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Warmoth Standard vs. Slim Taper: How Significant is 2mm?

Icculus

Icculus

Jul 29, 2010
606
264
South Jersey
#1
Currently, I have a standard contour Warmoth neck on my PJ and I'm looking to put together another bass with a Warmoth neck. I've been having some hand/wrist/elbow issues lately that I will say are only partly due to playing more bass (I've got joint/tendon problems in general and am very prone to RMIs). This has presented me with a couple of questions:

1. This photo shows the difference between the two options, and the slim taper is basically listed as 2mm thinner at the 1st and 12th frets. Is this a significant change, because it does not look it?

bassneckcontourslineSlimTaperwithTitle.jpg


2. It always made sense to me that smaller necks would be easier on the left arm. The more I read, I'm finding some people actually have MORE problems with the slimmer necks. I have a few basses and while I can certainly feel a difference, it's hard for me to figure out which is better since I'm already quite injured and can't really play for more than 10-15 minutes. Essentially, they're all causing pain so it's hard to attribute anything to one neck vs. the other.

I'm sure some of the vets have experimented with several profiles until they found the right one. My goal is to get a better understanding so I can get back to playing again.
 
#4
Yup. It would be significant to me.

As for what is better for wrist problems I have no idea. I have also read that a thicker profile is better. Based on that I don't think I'd get the slim profile, but I'm not sure that the standard profile is all that thicker either.

Does the standard contour neck you have now cause issues?
 
#5
Dave W said:
Yup. It would be significant to me.

As for what is better for wrist problems I have no idea. I have also read that a thicker profile is better. Based on that I don't think I'd get the slim profile, but I'm not sure that the standard profile is all that thicker either.

Does the standard contour neck you have now cause issues?
Click to expand...

It's hard to tell. As i mentioned above, I have systemic joint issues and have been playing a lot more than usual. The Warmoth is noticeably chunkier than my Lakland, but I don't know that it's the neck thickness that's causing the problems. Now that the damage is done, any neck hurts when I play for a little while.
 
#6
I think a thicker neck (for some) puts less strain on the fretting hand. Personally I found this out the hard way. I used to reshape all my necks from Warmoth to suit my preferences but the last two Deluxe V necks I ordered have this new thinner profile. In some cases much thinner.
 
#12
Low Class said:
It's significant and you'll definitely notice the difference.
Click to expand...
It is a very significant difference if you’re going to get the slim taper neck. That would make sense if you’re going to put a polyester finish on the back of it. It will add two more inches of thickness so you will have the warmoth standard neck. If you were leaving the neck unfinished. I would get standard
 

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