muttonbuster
Senior Stratmaster
I've noticed I've really been gravitating toward my Jacksons and my American Select which is compound. I've been gassing a bit for one of those MIM Deluxes which I believe are 12" all the way through.
Do 12" radiused necks feel pretty to close to 9.5 - 14s" flatness wise up high?
- Thread starter muttonbuster
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Ronnie Fn D
Senior Stratmaster
I have a 12 and a 14 and can feel a difference. I actually think 12 is the best, the 14 feels very flat while the 12 feels more like everything else floating out there just a lil more comfortable on my hand.
alainvey
Senior Stratmaster
I would say it feels more like a compromise between the two extremes.
Up high does not feel the same - it’s noticeably more round than a 14”, but definitely flatter feeling than a 9.5”.
There will be someone who posts who will say they can’t tell the difference between 7.5” and 20” and that you should just practice more - ignore them.
Up high does not feel the same - it’s noticeably more round than a 14”, but definitely flatter feeling than a 9.5”.
There will be someone who posts who will say they can’t tell the difference between 7.5” and 20” and that you should just practice more - ignore them.
They do feel different (I have 9/12/14s)...the adjustment between 9/12 only takes a second...to 14, maybe 3. Enjoy.
Ever played a Gibson? Any Gibson? That would give you a good idea of what a 12 inch radius feels like because all of them are 12" radii.
Ronkirn
Most Honored Senior Member
this is the difference between a 7.25 (the gauge) and 9.5, (the neck), with the difference between a 9.5 and a 12 being about the same...
Now if you're talking about the difference between a 9.5 - 14 compound.. well being a gradient from one radius to the next... it's just a different comparison
Now if you're talking about the difference between a 9.5 - 14 compound.. well being a gradient from one radius to the next... it's just a different comparison
StratUp
Most Honored Senior Member
this is the difference between a 7.25 (the gauge) and 9.5, (the neck), with the difference between a 9.5 and a 12 being about the same...
Now if you're talking about the difference between a 9.5 - 14 compound.. well being a gradient from one radius to the next... it's just a different comparison
It's surprising though, because you do feel these minor diffs. It's the same with nut widths. Or even tiny nut slot height changes. All affect playing feel.
Ronkirn
Most Honored Senior Member
You're right.. some develop a higher level of acuity. where the senses are concerned.. some detect subtle aromas more acutely, some hear "better" than others, some taste with more definition.. and some can feel subtle differences better than others...
such can be the underlying impetus to many of the "discussions" in these forums.. too many feel that everyone hears, tastes, feels, sees, smells with equal acuity.. nothing could be further from factual.. so "you" get what 'YOU" want to play.. and let others do the same...
the fact that some prefer a 7.25 and others a 16 inch radius does not mean one is more avant guard, it simply means one has different preferences than the other.
r
such can be the underlying impetus to many of the "discussions" in these forums.. too many feel that everyone hears, tastes, feels, sees, smells with equal acuity.. nothing could be further from factual.. so "you" get what 'YOU" want to play.. and let others do the same...
the fact that some prefer a 7.25 and others a 16 inch radius does not mean one is more avant guard, it simply means one has different preferences than the other.
r
Guitarmageddon
Dr. Stratster
The easiest guitar I ever owned/played was a Charvel DS-1 Pro Stock Cherry Sunburst - 25.5" scale LP style with Duncan 59's stock in both positions. 12-16" compound radius. However the neck was too thin for me back to front and it took 5 years to figure that out. It was like .790" at first fret.....
I still have my DS-2 in trans black. Man, I love that guitar. Mine had the stock Charvel active pickups in it though. I've since modded it with EMG 85/60 p'ups, Babicz TOM bridge with a Schaller fine tune stoptail, added a battery and a push pull tone pot for 9v/18v operation, custom kill volume pot and Planet Waves Auto Trim locking tuners.
Biggest difference between yours and mine, though, was mine has a glued in set neck as opposed to your neck through.
dspellman
Senior Stratmaster
Actually, Gibson has done a sort of variable job on producing a 12" radius. We've been surprised to find a number of them actually coming in at about 10", despite their advertised specs.
My tuppence.
I have 9.5, 12, 14, 16, 10-14.
Yes, I feel the difference in all of them. Not better, or worse, but different. I also have 52.5, 54, 56 string spacing at bridge. I feel that a bit more. I find I like the narrow spacing a bit more, but, here is the real game changer for me. They are all well set up, but a couple of them are done by pro luthiers. That is where I notice it more than the specs. I've been thrashing around on the Les Paul today and it is is just pure bliss in hand. For me, the neck profile and finish makes more of a difference to the radius too.
