Guitar Neck Thickness and it effect on Tone?

[Greg McCoy]

So I love nice thin fast guitar neck as much as the next guy, but lately I've been paying more attention to unplugged tone and I've noticed that my thicker necked guitars and basses have a much thicker, more "alive" tone than my thinner necked ones. Also I was intrigued by a comment Phil Collen made on the latest GW cd with the same observation.

Whats everybodies opinions/experience with this?

[Drew]

Well, my limited experience is that the thicker the neck, the more the neck wood colors the tone. But, if nothing else, mass would seem to increase vibrational energy...

[Greg McCoy]

Originally Posted by Drew

Well, my limited experience is that the thicker the neck, the more the neck wood colors the tone. But, if nothing else, mass would seem to increase vibrational energy...

Obviously its a bit hard to determine how much the neck wood colors tone, since you'd have to have two identical guitars to isolate the variable. But yeah, I think my thicker necked guitars are definitely louder and more "alive" feeling, whether thats the neck or other factors is hard to tell.

What was somewhat interesting to me, is that Phil Collen was talking about the effect on bolt ons, where I would think it would matter less than a NT

[James]

I think I'd have to agree that thicker necks do give you more "mass" to your tone. The Death Warrior has a neck that's best descirbed as "Louisville Slugger", but it was a tonal monster for metal rhythm work. That being said, I still prefer a slim neck, which is part of why I sold it.

[Soopahmahn]

You guys need to shut up, you're just giving Dave more "Ibanez sucks" ammo.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Soopahmahn

You guys need to shut up, you're just giving Dave more "Ibanez sucks" ammo.

They don't?

[jacksonplayer]

It makes a huge difference, regardless of the type of neck joint. All of the good-sounding guitars I've ever owned have had at least medium-thickness necks, and the best ones have usually had pretty fat necks.

Since the bulk of the string length sits over the neck, it shouldn't be that surprising.

[Jack Secret]

Originally Posted by Jason

They don't?

Nope, they don't. Now Gibson's......

[Reverend 7 Strings of Hate]

i'v been moving over to thicker necks. partly for the tone, and partly because the size of a 6 string neck made me have tons of wrist problems and the thicker and bigger the neck the better it is for my wrist.

my philophsy used to be smaller and thinner for everything on a guitar. these days i'm the opposite and want more wood. thicker bodies and thicker necks

[James]

Originally Posted by 7 Strings of Hate

i'v been moving over to thicker necks. partly for the tone, and partly because the size of a 6 string neck made me have tons of wrist problems and the thicker and bigger the neck the better it is for my wrist.

my philophsy used to be smaller and thinner for everything on a guitar. these days i'm the opposite and want more wood. thicker bodies and thicker necks

Strangely enough playing 7's has made me prefer a medium neck on a 6 string rather than a super thin neck. I guess I'm just used to feeling a certain "mass" of neck and a thin 7 neck equates to a medium 6.

Probably also explains why a 7 string always sounds a bit fuller to me than a 6 with equivalent specs.