Dealing with a thin neck

chris_john

https://i.ibb.co/FB5hwzC/1-C454-EC9-4798-483-B-8-C96-49-C42324-F02-E-1-201-a.jpg I have a guitar I love, but due to me getting older, the slim profile neck is becoming harder to play. 

I’ve found a temporary solution that works but is a bit ghetto. Basically, I stuck some strips of 5mm padded foam tape on the back to create some extra bulk. This actually helps and the added girth makes it so much easier to play. On the downside, it looks a bit ugly and I will have to clean off the adhesive residue afterwards.
 Are there any better permanent ways to beef up the neck?

Funkfingers

Screwed on or glued on? 

The former can probably be changed to something chunkier to suit you. The change is reversible if you ever need to revert to standard spec prior to selling.

davros

I think the only way I can think of, other than a new neck, is to thicken the fretboard, either removing the fretboard and replacing it with a thicker, or removing the fretboard and laminating a second layer underneath it.

If the frets are small, a refret with taller frets may make a bit of difference.

chris_john

Funkfingers said:

Screwed on or glued on? 

Set neck Yamaha. 

TTony

Several layers of veneer - keep adding until you've thickened the neck as much as you need it.

If you wanted to be clever, you could vacuum press the glued veneers to the back of the neck to make sure you replicated the exact shape/contour of the existing neck, just with "N" mm of extra beef on it.  That'd avoid risk of creasing, air bubbles, etc.

Veneers typically come in thicknesses from 0.6mm to 2.0mm, so easy to build up to whatever thickness you need "N" to be.  

You'd then need to sand the veneer towards the fretboard edge so you didn't end up with a step there.

chris_john

TTony said:

Several layers of veneer - keep adding until you've thickened the neck as much as you need it.

If you wanted to be clever, you could vacuum press the glued veneers to the back of the neck to make sure you replicated the exact shape/contour of the existing neck, just with "N" mm of extra beef on it.  That'd avoid risk of creasing, air bubbles, etc.

Veneers typically come in thicknesses from 0.6mm to 2.0mm, so easy to build up to whatever thickness you need "N" to be.  

You'd then need to sand the veneer towards the fretboard edge so you didn't end up with a step there.

That sounds very clever. Have you ever done this yourself? Just wondering how it turned out.

TTony

No - I've not done it myself.

But you've either got to add material to the back or the front (fretboard) of the neck, and adding to the back seemed to be a lot simpler.

You can add the veneer piece-by-piece, and fix it in place temporarily (double sided tape) to work out how much you want to add before doing it "for real".  But if it all goes badly wrong, you should also be able to - carefully - sand it away to leave the original neck.

chris_john

TTony said:

No - I've not done it myself.

But you've either got to add material to the back or the front (fretboard) of the neck, and adding to the back seemed to be a lot simpler.

You can add the veneer piece-by-piece, and fix it in place temporarily (double sided tape) to work out how much you want to add before doing it "for real".  But if it all goes badly wrong, you should also be able to - carefully - sand it away to leave the original neck.

That sounds like it would be great in the hands of a skilled repair person. Sadly, I don’t trust my ability enough to do that without following instructions. Good idea, though.

ICBM

This is going to be a very tricky job to do well. Not impossible, but seriously skilled luthier level, or it will look - and probably feel - like a dog's dinner.

A totally different suggestion - have you considered using lighter strings? With less left-hand pressure needed, and especially if you play more with your thumb behind the neck, a thin neck becomes less obvious. (Or at least it does to me.)

chris_john

ICBM said:

This is going to be a very tricky job to do well. Not impossible, but seriously skilled luthier level, or it will look - and probably feel - like a dog's dinner.

A totally different suggestion - have you considered using lighter strings? With less left-hand pressure needed, and especially if you play more with your thumb behind the neck, a thin neck becomes less obvious. (Or at least it does to me.)

Actually, I hadn’t even considered that. However, I’m already using 10-46 on a 24.5 inch scale. Would a set of 9-42 work without getting too much buzz? 

ICBM

chris_john said:

However, I’m already using 10-46 on a 24.5 inch scale. Would a set of 9-42 work without getting too much buzz? 

You may need to adjust the truss rod slightly, but there's no reason it won't work. A lot of players use 9s on thinner necks - in fact I would say it's more common than heavier strings.

Brian May uses 8s on a 24" scale! But he must have the touch of a feather, it has to be said...

WezV

Usually, i would say adding wood under the fretboard is the way to go, but on a set neck it will mess with the geometry. You would need to raise the bridge the same amount or reset the neck entirely. Will need a refret, but should look normal ish

The suggestion of wrapping the back of the neck with veneer could work, but its going to be very tricky to get the veneer to conform nicely to the back of the neck without some combination of heat, moisture and a vacuum clamping set up. Better budget for a full refret when trying something that drastic. This is not a cost effective way to go.  Will also need a solid colour refin to look good

Part of me wonders if a epoxy/fibre wrap would be the quickest and most cost effective way to go. Even just some built up layers of a finishing epoxy might get you there.

All these will cost a lot to do, and destroy the value of the instrument .... but where there is a will there is a way

roberty

ICBM said:

chris_john said:

However, I’m already using 10-46 on a 24.5 inch scale. Would a set of 9-42 work without getting too much buzz? 

You may need to adjust the truss rod slightly, but there's no reason it won't work. A lot of players use 9s on thinner necks - in fact I would say it's more common than heavier strings.

Brian May uses 8s on a 24" scale! But he must have the touch of a feather, it has to be said...

Especially seeing as he picks with a metal coin

chris_john

So, after searching through various forums, the possible solutions I have found are:
1. Adding veneer to the back.
2. Adding epoxy, z-poxy, or Bondo to the back.
3. Removing fretboard and adding a layer underneath - or a thicker fretboard.
4. Solutions suggested here.

If I could make a mould out of the neck, then I might try shaping something out of epoxy - then sticking it down with tape. 

Roland

Come on boys! This is surely one of the better reasons for buying another guitar. What hasn’t anyone suggested it yet?

TTony

Roland said:

Come on boys! This is surely one of the better reasons for buying another guitar. What hasn’t anyone suggested it yet?

Because this is the M&M section @Roland, where the challenge is "how can I fix it" rather than "which one do I buy"

chris_john

Roland said:

Come on boys! This is surely one of the better reasons for buying another guitar. What hasn’t anyone suggested it yet?

A few years ago, I would have just thrown it on the used market and started looking for a replacement. Now, I’m solely a bedroom player, so I might as well just try to fix the problem.

JGTay

Tape different thickness items to your thumb to work out how much you would need to add to the neck to make it comfortable, then you will know what is needed and whether it is feasible. 

chris_john

JGTay said:

Tape different thickness items to your thumb to work out how much you would need to add to the neck to make it comfortable, then you will know what is needed and whether it is feasible. 

I actually tried stuffing a cotton glove with gel pads. The padded foam tape solution shown in the photo works, but it’s not exactly elegant.

roberty

Could you not instead adapt your thumb by making it bigger?