daveq Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 For those of you who have built necks with the hotrod truss rod before: What is the thinnest you have made? Stewmac suggests a min of 1/8 under the rod so that should make the thinnest neck 20.6375 mm or 13/16 in. , right? Has anyone tried going thinner? If so, what wood did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryeisnotcool2 Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 i wouldnt go any thinner than that! that is freakin thin and in my opinion 1/8 " is pushin it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 i would guess that if you had a 3 peice neck with ebony in the center you might be able to go down to 20mm.. but i would only do that on an experimental non-sale neck.... i only go 21mm on hot rod necks... anything thinner i use the other kind of truss rod's that are a bit shorter(height) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 i dont see why it would be necissary to go thinner. and to maintain the integrity of the neck's shape i would keep it at least a quarter inch. 1/8 seems thin to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 not including the fingerboard...5/8"...the hot rod is 7/16" so that leaves 3/16" it is a little thicker than the wizard 2 neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 So nobody has tried it? that is freakin thin and in my opinion What is thin - the 1/8 or the 20.6 mm neck? I grew up on an Ibanez wizard neck and thought I would hate playing thicker necks. The first guitar I built had a hotrod in it and of course a thicker neck. I was very surprised to learn that I actually enjoyed the thicker neck more. It just feels like I have more power / sustain (even if it's not real). The reason I was asking is I know that there are those who still prefer the thin necks. I don't mind installing the traditional rods but I would prefer the hotrod style (double expanding) for most. They are quick and easy to install and really provide a lot of insurace against trouble down the road. That's why I was wondering if the 1/8 is an absolute or is a paranoid manufacturers recommendation so as not to end up with many law suits due to incorrect instruction. If no one has tried it yet - I guess I'll give it a try on my next personal guitar. Thanks. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 and to maintain the integrity of the neck's shape i would keep it at least a quarter inch What do you mean by integrity of the neck's shape? See above for why I asked - I don't think it is neccessary - just curious if anyone has tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 wizard necks are really too thin...it is tough to keep them stable imo but an extra 1/8" as compared to a wizard is still thin enough...thinner does not mean faster or easier to play necessarily.as long as your thumb will grab the back without straining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 do like derek said and put in a stronger middle wood...bocote is strong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 ok if you had bow in your fret board and you tightened your DUAL EXPANDING truss rodd. it will push back on your neck making the neck move a little more like a V shape. it would be strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 And don't forget the carbon rods which will support the neck just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 I don't mind installing the traditional rods but I would prefer the hotrod style (double expanding) for most. They are quick and easy to install and really provide a lot of insurace against trouble down the road. you do know about the other kind of rods that are double expanding but a little bit thinner right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renablistic Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 And don't forget the carbon rods which will support the neck just right. don't mean to be a pirate, but how well do carbon fiber supports help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 well enough that carvin uses them on all their necks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 here's the 2 types of double action rods, (felt like testing out my new digital camera) as you can see the blue model is quite a bit shorter (9mm) then the Stewmac hot rod (red, 11mm), so that means you can safely make the neck 2mm thinner without worries, well some at least Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 where do you get that and how much does it cost and is it strong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 they sell for (although i got it one on a favor) 18$, i'm trying to find other places that sell them for a bit less, a luthier around here uses them and i think he got them from allparts, but i'll have to ask him. I might have a place i can get them from for cheap, i'll pass along the info or resell them to you guys if i can get them. someone else must have seen those before?!?! The blue one seems just as strong (bending it with my hand) as the hot rod, when in doubt just add carbon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Yup, thanks Derek. I think the ones I have seen don't have that blue sleeve though - but I was aware of the thinner types. Thanks though. The one thing that I did not know was that they were that much thinner than the hot rod. Any drawbacks to using the smaller ones? As for the neck thickness and playability (is that a word?) issue - for me a thicker neck seems to actually force me to play "correctly". With the thinner neck, my thumb is always wrapping around the neck. With the thicker neck, I find that my thumb rides the back of the neck resulting in a more fluid motion. I like it. It's the people that want the super wizard necks that I am concerned with. So far, I have only sold to people that I know. Someday I may end up building for someone who wants a super thin neck and I want to know what my options are. Since I only build about 3 to 4 a year (at this rate), it's not really a big deal. Thanks for the replies - I hope to post pics of my latest soon. It's so damn hard to find time to build that I rarely think to take the camera down there. Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryeisnotcool2 Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 you can get them thinner ones from www.alliedlutherie.com they chrome theirs wich is nice to prevent rusting and they are like 11$ !!! you cant beat that, unless you buy 100 of them then they are only 4.75$ wich is an awsome price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 wow, Thanks for sharing rye!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkyboy777 Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 daveq, Careful on the thin stuff: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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