It's also the mass supporting the most string length and therefore influencing string vibration. I think with a thick neck there would have to be less 'flutter' when notes are hit, and greater stability. That's also what I believe I'm hearing.
Absolutely agree. Just ordered 2 fat necks, in solid rosewood. Everything else in sonic upgrades feels like splitting hairs over minor improvements. This makes an order of magnitude of difference..
@@dontswin I got them on eBay from stratosphere, its a Fender Licensed WD All Rosewood 21 fret, trussrod at heel. Profile: Vintage "U" Shape/Chunky. I may have to use one to beat away the looters..
I agree 100% ....i always reach for the guitar thats the most comfy...if i dont like the feel of the neck, that guitar collects dust...a nice comfortable neck is is my number one criteria...great vid!!!
Looks like you still use TH-cam of the past, like 2010 or so. Currently, YT doesn't compress audio that much, if at all. It will push down the overall level if RMS is too high, though.
@@robtog Your post was fine up until the part you told people not to worry about body wood or nut type. They absolutely are contributing factors that should be upgraded from cheap parts to at the very least sturdy modern materials whenever possible.
Snap, crackle, Pop!!! One thing you will lose with the Big Man's Neck, I've played all those 56 boat neck, 63' 65 D necks And there is no Hi End at all on larger necks, no pop' they never let up. Great for meaty rythm playing But that's about all.
exactly, I actually thought the standard thin sounded better. Problem is I've actually played the boat neck on a friend's Tele and it felt so, so right.
These direct A/B comparison videos are awesome. In the world of guitar voodoo and unexplainable mojo, they are the only way you gain actual knowledge of how things sound. Please continue doing them! About neck profile, I might be a bit weird. I have small hands but ruling out extremes, I've never really considered the thickness of a neck an important factor in my playing. Of course it feels different, but out of couple hundred guitars I've tried and ten's I've owned, there really were only couple necks I didn't get used to pretty fast. The only thing that matters to me is nut width. Thus, when ordering a neck, I can actually give some weight to the tone instead of worrying if it is the magically perfect neck profile tailored to my small hands.
I have the fatback. It made my hand hurt a little at first, but now I love it! This video surprised me. I didn't expect such a noticeable difference in tone.
I do love your comparison videos but also some very good advice at the end - get the neck which you will love to play more. It’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole focussing on all the minute things, I can say from experience. Bosses , this is the type of video which brings in the fans! Cheaper UK delivery would be a bonus ;)
I will never forget one Stratocaster a guy had at the local jam sessions. It was absolutely amazing, everyone wanted to play it and couldn’t get enough of it. Crazy thing was it was a Korean squire that he had bought for like 450, we all wanted to know what pickups it had so we could get some and he said they were one of the fender CS models. Well he wanted to get even more tone out of it and went and ordered a custom shop rosewood neck for it. Low and behold when he brang it along with that new neck it was flat, boring and one dimensional. 50% of the tone was gone, it was no longer inspiring or even dynamic. He refused to listen as he had paid all this money for the custom shop neck and kept telling himself how much better it sounds now. That day I realised wood makes a huge impact on tone no matter what argument people come up with me, tonewood matters and all professional players would agree to that.
Very interesting results. I can see where adding more mass to the entire equation might affect things I’ve been a thick neck guy for a while now. I used to recoil at the idea until I played a soft v. It’s just about the most comfortable neck imaginable for my thumb-over style.
I love the fact that you covered all the details, down to the same root stock - thank you - I first visited the green house back in '82 when Mr Warmoth was just about ready to stop the ads in the back of guitar world and have been a big fan ever since.
I completely agree with the premise here. I’ve actually gotten rid of a couple of amazing sounding guitars because the necks were just too big for me to comfortably play. Great video.
It's comfort over all. I have one of your super fat jazz bass necks on my p bass and goddamn is it one of the best necks I've ever played. Definitely will buy another one if I build another partscaster bass.
