marknorton Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Hi Folks Another newbie here, so please go gentle on me! I'm thinking about making my first guitar, although I'm a bit lost regarding neck profiles. I recently got some Radius Gauges, which I've used to determine (from measuring several different guitars) the fingerboard radius I'd like to use, is there such a thing for comparing profiles. To be honest I wouldn't know a C from a V to a U. I know that sound really dim, cos they're bound to look like the letters do, but can you get some sort of measuring gauge which you can offer up to the neck of any given guitar to determine which category it would fall into? I guess what I'm saying is until I see the cross section of each profile, I'm stumped. If anyone could help it'd be most appreciated, there may be some online diagrams somewhere to download? Cheers in advance. Once I find this out, I'll be hacking up tree's for the body like there's no tomorrow!! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Since we're talking about such things, I had a question I've been meaning to ask, too-- In offset neck profiles, is the fatter side normally toward the high E or the low E? Welcome to the site, Mark! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemleggat Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Necks tend to wear down on the bass side where the player's thumb would rest, so i am guessing it would be the Low E greg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Hey Mark, I would like to know the same thing. I was thinking about it and here is what I think or what I will do on mine. I would find the thickness I want for the neck including the fretboard once it's attached, then using the thickness I would shape down the sides from there. Say I wanted a v, I would leave the middle at say 21mm at the first fret then shave down the sides to make the profile a v. That way you keep the neck the same in thickness and such, but would have a slightly different feel. I might do a v because I like a thicker neck, and a v might let me have the thickness but still give me easy reach across the board, although I want to make sure it won't start hurting my hand after playing for a while. Well I thought I had a page that showed the profiles of the different cuts but I can't find it. I'll look for it though and if I find it I will post in on here, maybe someone else has a pic or link to that page or a similar page. Good luck with your neck, hope it works out for you. I will post more if I can find that info! Later. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 I've done an offset neck. The offset should really be where you find it comfortable, but I did it on the low E like most people. The offset makes the neck much more versatile in my opinion, but I can play just fine without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 One thing you could try is a contour guage. This is a modern version: http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=864-220 the old fashioned ones were a row of wires in a metal sheath, probably still available anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 I don't know if anyone is with me on this or not but I carve until its comfortable in your hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 this page might help a bit. http://www.usacustomguitars.com/contours.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 It can be difficult to judge when it's comfortable in your hands w/o strings. That method works for me, but I also like to make sure all of my thicknesses are acceptable compared to the average of guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerb Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Since we're talking about such things, I had a question I've been meaning to ask, too-- In offset neck profiles, is the fatter side normally toward the high E or the low E? Welcome to the site, Mark! Greg ← I think you mean high G and low E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 high g...*** mate? he's building a guitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 High G? Trust me, I meant High E. It would make sense that the 'worn out' part would be the thumb side. I've tried imagining it both ways and I can't imagine which would be more comfortable for me, though. I might have to give'er a rough try on some scrap 2X4 or something. I always liked the hard V contour on my dad's acoustic, so there's that possibility, too. No U shape for me, though, I know that much. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 I don't know where he got High G. I think he's trying to me a smart a$$. Obviously it's not going too well for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Churchyard Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 I don't know where he got High G. I think he's trying to me a smart a$$. Obviously it's not going too well for him. ← Bass perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Could be. Although (and I don't expect anyone to be a mind reader to have known this for certain even though it makes sense) if I were talking about a bass, I would have dispensed with the word "high" altogether and asked, "Is it on the E side or the G side"? Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Churchyard Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Could be. Although (and I don't expect anyone to be a mind reader to have known this for certain even though it makes sense) if I were talking about a bass, I would have dispensed with the word "high" altogether and asked, "Is it on the E side or the G side"? Greg ← Perhaps he was meaning a piccolo bass. Seriously though, perhaps what he meant was that it would not be symmetrical with the symmetrical line right along the middle of the neck, between d and g strings so to speal, but slightly more in the direction of the high e, which would be - with a bit of visualization - under the high g string? Anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted July 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 this page might help a bit. http://www.usacustomguitars.com/contours.html ← Cheers unclej, thats exactly what I was looking for as a strating (pardon the spelling and the pun all at once!) point.... Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 this page might help a bit. http://www.usacustomguitars.com/contours.html ← Cheers unclej, thats exactly what I was looking for as a strating (pardon the spelling and the pun all at once!) point.... Mark ← happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Another link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Thats the link I was thinking of! I want the clapton profile, similar to a v, a little bit thicker than a normal neck too, which is what I want! Cool. Later. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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