Heritage Standard Neck Profiles are Most Like . . .

[Halowords]

I have an H-150 with I believe a pretty standard neck (it's not terribly dissimilar to my former and beloved '96 Hamer Studio in how it feels), probably a pretty "medium" neck profile. I am 5'9" tall with probably pretty average hands (how one determines that is beyond me, I don't normally go around comparing hand sizes with other dudes or anything but don't have huge hands and grip is an issue with heavy Deadlifts, for whatever that's worth [not much, eh?]). I do have kinda-short pinkies, but otherwise they're pretty nondescript for my size.

 

Anyway, I am spilling all this out for two reasons:

 

1) For someone of my stature, what are the odds I could easily get used to a thicker/chunkier necked guitar?

 

2) The REAL reason is there is a Heritage guitar I'm interested that popped up for sale. It apparently has a similar neck to a '59 Les Paul Reissue's neck. The seller said it's definitely NOT a baseball bat neck (his '57 Reissue is), and not as skinny as his '61 Reissue SG neck. This might actually be my dream scenario, and I have played my thick-neck acoustic so I think I'll be o.k. (although if it's that thick I do not think I'd want to keep it, but I highly doubt it). Anyway, if we can presume my H-150 is pretty standard in neck dimensions (golferwave, any recollection from when you had it?), how much different might I expect a "'59 neck profile" Heritage to be?

 

I realize there are ranges, just going for rough approximations and best-guesses.

[SouthpawGuy]

I don't think there is a standard Heritage neck profile. Generally newer guitars have larger necks and older models have slimmer ones. All of my Heritages have different neck profiles, some are very similar and others are noticeably different. The largest is the 2007 535, but not a baseball bat by any stretch. The smallest is the 2001 Prospect. The rest are somewhere in between, they are different models though from an 1986 170 to a 2006 137.

 

The biggest necked guitar I have is G&L Bluesboy, now that is a baseball bat with frets on it ! And I love it ! I'm about 5' 9" also and have been told I have large hands for my size, not that that's worth much either !

[Halowords]

Thanks Southpaw. I've been told it's definitely NOT a baseball bat, and all things considered (strangely enough), it's probably easiest to just buy the thing and try it out. If it doesn't work out I suppose I could sell it or learn to adjust to it. My '07 H-150 has apparently more of a '60's profile, but I think a shade or two bigger with a '59-ish neck would probably not be too big a deal.

 

I'm generally not a thumb-fretter unless I'm trying to play "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" or something so it might not be bad at all. It might actually be exactly what I'm looking for. Who knows?

 

Anyway, thanks for the reply.

[tulk1]

David, are you obsessing about that cool Prospect I showed in the 'bay? Awesome, if so. '80s necks were kinda slim, since that was in vogue at the time. '90s saw them a bit bigger, more like '60s slim. 2k and up they've gotten fatter because, according to Ren, thats what they've seen in their custom orders. But again, they're all handmade, so they vary a bit.

[Halowords]

Hey Kenny,

 

David, are you obsessing about that cool Prospect I showed in the 'bay? Awesome, if so. '80s necks were kinda slim, since that was in vogue at the time. '90s saw them a bit bigger, more like '60s slim. 2k and up they've gotten fatter because, according to Ren, thats what they've seen in their custom orders. But again, they're all handmade, so they vary a bit.

 

Man, you know it! Just waiting until Saturday to bid. Anyway . . . Yeah, I think I'll be alright. He said it's not hyuge and he has "not the biggest hands in the world, not the smallest" and found it very comfortable.

 

But yeah, I'm pretty stoked about it! Hopefully I can win it and love the thing. We'll see. As long as I can play the thing I should be fine, I'm generally pretty adaptable.

 

As for the neck thing . . . Part of it is my "obsession" with the Prospect, part of it is just curiosity (inspired by said Prospect) as far as what their baseline for neck profiles is (or was). Which you seemed to have answered pretty nicely (realizing they're handmade and things vary from guitar to guitar).

[jmc7581]

FWIW, I'm 5'10", average build, small hands (short stubby fingers). I deliberately spec'd my brand-new custom 535 with what I understood to be a beefier-than-average neck, with a taper of .9" (at the nut) to 1.0" (at the 12th fret), which my dealer also referred to as a "thicker '50's style." Let me tell you - it is absolutely GREAT!! Perfect feel in my hand. The numbers don't help you much, I know; but I'll emphasize that thicker-than-average works just fine with a small hand size.

 

So just get it!

[Halowords]

FWIW, I'm 5'10", average build, small hands (short stubby fingers). I deliberately spec'd my brand-new custom 535 with what I understood to be a beefier-than-average neck, with a taper of .9" (at the nut) to 1.0" (at the 12th fret), which my dealer also referred to as a "thicker '50's style." Let me tell you - it is absolutely GREAT!! Perfect feel in my hand. The numbers don't help you much, I know; but I'll emphasize that thicker-than-average works just fine with a small hand size.

 

So just get it!

 

Enabler!!!!! But thanks for the vote of confidence. Like I need to get any more geeked out over this.

 

Good to know average-build smaller-hands guys can handle '59-style necks. I think I'll be fine. The only thing to do now is hope I end up winning the auction and getting it here in one piece. Feel free to wish me luck!