How FAT Is Fat?

[LittleLeroy]

I've seen various posts about how fat the necks are on 357's.  Here are the dimensions of the 3 I have.  Are they really *that* big?  How do they compare to your Heritage or Gibson?  

1987  D29802  .847/.995

2011 AB31705  .980/.995

2013 AD17901 .956/1.002

All 3 are precisely 1.6875 (1 & 11/16)" wide at the nut.

[bolero]

interesting....where did you take the two measurements, on each neck?

 

ps and I assume the units are inches?

[LittleLeroy]

Inches, yes.  Just back of 1st and 12th frets; strings moved off f-brd, using a micrometer.

[DavesNotHere]

The neck on my 357 is big, I mean huge, I mean think of the biggest neck you've ever played, this one's bigger. 

Anyway, that's the lore I've been cultivating around my 357, let's not bring science and facts into the equation please.  

 

[buzzy]

 BIG & FAT

you talking big & fat?

I gotta Millie with a neck that feels big because of the shape.  It's actually about the same depth at the 12th as my others.

edit:  it is bigger by a bit at 1.003 at the 12th with my $9 caliper

 

Congratulations!

[LittleLeroy]

3 hours ago, buzzy said:

 BIG & FAT

you talking big & fat?

I gotta Millie with a neck that feels big because of the shape.  It's actually about the same depth at the 12th as my others.

edit:  it is bigger by a bit at 1.003 at the 12th with my $9 caliper

 

Congratulations!

Oh yeah!  That's it: caliper, not micrometer!  Thanks buzzy.  And I think mine cost about the same.  Works just fine.

[LittleLeroy]

5 hours ago, DavesNotHere said:

The neck on my 357 is big, I mean huge, I mean think of the biggest neck you've ever played, this one's bigger. 

Anyway, that's the lore I've been cultivating around my 357, let's not bring science and facts into the equation please.  

 

A legend in your own mind, I see...  

[ElNumero]

Is there any difference between fat, thick or chunky when it comes to guitar necks?

[DetroitBlues]

28 minutes ago, ElNumero said:

Is there any difference between fat, thick or chunky when it comes to guitar necks?

Yes.  It separates the men from the boys.

[RJLII]

The 357 that Brent used to have (I think he sold it to Big Bob) had a bat for a neck. Just about perfect in my book.

 

[DetroitBlues]

That one is a beast.  I played it briefly when Lance either just bought it or brought it up for show n' tell.  Either way, absolutely a stunning example from Marv.

[LittleLeroy]

....really appreciating the precise info, guys....  (sarcasm)

This subjective stuff is all well and good for you inebriates and reprobates, but the "mine is bigger than yours" with no empirical data is not getting the job done!

  

 

[buzzy]

2 hours ago, LittleLeroy said:

....really appreciating the precise info, guys....  (sarcasm)

This subjective stuff is all well and good for you inebriates and reprobates, but the "mine is bigger than yours" with no empirical data is not getting the job done!

  

 

 

I'm sure we could add more data, but it wouldn't be about H357's because you own most of them.

I was hoping for a few big & fat jokes like:

The neck on my H357 is so big that the bass player hides behind it to change costume.

Or, I gigged my H357 on the East Coast and the neck is so big that it caused a devastating tide.

What is the shape of those big necks?  C,  D  Asymmetric?

[DetroitBlues]

1 hour ago, buzzy said:

 

I'm sure we could add more data, but it wouldn't be about H357's because you own most of them.

I was hoping for a few big & fat jokes like:

The neck on my H357 is so big that the bass player hides behind it to change costume.

Or, I gigged my H357 on the East Coast and the neck is so big that it caused a devastating tide.

What is the shape of those big necks?  C,  D  Asymmetric?

The few I’ve played were thick and wide, but felt D shaped.

But the key here is Marv hand carved all of them.  Each one was made specifically for the buyer and what they asked for, so the variety is shape accounts for individual taste.

