What kind of neck is my Les Paul described as?

WiresDreamDisasters

I've got this Orville By Gibson Les Paul Custom. Made in 1991. I love the neck.

I look at guitars today, and they use terms like modern thin C neck, and modern D neck, etc etc etc.... I never fucking know what any of that shite means.

How would you describe the neck on a LPC in these modern terms??? If I wanted an Ibanez or a Schecter or some kind of Superstrat that had a similar neck profile to my LPC, ignoring the scale length differences, what would I be looking for?

LastMantra

I don't bother my strat has a different neck to my Gibson, and my acoustic is different again, but I like playing all of them. I want them to be different guitars.
Unless you're just looking for a backup to what you have of course. 

Kittyfrisk

Yep, I tried to ask this question... with varying degrees of success a while back.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/175295/describe-my-neck-with-accuracy/p1
The chart from @Wolfetone was the closest to quantifiable help that I got.
Hope you can do better 

Philly_Q

Problem is, your ObG Les Paul Custom probably hasn't got the same neck profile as a Gibson Les Paul Custom.  And Gibson Les Paul Customs from different years have different neck profiles anyway.

So dunno.

WiresDreamDisasters

Okay... alternative interpretation of the question: how can I get a nice sparkly Ibanez-y guitar, that doesn't feel like I'm playing a baboons piccolo cock ???

WezV

It's very subjective  and most hand carved necks were not done with a shape in mind. 

Most factory carved necks traditionally rely on the guy sanding them to be paying attention. 

Fender V necks apparently happened because the guy carving them in the late 50's was lazier than the guy who rounded everything over nicely.   I had a 30's regal guitar that had a pronounced V shape, but was so thick it was more like a boat keel.

For me,  D necks have flat edges either side of the fretboard then round off from there, sometimes flatter down the middle.  A C carve is nicely rounded and carries onto the fretboard edges, no flatness down the middle.

A U carve is like a D but thicker, they almost feel under carved.  V is where there is  an obvious ridge down the middle, even if its just a soft one.

TTBZ

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Okay... alternative interpretation of the question: how can I get a nice sparkly Ibanez-y guitar, that doesn't feel like I'm playing a baboons piccolo cock ???

You might have more luck with a Charvel San Dimas or something, their necks are a bit bigger and less flat and gross than an Ibanez wizard. Or a Jackson Dinky, from what I remember they feel somewhere in between the two. I'm sort of on the hunt for an older Charvel Model 1, I used to have a Model 1C and the neck on that was awesome.

photek

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Okay... alternative interpretation of the question: how can I get a nice sparkly Ibanez-y guitar, that doesn't feel like I'm playing a baboons piccolo cock ???

I think the Satriani models have thicker necks, might be worth researching those?

Redlester

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Okay... alternative interpretation of the question: how can I get a nice sparkly Ibanez-y guitar, that doesn't feel like I'm playing a baboons piccolo cock ???

Get yer mask on, go to a guitar shop and start trying guitars (and that mask will income in handy when you feel the necks and you start muttering to yourself 'feels like a baboon's cock' and 'more girth than a rhino's todger' etc. 

Nerine

Well. 

I might be able to help a little bit. 

I have an LP Custom with a chunky neck - a nice fat C. I also have a Suhr Alt-T Pro with a neck that feels very similar in shape and size. 

I’ll dig out the spec sheet for the Suhr to see if there are any specifics on it that may help give you an idea of the size of neck that might be in the ball park of what you’re looking for. 

Philly_Q

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Okay... alternative interpretation of the question: how can I get a nice sparkly Ibanez-y guitar, that doesn't feel like I'm playing a baboons piccolo cock ???

Unless baboons have cocks which are two feet long, two inches wide and about half an inch think, you'll probably be OK.

