neck widths

[timmo]

I bought a Warwick Fortress Rockbass 3 months ago.It was my first bass i have ever tried to play.I got it on the strength of reviews,as they seemed to be generally well recieved.I have arthiritis in my hand, and have a dodgy pinky.I am struggling to get on the 4th string from about the 16th fret down the neck with said pinky.
Anyway, without knowing a thing about bass guitars, i bought an Aria pro2 yesterday, it was so much easier for me to play as the neck is thinner.So my question, do manufacturers tend to stick with the same thickness of neck, or do they all vary?I am thinking of selling the Warwick and maybe getting another Aria, but unsure as to whether the neck thicknessess will be the same.Unfortunately, the guitar shops around my area stock loads of guitars, but very few basses to try.
Has anyone got any suggestions of any other basses that have thin necks i could look at please, as i would like to try different makes.

Edited May 6, 2013 by timmo

[PauBass]

Try a Fender Geddy Lee, the neck is very slim and easy to play, I haven't tried any other bass that has such a thin neck.

[iconic]

Perversely there is a lot more to a neck than the simple width across the neck, measured by say a vernier across it, the depth front to rear has a very large influence too, there are also smaller/larger radii on the fretboard face and also the shape of the curve on the rear.....its why is always a great idea to try a bass before you buy....see...I'm great at giving advice...but I'm always buying 'blind'

...and errm, just to muddy the waters, some wider 'looking' necks across the face can seem a [i][b]lot[/b][/i] smaller when played, example, my Yamaha RBX4-A4 looks slightly larger than a typical jazz neck, halfway to a precision but feels small and comfy but this is to me.

...but then 'small' don't suit everyone or Stingray's would be a lot rarer.

[megallica]

Within the Warwick and Aria range there is so much variation of neck width and profile from one model to the next.
My 90's Fortress had a really narrow and slim neck profile but when Warwick dropped wenge as the neck material, the neck profiles changed to a more chunky feel.

[Grissle]

[quote name='PauBass' timestamp='1367817885' post='2069687']
Try a Fender Geddy Lee, the neck is very slim and easy to play, I haven't tried any other bass that has such a thin neck.
[/quote]
The Fender Jaguar bass necks are the same as the Geddy's.
My MIM '01 Jazz necks are even slimmer than the Geddy's. I think they were like that till around '06.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Grissle

[hamfist]

+1 to what has been said. Other basses with really slim necks include the Ibanez SR series. Also most Jazz basses (Fender, Squier and copies), also G&L SB-2. Also most Status basses (try an Energy if you can find a used one).

[cloudburst]

+1 on the Fender Jazz suggestion.

I just measured my 1974 Jazz and it is 38mm at the nut and 61mm at the 16th fret.

A couple of other suggestions.

Some manufacturers produce narrow neck versions of their instruments. An example is MusicMan whose SLO Special version of the StingRay has a narrower neck more like their Sterling.

Some fretboards taper less in width as you move up the neck. An example of this is the original one piece graphite Steinberger XL-2 if you can find one. I will measure mine for you when I get back to Scotland. (And I noticed one of these for sale last night for a ridiculously low price).

Final point: what on earth are you doing up around the 16th fret after only 3 months? Step back into line or you'll be putting the rest of us to shame! :-)

CB

Edited May 6, 2013 by cloudburst

[Paul S]

I favour basses with narrow and shallow necks and have found a few, some already mentioned.

These are all 38mm at the nut AND shallow - exceptional necks all of them.
Fender Jaguar (and so Fender Geddy Lee)
Fender Precision Lyte
Peavey Fury and Fury II (Milestone III also, but that was more of a budget thing)

Then come standard Jazz bass type necks - 38mm at the nut and a little deeper
Fender Jazz.
SBMM SB-14
Yamaha SX800A
Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV
Epiphone EB0 (nicre shallow neck to grab and stop it diving)
Fender Musicmaster

Slightly chunkier but still 38mm-40mm
Westone Thunder
Hohner B Bass
Hohner B2A
Some P-Basses - MIJ Squier Silver Series has a 40mm and shallow neck.

