Nut width - am I missing something?

rlw

Without wishing to stir up any controversy...

My 2015 LP has a nut width of 46mm.  The most expensive custom shop model - presumably the type of thing many people here would regard as "proper" - on the Gibson site has a "conventional" nut width of 43mm.

Is all the fuss about the wider neck really about 3mm or are nut and neck width not necessarily the same thing?

guitargeek62

3 mm is a huge difference though, and not many electrics at all have more than a 43mm nut. Many Fenders are narrower than that even!

rlw

14 hits and no response so I am either asking a really dumb, not worthy of replying question, or no-one knows...........

ROOG

I'd never measured a nut on any of my guitars before but on trying a selection of the 2015 gibbons I found the difference very noticeable. I would never have believed it was only 3mm

rlw

guitargeek62;643816" said:

3 mm is a huge difference though, and not many electrics at all have more than a 43mm nut. Many Fenders are narrower than that even!

Try telling that to your wife/girlfriend significant other

Chalky

@rlw - if you tried some Japanese guitars that stray down to 42mm or even 41mm, you would certainly notice the difference and would potentially find them unplayable for chord work.

ICBM

3mm is a *huge* difference on nut width. Even 1mm is noticeable, as it is on neck depth as well.

I like 41mm nuts - that's the same as Rickenbacker's standard width as well as some of the older Japanese brands like my Matsumoku-made Aria. They're certainly not unplayable for chord work, in fact many people (wrongly) think Ricks are only for rhythm playing! 42 and 43mm are OK, anything wider is getting too wide for comfort, for me.

richardhomer

For an electric guitar that is wide.

My Taylor nylon string is 48mm - which is just a little narrower than a classical guitar.

IIRC, the PRS Wide Fat/Pattern profile is 43mm. As others have said, Fenders tend to be narrower.

Dave_Mc

ICBM said:

3mm is a *huge* difference on nut width. Even 1mm is noticeable, as it is on neck depth as well.

+1

Given the choice, I like 43mm.

WezV

99% of electric guitars fall between 42-44mm. its really noticeable when you get outside of that.

I have made guitars with 38-50mm nut widths. Either of those extremes is still playable, but they confirmed to me that 43mm is a good choice.

But anyway, what I wanted to say is that string spacing is just as important as nut width when considering this. I believe Gibson left the string spacing the same when they made the neck wider so its just extra space either side

guitargeek62

I've just ordered a 44.5mm width neck today for a Tele, I've gotten used to the spacing on my Taylor so I thought I'd give it a try on an electric for once too... fingers crossed eh?!

Lew

My 7 and classical both have 50mm. Though I find the Ibanez 48mm more comfortable.

Anyway, I like 43mm on something thin like a Wizard profile as the width offsets the thinness and is comfy. But for a more traditional neck depth 42mm is just fine.

41mm is just cramped and uncomfortable for my ape hands. Not unplayable but not comfortable.

rlw

My point was, I suppose, do you really notice the extra 1.5mm per side that much?  Its a tiny amount - 1/16".

ICBM

rlw said:

My point was, I suppose, do you really notice the extra 1.5mm per side that much?  Its a tiny amount - 1/16".

It's not a tiny amount.

Play a standard Fender guitar with a nut width of 1-11/16" (43mm), then play a Rickenbacker with a width of 1-5/8" (41.4mm). If you don't notice that it's "only" 1.6mm narrower - not each side, that's the total width - then you might have a point .

John_P

+1  that's definitely a noticeable amount and enough that it would be really uncomfortable for me.  

Lew

rlw;644441" said:

My point was, I suppose, do you really notice the extra 1.5mm per side that much?  Its a tiny amount - 1/16".

Yes

GuitarZero

I think if you haven't tried them, you can't really understand it.  On paper it doesn't seem much.  In reality it's a massive difference.

Chalky

Er, I said you potentially might find them unplayable. Guys with fat fingers can really struggle on 41mm - too difficult to get a single string down without fouling the strings on either side.

mart

rlw said:

My point was, I suppose, do you really notice the extra 1.5mm per side that much?  Its a tiny amount - 1/16".

Yes, it's a pretty small amount, but it makes a huge difference to feel. 

And even smaller differences in the thickness of the neck can make massive differences in the feel. When playing guitar our hands are pretty sensitive to these small differences.

stickyfiddle

Chalky said:

Er, I said you potentially might find them unplayable. Guys with fat fingers can really struggle on 41mm - too difficult to get a single string down without fouling the strings on either side.

I don't buy this - a lot of "great" players have HUGE hands - Gilmour, Mayer, Hendrix, Zakk Wylde, Joe Walsh, BB King, Vai... It's not nut width that's the issue, it's practice and precision.

Chalky

Did I say huge hands? I said fat fingers. Ask a woman, she'll explain the difference )