Neck profiles...

Does this idea apply to high tension strings to like Chromes? I don't see how one plays those with a light touch without having really strong forearms.

 

This is why I like Ibanez ATK305s and ATK805s from certain years. Last year's Talmans are good too. Ordered a Talman TMB-105. We'll see how that turns out. Ibanez have a history of changing neck profiles during an instrument's mid-life.

 

i has a KSD 6 string and that neck could double as a sailboat mast

 

It would be nice of manufacturers were a little better about explaining their necks in their online documentation. Ibanez explained the radius, width, and profile depth in great detail on their website. Everyone should do that. A "U" or "C" shaped neck could really mean anything.

Warwick has a "broad neck" option on their German made basses. 70s Fender P basses are infamous for their big necks. 80s BC Rich basses had pretty substantial necks as well.

 

Sounds like people are gripping the neck instead of pushing down the strings while using the thumb (or back of the hand) as a stop.

 

OK, but you don't shouldn't have to squeeze your bass neck like that...

 

When I started out, I found the wider / deeper profile necks harder to navigate. I too am a big guy, with big hands, and over the years I have played Jazz Basses, Ibanezes, Music Man Stingrays, Precisions, and a variety of knock offs of each. By far my favorite is also the cheapest (go figure). My SX Ursa 1 and Ursa 3 P style basses have a neck profile that is, well a very fat D or a skinny C shape, with a good comfortable for me radius to the fingerboard.

I still like the Jazz and Ibanez, but I just don't enjoy playing them as much as the basses with the fatter necks.

 

I don't think any of the current or recent reissue basses have come with that V neck as the vast majority of people would probably not like it. I've never played one but suspect I'd hate it because I never get my thumb up to or over the fretboard.
I'm thinking that getting a Warmoth neck built to your dimensions might be the way to go. You could get a nice used bass and put the new neck on and save or sell the old neck.

 

Played a lot of necks in the day, and likely just as many played mine. One fellow owned a 'Ray just a couple serial numbers away from mine and the necks were subtly different! He offered me good dosh on a trade that I declined .... That said, my personal preference is for a P bass width neck that's quite thin. Those baseball necks are a major put-off for me. Were I to commission a bass I would have them duplicate the neck on my Ray. It's teh besto.

 

Love your avatar. Seen that guy in a lot of History Channel tinfoil hat stuff...

 

Fender Precision 70s type 'A' top of the tops ...

 

i think Ibby gives you enough data ...

but the nut width is a good fact to know ... seems that little extra width also carries across the back of the neck .. ?! at least that's how my Warmoth necks have felt .. !

that's why i build parts basses ... !! i know what parts " I " want ... find em , hope they fit , adjust to taste

 

I guess it's just relative. I don't consider myself to have overly strong hands, but I play with the standard gauge chromes and like them. I tried a set of 40-95 chromes and felt they were too floppy for my liking. So I guess it just depends on the player. I have the standard chromes on both my fretless basses and the tension not only feels good, but enables me to run the action very low.

 

I like a balance between width and thickness. Going too far one way or another feels weird. I'm in the process of selling most of my 1 7/8" Warmoth necks in favor a 1 3/4" nut width for this very reason.

 

5 string VM jazz is pretty big. I like more string spacing so a big neck is a must.

 

I liked the C-shaped, narrow at the nut, neck on my 1965 Jazz Bass and searched for almost 10-years to find another Jazz Bass with that same shape neck including the 7.25 radius after my 1965 was stolen.

I'm exactly the opposite of you though. I tried out one of the snazzy new 1966 Fender Jazz Basses with the bar markers on the neck when they came out in 1966 and immediately thought, "So CBS is trying to save money after buying Fender by using cheaper wood that's twice as thick as mine." The neck looked pretty with the bar markers and the binding on the neck but felt terrible. That's the reason I would never have a 1966 Fender Jazz. Then I tried a Precision bass and thought, "this is like a baseball bat." I've picked up lots of Fender Jazz basses both before I bought this one in 1985 and since. I've never found another bass with that same feeling on the neck.

So I prefer the narrow and thin neck because I can get all over the neck quickly and easily. And, I wear a size 9 glove so I believe I have neither particularly large or small hands.

 

I don't care. I can play everything.

When someone says he can't play something because of the neck ... I'm sure the technique used is less than stellar. You must one of those who choke the neck or wrap your hand around it.

In my case, only my thumb touch the back of the neck. If I'm playing the G or C strings, my thumb is near those strings instead of making my thumb wrap around and touche the B or E strings ...

 

Try a roadworn jazz sometime. I have one and think it might fill the bill for what you're looking for. I was used to a neck that was somewhere in between a j and a p and it took a few hours to get used to the smaller neck but now it's my main player.

 

I use as thin as possible.my hands are small and have short fingers .so using large one are painful and not good .
For five string Ibanez neck is too big for me .
For 4 string standard jazz neck and Ibanez are just ok .
I use Yamaha bb 415.
The neck is like p bass 4 string neck but it's five string on Yamaha .
Although it's not far from jazz neck .

I like c shape ones much more .

 

I'm always a bit surprised by the strong opinions on neck profiles. I guess I didn't realize until recently that some people actually wrap their left thumb around the top of the neck. I always thought having the thumb on the back of the neck was the standard way to play. I could see wrapping your thumb around would cause issues with different neck profiles.

I have very average sized hands and I don't have any real issues with any of the basses that I've played. I will say that six string basses do get a bit unwieldy. But I have a mid-2000s Warwick Thumb BO 5 that I play regularly along with a slim necked P-bass, and they don't feel that different when playing with the thumb on the back.