I did not expect such a noticeable difference. To me it sounds a lot like playing 10s vs 9s string gauges. The thicker option has more presence, while the thinner option has more sparkle. I prefer the presence on Gibsons and Gretschs, and the sparkle on Fenders and Ricks.
above all tone-wood comparison, this was by far the most effective one I think. Great content! I thought the thinner neck had a more balanced sound, but that's maybe because I'm used to the sounds of the thinner necks.
Thank you! Again a very interesting comparison! I was surprised that the difference was indeed identifiabe. Especially in case of the clean tones for me.
Awesome test as usual! I personally didn't hear a significant difference that would make me prefer one neck over the other. Like you said, the choice is down to the ergonomics one prefers. Keep up the great work. I am already looking to do my THIRD Warmoth bass guitar project. Would love to see more Warmoth videos on basses!
Great video Aaron. I can hear more thrust down around 250hz on the fatter necks listening through my studio monitors. Good thing I play fat necks ;) Would love to hear a comparison video on various bridge styles if you're thinking of ideas for other videos. Vintage 6 hole is my preference, but I haven't done a direct A/B comparison. Hmmm, might be a good idea to do such a video on my channel...
I’m anxiously awaiting my Warmoth Boatneck gloss maple neck. This video confirms my choice because it’s a replacement neck for my 72 Hardtail Strat! Thanks!
Thank you for the great comparison. Thickness of the neck is pretty essential but it might be compensatable by pickup bridges as he said. Install tuning machines snugly is also important to get a thicker tone. The point we can’t compensate with those is the quality of atack and sustain, you need a thicker neck to get a strong attack on strumming and straight sustain without wobbling.
I'm not a tone wood believer for electric. I have a Hondo guitar literally made of plywood and with a Seymour Duncan pickup it sounds pretty good. I do have a couple Warmoth neck equipped guitars and love the build quality.
I love your guitar parts. I've spent quite a bit of money buying your stuff. I appreciate how far you are going to keep these tests as fair as possible. I honestly didn't think I would hear as much of a difference as I did. I absolutely agree with the presenter, buy the neck that plays the best for you. The EQ can be adjusted
The thinner neck has more pronounced dynamics. The attack is faster and louder. The fatter neck has more mass to get moving, requiring more energy, which makes sense. That leaves the tone of the bigger neck, not with more middle technically, but you can hear middle more, since the slow, less spanky attack interferes less. The mechanical version of compression.
Did you listen on headphones? The fatback was louder. Also, if the neck moves, it's taking that energy from the strings. A neck that doesn't want to move will always make the guitar louder.
@@iunnox666 I can't agree with always louder. I know it often argued, but in my experience, a lighter, more resonant neck wood, like mahogany can make a guitar louder than a dense maple neck that damps vibrational energy instead of helping it move air. Benedetto says so in his book on luthiery and that matches what I have experienced. Less maple mass seems to make that guitar more dynamic, which reads as brighter, spankier, to me.
@@m.a.nelson9427 Good point, resonance is definately a factor, but I don't think a larger neck of the same wood is going to be less resonant because it's bigger. Also, damping is also movement, if the neck doesnt move it isn't going to add or subtract any volume.
Wow! I was expecting to hear some difference due to more mass but not that much of a difference. That fatback is noticably thicker and we'll beefier sounding. It actually sounds kinda like badass Tele with the fatback in the bridge clean and dirty it has almost that SRV Texas blues beef. Great video! This one was one of the coolest ones yet..
What I found most interesting is the fatback was definitely thicker under distortion, but I also thought it came at the expense of clarity. That could be because of the additional gain from the extra loudness you described.
Didn’t think I would hear a difference, not that I’m that much of a discerning musician, but I sure did. I thought it’d be in the cleans for me, but heard it more in the overdrive/distortion tones.
The Fatback sounds just a touch brighter and a little more 'open' sounding that the Standard Thin to my ears, although in fairness that difference seems rather subtle and may not make much of a difference during a live performance. One thing is certain, both guitars sound great. Thanks for posting. BTW, I love my recent Warmoth Jmaster build; still wondering why I waited so long to do it.
