Large neck = large price tag…do only rich people have big hands?

[tallcoolone]

One of my favorite guitars is my Seger YG.

Maine made! Those look beautiful and are obviously made by a craftsman.

 

[tallcoolone]

Can we establish hand sizes here?

I can palm a basketball easily with either hand.

 

[SkyMonkey]

I can palm a basketball easily with either hand.

Ahh. So that's the international standard measurement is it?

Let me just check................................

No. Don't own a basketball.

I can palm 6 golf balls though.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

I don't understand the razor thin neck thing either. It takes more energy to close your hand that extra distance on a thin neck.

dont know about you but once closed around the neck my hand stays that way.

 

[Purgasound]

I run a plumbing contracting company on top of all this...
Something I always noticed is that the consumer doesn't know what's best for them. Let's take toilets for example. Everyone always requests tall toilets. The tallest ones available are never tall enough. People cry for taller and taller but it's ridiculous. Sitting on a taller toilet can place upward pressure on the rectum causing you to strain more and could also lead to hemroids. Causes constipation, incomplete bowel movements, all kinds of stuff. Doesn't matter because the customer thinks they know what's right. They will continue to request the product that hurts them even after being made aware the mechanics of the human body. They have an warped perception of what comfort is. "Oh it's easier to sit down" Well I think walking around with a body full of crap all the time is more uncomfortable than squatting once a day.

 

[Deftone]

Can we establish hand sizes here?
I measure my left hand as 8" from wrist joint to tip of 2nd (i.e. longest) finger.
9" from thumb tip to pinky tip at full stretch.
I am 5' 11" too.

I don't really get the wrist cramp from thin necks. But I don't shred.

My thinnest neck is the Ibanez RGA321F @ 18mm 1st / 20mm 12th.
I think the Charvel Model 4 copy I made is about the same.
All my others are about 19mm / 21mm, apart from my Charvel San Dimas 'Speed Neck', which I estimate about 20mm / 22mm (but they don't state).
That one feels like a (manageable) tree trunk to me, and anything larger is just no-go.

I guess it would have something to do with the guitar(s) you learned on too.
Mine was a Charvel Model 4, so pretty thin.

Damn, we're like twins. Same...5'11", 8" from wrist to the tip of my middle finger, 9" thumb to pinky. I wear a size L to XL glove. I used to be able to palm a basketball, not sure if I still can. I've got long fingers.

I played a Charvel Model 3 (Jackson style neck) more than anything for years. I adapted the thumb on the back of the neck style as opposed to a thumb over the top of the fret board as DoD pointed out. I prefer a thin, wide neck like Jackson and Ibanez but I don't have any issues with playing a fat neck and I have several guitars with fat necks.

I run a plumbing contracting company on top of all this...
Something I always noticed is that the consumer doesn't know what's best for them. Let's take toilets for example. Everyone always requests tall toilets. The tallest ones available are never tall enough. People cry for taller and taller but it's ridiculous. Sitting on a taller toilet can place upward pressure on the rectum causing you to strain more and could also lead to hemroids. Causes constipation, incomplete bowel movements, all kinds of stuff. Doesn't matter because the customer thinks they know what's right. They will continue to request the product that hurts them even after being made aware the mechanics of the human body. They have an warped perception of what comfort is. "Oh it's easier to sit down" Well I think walking around with a body full of crap all the time is more uncomfortable than squatting once a day.

Sitting is not the natural position for shitting, it's squatting.

 

[tallcoolone]

Ahh. So that's the international standard measurement is it?

Actually I kinda thought it was haha?

Sorry on a golf vacation atm, no tape measure at hand

 

[tallcoolone]

I run a plumbing contracting company on top of all this...
Something I always noticed is that the consumer doesn't know what's best for them. Let's take toilets for example. Everyone always requests tall toilets. The tallest ones available are never tall enough. People cry for taller and taller but it's ridiculous. Sitting on a taller toilet can place upward pressure on the rectum causing you to strain more and could also lead to hemroids. Causes constipation, incomplete bowel movements, all kinds of stuff. Doesn't matter because the customer thinks they know what's right. They will continue to request the product that hurts them even after being made aware the mechanics of the human body. They have an warped perception of what comfort is. "Oh it's easier to sit down" Well I think walking around with a body full of crap all the time is more uncomfortable than squatting once a day.

So are you insinuating that while I THINK I want a guitar with a more substantial neck companies like Fender and Ibanez actually know what is best for me?

 

[Purgasound]

Lol we'll tell you what you want and you're gonna like it or else!

Hell, at the end of the day it's whatever the player prefers. I used to be a thin neck guy until I had carpal tunnel real bad. The thin necks were making it worse until I had surgery. I went to thicker neck guitars during the worst of it and it helped quite a bit. Now the carpal tunnel is gone and I can play whatever and my hands don't get fatigued. Although I stayed with the big necks as it is way more comfortable to me.

