Why Do people prefer thinner necks?

[oldrookie]

I never, ever, never, ever, touch a thick neck. Always thin Jazz necks (1.5" at the nut too).

Until... I bought a bass on-line that had the fat, fat, fat and wide (1.75" at the nut). I was so disappointed when I received it that I was just going to flip it asap.

I played it for a week at rehearsals and at a gig. I'm a small guy and the neck fills my palm and it is wonderfully comfortable.

Long story short... it takes all kinds and as for me, I sold my other basses and replaced them with extra fat Precision Bass type necks.

Sounds like the G&L Trib L2k series might be right up your alley.

 

[denchiq]

Exactly, they'll have smaller hands too. God i sound like a paedophile.

add something about short scale and you're BUSTED!

 

[spade2you]

add something about short scale and you're BUSTED!

8 year olds, dude. 8 year olds.

 

[Jazzbassguy]

I love the thin bare neck on my Squier VM Jazz... What a smooth player..

 

[Tom Howland]

I prefer a thicker 1.75" neck.
The classic chunky C style.
I even put a P-Neck on my Jazz Bass.
It just feels right.

 

[Solarmist]

The benefit of a thicker neck is beefier strings, and better tone.

How do you figure a "thicker neck" with "beefier strings" equals better tone? ....... PU's, EQ, and string type equals tone.

Does a preference for thin necks mean small hands and/or bad technique?

Smaller hands yes - bad technique no


I've had thick and thin, and much prefer thin as in Ibanez SR because I do have smaller hands, and it just feels better to me. Like everything else; it's personal preference.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

How do you figure a "thicker neck" with "beefier strings" equals better tone? ....... PU's, EQ, and string type equals tone.

Really? Then why do some basses with the same pickups and string type sound different, even through the same EQ?

For starters, string gauge has a major effect on tone. It's partly the sound of the string itself- for example, heavies give stronger fundamentals. However, it's also about setup. If you dig in hard and use light strings, then you need a higher action to avoid fret rattle. With heavies, the action can be set lower, with less relief. At the extremes, changes in setup affect sustain as well as tone.

Which tone you prefer, is just a matter of taste. But trying to suggest that there is no difference, just doesn't work.

 

[panda bass]

My favorite neck is a C shape that has a 1.625" nut width. Is this a fat or thin neck?

That would be thicker I believe!

 

[mongo2]

There's thicker necks with a "beefier" profile and there's necks with narrow width at the nut, then there's necks with and without both.

I can get along with any neck I've played but I prefer the pencil necks on my Hofner Icon Club and violin basses and my custom sized Krappy Traveler.

 

[spade2you]

Which tone you prefer, is just a matter of taste. But trying to suggest that there is no difference, just doesn't work.

Proving that the difference is directly attributed to the neck thickness would be very difficult. There's enough inherent variation withinin the same species of wood.

 

[mongo2]

Proving that the difference is directly attributed to the neck thickness would be very difficult. There's enough inherent variation withinin the same species of wood.

Yep.

I have an Allparts P bass sized neck (nearly 1-3/4" at the nut) that had a very hefty profile and sounded great sounded very even with no obnoxious deadspots. I decided to reprofile the back of the neck and make the width at the nut the original J bass width of 1-7/16". I fully prepared for the event that there might be some change in the tone due to the loss of all that "extra" wood. In fact, part of the decision to do it was curiousity about that very issue.

After I completed the work it was considerably smaller but I found that there was no discernible difference in the tone or eveness of response of the bass it was on. During the work I noticed that the wood was very hard but light in weight and the neck was very stiff, which I hypothesize had something to do with the results.

To this day it's still my favorite 34" scale neck.

 

[sanderic]

Back in the 1970s I did not like Precisions because of their wide necks. It turns out that what I didnt like was the sharp edges of the neck, yes Jazz basses also had sharp neck edges but they were less noticable on thinner necks. Ever since Fender started rolling the edges of their basses back in the 1990s, I am just as comfortable with both models. Note aside: On my 1986 57 reissue Precision, the neck edges were very comfortable. I notice today that most basses are comfortable to play, however, Squiers and many budget brands still have noticably sharper edges.

 

[Staccato]

My favorite neck is a C shape that has a 1.625" nut width. Is this a fat or thin neck?

Width at the nut, and neck shape/thickness are not necessarily in the same discussion, are they? And, there's a variety of 'C' necks.

 

[4001]

I like thinner necks because my fingers can reach frets easier as opposed to having that big chunk of lumber in the way.

My Geddy Lee Jazz Bass has a very thin neck and it is also my favorite player right next to my 1981 Rickenbacker 4001 that also has a pretty thin neck.

 

[SabreATK]

OP here. I just read the whole thread, and one guy said that the thin neck feel better in the palm of his hand? Are any of you guys really palming the neck?

 

[spade2you]

OP here. I just read the whole thread, and one guy said that the thin neck feel better in the palm of his hand? Are any of you guys really palming the neck?

This is hardly uncommon among guitarists and bassists, although most don't prefer a thin neck while doing this.

 

[Solarmist]

Really? Then why do some basses with the same pickups and string type sound different, even through the same EQ?

Name two identical basses with one having a thicker neck, and the other one with slim neck that you have personally A/B'd with the same strings, same amp/cab, same settings, same room, and same distance from while playing. Besides - magnetic pickups don't pick-up neck thickness.

 

[BassGen]

No but some do! The "ball bat" bass grip is common out there. Some bass players can actually make it work for them, but usually it's a hold over from playing guitar or watching guitar players.

While normally one plays with the thumb on the back of the neck, with guitars, some chords DO require fretting using the thumb from the other side. It's a valid guitar technique. On a bass it seems FAR less useful

Yes, and as a converted guitar player I may be biased but on my first bass (A Geddy J with a very thin neck) I have indeed used my thumb to fret the E string. I don't know if it's "right" but truth be told any technique that gets you the desired result in the easiest way should be OK. On the songs I started playing like that I still do it on the fatter neck basses I have.

 

[BassGen]

My 2 cents, I learned how to play on a ibanez, that neck profile feels like home to me. Thin necks to me feel very fluid to play on, thicker necks make me feel like I'm working harder....I guess I'm a thin neck guy...and I'm okay with that.

I was the same. Then I bought a P and struggled on it. Then I bought a 2001 Ric 4003 (paid a lot) and it had a thick neck. Well I'll be damned if I was gonna let that stop me. I started working it and realized it just took a minor change to my techinque to make it work and I also think it made me a better player on all necks. Once I'd learned it on the Ric i picked up the P and it was no problem at all.

 

[Muaguana]

How do you figure a "thicker neck" with "beefier strings" equals better tone? ....... PU's, EQ, and string type equals tone.

He didn't say a thicker neck WITH beefier strings... he said that the beefiness of your strings is directly proportional to the thickness of your neck. Which makes even less sense.

Smaller hands yes - bad technique no

I've had thick and thin, and much prefer thin as in Ibanez SR because I do have smaller hands, and it just feels better to me. Like everything else; it's personal preference.

See, using logic and reason in a discussion with a person who writes like the OP is a bad idea. A bit off topic, but can there be some sort of qualification test for new members to take when they sign up? I don't know... something to make sure they can type in proper English before posting a new thread?