After playing a Fender Richie Kotzen Tele with a Fat neck I set out to build a clone and used Warmoth body and Fatback Tele neck. They had a Strat version also available in the Screamin' Deals section so I snagged them both and I'm glad I did. I have big hands but not actually long fingers and these necks are super comfy for me and my hand experiences less fatigue during extended jams. If you're curious, find a store that has a Kotzen in stock and give it a test drive.
I agree with your conclusion and I would add one other variable: fret size and profile. I have three Warmoth-neck guitars, two Strats, one Tele with big necks. All have 1.75 inch nuts, the most important change for my hands. Two were fatback profiles with medium jumbo frets. The best one for tone and playability was the latest, a Strat 1.75 nut, Rounded 59 profile, and slightly narrow tall frets. The fret change makes a noticeable improvement in sustain, playability, and intonation for me. Glad your company makes these neck options possible.
oddly, Modern thin necks really cramp my hand after about 30 minutes of play. I now play fatbacks and can shred for hours....I do not have big hands. Thanks for this video.
Very nicely done video. That was a LOT of work! I have always found the neck profile to strongly influence the way I play a guitar. Tone-wise, I can’t say I much care that there is an empirically provable subtle difference. For any given neck profile, the differences that really count for me are in the hands, pickups and strings.
Awesome video comparison!!!! Could definitely hear the difference too!! Thanks!!! My chambered Warmoth strat is almost 15 years old with a 59 round back neck. It’s by far the best strat I’ve ever played!!!!
What I heard was, test 1 was the most obvious and drastic difference and I agree with all of your closing comments. The fatback was more full bassy/middy and round sounding. Thin was bright and punchy. I'm in my 60's with pretty bad arthritis problems in my hands and shoulders. I had surgery on my fret hand, including a bone fusion. That severely limited my hand movement. I was playing your standard thins and having problems when I started playing again. I have a PRS Fat/Wide neck and that was much more comfortable to play. I put a '59 roundback on a telecaster and that worked out real well for me. I wasn't able to scrunch my hand down on thin necks any more. Any old farts might want to find a fat neck and see what you think.
I know from personal experience that neck thickness has a huuuuge effect on tone! When I built my p-bass neck (very hard and heavy birdseye maple), I first went for maximum "tone", which to me equalled maximum thickness (about 1 inch). What I got was endless sustain and huuuuge bottom end - in fact way too much bottom end, as I've blown a speaker for the first time in 39 years! It sounded nothing like a p-bass: no attack, no sweet midrange... a complete failure. Playability also became an issue very soon. I've since shaved the neck twice, and now it's considerably thinner. And lo and behold: that bass finally came to life! Much wider frequency response, more harmonics, more dynamics... and no more blown speakers! ;-)
I completely agree with Mr Warmoth's conclusions - 'You play the guitar, don't let the guitar play you'. I think very often if people have a guitar whose action, neck dimensions etc. are really challenging the physicality of playing the instrument, this will have a huge effect on playing and even creativity.
Great comparison video, as always! It would be great if you'd do a comparison between fretboard woods to find out if that changes tone. That would be really amazing!
I totally agree with choosing the profile the FEELS best in your hand. That is going to have the biggest impact on how you play. And how you play is going to have the biggest impact on your tone. The inherent tonal differences between these two necks could easily be compensated for with a little EQ.
I felt like the Fatback had more upper-mid presence, more articulate, almost like the string gauge was 1 higher. The Standard Thin had spanky highs and a more percussive low-end, maybe more like a telecaster. But it was subtle. Both were definitely a strat. The pickups make the biggest difference anyway. Thanks for making these videos, they're really satisfying and informative.
Aaron another great video. Especially like that you made both necks from the same piece of maple to make the comparison fair. I love the Warmoth boatneck shape it fits my hand like no other neck I have ever used and now I am spoiled I only want the boatneck shape. Since it is a thicker construction I will get some of the additional punch in the tone. I also heard a bigger emphasis on the bottom end. Do you think a fatter neck matched with a mahogany body might make the tone muddy and so a fat neck should be matched with alder or ash?
