Neck Heels

[eighteen-0-nine]

This is just a curious question I thought I would ask.

With many Bolt-On guitars, you get all sorts of different types of heels.

Now, something like an rounded Ibanez heel obviously makes it more comfortable to reach the higher frets, compared to something like the square Fender heel.

But for the people who play Strat type guitars (Warmoth guitars for e.g.), do you really find it that hard to play the higher frets of a Strat style heel in the first place?

[Sifu Ben]

Remember Ibanez guitars with the AANJ generally have 24 frets.

[eighteen-0-nine]

Remember Ibanez guitars with the AANJ generally have 24 frets.

That's true. I meant just generally, what do people think about the square neck heel for upper fret access? Been thinking of making an Andy Timmons clone from Ibanez, and just wanted to know the upper fret access :)

[dave_mc]

Remember Ibanez guitars with the AANJ generally have 24 frets.

pretty much hit the nail on the head. i have no trouble hitting the top fret on vintage style strats and teles (i.e. 21 frets), but even with 22 frets (assuming the neck is attached at the same fret) it starts to get iffy. with 24 i'm in serious trouble :lol:

EDIT: just to clarify, that's my own personal opinion, you'll get plenty of people saying that it doesn't affect them even with 22- and 24-fret necks.

[Frank]

I think the heel's there for a reason. It's to dissuade people from soloing too much. I see this as a good thing.

[Sancho]

Nope, doesn't bother me. And I have average to small hands.

[eighteen-0-nine]

Nope, doesn't bother me. And I have average to small hands.

That's good to hear then, as mine are small haha. I'll order my Warmoth this Friday in that case. Might have a few tries out of Strats in the local music store too. Just wanted to see your opinions as well. Cheers again :)

[Philly Q]

I think the only discomfort with the Fender neck heel isn't due to the thickness, it's the sharp "corner" of the heel.  I like the rounded heel Fender use on their Deluxe models:



If you're ordering from Warmoth, you can always get the Contoured Heel option.  Still uses a normal neck plate, but angled so the corner's less thick and sharp.

[dave_mc]

I think the heel's there for a reason. It's to dissuade people from soloing too much. I see this as a good thing.

i see it as a bad thing :lol:

plus i mean it only stops you hitting the top few frets. most solos i'm round the 12th fret anyway, so it's not like it's preventing that :lol:

[tomjackson]

Standard Strat heel is fine for me, but I don't go very high up the neck much

[Telerocker]

On strat's and tele's you have to work a bit more. A contoured heel allows better playability high on the neck.

[Sifu Ben]

For $35 Warmoth do a very nice contoured heel.

[eighteen-0-nine]

For $35 Warmoth do a very nice contoured heel.

Yeah I've seen that. Do you know (or anyone in that matter) how much this improves the ability to access the upper frets?

[Philly Q]

For $35 Warmoth do a very nice contoured heel.

Yeah I've seen that. Do you know (or anyone in that matter) how much this improves the ability to access the upper frets?

It works, because it removes some wood in the right place to reduce the bulk of the heel.

But it's not a massive improvement.  And you have to be careful to use different-length screws because the heel now varies in thickness! 

When I buy Warmoth bodies I'm happy with the normal heel.

[Sifu Ben]

I'd imagine though Philly you're not doing 3 note per string sweeps at the dusty end ;)