Neck radius question

[peel]

I bought a used G & L ASAT Special recently with a 7.25 neck radius. There was some fretting out and my tech informed me that the vintage style necks are prone to that problem. He adjusted the truss and raised the action and the problem is much less noticeable.

 

Ive never really paid much attention to this area and the feedback Ive gotten on the vintage radius is somewhat negative - a few players Ive talked to wont touch a vintage radius and prefer 9 or 12 in radius necks.

 

Does anyone else feel his way? Why?

 

I like my tele and the neck feels fine...the fretting out is minimal. Im just curious.

 

peel

[Chip McDonald]

You just can't get the action as low on a small radius as you can on a large without it fretting out on bends. Not only that, but on the old vintage radiuses, I don't like the "lump in the middle" feeling when playing lines from one E string to the other - I have relatively small hands and it makes reaching the bass strings beyond the 10th fret area more of a chore.

 

I don't like perfectly flat Jackson necks, either... If I did nothing but bar chords on the lower end of the neck it wouldn't be a big deal, but...

 

Compound radius is the way to go, 10" to 14" or so, IF it's done right, which is a tricky thing it would seem...

[Gabriel E.]

I think the way a guitar is set up makes the most difference. I have a couple of guitars with really flat fingerboards and one with a compound radius. While the 7.25 neck on my tele isn't as fast, it's more comfortable to me and I never have problems with it fretting out.

 

I think it's more a matter of personal taste.

[baronedo]

I've had no trouble with the modern radiused Fender necks which are typically 9 1/2 inch radius. The problem is that the smaller radius (e.g. 7 1/2 inch) are curved more and if your style of playing involves a lot of string bending, then the bent string can fretted out by the neck curvature that you are bending toward.

Adjusting the action higher and putting more bend in the neck by loosening the truss rod can help but the tradeoff is that the action will be higher, which can be uncomfortable for some players.

 

As I play blues and blues/rock with a lot of bending, a small radius neck would be a problem for me. My 9 1/2 inch Strat necks work fine and I can still adjust the action relatively low without fretting out. If you get the neck radius too flat, it will be harder to reach some notes on the fretboard, particulary if your hands are smaller.

[myles_rose]

Originally posted by peel:

I bought a used G & L ASAT Special recently with a 7.25 neck radius. There was some fretting out and my tech informed me that the vintage style necks are prone to that problem. He adjusted the truss and raised the action and the problem is much less noticeable.

 

Ive never really paid much attention to this area and the feedback Ive gotten on the vintage radius is somewhat negative - a few players Ive talked to wont touch a vintage radius and prefer 9 or 12 in radius necks.

 

Does anyone else feel his way? Why?

 

I like my tele and the neck feels fine...the fretting out is minimal. Im just curious.

 

peel

Peel ....

 

Chip McDonald's post here is right on the money.

 

Typical Fender vintage radius with small frets is 7.25"

 

Gibson Les Pauls are about 12"

 

Carvin guitars are 15"

 

Fender American Series and later are 9.5"

 

PRS, with the exception of the expensive model of the Santana guitars is 10"

 

Just a bit of a guideline.

 

Regards,

[Chipotle]

I really like the 7 1/4" radius on Fenders and I do a lot of bends, as well. The strings do have to be slightly higher off the fretboard to avoid the noting out on big bends, but we're talking a marginal difference here. The extra height works better for slide, too. To me, a bit of a struggle with Fenders is a good thing, but I can understand why a lot of people would desire an easier playing guitar.

[DC]

If you want a good compound radius neck, check out www.warmoth.com They do a great job.