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Does width of the neck impact tone/sound?

F

fatim

May 17, 2007
20
3
Sweden
#1
I´m considering to buy a Fender 78 P-bass with
a narrow maple neck (A width 1,5)

I´ve played an older Fender P-bass with the C neck
(1,75) for years.

Considering the narrow one for comfort.

But I´m wondering if the width impacts the
tone/sound (everything else equal) ?
 
#5
Yeah I have a Jazz as well which is very comfortable
to play , but nothing beats the P-bass sound in my
opinion. Just a little worried I´d lose the thick deep tone
of my wider P-bass. But as someone said probably
hardly noticeable.
 
#7
I've heard a wider, thicker neck improve the sound of a Telecaster, but maybe it was also a difference in trussrod, or maybe I just make magically good necks (insert your own choice of smiley face here). Regardless, it wasn't a big enough difference that I would pick a less comfortable neck hoping to improve the tone. I'd say use the neck you like the feel of. I think fingers and pickups make a way bigger difference.
 
#8
I actually did an experiment with that a few years ago. with Alleva Coppolo basses.. Wide " C" neck P Bass and narrow "A" neck . same wood, close to same weight since one had less wood stock.. same tuners , same finish ect. and believe it or not , the same size neck same woods will vary in weight at limes fairly significantly.

The Wider neck had more fullness on the attack if i remember .. my narrow "A" necked P bass has more focus to it than the wider necked version... maybe that is why a 5 string bass never sounds exactly like its 4 string counterpart... I dont know... but i have been digging wider necks lately..
 
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#9
svtb15 said:
I actually did an experiment with that a few years ago. with Alleva Coppolo basses.. Wide " C" neck P Bass and narrow "A" neck . same wood, close to same weight since one had less wood stock.. same tuners , same finish ect. and believe it or not , the same size neck same woods will vary in weight at limes fairly significantly.
Click to expand...

True about different necks having different densities and other characteristics so they can sound very different.

I've reprofiled several necks with a nut width of from 1-3/4", 1-5/8" and 1-1/2" tapering them down to a nut width of 1-7/16" and there was no noticeable change except the feel of the neck.
 
#10
fatim said:
I´m considering to buy a Fender 78 P-bass with
a narrow maple neck (A width 1,5)

I´ve played an older Fender P-bass with the C neck
(1,75) for years.

Considering the narrow one for comfort.

But I´m wondering if the width impacts the
tone/sound (everything else equal) ?
Click to expand...

I bought an SX P a few years ago. It had a wide, thick neck that I didn't like so I put an MIM Jazz neck on it. I noticed a difference in tone (not huge, but noticeable). The tone had a little more beef with the fatter neck. I was willing to give that up to have a more comfortable neck, and really it was so minor that I doubt anyone could tell in a band situation. It was worth it for me.
 
#11
physics 101. dont forget mass and density are two separate things.

i was on an experiment expedition...
we took a few necks. cut from the same Brazilian RW fingerboards and maple necks all the stock weight was the same weight...
there is a very noticeable difference in sound and mostly attack between a C neck and an A neck.. same wood combos. you couldn't get any closer in your tests unless you cut the wood yourself...and made your own necks..
of course they will feel different . thats a no brainer..
but i think the added mass is what made the wide neck attack differently..
mass .. try iot yourself.. and its better if you dont plug the instrument into an amp.. just do it acoustically... adding electronics just adds too many more variable..
to my ears there is a significant difference.. again IMO






mongo2 said:
True about different necks having different densities and other characteristics so they can sound very different.

I've reprofiled several necks with a nut width of from 1-3/4", 1-5/8" and 1-1/2" tapering them down to a nut width of 1-7/16" and there was no noticeable change except the feel of the neck.
Click to expand...
 