I ventured from steel stringed electrics into nylon stringed Flamenco guitars for a few years. In that world, the string spacing/nut width is relatively HUGE, in comparison! For example a 52mm NUT (2.04724") suited me, but a 54mm NUT (2.12598 inches) seemed noticeably wide. It was a trip, coming back to necks
Nut material makes a lot of difference too. Harder materials mean brighter sound and more sustain. Softer materials make for less sustain and less “attack”. Changing nut types can have a huge difference on the same neck.
I heard a world of difference in tone, in favor of the fatback. I have a fatback profile on my '56 Strat replica build personally (that I built years ago), because I'm a thumb-over-the-strings player and it just feels better, but now I have part of the answer to why my build sounds so great.
@@rwrp I listened on my fancy inear monitors. I could here a differences on all three pickups but the differences were more subtle on middle and bridge. I don't think it added body, I think some high end frequencies were muted and that's why the differences decrease as he switched pickups. I'm not an expert but that's my take on a really fun experiment.
Hey Warmoth, I love my 59 Roundback neck on my Tele! Now I'm staring at my Strat which is in need of a refret and I'd like to buy another Warmoth neck instead of paying for a refret. My hesitation is that I don't think I can find a neck profile for what I'm looking for. Can you share if any new neck profiles are being considered/developed? I'm really looking for something like a "60's strat" neck - and to be able to leverage all the great options that Warmoth can provide in terms of wood/frets etc. The neck on the Original 60's Fender Strat goes from .825" at 1st fret to .975" at 12th. IMO it's perfect - can play thumb over down the neck, but not too thin, with a nice taper getting thicker up the neck. A ton of "players" like a neck like this for a Strat. The current Fender American Pro neck is similar and goes from .820 to .920, not quite as think up the neck. I am quite familiar with your different neck profiles and the only ones that comes close are the SRV (which is asymmetric) and the Clapton soft V which I'm not sure I'll like without having a chance to play it. Just one guy here with a suggestion, but I think if you guys marketed a traditional "60s style " Strat neck it would fill a gap and could be a hit.
Interesting that it’s not just material used but everything makes a difference. Even smaller differences need to be accounted for in the consideration stage of building/ordering. This video just made me like, subscribe and dong that bell. Thanks for this guys!!
What a well done and informative video. I was able to perceive the difference in sound, but with my small hands, I'll always go thin and find other ways to affect the tone.
Aaron, your videos played a big role in getting me comfortable enough to recently purchase a Warmoth neck for my new Telecaster. After agonizing a bit over neck profiles, I went with vintage modern 59 Roundback with the 1.650 nut width and I absolutely love it. It’s just what I hoped it would be, a nice happy medium, somewhat similar to a “60s” style neck you can find on some Teles today, but just a bit thicker which I like. The 1.650 nut width also makes it feel to me like a Tele. It’s roasted maple with no finish and stainless steel 6105 frets. It just feels amazing. Thanks!
I ordered a curly maple neck with Brazilian rosewood fretboard and abalone dot inlays from Warmoth in 1996 with a boatneck contour. I’m 6’ tall and 200lbs and have short fat fingers from working with my hands building custom cabinets and mill working, hand grinding M4 steel for custom moulding profiles. I finished the neck in nitrocellulose laquer and played several gigs with it. It had great tone and sustain but was killer on my hands. Like an idiot I sanded the neck down til I felt was the minimum safe thickness without the trussrod bursting through and ruining neck and refinished. I noticed a huge loss in sustain and overall harmonic resonance but I could put my thumb on bass strings and play Hendrix licks way easier. The neck Warmoth sent was absolutely beautiful and I finished my first electric build in 2001. I’m still mad at myself for over sanding the neck but I learned a very valuable lesson if it ain’t broke don’t Fix It! I live in Louisiana so we had tons of bald cypress and I made the body from that and used Stewmac templates for all the routing. I mixed ruby red and chippendale mahogany analine dies and achieved a Cocobolo looking color with stunning depth as the grain shifts. I also have a solid Honduran Mahogany body blank that came from an 8/4” x20 inch wide by 16 foot long solid Honduran mahogany board. I cut a chunk off to build a body and that piece of wood has amazing tone, just need to order a new neck from Warmoth. You guys hands down have the best quality parts for a one of a kind build that would outdo a Fender custom shop guitar for less money. I still have the colored Warmoth Catalog from 1996. Awesome stuff!
