Neck width on first guitar?

[solidfox]

Hey guys!

 

So I'm going to buy my first electric guitar, I've had an old acoustic before and I know I love playing as well as I've heard it sounds horrible (not to me tho'). The latter being something I intend to change.

Something that I have experienced with electric guitars is that the neck is much thinner than that of acoustics. So my having quite big hands even for the acoustic guitar I've been hesitant on buying an electric.

 

Now, give me some advice on this; what's a good and cheap guitar for big hands that only the most sharp of ears can tell from the best?

 

Best regards

Daniel Schlaug

[Guitarzan]

a nice, and i mean nice guitar with a fat neck and big ass tone is a Yamaha AES620.

damn reasonable price.

[Guitarzan]

AES620

[Dr. Ellwood]

Right on Zan..OR think about the PRS Fat/wide neck and VERY FAST neck!!!

[LPCustom]

If you want to browse guitars on the Internet and want to know how to tell which ones have larger sized necks. The smaller the radius size the thicker the neck will be. If the radius is listed as less than twice the size of the nut, then there's something wrong (Diameter / 2 = Radius and 2 * Radius = Diameter SO Nut width is diameter should never be less than twice the stated neck radius).

 

The thickness of the neck might not be all of your problem, though. The width of the fretboard and the scale of the neck also makes a difference.

 

A larger width at the nut will yield a wider fretboard. A larger scale neck on the guitar will yield a slightly larger distance between the frets.

 

If you get a guitar with a small radius neck, a wide nut and a large scale, that should compensate as much as possible for large hands.

 

I know someone who plays his twelve string Strat with only six strings on it because his hands are massive. (He's also 6 foot 6 -- 198 centimeters)

 

I have the opposite problem. I have relatively small hands so I prefer larger radius (smaller) necks, a narrower nut and a smaller scale neck. So a 60's neck Les Paul is ideal for me.

 

You would probably be happier with a guitar with a neck like Stratocaster with a V neck (instead of a C).

[Guitarzan]

i am getting constant reminders that i should have kept mine. crap, crap i am so dumb.

[Guitarzan]

if you look at the godin on the left( which has a fairly nice sized neck) you will see the Yamaha is much chunkier neckwise.

neck comparison

[LPCustom]

Originally posted by guitarzan:

if you look at the godin on the left( which has a fairly nice sized neck) you will see the Yamaha is much chunkier neckwise.

neck comparison

The Godin has a larger scale doesn't it? A side view to see the neck width would also be instructive, I think.

 

Is that a Godin LG Hmb? And how does the AES620 compare to the AES420?

[Guitarzan]

both of them are 24.75 inch scale. the godin has 24 frets. and even at the end of the 24 fret neck you can see it still isn't as hefty as the yamaha at 22.

no it is a LGsp90. p90 by seymour d.

the yamaha aes 620 has a yamaha humbucker in the neck paired to the SD JB in the bridge. and i absoluely loved the neck tone of mine. the AES 420 leaves out the dual volumes and uses a master vol, it also uses 2 yamaha HB. and skips the flame veneer top.

i would actually prefer that. one other thing the 420 uses a stoptail that is adjustable as opposed to the 620s tuneomatic and stringtrough body pieces.

[LPCustom]

Guitar Player did an article on the AES620 about a year and a half ago.

 

Here's the link: Guitar Player Article on Yamaha AES620 by Michael Molenda

 

Isn't the string through body design supposed to yield better tone, though?

[Guitarzan]

i think it adds as certain clarity.

it is very sustaining. but the down side is you cannot adjust the tailpiece like a LP to zone in on the tension like you can with a stoptail.

[solidfox]

Hey,

 

Thanks a lot everyone, so I know what to aim for. The Yamaha looks really nice. Now if I only wanna spend around $200, any pointers? It's a first guitar after all.

 

Thanks

[LPCustom]

Well, it's difficult to buy a guitar that's hard to tell from the best for only $200.

 

You haven't said what kind of music you want to play, whether you want a solid body, semi-hollow body or hollow body. Do you prefer the sound of single coil or humbucker pickups? What kind of music do you want to play?

 

For starters, Squier makes some pretty good Fender models for under $200. And they sound pretty good and play pretty well.

 

Dean also makes some good guitars in that price range. Peavey Raptors, Generation EXPs, or Predators are pretty good. Yamaha also makes a couple under $200 (PAC012). Ibanez and ESP also have some good ones for under $200. Even a Jackson JS1 or JS20.

 

Just remember you aren't going to get a "great" guitar for $200 but you can get a good one. The Squier Strat that I bought for my son is a pretty good copy of a Strat. I can hardly tell the difference between it and my Amercian Strats. What matters is that it plays well for you and sounds the way you want it to.

 

My best suggestion is to go the music store and play the ones the have there. That's the only way you'll know if you like that particular guitar. Remember, ALL guitars are different. Even ones that are supposed to be exactly alike will be a little different. And sometimes very different.

 

Of course, you'll need an amp, too. You can start all sorts of arguments over those.

 

EDIT: Oops, wrote EXP instead of ESP.

[Bluesape]

I must add Oscar Schmidt to the list of guitars worth you consideration - great quality for the price, and hard to distinguish from their parent Washburn counterparts. If the budget can be stretched a bit, you could step up to Godin, which is North American made, and way ahead of a lot of its competition in its price range. I personally prefer guitars made in our neck of the woods, but with CNC technology you could build great guitars on the moon these days, as long as quality materials were made available. If the brand name is inconsequential to you, a satisfactory instrument will come along within your budget.

[solidfox]

Thanks, yeah I've been looking at the Squiers a bit. And also a Gibson SG, dunno if it's good tho. I want to be able to play all sorts of music, mayhap that it'll turn out to be most rock and hard rock (80's) tho depending on the difficulty.

 

And I'm planning on using a software amp through my PowerBook G4. Any cons on that?

[surgevw]

I wound up buying a bigger neck than this, but Strat necks seem bigger than most. For $200, play every used guitar you can find and get the one you like. You might find a gem. I passed on a Mexican Strat a year ago that I shouldn't have, it played better than most American strats and was quite inexpensive. But play lots of guitars, new or used and let your ears and hands decide (and eyes, too), they all seem to be different.

[solidfox]

Ok, so it seems I just have to try 'em all.

 

Thanks everyone!