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Location: Canada | There have been some great guitars (e.g. OFC Adamas) in the for sale section that stated "Wide Neck" i.e. 1.75 nut width and I don't get it. I play 12-strings and they all have the wide neck, and I guess I have learned to live with it as this space seems to be needed to reasonably accomodate 12 strings. But if I would consider removing the octave/double strings and converting to six string I think my little fingers might get lost in there somewhere. So what's the point with these wide necks and why do they appeal to so many esteemed players? I am asking because I want to get myself a six string and don't really have any selection in local guitar stores to try out, so pretty much import from eBay/US is the only option. One of the guitars I like has wide nut AND fat neck, and this is the only thing that keeps me from pressing the BIN button. So please someone convince me that the big neck is actually a good thing ... |
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Posts: 75
Location: San Antonio, TX | I really prefer the wide neck. My sausages are able to find the strings better and it is more comfortable for me. I have a 2080 with the narrow nut, it is great for riffing, but for chords I find the1680 with the wide nut better suited for getting a clean sound.
Cheers |
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Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | Great question. Of course, I only say that because I didn't "get it" either and asked it once before myself. While I'm not an esteemed player in anyone's neighborhood, I personally think that your preference is probably all driven by your hand size (length and girth of your fingers primarily) and what you've grown used to. If you have small hands, obviously it might be easier to play the smaller necks and visa versa but I always played the smaller necks until I got into my first Adamas (a wide neck Ute). Loved it. Now I have two wide necks and a small neck and it does take a minute or two to switch back and forth but I actually prefer the wide necks. There's a lot to be said about profile as well though because I've played a couple of guitars with tree trunk necks and my hand tires out in minutes with those. For me, the nut width wouldn't make me reconsider as quickly as the profile but that's just me. I have to believe if you're into 12 stringer's, you'd be fine with the wide necks.
Good luck! |
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Posts: 402
Location: New Hartford CT | Neck profile is just as important as overall width when it comes to playing comfort. It's a key element as Weser pointed out. The original Ovation neck profile philosophy is a mod V for a faster playing feel. In fact some guys love an even sharper V...carving the neck with more relief on the sides leaves a lot of room to not have to reach around. Of course it always goes back to individual preference and there is no right way or wrong way. Personally I love my Ovations with the mod V neck...it just plays easier. There again I don't have gorilla hands. |
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Location: Tennessee | A "wide neck" is only 1/16" wider than a regular Ovation neck. It is not the size of a 12 string (1 7/8"). I have a few wide necks, including one with a very fat neck (Tak BG). I like the extra room it gives, without going as wide as a classical or 12. But I still like skinny necks too. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | stonebobbo - 2014-12-29 3:40 PM
I have a few wide necks, including one with a very fat neck (Tak BG). I like the extra room it gives, without going as wide as a classical or 12. But I still like skinny necks too.
Those Tak BG's are exactly the tree trunks that I couldn't play. Just way fatter than anything I had ever played before. Great guitar with a huge sound but too big for my hands. |
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Posts: 852
Location: Canada | Thanks for the responses ... I am actually considering a Tak BG and just missed out on Guild D55. Between my two 12 strings I find the 6751 (with K-bar) much easier to play than the 6756LX, as it has more of a V-shape too. Though I pretty much only play the 6756 for other reasons. |
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Location: Flahdaw | If I was a "strummer", I wouldn't be all hot about a wide neck. But as more of a "picker", I like the extra spacing for my fingering, and hammer ons and pull offs. Plus, I have fat, flabby finger tips (considering I'm such a skinny dude).
That said, I spent the 1st 20 years of my playing years with skinny necks, and learned finger picking just fine.... |
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Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | It's not just the width or the thickness, either. Reaching across the strings to fret an open G with a wide or thick neck can often cause my rather long, skinny fingers to mute the next string over. I blame the guitar rather than my poor technique. I also have a plate in my left wrist that slightly limits my ability to flex it. So it can't be my poor technique. |
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Location: SoCal | Frankly, with a 6-string acoustic or electric, I may go from a standard neck to a wide neck and back not noticing any difference. As to neck profile, seems that if it is an Ovation, Adamas, or Takamine neck, no problem. As I wander around at NAMM, I do find guitars with profiles that are not comfortable whether standard or wide neck.
