thirdstone Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 hi Guys I am in progress with a guitar which will post later but I have made a neck which has turned out bigger than I planned. Dimentions are , Nut width 45.25mm , depth at 12th fret 53.75mm depth at first fret (not inc fret) 22mm. the question , is the width at neck too much.? I can make the neck thinner in thickness but the width at the nut is a worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 well, this is what i think my first guitar had a nut width of 43, and it felt fine. its more of a modern size, found on most ibanez wizard necks. you could always take the board off, retaper the neck for your new nut width and string spacing (to the edges) and then make a new board. but thats a lotta work ithink your fine at 42. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 I have a warlock i built that has a 46 mm width at the nut, and it´s thickness at the first fret is around 23- 24 mm. I have another warlock, made by BC Rich with a 43 mm nut but the nec k was also skinny and was too uncomfortable for me. Guitars with bigger necks sound really, really good. If i was you i wouldn´t worry too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 My first build, the neck was wide enough as to have almost no taper. It put some of my classicals to shame. But really enjoyed it at the time and I could play it well, and that's all that matters. Looks like you've got the thing fretted - how close are you to finishing your build? Can you string it up enough to see how it really feels to you? If it's comfortable and you like it, that's all that matters, unless you're trying to sell this to someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Did you have any hassle trying to figure the placement of the tuners? LOL, I just mention it because I designed a similar style headstock and have been pondering the placement for a while now. I truly prefer having the tuners aligned, but with this style if you do you end up with one tuner on the edge and the outer 2 too far in. The only other way to do it would be how you did where they end up in the shape of a parenthese ) ( which looks fine, like I said I just prefer the more aligned look. Anyhow, as for the thickness, what I would do before deciding to keep it as is or change it, would be to take some fishing line or string and take the bridge you have and line everything up properly. You might be able to see better what you would like changed or not changed. The string spacing and distance may not be to your liking or there might be so little taper that you end up having this open fretboard wood towards the bottom of the board. So, I might try that and see what you think about it. Just a thought, I found this technique to really help me to see how things were going with the neck. Anyhow, looking very nice, best of luck and keep the progress rolling. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted January 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Thanks every one for the comments, I have gone so far now that I`ll just keep going and see how it feels when its strung up, that may be some time. In the end because of the binding its just too far down the track to change. JM The strings for the E A B E strings are straight and the middle D and G are slightly out of line. A bit of a compromise really as to get the middle two tuners I have inline they must be offset and that kind of ruins the look. This guy does it good http://www.mcnaughtguitars.com/index696.htm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Yeah, his turned out nicely, though the top of his headstock is less wide than yours or mine, which makes it much easier. The tough thing about getting the curved setup to look nice is the upper two tuners, because you still want it further towards the middle than the lower 4 and thats what makes it tough to setup with top half of the headstock so wide. As I said I really like having them all aligned, but while having them aligned I also like it slanted toward the middle like / \ that, but it just doesn't work out on this type of design so the )( setup like yours has to be used. BTW, yours turned out well, not an easy style to pull off in my opinion, I know what you mean about having to offset the tuner to fit them, either way I like how yours turned out. I will probably drill mine tomorrow, I've drawn the placement on the headstock like 15 different times and still am not completely satisfied. However, I've come to the conclusion that I am a very indecisive and picky person when it comes to building and designs, so at some point I just have to accept a design and go for it. Anyhow, I really like your headstock design and inlay, I can't wait to see the rest of it. Best of luck. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Nut width is a little less than I usually make (44 on average, overall between 43 and 45), and it's a touch thicker than I shoot for (20 or 21 mm). But it's certainly well in the ballpark. If it feels to big, it probably is. If it feels good, you're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 take a head on picture render it into cad (I LOVE ACDSEE canvas) and then do the placment on there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Just on a personal note,so as to maybe help you avoid any problems down the road. Larger necks DO have great tone,but I used to make my necks wider than I do now,and what I found was that I created alot of hand pain/muscle issues for myself in playing those wider necks...now I go as thin as I can and still keep a good playing surface.I use the thinnest nut I can buy,and I use small tricks like beveling my frets to a less severe degree than factory,all so I can keep the width down while keeping the string surface. For me,I had never noticed it,but I discovered I have longer than usual fingers,but the palm of my hand is not so wide.So anyway,pay attention,and if you notice any pain in the pads of your palms after a long playing session,thin the width of the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdstone Posted January 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I have my first guitar that I made at 44mm and I thought that was wide ,although very playable. I thought 45.5 was pushing it a bit too much. What nut widths do 7 string guitars have? The plus side of a wider neck is that you can vibrato the high E string with out fear of it falling off the neck. I wont have that problem with this one.The neck is also stiffer so that truss rod adjustments are minimal. I have done the straighter fret end bevel myself on normal size necks, it does help . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bygde Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 The nut on my 7 will be 48mm, same as Ibanez's 7:s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.