software

Eventually I'll order a neck from Warmoth. But I don't know about the compound radius... something just doesn't seem right about it. Is it comfortable? I understand most Ibanez necks use a 12quot; radius and I like it. I'd like a quot;total vintagequot; neck, but you can't get a custom radius. (7 1/2 only) I'd like a neck with 21 frets and a 12quot; radius. Can you do that? I may have to settle for a quot;vintage modernquot; with 22 frets

back to the original question. How are the compound radius?

You can get a straight radius from Warmoth for a $35 upcharge.

Yeah, but at the bottom of the page describing custom radius it sais...

quot;We can offer this custom work on our Warmoth quot;Proquot; and Vintage Modern construction necks, in either 25 1/2quot; or 24 3/4quot; scale lengths.quot;

(total vintage necks aren't mentioned)

Total vintage necks are limited to the 7 1/4quot; radius are they not?


Originally Posted by FretFireTotal vintage necks are limited to the 7 1/4quot; radius are they not?

Dude, LOL. That's what I'm getting at. I would like a total vintage neck becuase it has 21 frets, BUT, I don't want a 7 1/4 radius that's way too round. So, I'm probably going to have to settle for a vintage modern to get a custom radius. A straight radius is an extra $35, and I was wondering if anyone uses a compound radius and if I might like it.

You used a warmoth neck for your strat project didn't you? Does it have a compound radius?


Originally Posted by Cory_DylanDude, LOL. That's what I'm getting at. I would like a total vintage neck becuase it has 21 frets, BUT, I don't want a 7 1/4 radius that's way too round. So, I'm probably going to have to settle for a vintage modern to get a custom radius. A straight radius is an extra $35, and I was wondering if anyone uses a compound radius and if I might like it.

You used a warmoth neck for your strat project didn't you? Does it have a compound radius?Ah, sorry I was confused. I didn't see why you were still considering a total vintage if you knew about the radius limitation, I didn't notice the 21 fret part . My bad.

No I didn't go with Warmoth for my strat, I used USA Custom Guitars. They don't upcharge for any changes to the radius or the backshape, unless you do something really wild. I got a straight 9.5quot; radius and a backshape that tapers from a soft V to a C as you travel up the neck.

My Jacksons have compound Radii for the most part..They´re more comfortable for chording in the lower registers and are flatter in the higher for less buzz and more speed...

They start @12-14 and go to 16-20, depending on guitar....I honestly must say that I very much prefer my guitars w/ CR boards to those w/ o Lile my Les Paul


Originally Posted by FretFireNo I didn't go with Warmoth for my strat, I used USA Custom Guitars. They don't upcharge for any changes to the radius or the backshape, unless you do something really wild. I got a straight 9.5quot; radius and a backshape that tapers from a soft V to a C as you travel up the neck.

Well, that's pretty wild. Did they upcharge you for that?

That sounds a lot like the neck on the Lite Ash strat. Has a 9.5quot; radius, and fender describes the profile as a modern C but to me it feels like a soft V... actually a pretty distinct V shape around the lower frets. I'm thinking about trading my guitar for one and trading the parts one at a time until I end up with the perfect strat.

I had a compound radius Warmouth strat and used it for 7 years or so before I sold it. My Les Paul Elegant also has a cr. I personally don't find any advantage to it but others do. The shape of the neck (Width and Depth) is of much more concern to me than cr or not.

I've read in several places that a 10quot;-16quot; radius neck is actually sort of odd, and that the spread shouldn't be so wide. Something about the quot;conequot; not being the correct radius at the bridge if you do it that way. A 12-16 makes more sense, I know a pretty popular compound radius from USACG is 7.25quot;-9.5quot;.

I have one, I really like it. They are very comfortable, and they are telling the truth when they say that you really don't notice the change in radius when you're playing. In general, I'm a big fan of compound radius necks, although they are a bit trickier to work with if you ever need a refret or a fret level. Not a huge deal, and any good luthier can do it. But some may charge extra.

Ryan


Originally Posted by Cory_DylanWell, that's pretty wild. Did they upcharge you for that?

That sounds a lot like the neck on the Lite Ash strat. Has a 9.5quot; radius, and fender describes the profile as a modern C but to me it feels like a soft V... actually a pretty distinct V shape around the lower frets. I'm thinking about trading my guitar for one and trading the parts one at a time until I end up with the perfect strat. Nope, it's one of their standard shapes. The Lite Ash feels like a pretty hard V to me, the lower registers of my strat's neck is softer than that on the quot;tipquot; of the V.

Im gonna have to check out USACG... I got a pretty bad ass neck shape in mind.

