How does neck thickness and shape affect feel and playability?

[Greg.Bassman]

Hi all.

Just wondering how neck thickness [distance front to back] and shape [‘modern c’ or 'd' for example] affect feel and playability? What are some of your playing experiences?

Thanks.

Edited October 22, 2018 by Greg.Bassman

[TheGreek]

Personal preference...

My dream bass for many years was a Wal MK1 - when I finally bought one I couldn't get on with the neck profile - sold (well traded TBH) it on shortly after...

The Elwray Bass currently doing the rounds - nice bass - has many attributes that I would normally go for...neck profile is too flat for me.

[Grahambythesea]

I started on short scale basses, Höfner and the like, probably quite chunky by today’s standards , graduated on to a Precision which initially felt massive, but soon became my norm. Then I switched to 5s with Jazz proportions which now feel comfortable and normal. For a short while had a Washburn fretless 5 electro acoustic that had a tree trunk as a neck. That’s the only bass I never really adjusted to, and that I think is the answer, you adapt to what you have!

[TheGreek]

22 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

you adapt to what you have!

..If you persevere.

[Japhet]

I'm partial to a chunky neck. Thinner necks are a bit easier to play quick stuff on but I find they make the palm of my fretting hand ache on a long gig, especially with a short front to back profile. I've never noticed much difference in necks with different radius to be honest.

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, Japhet said:

I'm partial to a chunky neck. Thinner necks are a bit easier to play quick stuff on but I find they make the palm of my fretting hand ache on a long gig, especially with a short front to back profile. 

Pretty much the same for me, I prefer a chunkier.

[Gilmourisgod]

I have small/average size hands, so chunky necks put me off, never liked P necks, but a Jazz feels great. The Ibanez necks feel great in my hands. 

[Lw.]

All about personal preference. Playability is just a combination of what your hands & mind like - I've played a huge variety of basses & my go to bass is a precision with wide spacing & a soft-v neck profile. 

 

I can play songs on that that I can't on my others - I assume it's a mental thing plus having the space for my fingers to move. You'd think closer strings & thinner necks would make you be able to play faster but that hasn't always been the case in my experience. 

[mangotango]

On ‎24‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 12:23, Gilmourisgod said:

I have small/average size hands, so chunky necks put me off, never liked P necks, but a Jazz feels great. The Ibanez necks feel great in my hands. 

This. And then I acquired a Bass Collection SB 301, and found the perfect match for me. Even the 5-string is perfectly manageable. So I got one of those too.

[chris_b]

Up until now the depth of the neck has never had an effect on my playing. It seems my left hand doesn't require much consistency in the necks I play. I just adapt to a wider grip and to wider spaced strings at the nut and on the fret board.

I guess we can all relearn, but the one thing my right hand needs, is for the strings to be 18mm or 19mm at the bridge or that will affect my playing. After so many years playing Fender type basses I'm locked into that one.

[Marvin]

I don't worry about nut width on a neck, it is actually how 'thick' it is i.e from back to front.

I used to have a Rockbass Corvette (one of the first ones). It was a 38mm standard jazz style nut width but the neck was like a baseball bat. I found it almost unplayable and made my hand hurt. It was also complicated by how those basses hang, which makes the first fret feel a thousand miles away. 

My current basses have very playable necks regards their girth  

[T-Bay]

I have tried loads but the slim Thunderbird neck is just perfection for me. I had a precision and it felt like trying to play a cricket bay in comparison.

[Pea Turgh]

I like wide and shallow. Narrow gives me hand cramps.  I have daddy long legs hands though.

[Highfox]

5 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

I like wide and shallow. Narrow gives me hand cramps.  I have daddy long legs hands though.

That's just cheating lol.

 

[NancyJohnson]

My hands are pretty big so honestly never really experienced issues with neck profiles or string spacing.  

That said, I didn't get on with the neck on the Rickenbacker 4003 I owned...no taper, fat, nasty.

[EliasMooseblaster]

Judging by variation in responses, it's probably fair to say that some people are more picky about it than others!

It's never really bothered me personally, but obviously I can understand why you wouldn't want to own an instrument if the neck was uncomfortable to play, let alone if it actually made your left hand cramp up! I think I've only tried one bass, if memory serves, on which the neck was so small and fiddly that I couldn't see myself ever getting on with it.

[andruca]

Personal preference. I have HUGE hands (I cover 11" with one hand spread) and still can't play thick necks nor too wide spacing 5ers. I mean, I can, just won't. SO used to Stingray 5ers that almost any 5er feels hard to play for me. Only like the sharpest of C profiles. The other thing I can't stand is fingerboard radius, the flatter the better. I'm the most picky person about this I know. I have a hard time understanding why manufacturers won't publish specs such as front-to-back thickness @ frets 1 and 12. In the internet age, where sometimes you don't get to try all you buy, such a spec would have saved me from buying a couple hand thrashers.

[Geek99]

Big palms with small fingers, I can do 10” easily 

I’m pretty much able to adapt to anything. I used to shy away from p basses but now I love them

 

i think within reasonable physical limits most people should be able to adapt pretty quickly to different sizes 

[BreadBin]

I don't mind depth, but anything too narrow I struggle with. Jazz profile is no good for me. 

Bridge spacing I am quite fussy about too - again narrow is bad.

Edited October 29, 2018 by BreadBin

[Deedee]

On 26/10/2018 at 12:54, chris_b said:

Up until now the depth of the neck has never had an effect on my playing. It seems my left hand doesn't require much consistency in the necks I play. I just adapt to a wider grip and to wider spaced strings at the nut and on the fret board.

I guess we can all relearn, but the one thing my right hand needs, is for the strings to be 18mm or 19mm at the bridge or that will affect my playing. After so many years playing Fender type basses I'm locked into that one.

Exactly this for me. I used to avoid narrower nut widths but I’m loving my EBMM Sterlings after years of playing mainly Stingray/Precision width necks.  However, a narrow spacing at the bridge and I’m knackered.

[Quatschmacher]

On 30/10/2018 at 01:26, Deedee said:

Exactly this for me. I used to avoid narrower nut widths but I’m loving my EBMM Sterlings after years of playing mainly Stingray/Precision width necks.  However, a narrow spacing at the bridge and I’m knackered.

Sterlings actually have a slightly narrower string spacing at the bridge (1/16” less) than Stingrays according to the EBMM specs. I found the difference a plus when I compared. 

Edited November 10, 2018 by Quatschmacher

[Deedee]

13 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Sterlings actually have a slightly narrower string spacing at the bridge (1/16” less) than Stingrays according to the EBMM specs. I found the difference a plus when I compared. 

If there is a difference, it's certainly not discernible.  Feel great to me.

[Quatschmacher]

2 minutes ago, Deedee said:

If there is a difference, it's certainly not discernible.  Feel great to me.

I definitely felt it, more so when anchoring my thumb on the E string and playing the G string. I have shortish fingers. 

[MacDaddy]

Thin J, flat D profile, works for me.

But I have small hands.