As for me, I have guitars from .850 to 1.00.  But the nut width and shape make the difference.

I do not like most Fender necks, I find them rather thin.  .900 with a rounded C shape is a good fit for me.

[buzzy]

I think that's why my Millie feels so full in the hand.  

It is a couple of thousandths deeper than my two 25th Annie's, but Doc said he wanted Marv to make it a D shape.

[davesultra]

FWIW- The '89 H-357 I used to own was closer to the size of the first one you had listed. It had more of a "D" shape to it.  

[LittleLeroy]

8 hours ago, buzzy said:

 

I'm sure we could add more data, but it wouldn't be about H357's because you own most of them.

I was hoping for a few big & fat jokes like:

The neck on my H357 is so big that the bass player hides behind it to change costume.

Or, I gigged my H357 on the East Coast and the neck is so big that it caused a devastating tide.

What is the shape of those big necks?  C,  D  Asymmetric?

Great sense of humor, buzzy.   Yes, the fact is I *do* own most of them, although in a future world.  

All 3 of mine are D shaped.

[LittleLeroy]

7 hours ago, DetroitBlues said:

The few I’ve played were thick and wide, but felt D shaped.

But the key here is Marv hand carved all of them.  Each one was made specifically for the buyer and what they asked for, so the variety is shape accounts for individual taste.

As for me, I have guitars from .850 to 1.00.  But the nut width and shape make the difference.

I do not like most Fender necks, I find them rather thin.  .900 with a rounded C shape is a good fit for me.

Are you saying that some 357s necks are different widths (at the nut)?  Did Marv actually do that?  The 3 I have are exactly the same width at 1 11/16".

There is a difference in width of the center of my 357s.  The '87 is exactly 4"; the 2011 and 2013 are both 4 3/16".

The only neck I found I really couldn't deal with was on a Rickenbacker 360/12.  Just not wide enough.  I had to go with a Ricky 660/12 which is, IIRC, 1/8" wider than the 360.  May not seem like much, but makes a big difference.  The largest neck I've encountered was on a '56 Gretsch Jet.  Truly a baseball bat of a neck, though I never got a calipers on it to measure it.

[deytookerjaabs]

The more you measure that 357 the better it gets! Narrow necks are great, I wonder if the 12'th fret neck width is different on other Heritage models? 

 

Yeah, to the original question, .90+ to 1.0 is usually considered fat/thick. .80/5 to .90/5 medium and less than that slim in the Gibsoney world. 

[DetroitBlues]

4 hours ago, LittleLeroy said:

Are you saying that some 357s necks are different widths (at the nut)?  Did Marv actually do that?  The 3 I have are exactly the same width at 1 11/16".

There is a difference in width of the center of my 357s.  The '87 is exactly 4"; the 2011 and 2013 are both 4 3/16".

The only neck I found I really couldn't deal with was on a Rickenbacker 360/12.  Just not wide enough.  I had to go with a Ricky 660/12 which is, IIRC, 1/8" wider than the 360.  May not seem like much, but makes a big difference.  The largest neck I've encountered was on a '56 Gretsch Jet.  Truly a baseball bat of a neck, though I never got a calipers on it to measure it.

No, I think Marv kept those the same.  He'd need new headstock templates if he did that.  I'm saying the thicknesses and shape (C,D,U, etc) was done by hand.  In some cases, he carved the necks with the owner present and would hand it to the person to see if it felt just right.  That attention to detail will probably never be possible again.

[ElNumero]

On 3/23/2018 at 9:30 AM, DetroitBlues said:

No, I think Marv kept those the same.  He'd need new headstock templates if he did that.  I'm saying the thicknesses and shape (C,D,U, etc) was done by hand.  In some cases, he carved the necks with the owner present and would hand it to the person to see if it felt just right.  That attention to detail will probably never be possible again.

I certainly hope that the art of carving necks is not lost, but with Marv retired and his "protege" Arnie gone, I fear that it may be.