Sassafras

I don't know how big their cocks are but I remember David Attenborough saying gorillas have tiny little peanut testicles.
Don't say I don't contribute to the forum.

andy_k

I may be wrong ( wouldn't be the first time ), but I think it is easier to understand Fender necks. At least they have a maximum thickness, around 25 mm, which is governed by the neck heel and the back of the headstock, and the fact that this is the starting point for a neck blank.
I can play any type of neck really, but have tended towards the fatter ones which seem to offer more support to my hand in playing position, and have got used to the Allparts TMO / SMO fat necks on the last few I have built. I think they can best be described as fat D shape, although on the maple ones it could have a slight C feel, this might be all in my mind, but is easier to imagine if you think of the fretboard as an add on, rather than a part of the neck.
Back in the day, fatter necks were seen as a bit crude, and the stories of Jimmy Pages shaved down Les Paul etc must have given rise to the thinner equals speedier myth. I also think that when necks became stiffer due to multi laminate construction, and Steve Vai's influence, the super thin necks became popular.
On my Les Pauls, the story is a bit harder to work out, my favourite feeling neck is on an 04 R7, which are supposed to be huge, but is actually just really comfortable. All the other Gibsons I own have '50's' carves, which just feel slightly thinner and have a rounded 'C' shape, which is comfortable.
I had a 54 style built for me, which I insisted on having a 'huge' neck, and I think it maxes out at 25mm, or rather doesn't taper, and this feels like more of a 'D', and if anything, it just feels newer, because of the binding and the fact that it is newer.
One thing that does stand out to me, is tuning stability and tone. Fatter necks feel a lot more stable, and on some bodies seem to really help with sustain.
I think Gibson styles are much more variable, because in theory they could get REALLY fat, but in practice, I don't think many will be over 25mm, so much like monkeys dicks, every mm counts, but its all about the feel.

guitarfishbay

So I don't know what your Les Paul has but we can probably figure your preferences looking at other stuff.

Your LTD has the following spec

Thin U contour 
Thickness 1st Fret: 20mm
Thickness 2nd Fret: 22mm
Nut width: 42mm
Radius: 350mm

If you've ever played an Ibanez RG the Wizard necks have had different names over the years but they've typically been quite thin

Super Wizard as an example
Thickness 1st Fret: 17mm
Thickness 12th Fret: 19mm
Nut width: 43mm
Radius: 430mm

My guess is for your tastes you won't want to go thinner than the LTD neck, which isn't really thin it's just on the thinner end of standard IMO.  Stuff that's around 20-21mm ish at the nut feels pretty 'medium' to me.  22mm and up can feel fatter, 19mm and below can feel thinner, at least to my tastes.

Fender Modern C (converted to metric and rounded to the nearest half mm)

Thickness 1st Fret: 21mm
Thickness 12th Fret: 22mm
Nut width: 42/43mm (depends on model)
Radius: 241mm

Here's a fairly clear diagram explaining the letter shapes as neck carves

duotone

If you can find a guitar magazine review of that model, they should mention what the neck shape is.

Budgie

I don't know if you saw this - http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/orville/1991/en_index.html

A 1991 catalogue... it's written in (I think) Japanese though. 

WiresDreamDisasters

Budgie said:

I don't know if you saw this - http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/orville/1991/en_index.html

A 1991 catalogue... it's written in (I think) Japanese though. 

That's cool. So appropos of nothing, my LPC would've cost me the equivalent of today's £880 in 1991 by the looks of the price list.

Specs wise, this is the relevant page:


Top paragraph is all the usual fretless wonder and black beauty talk, talking about the history of the P90 version, 3 humbucker version, and then 2 humbucker version.

It's a faithful reproduction of the 1966 model.

Neck:

Mahogany with neck binding. Rosewood fingerboard. 24.75" scale. 22 fret.
Block position marker, 17something pitch peg head??? With Orville by Gibson. Split diamond inlay. Grover type machineheads.

Doesn't say anything about the neck shape.


Thanks wife!!

WiresDreamDisasters

Fair amount of variation in LP necks I suppose!