# Guitar Necks Getting Wider?



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

While a 1 7/8" wide nut is "out of reach" for those with small hands, some customers are asking for them.


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*Extra wide string spacing by customer request: 1 7/8" at the nut and 2 1/16" at the 12th fret*

*AGILE AL-3010SE 2TS MATT FLAME DAMN WIDE*
$450.00
Extra wide - 1 7/8" at the nut

The widest six string neck We have ever produced

Solid mahogany arch top body with bound body, neck, and headstock

Grover Rotomatic tuners; Cepheus T-6 wide throw tune-O-matic bridge; Type V Alnico humbucker pickups; and Graph Tech Tusq nut

Adjustable truss rod

Stop-bar tailpiece transfers string vibration to the body of the guitar and produces superior sustain

Comfortable feel that will make you want to play for hours

Qty: 
Add to Wish List
*MORE DETAILS*

Extra wide string spacing by customer request: 1 7/8" at the nut and 2 1/16" at the 12th fret

Solid mahogany (not a multi-ply!) arch top body

Bound body, neck, and headstock

Chrome die-cast Grover Rotomatic tuners with 18-1 turning ratio for ultra fine tuning (Model 102-18N)

Two Type V Alnico humbucker pickups create that warm, traditional sound (humbucker pickups help reduce hum and noise and offer superior performance by giving a thicker fuller sound than single coils; humbuckers also create a much larger magnetic field, which helps eliminate dead spots and increases overall power of the pickup)

Adjustable truss rod in neck to offset alterations caused by changes in humidity, temperature, or new strings

High voltage, brass shaft pots for reduced noise and an improved pickup selector switch

Two volume controls, two tone controls, and a 3-way pickup selector switch allow a wide range of expressive control

Cepheus T-6 wide throw tune-O-matic bridge with graphite saddles

Set-in mahogany neck with ebony fretboard

22 jumbo frets and genuine abalone trapezoid inlays

13.7" (350 mm) radius neck for _fast_ play

D'addario 10-46 strings installed at the factory along with a professionally cut nut!

Individually hand filed frets for professional feel and playability

Stop-bar tailpiece transfers string vibration to the body of the guitar and produces superior sustain

Made in South Korea


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Still narrow compared to the classical guitar I first learned on.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I personally believe that it isn’t about the nut vs hand size, it’s about the player.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Martins are moving toward 1&3/4 on a lot of theirs which is nice. My 18 and 35 are 1&3/4 which I like but my HD28V has 1&11/16 on a V neck and I like that too.

I think my 2015 Firebird is 1&7/8 at the nut but the string spacing is 1&11/16. The Firebird is a god damn awesome riffing platform.

The Telecaster and LP Jrs are all three of them different. Then there’s the mandolin.

I switch between all of these instruments without difficulty because providence likes me .. lol


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

vadsy said:


> I personally believe that it isn’t about the nut vs hand size, it’s about the player.


Not sure what you mean by this. Are you saying that a skilled player should be able to adapt? Or that certain playing styles might suit different specifications? Or something else?

There are some necks that are just too thick to get my hand around to play comfortably, or some nuts are so narrow that I can barely squeeze my fingers close enough to play a chord properly. But I enjoy a variety of guitars with different shapes & sized necks. And I also have my preferences too. For example, I can play any P-bass neck, but I much prefer the narrower J-bass for comfort.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

troyhead said:


> Not sure what you mean by this. Are you saying that a skilled player should be able to adapt? Or that certain playing styles might suit different specifications? Or something else?
> 
> There are some necks that are just too thick to get my hand around to play comfortably, or some nuts are so narrow that I can barely squeeze my fingers close enough to play a chord properly. But I enjoy a variety of guitars with different shapes & sized necks. And I also have my preferences too. For example, I can play any P-bass neck, but I much prefer the narrower J-bass for comfort.


I think it is more about adapting. A mandolin neck is tiny, a classical neck is very wide and plenty of things are in between. I'm sure some of us can play the spectrum, or have witnessed it done well. To say that I can only play a guitar with a specific sized neck, with specific strings, tuned specifically correct on only a sunny day would seem like I'm being dramatic.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

vadsy said:


> ... I can only play a guitar with a specific sized neck, with specific strings, tuned specifically correct on only a sunny day...


... between the hours of 3:55 and 4:00 pm on the Fourth of July during a hailstorm and a stampede of wild elephants and one baby zebra!

I agree with you. I find I prefer some necks more than others, but I seem to adapt when I find something else I really like about the guitar.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

troyhead said:


> ... between the hours of 3:55 and 4:00 pm on the Fourth of July during a hailstorm and a stampede of wild elephants and one baby zebra!
> 
> I agree with you. I find I prefer some necks more than others, but I seem to adapt when I find something else I really like about the guitar.