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I've been playing for 42 years. Every time I play fat necks, they always always always sound richer and more woody.
yes yes and yes ....i wish it werent true but it is ...size matters
I thought I'd hear nothing different but I was kind of shocked. Goes to show everything matters.
i was thinking the same - what a joke. and it really sounds different.
Except maple vs rosewood fretboard
Yes exactly...never ever thought it matters so much until I heard this...
* Girth is more satisfying.
Out of all comparisons so far (body wood, fingerboard wood) here is the biggest difference, I'm quite surprised.
It's also the mass supporting the most string length and therefore influencing string vibration.
I think with a thick neck there would have to be less 'flutter' when notes are hit, and greater stability. That's also what I believe I'm hearing.
Absolutely agree. Just ordered 2 fat necks, in solid rosewood. Everything else in sonic upgrades feels like splitting hairs over minor improvements. This makes an order of magnitude of difference..
@@GCKelloch why would a fat neck dampen less low end? You have more mass to which the strings can transfer their energy. I don't get your theory.
@@dknstrkt Where you get those necks? My son needs a new fat neck.
@@dontswin I got them on eBay from stratosphere, its a Fender Licensed WD All Rosewood 21 fret, trussrod at heel. Profile: Vintage "U" Shape/Chunky. I may have to use one to beat away the looters..
I agree 100% ....i always reach for the guitar thats the most comfy...if i dont like the feel of the neck, that guitar collects dust...a nice comfortable neck is is my number one criteria...great vid!!!
i totally agree
larry dickman I had a nice schecter c1 hellraiser but I couldn’t stand the neck for some reason. Sold it.
I play different necks so I dont stagnate and sound the same all the time
I'm incredibly impressed that the neck made such a big difference that's even audible with TH-cam's compression.
Honestly, I was really surprised too
Looks like you still use TH-cam of the past, like 2010 or so. Currently, YT doesn't compress audio that much, if at all. It will push down the overall level if RMS is too high, though.
@@robtog Your post was fine up until the part you told people not to worry about body wood or nut type. They absolutely are contributing factors that should be upgraded from cheap parts to at the very least sturdy modern materials whenever possible.
Rob Tognoni - Ummm... are you truly trying to defend leaving low quality components on a guitar because.... action height? lol
@@robtog I was thinking the same thing.
“Pick what feels best in your hand.” Best advice given.
I actually liked the snappy clarity of the Standard Thin. Much more my type of sound! Thanks!
Snap, crackle, Pop!!!
One thing you will lose with the
Big Man's Neck, I've played all those 56 boat neck, 63' 65 D necks
And there is no Hi End at all on larger necks, no pop' they never let up. Great for meaty rythm playing
But that's about all.
%100 the thicker one sounds just like what I’ve experienced -more congested.
exactly, I actually thought the standard thin sounded better. Problem is I've actually played the boat neck on a friend's Tele and it felt so, so right.
Go for a Boatneck (big soft V) and you'll be right in the middle of a Standard C and a Fatback (baseball bat profile.)
It seems to work on this guitar.
I could definitely hear a difference. I agree with you, though. Pick the neck that fits your hand. You can change the rest on the amp.
Every neck fits your hand. It’s about what’s more comfortable
seriously love all these tone comparison videos you're doing, they're great!
Another well produced Warmoth video. I love your discussions on tone!
Love the fatbacks. I have them in all my Warmoth builds.