As to 12's (whether 1688, 1275, 1658, 1659, 1968 Balladeer, Viper, 1252, Tak JJ325SRC-12, or Martin D12-45), no problem. Of course, I would have liked the Hurricane and my Wurlitzer to have had a wider neck but after a few minutes, no problem.
Good example is the discussion of the 1997 Parlor. Some desire the wide neck. Frankly, I am as comfortable with my 1997-N as I was when I had a wide neck. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | It's a matter of personal preference but also is quite specific to how the nut is cut. Ovation typically uses a very narrow slot spacing at the nut which crowds the strings and leave quite a gap between the E strings and the edges of the fretboard. Some love it and some (like me) hate it. On quite a few of my narrow neck Ovations I have had new nuts cut with wider spacing which I find very comfortable. Other brands like Collings and Takamine cut their nuts with pretty liberal spacing and E's close to the edge. Again personal preference. Best advice I can give is PLAY WHAT FEELS GOOD TO YOU. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | For the first 45 years of my guitar playing, I thought that I could only play regular necks (1-11/16" or really slim necks (1-5/8" because I have such small hands and short fingers. Then I played Beal's wide necks at the Amelia clinics and realized that even with my small fingers, and maybe because of my lousy technique, the wide necks actually resulted in much cleaner single-string picking. Now when I play acoustic, which is about 20% of the time in our sets, it is always with a wide neck. I don't really notice any difference in the way it feels, but my acoustic picking is always cleaner on a wide neck. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I have no clue from where the face icons came in my prior post. |
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Location: Utah | Standingovation - 2014-12-29 5:10 PM
It's a matter of personal preference but also is quite specific to how the nut is cut. Ovation typically uses a very narrow slot spacing at the nut which crowds the strings and leave quite a gap between the E strings and the edges of the fretboard.
Exactly. I've replaced the nuts on several of my O's with a wider string spacing and prefer the feel. There is plenty of width on the fretboard wood to move the E strings outwards without worry of the strings rolling off the edges.
FWIW I am not a fingerstyle player of any skill at all, more of a strummer and flatpicker. My acoustics are set up the same as my O electrics. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Wide nex rule |
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Location: Burbank | Hey Bobbo some of the wide necks are 1 7/8", like my folklore. It was my first wide neck and I love it. It makes it easier for me to get around for finger picking. Takes some getting used to but worth the wait, for me anyway. |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | My Folklore has a 1 7/8" neck and I use it exclusively for fingerpicking. For strumming songs - I use a regular neck. On 12 string songs I use 12 string guitar. If you only play specific songs on dedicated guitars, you don't seem to need to reacquaint yourself every time you swap. Your brain just adapts. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I have two Folklores (1114 and 6774) both with 1 7/8" nuts.
I also have two Composite Acoustics with 1 3/4" nuts.
I have two Traveler guitars that have 1 3/4" nuts.
I do like that little bit of extra room.
But on the subject of neck shape, or profile...
I have a Korean Hamer SATF electric, and the neck feels wide.
But when I measure the nut, it is only 1 11/16".
It still Feels much wider.
Strange, huh? 
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Posts: 852
Location: Canada | One of the things I have problems playing clearly on the 12-string are some bar chords (like B on second bar) - do you think such bar chords would be "easier" on a big neck? |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | D'Ovation. I think it would depend on what your issue is. If it is pressure related, then the wide neck would probably have little effect. If it was not as tight or clean ringing as you would like, a wide neck might make a difference for you.
For me, I prefer the 1 3/4" neck over the standard and almost all of my acoustics have it. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | My personal fav is 1 3/4 nut with 1 1/2 string spacing. The 1 7/8 is a touch wide for me. |
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Location: Jet City | I have a much easier time with the thin profile on my Larrivee LV09 than I did with the Takamine Bluegrass. I had to say goodbye to the SBG.
I like the 1 3/4 when I'm fingerpicking, but prefer the narrower nut all other times. I have a real hard time playing fast runs/leads with the wider nut. |
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Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | damon67 - 2014-12-31 3:21 PM
I have a real hard time playing fast runs/leads with the wider nut.
I'm going to use that as an excuse. thanks Damon |
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Posts: 813
Location: Thredbo, NSW, Australia | richard.parker - 2014-12-31 6:13 PM
I'm going to use that as an excuse. thanks Damon
I'm going to use that as an excuse. thanks TAFKAR
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what's so great about a wide neck?