Vintage Spacing strat neck/nut questions…

[beau_le_chat]

Hello!

I was hoping to get some help from you all regarding my new Stratocaster. I’ve been playing a partscaster with modern spacing and a 9.5 radius neck. Feels a little cramped (6‘5, big hands), so I thought maybe I could go vintage spacing, wider nut. I found a decent deal on an EJ strat body (vintage spacing), but now am a little worried that if I do the nut I want (1 3/4), I’ll have the E‘s too close to the edge of the neck…could I get a blank nut and have a luthier cut a slightly narrower (1 11/16) nut, and have more wood under the E‘s? Anyone have any input? I guess if it doesn’t work, I could just get a Callaham bridge and do modern spacing, and have a wider nut? Anyway, looking forward to my new Warmoth neck, one way or another!

 

[NutBehindTheGuitar]

Hey

So the reason why I buy necks from warmoth is the the Superwide 48mm nut (1 7/8in). Since you are a real man (6'5 big hands you say) why don't you get a real neck?? And by real I mean 48mm.
In regards to your question, the string spacing at the nut is much more important than the bridge, so I wouldn;t worry either way.
Bye

 

[ragamuffin]

Hello!

I was hoping to get some help from you all regarding my new Stratocaster. I’ve been playing a partscaster with modern spacing and a 9.5 radius neck. Feels a little cramped (6‘5, big hands), so I thought maybe I could go vintage spacing, wider nut. I found a decent deal on an EJ strat body (vintage spacing), but now am a little worried that if I do the nut I want (1 3/4), I’ll have the E‘s too close to the edge of the neck…could I get a blank nut and have a luthier cut a slightly narrower (1 11/16) nut, and have more wood under the E‘s? Anyone have any input? I guess if it doesn’t work, I could just get a Callaham bridge and do modern spacing, and have a wider nut? Anyway, looking forward to my new Warmoth neck, one way or another!

Hard to say how it will all line up until you get it all together, unfortunately. You say that your strat feels cramped, what is your preferred guitar that you are comfortable with the neck?

 

[Spud]

A vintage spacing bridge will put the strings closer to the edges no matter the nut.

 

[beau_le_chat]

Hard to say how it will all line up until you get it all together, unfortunately. You say that your strat feels cramped, what is your preferred guitar that you are comfortable with the neck?

I’ve only played on my 9.5 radius, 1.65 Stratocaster, steel string acoustic and classical neck. I was going to play some at a store and see what I gravitate towards. I liked a chunky Telecaster neck my instructor had-the neck on my Stratocaster just feels like a toothpick.

 

[beau_le_chat]

A vintage spacing bridge will put the strings closer to the edges no matter the nut.

I was thinking about getting a blank nut and having a luthier cut it?

 

[Spud]

I was thinking about getting a blank nut and having a luthier cut it?

Sure you can do that! The strings toward the end of the neck will still be "closeish" to the edge of the neck the further up you go, but you will have a bit more room/space in the money/cowboy chord area. The nut matters surely, but the bridge spacing has more influence overall.

 

[teleme01]

Luthiers can be hard to find, if you know what I am trying to allude to