why do people call a skinny neck fast?

[darwin-bass]

I thought "fast" was a term borrowed from the shredder e-gtr world. Thin necks are "fast". I have no idea why. I think the term is silly and using it smacks of "beginner". If you're using it, I suggest you drop it fast (pun intended)!

 

[LBS-bass]

Neck profile, not width, is what makes a neck fast for me, and by fast I mean comfortable. I have two D shaped Music Man necks and I play them like they are a part of me (albeit poorly, but it feels right). That's just what suits my hands. Others may differ because their hands are different.

 

[FugaziBomb]

Hmmm... I think of my thin necked Ibanez's as being faster than any other basses. I can do things on the SR that I can't on my T-40. Maybe it's a technique issue? I dunno. What I do know is that those Ibanez's sure do have some get-up and go.

 

[StatesideRambler]

I've only been playing bass since 1966 so take this with a grain of salt:
The overall shape of a neck together with the body it's fastened to and the strings installed on it and the music I play all affect how it feels when I play. I've played narrow/wide necks and thick/thin necks and glossy/oiled/naked necks and I've found some of each are easy to play and some of each are harder (though never difficult) to play. Thin doesn't mean "fast" any more than narrow means "fast" so this whole discussion is a waste of electron flow. Pick up a bass and play it to determine what works for YOU. A given neck is great for player A while it sucks for player B. The anonymous, self-appointed experts here can't know what will work for you.

 

[TheGreatSealof]

A thinner neck may be easier to get around on depending the individuals physical make up. That can be perceived as being faster.

I like most Jazz necks but the really small ones feel cramped. The larger necks I'm okay with but that really depends on the shape and radius. It's more complicated than just skinny or thick I think. For me it's a comfort thing.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

"Skinny" to me usually refers to the width of the neck at the nut and relates to the taper of the overall neck. Jazz necks are skinnier (1.5") than a P-bass (1.62").
"Thin" to me means the thickness front-to-back of the neck. I would consider Ibanez SR series necks to be thin in comparison to their Talman necks. Consider these measurements for an SR300E vs Talman100.

SR300E
Scale : 864mm/34"
a : Width 38mm at NUT
b : Width 62mm at 24F
c : Thickness 19.5mm at 1F
d : Thickness 21.5mm at 12F
Radius : 305mmR

Talman100
Scale : 864mm/34"
a : Width 41mm at NUT
b : Width 62mm at 20F
c : Thickness 21.5mm at 1F
d : Thickness 24.5mm at 12F
Radius : 240mmR

View attachment 2993991

Some of the dimensional differences might appear small on paper, but in my hand they feel radically different. The SR neck feels like there is less material in my hand when fretting thus makes it faster to maneuver. A chunky neck to me is not as comfortable or "fast". It has to do with the size and shape of my hand.
I'd say that neck radius is also a significant and relevant factor: flatter is considered "faster" by some.
As usual, it comes down to what works for you.

Measurements of course. But, then there's the finish of the neck also. Gloss tends to stick, where nice sanded wood with oil just glides. Smooth, "fast" neck. Regardless of the size.

 

[bolophonic]

"Fast" is a meaningless adjective when applied to a bass or guitar neck, as far as I'm concerned. May as well say "sweet". Absolutely no descriptive value.

Boom

 

[Fun Size Nick]

Ha! This always bugs me too. I don't feel like any necks that I've played have been inherently 'fast' or 'slow' - it's usually me that is fast or slow! I don't find it hard to move around on most necks these days, be they big or small.

My first bass was an Ibanez Soundgear - tiny neck, both in width and profile (satin finish too). I thought that tiny = comfortable, especially for a little guy like me. Then I played, and then bought, a mid-'70s Jazz, which had a neck that was wider, enormous front to back U profile, and gloss finished to boot. It was the most comfortable neck I'd ever played! When I went to play the Soundgear again, it just felt cramped, not 'fast'.

 

[LBS-bass]

I don't think any neck is inherently "fast," that seems like slang for comfort. What is more comfortable for a player can translate into speed. I believe what's comfortable is highly subjective and individual.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I can fret just as fast on a p bass as a jazz?

I feel like skinnier necks are actually slower for me

It’s a good question. I assume it’s mainly from Guitar talk. Guitar players that play technical music tend to prefer flat fingerboards with super low action. My dingwall “feels” really fast. But it’s neck isn’t particularly thin or flat. I can play faster on it than anything else I’ve tried. Granted I play hard rock and nu metal so I’m not playing progressive metal with fast sweeping and stuff . It feels fast to me because of the string tension on the low B and E strings, maybe the tiny frets have something to do with it.

I have medium/large hands. I played 6 and 7 string basses for a while so most 4 or 5 string necks are a breeze to me. If anything I don’t like 4 string necks that are too skinny, and I don’t like 5 string necks that are really flat and wide. Had one bass that’s neck felt like I was holding a 1/4 piece of trim in my hand or something. The edge of the fingerboard poked into the base of my thumb and my hand was always in an odd position/shape so it was uncomfortable to me.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

I agree that neck width might not matter, even though I prefer small necks. It's likely about comfort, practice and natural ability. You play better on a neck that feels right, and if you practice you'll get better. Nonetheless, no matter how much I practice I'll likely never be as fast as Billy Sheehan.

 

[bumperbass]

The frets on a Jazz and Precision are the same distance apart. The strings on a Jazz are closer together, which means they are "in my way".
My fingers need room. I love my chunky Precision neck. You may not.

 

[thmsjordan]

Fastest player on a string instrument I ever saw was Ravi Shankar playing a huge sitar neck with scalloped frets and very tall action.



after seeing him play, I realized all of this ******** about neck size was just uninformed nonsense.

 

[2BitHack]

dont forget the radius.....both sides

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

It's just another vague buzzword that Talkbass loves to use. It's like when people say that a bass has a "creamy" or "buttery" tone.

 

[physics]

I suppose by "fast" we might be saying what we can comfortably play at performance tempos. For me it was the narrow and skinny neck of my Thunderbird on which I learned to play bass. Having a narrow neck with closely-spaced strings helped me with doing things like finger rolls, up and down fourths.

 

[mpdd]

ime when i have played a monster 1.75" p neck i did notice that it was a little bit more effort to reach from string to string and to play really high and i have pretty big hands

 

[Jazz Ad]

I can fret just as fast on a p bass as a jazz?

If your reference is Fender basses, you don't know fast necks. Try an Ibanez SR or a Status Series III for a change.

 

[wintremute]

Everyone has their own personal experience and preferences, but that doesn't negate a generality.

In general, a person will be able to play faster on a thinner neck - so people call them fast necks. YMMV, etc.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Substitute easy for fast.

If you have a good technique then all necks work at the same speed. If you don't then size matters.

Not really. That's the same as saying jumping over 8 feet is the same as jumping over 9 feet if your technique is good.