Okay, I went back about 10 pages. Most of the discussion seemed to be about the different colors and how harsh the stock strings sound. So, I'll ask again, what's it like going from a 7.25 radius to a 12 radius ? How do they sound compared to a stock Jazz ? Balance, feel ?
This is purely my own experience and shouldn't be applied to everyone, but for me, my first time trying out a 12" radius was not good.
Here's a true story I've shared across the forum, but I don't believe I've told it here. When I assembled my first parts-bass, I used the neck from a Squier Deluxe Jazz Active IV.
Like with any first start, my dissatisfaction with it was actually a great learning experience. As much as I wanted to, I simply couldn't bond with it. One lesson learned was that I prefer two pickup instruments. The other, bigger lesson took me a little while to suss out. For some reason, the neck did not feel comfortable in my fretting hand and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why!
A little later, I went on a trip with my wife. I decided to bring my Aerodyne with me since it hadn't gotten much attention for quite some time. After hauling it out for a little practice-time, I was marveling at how comfortable it felt, especially to my fretting hand. So, I whipped out my phone and called up the specs of the 'Dyne and compared it to the Squier Deluxe. Lo and behold, 7.25" versus 12"! That not only explained why I wasn't bonding with my parts-bass on the ergonomic front, but why similarly radius'd necks from other manufacturers
(Ibanez, Warwick, etc...) didn't feel
"right" for me.
Do I know for sure why this is? No, but I suspect my very hands-on, half-my-life career has something to do with it. All I know is curvier fretboards are my lane. I can do 9.5" without a problem, but I tend to steer clear of anything flatter. However, in the interest of getting all scientific and stuff, I will eventually sample some second-gen Aerodynes to see how I take to them. Who knows? I could be pleasantly surprised!