Hmm. Warmoth makes their CR out to be amazing. Kind of funny actually... this made me giggle - quot;primarily because it is much easier to produce than the much more comfortable compound radius necks.quot;

Here's a good page to start on...

from : localhost/usacustomguitars.com/contours.html

I got quot;The '54quot; on my neck.


Originally Posted by FretFireI've read in several places that a 10quot;-16quot; radius neck is actually sort of odd, and that the spread shouldn't be so wide. Something about the quot;conequot; not being the correct radius at the bridge if you do it that way....

1. I´ve seen (and produced) larger spreads myself.
2. The only placve this makes a difference is with an acoustic or a Floyd (on a Floyd only if you´re too lazy to shim or grind the saddles, butIMO in that case you shouldn´t be building guitars anyway). All other bridges have adjustable saddles (a Tune-O-Matic is adjustable in the sense that you HAVE to slot the saddles anyway, so you just control the depth)

Cory,

I shared your concerns about the warmoth 10-16quot; radius and also their quot;standard thinquot; neck until I tried one. I had settled in on a straight 12quot; radius (Gibson and SRV Strat) as my favorite. Also worth mentioning as a great compound radius is the Parker Fly 10-13quot; neck. I do not like the straight 15-16quot; radius on Jackson and Carvin. Ditto the very thin quot;wizardquot; neck.

The Warmoth radius gives ease for chording in the lower frets and flattens out beautifully above the 12th fret for bends. It feels very natural. Their Standard Thin is also very comfortable for me. The super-thin necks are very fast, but I can only play them for a short time without getting cramps in my left thumb. Kudos to Warmoth for a great design. I just ordered wood for Strat #2 yesterday. The quality is AAAAA right down to the prep and fretting.

HTH - valvehead

the nicest custom neck I've ordered was from Tommy @ USAGC - vintage spec, one piece flame maple neck - 21 frets, 1.650quot; nut, '54 contour, 7.25-9.5quot; compound radius, 6150 frets

there are raw pics here:
neck pics

if you click through, you'll see the finished neck here


Originally Posted by Cory_DylanDude, LOL. That's what I'm getting at. I would like a total vintage neck becuase it has 21 frets, BUT, I don't want a 7 1/4 radius that's way too round. So, I'm probably going to have to settle for a vintage modern to get a custom radius. A straight radius is an extra $35, and I was wondering if anyone uses a compound radius and if I might like it.

You used a warmoth neck for your strat project didn't you? Does it have a compound radius?

Cory - I really like the 10-16quot; compound radius on my Warmoth neck (quot;Proquot; construction). I just don't like the tone, which I think is due to the thicker fingerboard and their massive truss rod.

I ended searching out USA Custom Guitars after talking a project over with Warmoth - I wanted a 10-16quot; compound radius, Tele neck with 21 frets. Warmoth wanted an quot;upchargequot; for most of the features I wanted, but just said quot;noquot; to 21 frets with the 10-16 C.R. That was over a year ago, so maybe they've changed their policy.

I'm not the greatest player by a long shot, and frankly the 9-1/2quot; radius on my MIM Strat is fine. I have a slight preference for the 12quot; radius on the Heritage 535 though, and whatever radius the Taylor has. No big deal IMHO.

Chip

Woa, Gary... That neck looks NICE!!! Does it have any kind of figuring on it? The back looks a little thin to me... is it? What do you have in mind for the finished guitar?

Thanks guys. Sounds like you can get just about whatever you want from USACG for free? I'm gonna use them. The neck I have in mind is like a '54/texas blues hybrid. So it will be a V that turns into a C and is Asymmetrical. Sound cool?

I guess the radius isn't THAT big of a deal. I do like the 12quot; radius on my Ibanez... so if anything I'll get a CR that hangs around that area (maybe something like 10quot; - 14quot;) The thing is, I do a lot of bending all over the neck, not just in the higher notes. So maybe a straight 12quot; radius is more for me? I don't know, lol. I'll be fine with whatever I get... it will be a little while anyway. I'll keep all this in mind.

Thanks again. Welcome to the forum btw, valvehead!

Hey Cory -

Remember that the shape of the strings on a compound radius neck is like a lengthwise section of a cone. So the radius at the saddles of a 10-14quot; neck is even flatter - maybe 15.5quot; /- ???

BTW the 7-1/4quot; to 9-1/2quot; and the 10-16quot; are the only compound radii USACG offers without an upcharge IIRC. That's one upcharge that makes sense given the cost of programming a quot;newquot; C.R. and doing the frets differently.

Hope this helps,

Chip