Necks on Am Standards and Epiphones

[chefchil]

I got my hands on an old 1954 Kay and realized the thin neck doesn't feel right to me after learning to play on a Christopher. Can anyone tell me if the necks on the old American Standards and the old Epiphones are like the Kay basses?

Thanks!

[Jake deVilliers]

The Epi necks are a great shape, deep but not too wide. Terrific necks!

[M Ramsey]

I've got 2 American Standards. The older one (late 30'searly40's) has a beefier neck than most Kays I have played. The more recent one (late 50's-early 60's) has a smaller neck.

I've got pretty big hands and the medium necks (where I would classify mine) seem to work better for me.

There was some discussion about this here before, small vs. larger neck size. While the very small Kay necks feel like butter when I would first pick them up, I would often end up with cramps, due to the smaller size.

That's just my opinion. I ain't no bass god.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I had an old standard, and the neck was fairly thin. When I moved up to I beefier neck, I finally realized what I had been missing and had much less fatigue die to the open hand position. YMMV.

[chefchil]

Thanks for the info! Weird how I hated the feel of the thick neck of my Christopher when I first took up the DB, and now six months later, I don't like the feel of a thin Kay neck.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by chefchil

Thanks for the info! Weird how I hated the feel of the thick neck of my Christopher when I first took up the DB, and now six months later, I don't like the feel of a thin Kay neck.

Many players, myself included, share Chris' experience of fatigue when playing on DBs with thinner necks. For those players, thinner necks make formation of the left-hand "claw" more difficult. For other players, it seems to work out fine.