Thickness vs Width

[KingRazor]

In your opinion, what makes a bass neck more difficult to play?

The neck being too wide (or narrow) or being too thick (or thin)?

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume we're talking only about C-shaped necks.

 

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

That's kinda like asking what's more uncomfortable: pants that are too tight, or a shirt that's too tight?

They're both equally critical, to me anyway.

 

[JonahTheAmazing]

I find wider necks to be comfortable at the lower frets, but if it's too thick, I find a loss of that comfort. It just has to be a nice ratio of width to thickness. A thick neck works better for me if the string spacing is tighter.

That's just me.

 

[KingRazor]

That's kinda like asking what's more uncomfortable: pants that are too tight, or a shirt that's too tight?

They're both equally critical, to me anyway.

Well, I'm sure that when driven to the extreme, any of those things can cause a neck to be unplayable.

I'm talking about standards here though.

For example, a 1 7/8" wide neck might be a bit wide for some people, on the other hand other people might be able to play just as easily on a 1 1/2" nut width as a 1 7/8".

Thicknesses don't range too wildly usually either.

 

[Hopkins]

I like a thick neck with narrow string spacing (1 1/2" at the nut). When a neck is to thin (my Squier VM Jazz) my hand gets cramps at the base of my thumb. On the other hand I find that a more narrow string spacing is more comfortable to me as well. If that makes any sense at all.

 

[D.M.N.]

I can deal with pretty much any width of neck, I usually play a 62 RI P, and it has a pretty wide neck. However, I don't like basses with thick necks, I like them wide and thin (pretty flat profile). I've played some 50s P (pre-split pup), and while I liked the width, I found the thickness to be rather discomforting. I could probably get used to it if I played one regularly, but for pick up and go, I prefer the flat profile.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

My take:

I prefer thin necks - thin as in thickness of neck, not width of fretboard. The thinner, the better (hence my Zon patronage).

Width is bit more tricky - some basses are just TOO narrow. Many Ibanez's I've played make me feel like I have sausages for fingers... But I don't want fretboards TOO wide, particularly on a 5. I like room to slap (which is why I've got my eyes open for another 5 right now - my Zon is great for plucking, but I struggle with it when slapping).

 

[kjpollo]

I'm with Harry on the Ibanez thing. I've tried several Ibby's and most of the necks just feel too insubstantial to me, and I dont have massive hands by any stretch.
About 4 years back (in my pre-TB days) I was in the market for a new bass. I A/B'ed an Ibanez and an ESP LTD. I ended up buying the ESP mainly for the feel of the neck. The Ibanez was just too small for me.

 

[bassplayer1494]

my ray34 has a considerably wider neck than my MIA jazz and i can play both pretty good but the ray is more comfortable because of my sausage fingers.

 

[knucklehead G]

I can handle Ibanez thinness and old Warwick chunky, but if it has a Jazz nut width I wind up all cramped and running into myself.

Width causes the issues for me.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

I can handle Ibanez thinness and old Warwick chunky, but if it has a Jazz nut width I wind up all cramped and running into myself.

Width causes the issues for me.

You know when it's driven me nuts? Going from one to another. Example: I've been really focused on playing my Zon for several months now. About a week ago, I picked up my Lakland 4 string and it felt... HUGE - the strings were miles apart! It utterly threw me off... And I know that bass is crazy comfortable to play when I'm playing it regularly. So I'm with ya.

 

[NortyFiner]

The thicker the neck from front to back, the farther your thumb is anchored from the rest of your hand. This can limit your fingers' reach on the fretboard. Not so much a problem on most 4-strings, but on 5+ string basses with wider fretboards, it can be a problem getting to all the strings (and even more of a problem fretting chords) if the neck is too thick. The wider the fretboard, the thinner the neck needs to be to be reasonably playable.

 

[NortyFiner]

I can handle Ibanez thinness and old Warwick chunky, but if it has a Jazz nut width I wind up all cramped and running into myself.

Width causes the issues for me.

I don't like necks wide enough to land the Space Shuttle, but I get what you mean about narrow string spacing. My Squier VM P is 1.625" at the nut and that is about my limit. Jazz necks at 1.5" are just too narrow for me.

 

[David1234]

... and the thinner the neck the more likely most people's hands are to cramp up or fatigue after a long show, particularly with wide spacing.

For speed: wide spacing, shallow neck is best
For endurance: narrow spacing, deep/thick neck is best

 

[tehmetcalfe]

I've always had a really hard time playing a bass if the neck is to narrow. I've never had a problem with wide or thick because I have pretty big hands.

 

[Big Cadillac]

I consider the width to be more important. A jazz neck (more narrow) feels better than a precision neck (wider) to my hands. The thickness can be a factor but I the width is more critical, IMHO.

 

[bassnat]

I play only 5's and prefer nothing wider than 1.75. What has not been mentioned is the fret board radius. I tend to prefer a slightly rounder radius than flat, i.e. a jazz over a P.

 

[AmadeusXeno]

I play a 6 string bass so a wide fretboard doesn't bother me. I don't like thick necks though. They just don't feel right to me.

 

[JTE]

Depth ( front-to-back) is the critical dimension for me. My Fender VS '62 P is great. A full 1.75 wide (side-to- side) and very shallow front-to-back. A more narrow string spacing is easy to adapt to as long as it's not stupid skinny like a Fender Performer or a Geddy Lee, but thick front-to- back is very bad. It alters the angle of the hand and forces the whole arm out of position.

Jogn

 

[nachodaddy]

I like a thick neck with narrow string spacing (1 1/2" at the nut). When a neck is to thin (my Squier VM Jazz) my hand gets cramps at the base of my thumb. On the other hand I find that a more narrow string spacing is more comfortable to me as well. If that makes any sense at all.

I think we're on the same page. I hate C necks when they're really more like ( necks. Bleah. Yes, they need to be shaped like a real C, or, what some call a U neck. Shallow C necks give me the lumbago lickety split. As for nut width, I may be a bit more congenial to any size. But, I do find fat & narrow to be comfy.