Hmmm ... everybody's bass has the fastest neck! Maybe we should have a TalkBass "neck-n-neck" drag-race down the 1/4 mile track & see 
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
What's the fastest neck out there?
- Thread starter terribilino
- Start date
+1000
Took the words right out of my mouth. A Dynabass with a rosewood fretboard is just....just.... when you put your hands on that neck for business, buckle up and hang on for dear life is all I can say.
Until a few days ago I would have swore neck thickness was a big factor. Then I picked up a Stingray which has by far the thickest neck I've ever played.
After a small adjusting period where my thumb had to keep from rolling out where it would normally lay flat, I found I've been flying on this one.
Finish is big part of it, the 'Ray is has nothing more than Gun oil and wax, but the set up and technique are the most important.
The question might be better posed: Which neck/strings slows you down the most...
After a small adjusting period where my thumb had to keep from rolling out where it would normally lay flat, I found I've been flying on this one.
Finish is big part of it, the 'Ray is has nothing more than Gun oil and wax, but the set up and technique are the most important.
The question might be better posed: Which neck/strings slows you down the most...
I LOL'd! I'm reading Yeager's autobiography right now.
The fastest necks I own are my Geddy Jazz (sanded, oil finish) and Ibanez SR885, both are absurdly thin.
But I think the most comfy are my MM SR5 (satin finish) and Sadowsky NYC 24-5.
How close is the neck on the Foundation to the one on the Dynabass?
I have been owning a Foundie for a few hours now (as you know) and it is simply the fastest neck I ever played on.
0000 steel wool and that thing will feel like silk. and my vote would go for my spector which is one of the nicest necks ive ever had the pleasure to play and own
In my experience my dyna's neck is slightly thiner and to me feels narrower then any of my Foundies (I like that nickname there ^_^). Foundies necks /are/ fast and comfortable but the Dyna took it a step further. If you like that Foundy neck (and to those that prefer a slighter neck, who wouldnt ^_^) a Dyna's neck will literally blow you away. Its the only way I can put it. My Squier VMJs neck is huge compared to my Dynas neck. Its (The Squier) large compared to my Foundies necks too for that matter.
I can go from my Foundations to my Dyna to my Yamahas with no problem in adjustment -- they are all within the same range (though the Dyna is king of thin/narrow and fast). Its when I go from one of them to my T40 or my Fender P that it takes me a minute to 'adjust'. The T40 and of course the P special (even though its neck is thinner more like a Jazz) have a more P neck width to them. I love them just as much though. ^_^ That being said, I feel my T40 and P special have fast necks too, just off a Pbass platform, not Jazz. And I frankly don't know how to categorize my Squiers neck. Its very yummy too and its a fast J neck for sure but it would be my biggest J neck in the gang of basses I own. LOL
Complex issue.
Let's see if I can muddy it further.
Of the dozen or so basses I currently own, my '62 EBO is measurably (by 4 bpm) the fastest on my "signature show off" bass moves. Used to think it was because it was so thin. Measured it. Not that thin.
Finish is just the old varnish finish, but not tacky at all. Have modified it with better pup, but still a dark sounding bass, so I think part of the reason it's so fast is that the lack of high end and fret material/contour allows super low action without audible buzz. It also allows some sloppiness of technique without tattling on me. It could also be that it was my third bass, and the only one I've kept down through the years from my teens. So muscle memory formed when nervous system was still, um, "unpoisoned"?
I don't think it's just me though, because bass players are always borrowing it to record their projects in my studio. It is immediately faster and more error free in their hands than the one they have been playing for years. One guy said if it were a bicycle, you'd always be riding down hill with the wind at your back.
To give you an idea of how fast this little sh!t is, a little fuzz to generate high end and I often play the second part of a double lead, since our rhythm guitard gives great vocal, but never wanted to progress beyond banging chords.
For making long moves along the neck, the Birdsongs are the fastest for me, because the change from triangular shape at the nut, to elliptical near the body, makes it easier to be very accurate when going a greater distance on the neck. It's more accurate than just "feeling" how far your hand has moved, and I refuse to look. I don't look so good any more, but I don't look, so it's good.
Let's see if I can muddy it further.
Of the dozen or so basses I currently own, my '62 EBO is measurably (by 4 bpm) the fastest on my "signature show off" bass moves. Used to think it was because it was so thin. Measured it. Not that thin.
Finish is just the old varnish finish, but not tacky at all. Have modified it with better pup, but still a dark sounding bass, so I think part of the reason it's so fast is that the lack of high end and fret material/contour allows super low action without audible buzz. It also allows some sloppiness of technique without tattling on me. It could also be that it was my third bass, and the only one I've kept down through the years from my teens. So muscle memory formed when nervous system was still, um, "unpoisoned"?
I don't think it's just me though, because bass players are always borrowing it to record their projects in my studio. It is immediately faster and more error free in their hands than the one they have been playing for years. One guy said if it were a bicycle, you'd always be riding down hill with the wind at your back.
To give you an idea of how fast this little sh!t is, a little fuzz to generate high end and I often play the second part of a double lead, since our rhythm guitard gives great vocal, but never wanted to progress beyond banging chords.
For making long moves along the neck, the Birdsongs are the fastest for me, because the change from triangular shape at the nut, to elliptical near the body, makes it easier to be very accurate when going a greater distance on the neck. It's more accurate than just "feeling" how far your hand has moved, and I refuse to look. I don't look so good any more, but I don't look, so it's good.
