My gibby V has a (what I would consider) a chunky C/D shaped neck. When I pick it up, I tend to play more chord-y, rhythm-y, AC/DC-ish type stuff on it. My ESP has a pretty thin shallow u-shape neck (not quite ibanez but damn near), ...when I pick it up, I tend to play more lead type stuff.
I bought my Hot Rod '62 strat because I got a killer deal, and remember thinking at the time, "hope I get used to this ridiculously fat neck, but if not I'll make money selling it anyway". Well, I did get used to it, and then I loved it, and now I would love a tele with the same neck, and an R8 (though too cheap to actually buy one of those). It just feels right. Sooo comfortable.
Are we talking baseball bat big, or? Modern C is nowhere near big unless your hands are small. Perservere, adapt- enjoy biggish guitar necks!
I prefer a larger neck to put my cinder block hand around it. It gives me more room to place my fingers when voicing chords. I think they make a guitar sound better with their extra mass also... that may not be true but the bigger neck guitars always seem to ring more... could be my imagination.. but it’s not a deal breaker either. I have various size necks around here.
Totally. Lol. But my point is hand size doesn’t mean one neck works for you over another. It’s just what’s comfortable.
Thinner the better for me for decades, then this weird thing happened, I got old. Medium chunky even chunky 50’s necks like my Les Paul or the pretty good sized Eric Johnson Strat neck let me play without pain. I even prefer wider nuts now, 1&11/16” and 1&3/4”.
I generally preferred narrower necks when I was younger but I bust my hand pretty badly in my early 40’s and since then I prefer a bit more heft as it’s less fatiguing.
I don’t know that I am so fond of the baseball bat (1.00” at the nut and at the 12th fret). But I don’t find the really thin necks so great either. I like .80-.90 at the nut and a tenth or so bigger at the 12th fret. That “medium bigger” neck is most comfortable to me. Maybe it isn’t for you, but then you’re not playing my guitar....
It's all personal preference and has a lot to do with technique etc. You ever see the size of Steve Vai's hands and then played a Jem lol?
Small hands here, but I really like big necks. I don't really know why. I like when I grab it, thumb over the neck, it feels full and awesome.
Admin Post NO real "benefit" for me, just personal preference. I have smaller hands but prefer larger necks. I also like heavy guitars because they, song with big necks, just feel more substantial. Thin, lightweight guitars don't interest me in any way and that's not a dig, I know many prefer just the opposite of me.
I have medium sized hands but short fingers and have always preferred slimmer necks. I got rid of a really nice Epi LP because of the 50's neck profile that hurt my fret hand in under 30 minutes even after professional set up but can play the slim taper neck on my gibby LPDC for hours on end. The slimmer neck on my go to '89 MIK strat is more comfortable than the neck on my '02 HWY1 strat but neither hurts my fret hand. At my age even with a tad of arthritis slimmer necks are still a must, but that's just me.
