chico Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 I have a question for you pros/longtime everyday players out there. I love my Heritages, of course. But, one thing, when compared to playing my Strat which is a maple neck, unfinished (a Strat Plus to be more specific), my fretting hand is much looser and able to move up and around the neck fretting at different places without getting hung up by skin stick, if you will pardon the term. I don't want to sand the neck of my Heritages, but I think I've read where some do and it begs the question, can one order a H535 and have the neck unfinished? Don't get me wrong, I'm no shredder, but I like the ease of not having to use the lemon oil rag on the neck prior to playing and kept nearby while playing. I've never seen that discussed here, as an order option topic. Seems to me an unfinished neck would be the way to go on a H535 in Natural, of course.. anyone?
brentrocks Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 One way to acquire that smooth feel without completely taking off the color is to steel wool the back of the neck
tulk1 Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 One way to acquire that smooth feel without completely taking off the color is to steel wool the back of the neck Or just play it! That'll wear the finish off. ................ The EJ Strats were notorious for having sticky nitro necks. After about a year of playing mine it finally smoothed out, got quite slickery. I can't say I've had that problem with any of my Heritages. But, I do like the feel of an unfinished neck. My PRS McRosie had about the best feeling neck ever! Rosewood neck, oil finish. Talk about organic .........
JohnCovach Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 There's nothing like the feel of an aged and much-played nitro neck. But if you don't play the guitar a couple of hours a day, it can take quite a while to break the neck in. I think I'd explore a way of taking the finish down just a tad--enough to dull it down just a little. I've never tried the steel-wool treatment Brent suggests, but I can imagine it would work well.
rjsanders Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 one of mine got a satin finish by Kent Perkins, a big improvement in feel. a squirt & quick rub with a Scott shop towel & it's good for a whole session...
big bob Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 Ray maybe you should try a thin silk glove.. my bad, just pulling your chain..
schundog Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 If you go the steel wool route, I'd put some painter's tape over your pickups, so that none of the slivers of metal get in there.
yoslate Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 One way to acquire that smooth feel without completely taking off the color is to steel wool the back of the neck Use the 0000 grade of wool, and schundog's advice for covering the pickups is a must. Otherwise, your p'ups will have a beard for the next six months....
Mr535 Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Use the 0000 grade of wool, and schundog's advice for covering the pickups is a must. Otherwise, your p'ups will have a beard for the next six months.... Yes, the steel wool will probably also scratch up the p'ups pretty good. Might want to cover the pots as well, so they don't become scratchy. I would also cover the f-holes, but you can't leave the tape there for too long (no more than 30 minutes, so you have to be fast, if you care about keeping the inside cavity clean), or it'll mark the nitro.
GuitArtMan Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 I've used steel wool to de-gloss many of my necks. Gives them a very smooth, not-sticky feeling. I mush prefer sating finishes on necks as they are less sticky than gloss finishes.
rooster Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 I wet-sand all my necks with Micro-mesh. I only have to do it once, working from 3000 to 12000 grit, and when I'm done, they're smooth as glass and not sticky at all. rooster.
NoNameBand Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Call me crazy, but I did not think that Fender necks were natural. I thought they were satin finish. The neck on my Strat is a satin finish (no color) that looks natural or unfinished. If it were actually natural and unfinished, it would get filled with dirt and get sticky.
tbonesullivan Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 I've never really understood the whole "sticky neck" thing. I've had gloss poly necks, gloss nitro necks, satin poly necks, and tung oiled necks. I've never had much problem moving around on them. I mean, the only part of my hand that touches the back of the neck is my thumb. Not much to get stuck.
Halowords Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I think I might have been one of the people who brought up the sanded neck. A few side notes. First, the guitar came to me that way. Second, it's not really "unfinished"; it has an oil finish. In this case, it has a gunstock oil finish, although Tung Oil is commonly used (amongst others) with some sort of solvent or thinner (otherwise it allegedly takes a LOOOOONG time to dry). This keeps the wood's pores from collecting dirt, not to mention keeping the wood stable by sealing it off I'd presume (and have read) more or less like a nitro or poly finish would. That said . . . I love it! I've never had a problem with finishes being sticky, per se. However, I find the oil finish much, much, much preferable. The wood just feels somehow more natural in my hand, it's faster going up and down the neck yet not slippery or detrimental. The only downsides are possibly devaluing the guitar (unless you got it that way, it's one of those things where it takes it a step away from stock), you or somebody else has to sand the neck and add a few coats of Tung/Linseed/Gunstock/etc. oil, and every now and again you'd have to reapply the oil so it's not totally maintenance free. Personally, I love it and wish all my necks had oil finishes. I haven't stripped any necks and done it myself because, well, three reasons. First, that whole reluctance to do something pretty much permanent to my guitar that might devalue it or (unlikely but I suppose possible) somehow screw it up. Second, being 100% sure I'll never sell/trade said guitar (although the H-150 is close to being there). Finally, I pretty much just got my first guitar w/ a gunstock oil finish. But to tell the truth, eventually I'd love to have all of my guitar necks oil finished. Based on the one I've got, they just feel and play better. I do not think they do so in a way that would be noticeable to somebody watching me so much as the ergonomics and the playing experience end up more comfortable. If I ever actually do pull the trigger on a custom build (it's bound to happen eventually), I'll order the neck oil finished, or unfinished and do it myself.
connor117 Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 im not sure steel wool or sandpaper would be the best idea.... i talked with REN about this and he said get some NAPTHA from the hardware store and just use a little bit on a rag. maybe do it a few times depending on your needs. he said its all in the chemistry of your skin oils... some dudes have no problems, some just cant seem to get used to it without some naptha....
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