fret material and fret height are the main things I've found to hinder or facilitate bending. Fretboard wood species/finish also affects it, although to a somewhat lesser degree.

As for inadvertently damping strings, that's a finger placement accuracy issue, not how slinky the strings are.

And music type? Really? Have you heard many blues players? Blues players bend strings as if they're unbreakable, and often. Not to mention tons of vibrato. They're some of the bendiest (is that a word?) players you'll ever hear.

Of course string action affects bendability!  Otherwise you would never fret out and get a fret buzz, when the action's too low! 

While I agree that, "string guage, scale length, fret material and fret height" facilitate bending, the list should also include peghead angle, which affects both bendability and tone.

Damping the strings is not just a "finger placement issue" and is only part of it.  It's also a string tension issue.  You have to press harder if the strings don't stay still.  Tension affects bendability.

You ask if I have "heard many blues players?"  Why yes, as a matter of fact I have.  I also happen to be one!  I know blues players do a lot of string bending, but not to the extent of players such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani or Yngwie Malmsteen.  Blues players  only bend certain notes and usually make bends of less than 2 steps.  Those other guys usually make wide, multi-step bends, and will bend  just about any note.

 

[Cagey]

Of course, if a guitar isn't set up properly or designed for larger bends, you're going to have problems. I thought we were talking about how easy it is to bend, not whether bending was even possible. Some older or newer but vintage correct guitars, having very tight fretboard radii, aren't designed to facilitate bends.

 

[McGuyver]

Oh that reminds me, I tested out this "with 6100s you don't need scalloping" thing, and it's bogus. Sure, just fretting a note you don't feel any wood. However, as soon as you bend, your fingers are all over the wood. No question that scalloping would feel vastly different.

Why wouldn't you want to feel the wood?!!!!

Okay, now that I've recovered from my heart attack:  I think neck thickness is all about preference.  When I ordered mine, I went with a 59 Roundback, I ended up measuring all the guitars I had available to me.  My Epiphone acoustic was probably closer to a Fatback, the Cort M800 was about the thickness of a Wizard neck, and the Ibanez ended up being really close to a 59 Roundback.  As you can imagine, after really ABing them all at once, the Ibanez felt the best and most comfortable.

What Warmoth advises for neck contour is pretty spot on, too thin and it wears you out faster, too thick and it's not comfortable to play.

 

[stratamania]

Not feeling any wood on a scalloped board is to get rid of friction when bending or certain types of vibrato. If you have played a scalloped board a lot it gets to be more why would you want to feel wood when bending ?

As mentioned earlier when it comes to scallops, like string guage it's down to the player. Each to his own.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Both those necks are too thick.

A Standard Thin with 6150 SS frets.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Oh that reminds me, I tested out this "with 6100s you don't need scalloping" thing, and it's bogus. Sure, just fretting a note you don't feel any wood. However, as soon as you bend, your fingers are all over the wood. No question that scalloping would feel vastly different.

Why wouldn't you want to feel the wood?!!!!
.

I personally do not prefer to feel the fingerboard wood underneath my fingers.  I find that for my technique, it hinders my vibrato.  I play with 10's, low action, and a very light touch and this has worked out fine for me for well over 20+ years.  That's just my personal taste though.

 

[DustyCat]

I like my frets like I like my tires (or at least I think I do): big and fat (at least on the backside). More cusion for the pushin' so to speak.

6100's smooth and comfy, yet nothing is without its compromise, even if "wider is better." My gut tells me that more metal means bright tone, and sometime I wonder if I am not in fact hearing just the strings, the bridge and the frets when I plug in and play.

Cagey said it best that a scalloped neck certainly gives you the ability to put "more english" on the notes, but what I am wondering , is whether or not the effect of the natural resonance of the wood is reduced for the increase of mass in the fretwire.

Yet I have not the means to test these hypotheses, nor would any of you guys entertain the possibility of fanned frets as an available option for Warmoth customer purchase, much less a hybridization build using combination fretwire: bigger and thicker where u need it, thinner where u do not.  :cool01:

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Well, I can tell you from experience that scalloping a thin neck, let's say like with a Wizard contour, is not advisable.  As soon as you turn your head and begin turning with your body to hear what your drummer said, every note in the chord will go flat like you used your neck for a wammy bar.

I wouldn't personally have a necks scalloped that didn't at least have the minimum of a '59 contour, you definitely need the mass of the neck shaft to compensate for the loss of fingerboard material.