#12
svtb15 said:
physics 101. dont forget mass and density are two separate things.

i was on an experiment expedition...
we took a few necks. cut from the same Brazilian RW fingerboards and maple necks all the stock weight was the same weight...
there is a very noticeable difference in sound and mostly attack between a C neck and an A neck.. same wood combos. you couldn't get any closer in your tests unless you cut the wood yourself...and made your own necks..
of course they will feel different . thats a no brainer..
but i think the added mass is what made the wide neck attack differently..
mass .. try iot yourself.. and its better if you dont plug the instrument into an amp.. just do it acoustically... adding electronics just adds too many more variable..
to my ears there is a significant difference.. again IMO
Click to expand...

Well if there is a difference what is it exactly? You say attack,care to elaborate?

This makes sense to me.I am thinking a wider neck also has better sustain as it is stronger,hence requires less truss rod tensioning.
Tensioning supposedly dampens the resonance.Don't carbon fiber necks have better resonance for this reason? Stronger with less mechanical tensioning required.
 
#13
fatim said:
everything else equal
Click to expand...

Ah yes, the old "everything else equal" chestnut... Since you're considering buying a whole 'nother bass with this bigger neck, why does "everything else equal" matter? Unless your plan was to swap necks, everything else isn't equal.

A guitar professor at Berklee who also taught a course in guitar repair once told me "Everything makes a difference. The question is whether you can hear the difference."
 
#14
svtb15 said:
and believe it or not , the same size neck same woods will vary in weight at limes fairly significantly.
Click to expand...

Excellent point. Even when everything is "equal", tone can vary significantly due to the variable nature of wood. To put it another way, differences in tone between two non-identical instruments can't be isolated to one particular variable, because it might be the wood itself even if the woods used are the same.



Hoover said:
A guitar professor at Berklee who also taught a course in guitar repair once told me "Everything makes a difference. The question is whether you can hear the difference."
Click to expand...

Haha, that's awesome. And to take the point further, can you hear the difference in the mix?
 
#15
If you pluck lightly then subtle changes in tone won't be heard. If pluck the strings hard and drive the bass into resonance then eveything effects the tone. I think this is at the root of most effects the tone/doesn't effect the tone discussions.

Everything else being the same a wider neck will be slightly stiffer and the difference in tone would be as described above. Problem is, everything else is never the same.
 
#16
fatim said:
Yeah I have a Jazz as well which is very comfortable
to play , but nothing beats the P-bass sound in my
opinion. Just a little worried I´d lose the thick deep tone
of my wider P-bass. But as someone said probably
hardly noticeable.
Click to expand...

My main player these days is a MIM P w/an Allparts Jazz neck; it's tone is quite thick & very much your textbook Precision mid/deep/thumpiness w/a fair amount of clackiness available via the tone knob.
Again I suggest you get the more comfortable one- no one in the crowd but the occasional bass player will have any idea what you're playing. :)
 
#17
I definitely think that it's worth considering the playability of a different neck shape. A comfortable player helps me make tone/sound that I want more readily than something that I have to constantly wrestle with when I'm playing it. Just me...

I don't sweat the effect of the shape of a neck so much as the actual quality of the wood when it comes to the tone, sound, sustain, etc. My #1 J-bass is just a passive Franken-Jazz, but it has a Warmoth neck (maple/rosewood) that's reeeeeeeally dense and stable. When I compare it to other basses, including US made Fenders, I rarely find necks that have the same "solidness" that I'm used to in my neck. While I don't think that this heft does anything to choke the tone in this bass, I get a lot of confidence with its inherent response and sustain.

I'm in the camp that thinks that the tone 'n all really depends on that specific piece of wood.
 
#18
To answer the OP's question: nobody really knows how much neck thickness affects tone, if any. But I think most of us will agree that it is waaaaay down in the list of factors that determine the overall tone of a bass. So, I highly recommend that you go with whatever neck feels best to you. And IMHO if the new bass sounds different, it's probably not because of the difference in neck thickness.
 
#19
Thank you Fuzzbass I think you got a good point
there. No one will ever be able tell where the difference
in tone stems from. All basses sound different and we´ll
never know why...

I think I´ll take a chance on the comfy neck
(and keep the old one just in case...)
 

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