Is it the neck, the frets, the radius? What makes one guitar ‘feel’ better than another?

Sassafras

I'm of the opinion I can adapt to pretty much any neck apart from really skinny ones, they make my hand cramp up like a claw.

NelsonP

Necks on my guitars:
Ibanez Wizard ii 16" radius, 25.5" scale
Gibson slim taper 12", 24.75"
Epi slim taper D 12", 24.75"
Fender C 12", 25.5"
Hagstrom ultra thin 15", 24.75"
Squier C 9.5", 25.5"

Love 'em all

TTBZ

Dan_Halen said:

I've never been one for the 'I need this neck profile, these fret types, this number of frets, this weight, these pickups...' etc etc etc. Not really sure of the point of having a bunch of guitars that are the same is. I'd think that if you obsess too much over this stuff you're closing the door on so much great gear.

Totally agree and that's something I've fallen foul of myself! I've avoided anything that isn't Gibson scale for so long but since setting up my cheapo parts strat a bit better and spending more time playing it I'm really enjoying it. I'm even finding I'm starting to prefer the thinner satin neck and wider string spacing which were the things I used to hate about it. I think tuning it down was a big eye opener, the longer scale length works so much better for D standard/drop C. Going back to a Gibson just sounds/feels sloppy and I dont really like the feel of anything thicker than 10-54. As someone else on here said a while ago the Gibson almost feels like you're playing an old coffee table. Got me looking at more modernised strats now like the Charvel San Dimas

stickyfiddle

There's no one definite element for me. I do like heavily rolled edges and taller frets, but aside from that I don't have a specific thing that makes or breaks a guitar, and I'm fine with skinny frets if everything else is right. 

Perversely I also have no issue with a relatively high action either.

I guess I don't like extremes of fat and skinny necks but anything in the middle is fine. The Gibson "Rounded 60's" is probably my favourite profile but I'm not too fussy.

GoldenEraGuitars

In my experience, if a nut isn’t cut properly and the frets aren’t level then getting mushy over the specs is pointless. 

normula1

I can adapt to pretty much anything too but I guess some of it depends on the guitar. I've a Japanese '62 reissue Strat that's 7.5 radius high-ish action that on specs and Internet wisdom would suggest should be terrible for bending etc..and in reality it's just as easy as other guitars with pretty flat radii and very low actions

thegummy

GoldenEraGuitars said:

In my experience, if a nut isn’t cut properly and the frets aren’t level then getting mushy over the specs is pointless. 

Do you level the frets of the necks you sell or can that only be done once the guitar is put together?

axisus

It depends how much mojo it absorbed whilst being made. Mojo can be found in sparse quantities in the atmosphere, but you occasionally get small pockets with more mojo, also the guitars inherent ability to absorb mojo comes into play. When the guitar is new and finished, the mojo is trapped inside, but gradually as the finish wears the mojo comes to the surface and affects playability in a positive way. If you were to scrub your guitar at this time with a mixture of coca cola and bleach you would remove the mojo - this is why no-one ever scrubs their guitar with a mixture of coca cola and bleach. 

Also, if a unicorn pissed on the tree that the guitar was made from this can exponentially increase the level of mojo. 

GoldenEraGuitars

thegummy said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

In my experience, if a nut isn’t cut properly and the frets aren’t level then getting mushy over the specs is pointless. 

Do you level the frets of the necks you sell or can that only be done once the guitar is put together?

The necks I do have levelled frets and a bone nut (by Ernie Mcmillen). I do the rest of the work. It’s the best combination to make sure the customer is happy with their neck

BlueStrat

^ that may explain the popularity of relic  guitars. Who has the time to put play wear on a guitar when it be be done with a dremmel and a rusty razor, mojo accomplished 

GoldenEraGuitars

BlueStrat said:

^ that may explain the popularity of relic  guitars. Who has the time to put play wear on a guitar when it be be done with a dremmel and a rusty razor, mojo accomplished 

I think that’s a rather condescending response which undermines part of what I do for a living. 

Skipped

Paul Reed Smith (the world's greatest Gibson fanboy) used to keep a 1955 Gibson Les Paul in his office, right next to him, when he was perfecting his own guitars. This was revealed some years ago, when the guitar came up for sale, and was accompanied by a letter from Paul Reed Smith.

When I was in my late teens, I was similarly inspired by briefly handling a couple of fifties Gold Tops and the feel of the neck was 90% of what made the guitar so desirable. It seemed that  every guitar player I met  was obsessed with those guitars, and this was before any of us had encountered either the concept of  Mojo,  or indignant essays about Mojo which doth protest too much.

I would say that neck shape and neck stiffness are the 2 most important elements. The current owners of the Gibson brand can copy the neck shape for their range of replica vintage guitars. I am guessing that neck stiffness is harder to replicate.

BlueStrat

GoldenEraGuitars said:

BlueStrat said:

^ that may explain the popularity of relic  guitars. Who has the time to put play wear on a guitar when it be be done with a dremmel and a rusty razor, mojo accomplished 

I think that’s a rather condescending response which undermines part of what I do for a living. 

Eh? It was posted in reply to @axisus post on the guitar’s mojo coming to the surface when the finish wears, as i have no unicorn piss to enrich mine

axisus

BlueStrat said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

BlueStrat said:

^ that may explain the popularity of relic  guitars. Who has the time to put play wear on a guitar when it be be done with a dremmel and a rusty razor, mojo accomplished 

I think that’s a rather condescending response which undermines part of what I do for a living. 

Eh? It was posted in reply to @axisus post on the guitar’s mojo coming to the surface when the finish wears, as i have no unicorn piss to enrich mine

I figured that was the case, just a bit of awkward timing!

BlueStrat

axisus said:

BlueStrat said:

GoldenEraGuitars said:

BlueStrat said:

^ that may explain the popularity of relic  guitars. Who has the time to put play wear on a guitar when it be be done with a dremmel and a rusty razor, mojo accomplished 

I think that’s a rather condescending response which undermines part of what I do for a living. 

Eh? It was posted in reply to @axisus post on the guitar’s mojo coming to the surface when the finish wears, as i have no unicorn piss to enrich mine

I figured that was the case, just a bit of awkward timing!

Your post had me laughing, loved it - coca cola and bleach

WiresDreamDisasters

A good fret crowning and rolled edges on the fretboard are essential for me. I can play pretty much any neck profile other than that.

thegummy

WiresDreamDisasters said:

A good fret crowning and rolled edges on the fretboard are essential for me. I can play pretty much any neck profile other than that.

Glad to see quite a few others mention the rolled edges of the fretboard cause that is so important for me so glad I'm not the only one.

I bought an American neck for a lot of money purely for that feature and I definitely feel it's worth it.

TTBZ

Rolled edges do make a big difference. Yet another reason why the mid priced Charvel guitars are so much more interesting to me than the Fender Players seems they put all the good features on Charvel and keep the Fender ones traditional and clunky.