Exactly. I also agree very much that we have our favourites and preferences and those that jus 'work' for us.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

One guitar has a wider neck and this is a thread?


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

Budda said:


> One guitar has a wider neck and this is a thread?


One guitar that you can custom order no less..


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Budda said:


> One guitar has a wider neck and this is a thread?


well its either that or I'm gonna post about reevaluating life choices because I got herpes,,., again


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I think you can only get that once and it keeps on giving same with life choices; they will follow wherever you might chance to go.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I, for one, would welcome a 1-7/8" nut. For years, I played a '64 Epi Coronet that has its charms, but has a 1-3/4" nut, which puts the strings too damn close together to get between them anywhere below the 5th fret. An article I once saw in an old LIfe magazine from the period described it as a "student's" guitar, which I gather meant it was intended for 12 year-old hands. I imagine pretty much any neck will give any player the room they need to do what they want/have to, once you're higher up and the fretboard is wider, and they can noodle around and solo where the spacing permits. But if a player plans on doing more below the 7th fret (and I forget which studio player declared "There's no money above the 7th fret"), it's nice to have room between the strings for more articulate picking, instead of simply strumming.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Wardo said:


> I think you can only get that once and it keeps on giving same with life choices; they will follow wherever you might chance to go.


not with the way I use WebMD to diagnose myself


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

vadsy said:


> not with the way I use WebMD to diagnose myself


Yeah, I keep forgetting about the benefits of revisionist diagnostics; we’re stilling using holy water to treat gonorrhoea here.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

mhammer said:


> I, for one, would welcome a 1-7/8" nut. For years, I played a '64 Epi Coronet that has its charms, but has a 1-3/4" nut, which puts the strings too damn close together to get between them anywhere below the 5th fret. An article I once saw in an old LIfe magazine from the period described it as a "student's" guitar, which I gather meant it was intended for 12 year-old hands. I imagine pretty much any neck will give any player the room they need to do what they want/have to, once you're higher up and the fretboard is wider, and they can noodle around and solo where the spacing permits. But if a player plans on doing more below the 7th fret (and I forget which studio player declared "There's no money above the 7th fret"), it's nice to have room between the strings for more articulate picking, instead of simply strumming.


I had to pass on an old Resonator one day, as the strings were far too close together at the nut. Narrowest neck I'd ever played. It was a wonderful guitar, but virtually unplayable, even with my long, skinny fingers.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

One reason I picked up a Seagull was their penchant for the wider necks. Wider string spacing is great for a finger style approach, which is what I was more into with acoustics at the time. Here a list of some of the Acoustics that fit the bill. Best Wide Neck Acoustic Guitars

I'd imagine that the 7 and 8 string shredderz also have a wider neck to allow for the extra string. I'm not sure why only Agile is mentioned by the OP. Wait.....Wut? Oh yeah. Silly me. That's a pretty poor attempt at clickbait title there Steadly. Surely you can do better than that


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

It's all about marketing. He's the master of re-marketing. Eats it up and regurgitates it like O2/CO2. And like breathing, he doesn't even know he's doing it by now. Autonomic response.

Neck size is just an excuse. Do you think Django Reinhardt or Robert Johnson cared about neck width and string spacing? They did alright.


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

troyhead said:


> narrow compared to the classical guitar


but i'll bet you played your classical with your left knee up on a little stool, elbow and wrist forward

classical guitar on a strap down by your waist somewhere with your thumb wrapped around the top fretting the low E would be quite the trick

never mind the nut width it's the flat fingerboard that'll get ya

j


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Technique can lead to many great things.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

I wish his roadie/pilot had better technique.


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## Rozz (Aug 1, 2018)

Steadfastly said:


> While a 1 7/8" wide nut is "out of reach" for those with small hands, some customers are asking for them.


You are at the fore of a niche movement. ;-)


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

I seem to remember that Seagulls are actually going to slimmer necks. I could be misremembering though.


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## Markus 1 (Feb 1, 2019)

vadsy said:


> not with the way I use WebMD to diagnose myself



WebMD can help with a diagnosis for small or big nuts


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Markus 1 said:


> WebMD can help with a diagnosis for small or big nuts


I don’t need WebMD for that, I just do a quick price check at the grocery store next to the grapefruit


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> Neck size is just an excuse. Do you think Django Reinhardt or Robert Johnson cared about neck width and string spacing? They did alright.