These direct A/B comparison videos are awesome. In the world of guitar voodoo and unexplainable mojo, they are the only way you gain actual knowledge of how things sound. Please continue doing them!
About neck profile, I might be a bit weird. I have small hands but ruling out extremes, I've never really considered the thickness of a neck an important factor in my playing. Of course it feels different, but out of couple hundred guitars I've tried and ten's I've owned, there really were only couple necks I didn't get used to pretty fast. The only thing that matters to me is nut width. Thus, when ordering a neck, I can actually give some weight to the tone instead of worrying if it is the magically perfect neck profile tailored to my small hands.
Warmoth tone comparison videos make my day! I'd love to see a Warmoth tone comparison between 25.5 & 24.75 inch scale lengths.
Well done! I truly appreciate your comments about picking one that feels best, and make adjustments elsewhere!
What a massive difference in sustain between the necks. The fat back sounds amazing. Brilliant video 🔥🍻
I have the fatback. It made my hand hurt a little at first, but now I love it! This video surprised me. I didn't expect such a noticeable difference in tone.
Just curious, why do you love it now? Just got used to it or is there something else?
@@onlyfromadistance7326 It didn't take long to get used to it. I have big hands. Now other necks feel funny.
I love these Tone Shootouts! They answer so many questions. Great presentation!!
Your tests are so useful, thank you. Very clear difference in bottom end between the two.
I do love your comparison videos but also some very good advice at the end - get the neck which you will love to play more. It’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole focussing on all the minute things, I can say from experience.
Bosses , this is the type of video which brings in the fans! Cheaper UK delivery would be a bonus ;)
I will never forget one Stratocaster a guy had at the local jam sessions.
It was absolutely amazing, everyone wanted to play it and couldn’t get enough of it. Crazy thing was it was a Korean squire that he had bought for like 450, we all wanted to know what pickups it had so we could get some and he said they were one of the fender CS models.
Well he wanted to get even more tone out of it and went and ordered a custom shop rosewood neck for it.
Low and behold when he brang it along with that new neck it was flat, boring and one dimensional. 50% of the tone was gone, it was no longer inspiring or even dynamic. He refused to listen as he had paid all this money for the custom shop neck and kept telling himself how much better it sounds now.
That day I realised wood makes a huge impact on tone no matter what argument people come up with me, tonewood matters and all professional players would agree to that.
Keep these videos coming! Would love to see a scale length comparison and a 22 vs 24 fret
Very interesting results. I can see where adding more mass to the entire equation might affect things
I’ve been a thick neck guy for a while now. I used to recoil at the idea until I played a soft v. It’s just about the most comfortable neck imaginable for my thumb-over style.
I love the fact that you covered all the details, down to the same root stock - thank you - I first visited the green house back in '82 when Mr Warmoth was just about ready to stop the ads in the back of guitar world and have been a big fan ever since.
Thank you guys for doing this right - both taken from the same piece of wood! Well done
Very clear explanation and comparison of the fat back and standard thin neck profile! Kudos Warmoth team!
Thanks for making these vids, you're awesome! Appreciate your devotion to guitars and effort to answer the important questions.
These videos are so timely for me: I've already got my Warmoth body and I'm trying to make decisions about specifics for my Warmoth neck.
I completely agree with the premise here. I’ve actually gotten rid of a couple of amazing sounding guitars because the necks were just too big for me to comfortably play. Great video.
Info packed as usual. Thanks.
Maybe it was me. I heard a slight difference but nothing to trade if you can't play it. Great vid!
It was you.
It's comfort over all. I have one of your super fat jazz bass necks on my p bass and goddamn is it one of the best necks I've ever played. Definitely will buy another one if I build another partscaster bass.
I love my Warmoth guitar! Already planning my next one.
I did not expect such a noticeable difference. To me it sounds a lot like playing 10s vs 9s string gauges. The thicker option has more presence, while the thinner option has more sparkle. I prefer the presence on Gibsons and Gretschs, and the sparkle on Fenders and Ricks.
above all tone-wood comparison, this was by far the most effective one I think. Great content! I thought the thinner neck had a more balanced sound, but that's maybe because I'm used to the sounds of the thinner necks.
