I’m in a season where I recently acquired some new instruments- some basses and a caliper. So, I had some fun and took some measurements! I bought the basses with my neck preference in mind; I discovered I like thin profiles (but also I’m not too picky about string spacing). Up until now I’ve only formed opinions based on how they felt in my hands, and the measurements surprised me a bit too!
I’ll soapbox for a quick rant here- the 1st fret thickness is an important factor, but seems relatively hard to find- often not listed at all in the specs. Compared to the easy to find nut width almost never not listed. And the neck description is confusing- take Fender where the AVII 1960 P neck (0.79” @ 1st fret) is described as “substantial C” and the Nate Mendel is a “slim C” @ 0.89”. I digress, and this was a very revealing experiment for me with fascinating results that I did not expect.
Here’s my basses. I’m putting them in what I thought was slimmest to thickest based on feel alone.
This is a GWB-35 made in 2023. SR necks are legendary and this is the fastest neck I own. I thought it was the thinnest at around 3/4” but it’s my third thinnest at basically 0.81” (20.5mm)
The Callowhill is super slim, Tim had permission to make me his favorite neck, based off what he called “Fender’s Ibanez neck” which was the wide/flat P bass profile of the early 60s and basically what the AVRI 62 (and the Fullerton Reissue 62 before) were profiled from. But again I was wrong, it’s not the thinnest!! But I was correct that it was 0.790” thickness. (20.1mm)
I have a 2008 AVRI 62 which I naturally thought tied the Callowhill. I feels exactly the same, very comfortable and fast. But I was way off, it’s 0.813” (13/16”; 20.65mm)
My other super fast, race car impossible to not overplay bass, the MVP-5 (17.5mm spacing). Feels thin, but it’s actually the thickest!! Confirmation bias on my part? 0.846” thickness (21.5mm)
2023 American Professional II PV. The only other thing I got right was that I guessed this was my 5th (of 6) thickest. It’s based off the 1963 C profile. I know that when they went from the 1962 AVRI to the 1963 reissue P bass, the neck got chunkier. It’s not “chunky” to me, but a little fatter than the 62. 0.827” (21mm)
The last one was the real shocker. 2021 Custom Shop Journeyman Precision/Jazz. I bought this in my quest for the tiny neck based on what I discovered, which is that this was based on one of the smallest profiles, the early 60’s jazz U. (Even though the instrument itself is fashioned after a ‘65-70 style). The thing is, it feels a little chunky to me! I actually thought it was my fattest neck, but the results show that it is the thinnest! How can that be? 0.787” (20mm”) - or just a hair below
I’ll soapbox for a quick rant here- the 1st fret thickness is an important factor, but seems relatively hard to find- often not listed at all in the specs. Compared to the easy to find nut width almost never not listed. And the neck description is confusing- take Fender where the AVII 1960 P neck (0.79” @ 1st fret) is described as “substantial C” and the Nate Mendel is a “slim C” @ 0.89”. I digress, and this was a very revealing experiment for me with fascinating results that I did not expect.
Here’s my basses. I’m putting them in what I thought was slimmest to thickest based on feel alone.
This is a GWB-35 made in 2023. SR necks are legendary and this is the fastest neck I own. I thought it was the thinnest at around 3/4” but it’s my third thinnest at basically 0.81” (20.5mm)
The Callowhill is super slim, Tim had permission to make me his favorite neck, based off what he called “Fender’s Ibanez neck” which was the wide/flat P bass profile of the early 60s and basically what the AVRI 62 (and the Fullerton Reissue 62 before) were profiled from. But again I was wrong, it’s not the thinnest!! But I was correct that it was 0.790” thickness. (20.1mm)
I have a 2008 AVRI 62 which I naturally thought tied the Callowhill. I feels exactly the same, very comfortable and fast. But I was way off, it’s 0.813” (13/16”; 20.65mm)
My other super fast, race car impossible to not overplay bass, the MVP-5 (17.5mm spacing). Feels thin, but it’s actually the thickest!! Confirmation bias on my part? 0.846” thickness (21.5mm)
2023 American Professional II PV. The only other thing I got right was that I guessed this was my 5th (of 6) thickest. It’s based off the 1963 C profile. I know that when they went from the 1962 AVRI to the 1963 reissue P bass, the neck got chunkier. It’s not “chunky” to me, but a little fatter than the 62. 0.827” (21mm)
The last one was the real shocker. 2021 Custom Shop Journeyman Precision/Jazz. I bought this in my quest for the tiny neck based on what I discovered, which is that this was based on one of the smallest profiles, the early 60’s jazz U. (Even though the instrument itself is fashioned after a ‘65-70 style). The thing is, it feels a little chunky to me! I actually thought it was my fattest neck, but the results show that it is the thinnest! How can that be? 0.787” (20mm”) - or just a hair below
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I guess add to my list of ideal neck factors….