I suspect that the default neck width of that era was pretty chunky. Those old Macaferris were nylon-string guitars, which would have had neck widths comparable to classical guitars. There aren't that many pics of Robert Johnson posted around or in existence, but he seems to have had wide-enough necks. Most of those pre-war and late '40s instruments had wider necks, which is part of what makes them so desirable.
So, while I would agree with you that they probably didn't care, that seems to have been due to standard commercial neck widths giving them what they needed, eliminating any fussing over neck width.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Sketchy Jeff said:


> but i'll bet you played your classical with your left knee up on a little stool, elbow and wrist forward
> 
> classical guitar on a strap down by your waist somewhere with your thumb wrapped around the top fretting the low E would be quite the trick


When I was playing classical music, it was on the left with the footstool. However, when I played chords, it was on the right leg like most people play guitar. Or I was laying down. Or sitting awkwardly on the couch. Or pretending to be a rock star holding it by my knees. And all while fretting the F# on the low-E string with my thumb.  

When one is young and stupid, they don't know what is and isn't supposed to be done on a particular guitar, so they just make it work. I will admit, playing a neck that has a radius has more of an effect that the nut width. But I'm glad I learned to play some rock stuff on a guitar that was not meant for it... it makes playing some things on a Tele or Strat so much easier. Oddly, I also learned to play bass on that classical guitar, as I didn't have my own bass or amp for many years.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

troyhead said:


> Not sure what you mean by this. \


I am not saying anything. My post was put in the form of a question. However, I think manufacturers are realizing those thin little necks they have been putting on guitars are not for everyone. For someone with large hands, those 1 5/8" necks widths present a real problem in playing clean, especially if those large hands come with large fingers. Last year, Martin changed a lot of their guitar necks from 1 11/16 to 1 3/4". Perhaps the electric mfrs. are starting to see they missing a portion of the market with narrow neck guitars. 

If you read what Rondo says, they have provided this wide neck guitar in response to customer requests. They are not PUSHING these on people, they are PROVIDING what is being asked for.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Martin probably moved to wider necks because a large part of their market is old bastards who can afford to drop 4 on a standard series. Same crew probably driving the push toward smaller body guitars because their shoulders are worn out and they can’t play a dred.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Wardo said:


> Martin probably moved to wider necks because a large part of their market is old bastards who can afford to drop 4 on a standard series. Same crew probably driving the push toward smaller body guitars because their shoulders are worn out and they can’t play a dred.


Great delivery! You shoulda been a comedian!! I honestly wouldn't doubt that to be true. They have a certain market to cater to after all.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

troyhead said:


> Not sure what you mean by this.





Steadfastly said:


> I am not saying anything. My post was put in the form of a question.


Sorry for the confusion, I quoted vadsy and was saying I didn't quite understand what he was saying.


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

troyhead said:


> learned to play some rock stuff on a guitar that was not meant for it


flamenco on a tele

does not work

power chords on a classical does work

j


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## Rozz (Aug 1, 2018)

Sketchy Jeff said:


> flamenco on a tele
> 
> does not work
> 
> ...


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

troyhead said:


> Sorry for the confusion, I quoted vadsy and was saying I didn't quite understand what he was saying.


No problem. Vadsy has been on my ignore list for a long time now. We don't see eye to eye and while he has got a lot of experience, a number of members here don't understand his negative responses to many of my posts. Perhaps that was another one. He hates me with a passion and if he reads this, it will likely add to it. I think it is too bad for him but it is what it is.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Steadfastly said:


> No problem. Vadsy has been on my ignore list for a long time now.


...and it hasn't made you look in the least bit silly all the times you respond to people who you think are talking to you. please continue 



> He hates me with a passion and if he reads this, it will likely add to it. I think it is too bad for him but it is what it is.


I absolutely do not. Seriously, you're one of my favourites around her, I love you like the Lord commanded. what I hate, is you're misinformed and possibly brainwashed


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

This is what he said in case you missed it.



vadpost: 2528344 said:


> ...and it hasn't made you look in the least bit silly all the times you respond to people who you think are talking to you. please continue
> 
> 
> 
> I absolutely do not. Seriously, you're one of my favourites around her, I love you like the Lord commanded. what I hate, is you're misinformed and possibly brainwashed


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Good ol' Wardo. Disturbing the shit like a pro!


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

I read it as a helpful PSA.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Great thread. Wide necks, narrow minds, what else can we wish for?


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

LanceT said:


> Great thread. Wide necks, narrow minds, what else can we wish for?


Thin frets?


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

LanceT said:


> Great thread. Wide necks, narrow minds, what else can we wish for?


................thin skins. Either lacquer or 'ignore list' style.


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

Ha ha ha now i guess we get to argue about what the phrase "does not work" could mean. 

