Once you try it fat you never go back

[tomjackson]

After getting a fat neck on my new Tele, my AM standard strat neck feels awful, it is so shallow and I've decided once you try fat you never go back

So I'm thinking of swapping it for an allparts fatty.  So my questions are:-

Do people find it easy to switch between vastly different neck shapes?  Should I just try and get used to it?

How much would an american standard 40th Anniversary neck be worth on ebay, frets have good life and it is in good condition for the age (1994).  Rosewood board.

My Tele baseball bat neck just feels so right and has so much resonance :D

[sgmypod]

I have a few guitars varying neck sizes.....

[38thBeatle]

I think that most people adapt .It is a bit like driving different cars-takes a little while but certainly as far as I have experienced it, doesn't make a huge difference.

[hendrixfan]

my main guitar is a prs tremonti which has a wide fat neckprofile,my second guitar is a strat totally different,i can switch between guitars without any problems,different necks don,t make any difference to me,i,m much more affected by different setups and find any guitar with med-low set up easy to play,the only thing i just can,t get on with is the scale length of gibson les pauls,love em but just can,t play em  :D

[PhilKing]

I have just about every neck shape and size that is made and though I prefer some shapes, don't really have a problem with any of them.  I tend to like the early 60's Gibson shape, but like Strat scale lengths, so to get my ideal neck I have to have a custom guitar.  When I used to gig a lot I used a 61 SG Junior and a late 60's Strat, I did find that going back to the Junior if I had been playing the Strat for a while wasn't as easy as going from the Junior to the Strat, but you get used to it.

[Antag]

I have a wide variety of neck shapes/profiles.  The only necks I don't get one with are those with a pronounced "V" shape (e.g. Ovations, Fender Clapton strat),

Probably my fattest is the PRS "Wide-Fat" on my Singlecut, followed by the Warmoth "Wolfgang" on my korina strat.  The thinnest is most likely the Jackson "Speed" neck on my KV2 or perhaps the PRS "Wide-Thin" (which oddly enough isn't particularly wide) on my C24.

My favourite neck profile of all is the Jackson "Traditional Charvel" profile (or boring "Standard" as they now call it) which I have on 7 guitars.  It's just soooo comfortable.

IMHO it's nice to be able to get a totally different "feel" & my tastes change quite often.  I doubt it makes a huge difference in what you can or can't play, but any given day I can be equally happy with thin or fat...

[badgermark]

I dont mind it so much, and i have 4 guitars all with different scales and types of neck. Going from a strat or tele scale down to a shortscale (24") mustang isn't as bad as you would imagine.

However, with les paul scales i've found i need a narrower neck, a fat 24.75" neck is too uncomfy to play. Fender necks are more my bag.

[FernandoDuarte]

Suporting fat style of life here :lol:

Think the best comes in aout 24mm thick necks, the Warmoth fatback i've (25.4mm) is a little too fat for now (haven't been playing much it, though, so perhaps that's why ain't used yet)

[Simon D]

Like many others, I've got a variety of necks on mine. Thickest is probably my PRS SC245, with a wide-fat, and the thinnest is probably my Warmoth standard thin, with a couple of Fender modern Cs, a modern Yamaha and PRS wide thin in between. I couldn't go any fatter than the wide fat - I've played a couple of 50s spec Les Pauls that were like baseball bats - nor any thinner than the Warmoth, such as an Ibanez wizard. I think the other common factor between my necks is that they are all (roughly speaking) C-shapes. I can't get on with V or U profile necks at all.

[_tom_]

I much prefer my Pearl LPs fatter neck to my Epiphones thinner neck now I've got used to it :) Its more rounded and just fits perfectly.

[Philly Q]

I've always preferred fatter necks, but I can live with Fender's "modern C" shape, anything thinner than that isn't for me.

Having said that, I agree with Simon D: I've realised recently that perhaps it's the shape, as much as the size, which matters.  I don't like V necks, and I also don't like flat-backed, square-shouldered D shapes, a rounded shape works best for me.  In fact, I like the cross-section to be pretty much a semicircle, so the depth is half the width.  So, the best shapes for me are the Gibson 59 LP or Rounded SG shapes - they're relatively shallow at the nut but get a lot deeper as you move up the neck.

I'm not so keen on necks which are the same depth all the way along, whether they're thin or fat - I was expecting to like the big "soft V" (which is more of a U, really) on the Baja Tele, but in fact there's just too much wood around the first few frets and I struggle with it.  Now I'm sure I wouldn't get on with a Warmoth Fatback or Boatneck.


(God knows what Afghan Dave is going to make of this thread....  :? )

[dave_mc]

depends. i can get used to some necks, others i can't get used to...

[Stevepage]

Truth. I much prefer that fatter necks of my Carvin DC and Gib Gothic V.

I used to go for a really thin neck (Ibanez Super Wizard) but it would give me cramp in my hand. I dont like really fat necks like that found on the Zakk Wylde Gibson

[Fourth Feline]

I also have a wide variety of different necks on my guitars, but the ( relatively ) fat neck on my Baja Tele - makes me just want more fat necked guitars ( when it is an option ).  It certainly enlightened me as to the solid, playable, resonant qualities of fat necks.   :)

[maverickf1jockey]

My main trouble is with fretboard radius; fenders just screw me completely but I can handle any neck so long as the fretboard is flat enough (from my classical guitar through my baseball bat style acoustic down to my electric; which is less of a neck and more like a fretboard with a truss rod. Imagine an Ibanez RG and shave off about 1cm from the chunkiness and you'll have the idea).

I also prefer the neck to have a fair bit of spacing between strings as I have wide fingers.