I'm new to 9.5 and love it. Compound radius is ok and not that there is a reason to not have it, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
My tuppence.
I have 9.5, 12, 14, 16, 10-14.
Yes, I feel the difference in all of them. Not better, or worse, but different. I also have 52.5, 54, 56 string spacing at bridge. I feel that a bit more. I find I like the narrow spacing a bit more, but, here is the real game changer for me. They are all well set up, but a couple of them are done by pro luthiers. That is where I notice it more than the specs. I've been thrashing around on the Les Paul today and it is is just pure bliss in hand. For me, the neck profile and finish makes more of a difference to the radius too.
I'm new to 9.5 and love it. Compound radius is ok and not that there is a reason to not have it, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
My tuppence.
dirocyn
Most Honored Senior Member
If it's 9.5 at the nut and 14 at the 21st, it'll be 11.75 halfway up the neck. So the answer is yes.
My collection includes 9.5, 10, 12 and dead flat (classical). It is not difficult to transition from one radius to another. Maybe different if you are dealing with 7.25, I don't have any of those.
My collection includes 9.5, 10, 12 and dead flat (classical). It is not difficult to transition from one radius to another. Maybe different if you are dealing with 7.25, I don't have any of those.
bigreen505
Strat-Talk Member
A 9-14" compound is probably about 12" around the 12th fret. If that feels good to you, it will feel good to you.
Hudman_1
Strat-O-Master
I own 9 electric guitars. 3 are 9.5”, 3 are 12” and 3 are compound. They neck profiles have the biggest impact in how they play and feel to me. Fret size has the second biggest impact on how they play and feel. The radius differences are far less noticeable to me.
Why does that not surprise me?
muttonbuster
Senior Stratmaster
Ahhh. Didn't even think of that. I pick my Gibsons quite a bit differently though with the volume knob not being in the way like on a strat, and with the strings higher off the body. Picking is what my issue is with. I tweeked how I pick a few months ago. My issue is running up the strings with a rounded board. I have my pc bone down on my wrist resting lightly on the stings. When I get over the hump on the D and G strings, I find myself feeling like I'm having to reach down to hit the B and the E as they're lower to the body. Not a huge deal, but enough that the Select with the compound board and the Jacksons feel a lot easier to run up and down the strings quickly and not get tripped up. For some reason for me, neck profile not much feels more or less comfortable, at least out of everything in my quiver.
Thanks everyone for your response.
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dspellman
Senior Stratmaster
Gibson works with a 12" (or a 10", as noted above) radius on most of its guitars. I think a few are now coming with a compound radius, but that usually averages out to a slightly more comfortable 12" radius in actual practice.
A lot of the offshore guitars (Epiphone is an exception and they've pretty much settled in at 12") are or were coming with a 13.7" radius as standard. I've found that I actually prefer that, particularly if the guitar is also coming with jumbo frets (as are a LOT of offshore Les Paul-esque guitars). Gibson's frets are smaller ("medium jumbo"). Note that the word jumbo covers a lot of ground, from a little bit bigger than what Gibson is using to way much larger, but really large frets are usually identified as such.
I've actually had the volume knob on a couple of Les Pauls moved up to the region between the bridge and the bridge pickup, roughly where you see it as being "in the way". It's expensive, requires routing on the back of the guitar and the addition of a cover plate. It's just easier for things like pinky swells, etc. These guitars have usually been converted to a master volume/master tone setup for the top two pots. I have to note that I don't find it anywhere near as much "in the way" as on a Strat, in part because the strings are higher (compared to the knob) than those on a Strat. If you look at Neal Schon's signature Les Paul (and a lot of his PRS and other guitars), you'll find that he's relocated the pots/knobs as well, and while I'm not a fanboy, I have had an opportunity to try his LPs and I really like the knob locations (they're also more spread out than on a standard LP).
I have a couple of LP-alikes that have Floyds, and these have both the wider nut (1 3/4") and a flatter radius (16"). You might want to see if you can find a guitar with these characteristics and try it out; I like that combination a LOT more than, for example, a 10" radius on a carved-top guitar. You'll also want a pick guard on that carved-top guitar. That takes a lot of that "up and down" feeling away. You can get used to working with an LP pretty quickly, but you might also find yourself using your right hand pinky as an anchor point.
