What is your preference , Thin neck or Thick neck ?

[biggus dikkus]

I play a 2001 R9 Historic Gibson Les Paul which has a nice and chunky one piece neck on it which I find most sympathetic to my playing style and the tones are thick as milkshake . If I were to buy another Les Paul , it would certainly be a R7 which has a neck like a baseball bat in terms of thickness. Im 5 ft 9 inches in height and I dont have big hands, but I do find the thicker necks more to my liking.

I have played gtrs with Ibanez wizard necks and other brands with necks just as fine as that which I simply could not get along with. When holding barre chords , I found I got hand cramps and serious discomfort and hand fatigue. A Hamer USA 25th anniversary Artist that I used to own had an in between neck ,not as thick as a Gibson but not as thin as a wizard type neck , it wasnt bad but it was a semi hollow guitar, i.e take hand away from neck and the neck sank like a stone.........i regretfully ended up selling it.

So what is your preference , do you dig em big and chunky or wafer slim and what factors influence your choice ?

BD

[Metal Factor]

Soloing is much easier for me on thin, narrow necks with low action. The Wizard is an excellent example as you mentioned. It makes playing virtually effortless. The wide, chunky necks with higher action like Les Pauls almost feel like acoustic guitars to me, and even though they look cool, I can't pull off the same chops with ease with such a bulky guitar. Its almost like I'm fighting against the guitar.

[HeReSy]

i prefer a neck that isnt to thin but isnt to thick.

[solarthorn]

When I have the money I will get myself a Les Paul as I love there sound. It would take a while to get used to the thicker neck though.

[trent van halen]

i prefer thick ones with medium action. i can play much faster with more control on a thick neck than a ibanez style one.

[JM5150]

I have an Ibanez with a Wizard neck and one with a Wizard II (as well as other guitars) and I love that kind of neck.

[The Shredder]

I like a relatively thin neck that has a nice rounded off fretboard, but less than something like a Fender. Ive tried thick necks out like some BC Richs and have found that they have very fat necks and flat fretboards. I dont like the feel of something like a classical guitar either , which is ironic because i study that style.

[classalpha]

Thick neck, preferably boatneck or soft V-shaped contour, narrower fingerboard profile from nut to body joint, thin and tall (6105) nickle frets, and a 7.25" or 9.5" radius. I hate flat fretboards.

Oh, the headstock needs to be the slotted, Fender Strat/Tele style. I find that tilt-back headstocks on other bolt-on neck fiddles (Carvin Bolts/ESPs/Hamers/Ibanez/Jacksons/Kramers/etc.) seem to lose that "funky", tight feel to the strings that I like and of which is an inherent trait of stock Strats and Teles.

[biggus dikkus]

I play my R9 with a much higher action than a thin neck with a flat radius would allow. When it comes to string height , I find that those super low actions dont allow you to get under the string for bending. Id bend the upper frets on the high E and it would sound , to me, gutless. Whereas the higher action allows those notes to really sing and scream out through your amp as you can get under the string and thus more control.

Outta curiousity, which gtr brand is making the thinnest necks out there , I mean seriously thin ?

BD

[fonosatch]

I love a chunky neck. I played a v neck strat which seemed to fit my hand really well, very comfortable. I personally find ibanez wizard styley necks to thin, I got hand cramps in the practice so ran home and grabbed my les paul...

take it easy...

[sloopdawg]

I play a Rickenbacker 360MG the neck starts out thick and is thin and narrow at the top so I have the best of both worlds. It is more versital than one would think. i absoutly love it, although its not my main ax, i use the ibanez sz520 QMTG as my main and i love the action and feel of it as well.

[axe2grind]

I have to say thin neck for me. I love the Wizard II neck on my Ibanez....and think I'd find it hard adapting to a thicker neck. Most of the guitar I've owned have had a pretty thin neck but the Ibanez's are the thinnest.

[vertex]

my favorite neck so far is the one on my ibanez gsa60, that guitar thru my roland micro-cube on r-fier maxed out with my guitar wound out set on the bridge pup is also my favorite metal sound... it seems crazy, but it's actually very focused, fuzz-free yet growly and harsh... somehow it makes me smile
my favorite body shape is the explorer, and so far i love playing the epiphone goth explorer at the shop, but it has a fatter rounder neck with a flatter fretboard, and it drives me crazy.... the knuckle at the base of my thumb dips in alot while i put pressure on the strings to make a note, and of course those epi/gibson necks have alot of wood in the way, so it hurts and slows me right down, otherwise i'd prefer a fat neck too... it's my misfortune as opposed to preference lol
i can only hope you all have better luck then me, and find a sound you enjoy as much as i do mine
g'day from west canada!

[axeshredder]

the Ibanez js necks are so comfortable for me...which can be considered thin..they are multi-radius...which thickens as you approach the body and give more leverage for reachin
the wolfgang neck is a tree but it does give better leverage when playing standing

IMO

[solarthorn]

I really like the neck on my yamaha pacifica 512, although it is a tad bit flat. Slightly of topic, just thought i'd let you all know, IM IN THE ZONE. And it is great.....the creative juices are flowing