Another interesting factoid is pistol shooting... So if you have a pistol with a small grip it may feel easier to wrap your hand around it but what is not so apparent is how it can change positions in your hand as you adjust your grip and take follow up shots. An example is reloading and then taking aim again. The pistol has slightly changed angle in your hand and the difference may be imperceivable but the follow up shots aren't consistent. On frames with adjustable grips like the M&P 2.0 series you can increase the mass on the grip. It feels awkward at first but shots start to become more consistent. We're not talking about target shooting where you take your precious time and concentrate on each target. We're talking draw, fire, and follow up. Pistols and guitars are not the same and it really holds no bearing to this discussion other than I find it interesting how what may not feel natural or comfortable at first is better for the user overall.

I think the player should just do what they like... But then again, players will buy locking tuners to attempt to fix problems they don't realize are being caused by improperly slotted nuts. Guitar players, we're all wacky.

 

[SkyMonkey]

So are you insinuating that while I THINK I want a guitar with a more substantial neck companies like Fender and Ibanez actually know what is best for me?

I think he was suggesting the opposite.

Ibanez is a good (bad?) example of pandering to customers thinking that 'the thinner the neck the better'.

If you look at their top of the line MIJ RG8870, the neck is 17mm / 19mm.
I think my RGA321F was the thinnest in 2005, but that is crazy wafer thin!
Fretboard with a truss rod in it!

Even the 'Thin-meister' Steve Vai's sig model is 18/20

RG8870 | RG | ELECTRIC GUITARS | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

RG8870 at Ibanez. Ibanez offers electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustic guitars, effect and pedals, amps, plus guitar accessories like tuners, straps and picks.

www.ibanez.com

 

[tallcoolone]

Hey I’m all for having extreme options, I just wish there were more of them is all.

 

[V-man]

IME, “Thin taper” U-necks that have been on most Gibson USAs are not hand-cramping at all (for someone with average hands). What I DID find hand-cramping was ”flat” where there was no girth in the profile at all. Like on V-90s (which I dumped shortly).

Also, I never grabbed a lot of SGs, but I seem to have the luck of picking up all the baseball bats, to the point I am convinced that is the [modern] SG Profile (prob due to long tenon builds). That being the case, there is your gateway to a cheap(er) fatty- grabbing a Special or Jr SG.

That said, I do NOT like fat necks, but can adapt far better w the fat than the flat neck. I can play and enjoy my Iommi Special for what it is, but if someone had the same guitar with the “slim taper” and wanted a BB neck instead, I’d make the swap easily. I’m convinced this is a significant reason (not the chief one but a significant one) why SGs are so prone to neck dive.

 

[Derek S]

For me it has nothing to do with tone, price tag, feel, etc, I've just always struggled with fat necks, not with execution, but fatigue. I was not exactly blessed with guitar friendly hands and have minor stiffness issues and the older I get the shorter the playing sessions have become (regardless of neck size - but big necks feel like an unnecessary battle). Now those skimpy super strat type guitars with medium and smaller necks? Hell yeah, I can play for hours on end with practically no discomfort and honestly, that's paramount for me, I needs my fix lol. I own 7 or 8 super strats and one Les Paul (they sure record nice, don't they!)

 

[tallcoolone]

I think the player should just do what they like.

Unfortunately for some of us that means spending 3 or 4 times as much to get what we want

 

[Norfolk Martin]

I'm sure this must be very frustrating if you like a thick neck, but it must be something of a minority taste . I believe that any commercial organization designs its general products to fit the median customer, because it wants to sell to the biggest possible group. The median taste is appently for a somewhat thinner neck. Personally I like a soft V neck on a strat or tele, which is harder to find than a chunky one. I'm pretty much limited to ESP Traditionals from the 80s.

Ironically I was on a Rickenbacker forum earlier where that was a lot of griping the the modern factory necks are too thick.

 

[scozz]

Fat neck?

I’d say yes to your question,… fat neck? ,… and for added comfort, it looks like 3 chins are included!

 

[axe4me]

No.

 

[tallcoolone]

I'm sure this must be very frustrating if you like a thick neck, but it must be something of a minority taste

Apparently so. Maybe the product development people at Ibanez, Fender and the rest will see this thread and realize OMG that dude on the MF is right, 1” fat neck option standard on every instrument from now forward!

 

[scozz]

…….Sorry on a golf vacation atm,……

I hate you!

 

[tallcoolone]

I hate you!

Got four rounds in down here in Orlando, perfect timing b/c it’s like 4 degrees at home right now. Head back north tomorrow, enjoying one last day of sunshine today. Miss my guitars tho!