I like telecasters. I like my telecaster. That guy is playing flamenco style stuff on his telecaster. I'm not a fan. 

You might say the same thing about Crazy Train on a classical guitar. 

OK, I might too. 

Thus concludes the flamenco telecaster diversionary tangent. 

j


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Sketchy Jeff said:


> You might say the same thing about Crazy Train on a classical guitar.


How about some Slayer on a Ukulele?


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## Rozz (Aug 1, 2018)

Sketchy Jeff said:


> Ha ha ha now i guess we get to argue about what the phrase "does not work" could mean.
> 
> I like telecasters. I like my telecaster. That guy is playing flamenco style stuff on his telecaster. I'm not a fan.
> 
> ...


LOL ;-)


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Rozz said:


> LOL ;-)


If it had of been audio only, I would have been sure it was Ozzie.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)




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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

cheezyridr said:


>


I would call that a real "baseball" neck.


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

One of the first thing I taught my son to play on classical guitar was Crazy Train. He was 12. Right after Boulevard of Broken Dreams. And then Milk Carton Kids' song Michigan. He still plays all of them from time to time. 

That's kind of a prissy version in my own very humble opinion. Nice picking no intensity. 

j


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## Rozz (Aug 1, 2018)

cheezyridr said:


>


Wide neck or just a really small peghead? Hard to tell without a comparison for scale. ;-)


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I played a 12 string with a 1-7/8 nut exclusively for about 20 years. When I first picked up a guitar with a 1-5/8 nut again, it was a disaster. My shapes were off, nothing was ringing, etc. I kept at it, and after a while, I could go back & forth without a problem. I don't even think about it anymore, but if you were to ask me - I'll tell you I like a wider neck.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Lincoln said:


> I played a 12 string with a 1-7/8 nut exclusively for about 20 years. When I first picked up a guitar with a 1-5/8 nut again, it was a disaster. My shapes were off, nothing was ringing, etc. I kept at it, and after a while, I could go back & forth without a problem. I don't even think about it anymore, but if you were to ask me - I'll tell you I like a wider neck.


Your post made me curious about your hand size. Where are you in that respect, large medium or small?


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Rozz said:


>


That sounds damn cool.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Steadfastly said:


> Where are you in that respect, large medium or small?


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

troyhead said:


>


I was waiting for that. 
Like that _Blister in the Sun_ lyric, "big hands I know you're the one".


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Steadfastly said:


> Your post made me curious about your hand size. Where are you in that respect, large medium or small?


Larger than average. I wear XL work gloves. And I've worked with my hands all my life, so they are fairly muscular.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Lincoln said:


> Larger than average. I wear XL work gloves. And I've worked with my hands all my life, so they are fairly muscular.


I'm willing to bet they are larger than Steadlys, much larger


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Lincoln said:


> Larger than average. I wear XL work gloves. And I've worked with my hands all my life, so they are fairly muscular.


I am in the same size range. That's why the 1 7/8" neck was comfortable for you.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Steadfastly said:


> I am in the same size range.


That is an amazing thing to admit. Congrats.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Lincoln said:


> Larger than average. I wear XL work gloves. And I've worked with my hands all my life, so they are fairly muscular.


Those hands didn't stop you from having a bunch of guitars with sweet ass feeling necks though. I certainly liked them with my smaller Mitts. Hell, that 12 string Fury felt dinky in my hands. I'm used to the Seagull 12 though.

@Steadfastly , have you considered the lusher 12 string route? There are notable players in that area.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Lincoln said:


> I played a 12 string with a 1-7/8 nut exclusively for about 20 years. When I first picked up a guitar with a 1-5/8 nut again, it was a disaster. My shapes were off, nothing was ringing, etc. I kept at it, and after a while, I could go back & forth without a problem. I don't even think about it anymore, but if you were to ask me - I'll tell you I like a wider neck.


Similarly, I go between 1-11/16 and 1-7/8 all the time. Even from one song to the next - more often from electric to acoustic sets or electric jams to acoustic jams in the same location (like, inside to outside). No problem, once you're used to it. I would say I have medium hands, but I have no frame of reference. 

The lack of fretboard visibility around the campfire is a far bigger problem, IME. Or seeing the screen on my KPA, that's becoming an issue as well.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Jackson was guilty of making guitars with fatter necks.
If you own a 1980's RR / Jackson guitar ( like I do) , Randy Rhoads wanted his RR guitar to be wide like his Gibson LPC, in time Jackson even made them flatter .... In the mid / late 1980' s Ibanez did the same thing too.
Fat necks can let you have wilder finger vibrato.
There are pluses and minuses about fat necks .... It's all up to the player


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