[Acebassmusic]

Hi Timmo,

Glad to hear you have taken up bass From your post it sound like you are a complete beginner? If so, what I would do before I changed basses is have a look at the way you are holding the bass, strap height, left hand positioning on the neck etc. This can make a huge difference to the ease of playing. There are a lot of good threads around here on the subject. Don't forget, your pinky isnt used to doing what youre asking it to do. It will come with time and practice. I find practicing lines up the neck where the frets are closer and then gradually moving down towards the nut end helps your fingers to learn to "stretch".

[Musky]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1367824939' post='2069723']
+1 on the Fender Jazz suggestion.

I just measured my 1974 Jazz and it is 38mm at the nut and 61mm at the 16th fret.

A couple of other suggestions.

Some manufacturers produce narrow neck versions of their instruments. An example is MusicMan whose SLO Special version of the StingRay has a narrower neck more like their Sterling.

Some fretboards taper less in width as you move up the neck. An example of this is the original one piece graphite Steinberger XL-2 if you can find one. I will measure mine for you when I get back to Scotland. (And I noticed one of these for sale last night for a ridiculously low price).

Final point: what on earth are you doing up around the 16th fret after only 3 months? Step back into line or you'll be putting the rest of us to shame! :-)

CB
[/quote]
A very good point about the taper on the neck. I just measured my Egmond B2V and it's 40mm at the nut but only 51mm at the 16th fret!

[White Cloud]

Ibanez SR basses are fantastic and the necks are extremely slim and playable. I would highly recommend the Sr 505 & Sr 605 - both being extremely affordable 2nd hand and sounding great.

If I was in your position this is the way that I would go.

[Lozz196]

The depth of the neck can be a major factor, as others have mentioned. I found my 70s Precisions felt very chunky due to the depth of the necks. My current 2011, which is the same width but far less deep is much easier on the fretting hand due to this.

[hamfist]

Also worthy of mentioning is that the SBMM sub ray4's have 38mm nut, so nice and slim. But a bit more chunky than a Jazz neck front to back. I quite like slim nut widths but I like a bit of depth on the neck.
For anyone experimenting it's well worth trying a load of necks out in a shop trying to analyse your preference for both width and depth.

[geoffbyrne]

PaulS forgot to mention the Peavey Cirrus in that list - best/nicest/shallowest neck I've ever played (so far).

G.

[timmo]

Thanks for all the suggestions.I will see what i can get for my Warwick, and go from there.It looks like there are plenty to choose from.

[thisnameistaken]

While we're on the subject; does anyone know of other basses that have similar neck dimensions to the Warwick Thumb?

I've decided Jazz basses are too thin and causing my wrists problems. I like the narrowness at the nut but front-to-back I need something a bit chunkier. My Thumb feels great but I'm thinking it might be wise to find a bass where the nut sits a bit closer to me.

[Lozz196]

Check out the Classic 70s Jazz - a fairly deep neck on those, and they`re cracking basses too.

[Schnozzalee]

I'm not sure it's as much of an issue on bass, but a guitar with a chunky neck, always sounds better tonally than one with a super slim.

[iconic]

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1367850355' post='2070202']
I'm not sure it's as much of an issue on bass, but a guitar with a chunky neck, always sounds better tonally than one with a super slim.
[/quote]


ohh my giddy aunt....new addition to the wood/tone/matirial thread....just when you thought it was safe to come back out!

....interesting point though!

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1367846782' post='2070139']
Check out the Classic 70s Jazz - a fairly deep neck on those, and they`re cracking basses too.
[/quote]

I had a Jazz with a '70s All Parts neck on it a couple of years ago but I didn't like it. It looked lovely but it felt wrong.

[hamfist]

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1367850355' post='2070202']
I'm not sure it's as much of an issue on bass, but a guitar with a chunky neck, always sounds better tonally than one with a super slim.
[/quote]

As a generalisation this has been my own personal experience too, although it's not actually something I've heard expressed before.