Thank you for this Warmoth team!
Thank you! Again a very interesting comparison! I was surprised that the difference was indeed identifiabe. Especially in case of the clean tones for me.
I have a 59 Roundback in Padauk. I love it!
Awesome demo, analysis and advice. Excellent work.
Accurate useful information and words of wisdom. Thanks for another great video. SRV profile for the win.
There is a slight difference in the tones but not enough to switch from a neck that feels good.
I love the boatneck profile.Fat necks sounds more compressed to me(in a good way).
AMEN. Its like wearing uncomfortable shoes that look great but does nothing for your stride.
I would have liked to hear the unplugged natural resonance in addition to other examples.
Yes...this is why I mentioned that the Fatback was louder. I perceived it acoustically, for sure.
Excellent demonstration. Great choices for what you played. I think you covered every style of playing through a clean channel with a pick.
Definitely the fatback's tone sounds a bit more bassy and a tad scooped in the mids maybe?
Another killer comparison video. That Fat Back contour is massive but I'm definitely more inclined to go with the '59 profile after seeing this.
I will start every discussion I have in my next semester of college with “The internet has taught me..” Love it!! 🤣
If your professor doesn't buy it, you tell them to come talk to me.
Awesome test as usual! I personally didn't hear a significant difference that would make me prefer one neck over the other. Like you said, the choice is down to the ergonomics one prefers.
Keep up the great work. I am already looking to do my THIRD Warmoth bass guitar project. Would love to see more Warmoth videos on basses!
Great video Aaron. I can hear more thrust down around 250hz on the fatter necks listening through my studio monitors. Good thing I play fat necks ;) Would love to hear a comparison video on various bridge styles if you're thinking of ideas for other videos. Vintage 6 hole is my preference, but I haven't done a direct A/B comparison. Hmmm, might be a good idea to do such a video on my channel...
Definitely more low mids, in a way that to me kinda kills the strat tone. I definitely did the right thing by getting a standard thin!
I’m anxiously awaiting my Warmoth Boatneck gloss maple neck. This video confirms my choice because it’s a replacement neck for my 72 Hardtail Strat! Thanks!
Thank you for the great comparison. Thickness of the neck is pretty essential but it might be compensatable by pickup bridges as he said. Install tuning machines snugly is also important to get a thicker tone. The point we can’t compensate with those is the quality of atack and sustain, you need a thicker neck to get a strong attack on strumming and straight sustain without wobbling.
Many thanks to Warmouth for these comparison videos!!!
I'm not a tone wood believer for electric. I have a Hondo guitar literally made of plywood and with a Seymour Duncan pickup it sounds pretty good. I do have a couple Warmoth neck equipped guitars and love the build quality.
Hondo's were cool, hammer was too.
I love your guitar parts. I've spent quite a bit of money buying your stuff. I appreciate how far you are going to keep these tests as fair as possible. I honestly didn't think I would hear as much of a difference as I did. I absolutely agree with the presenter, buy the neck that plays the best for you. The EQ can be adjusted
The thinner neck has more pronounced dynamics. The attack is faster and louder. The fatter neck has more mass to get moving, requiring more energy, which makes sense. That leaves the tone of the bigger neck, not with more middle technically, but you can hear middle more, since the slow, less spanky attack interferes less. The mechanical version of compression.
Did you listen on headphones? The fatback was louder. Also, if the neck moves, it's taking that energy from the strings. A neck that doesn't want to move will always make the guitar louder.
@@iunnox666 I can't agree with always louder. I know it often argued, but in my experience, a lighter, more resonant neck wood, like mahogany can make a guitar louder than a dense maple neck that damps vibrational energy instead of helping it move air. Benedetto says so in his book on luthiery and that matches what I have experienced. Less maple mass seems to make that guitar more dynamic, which reads as brighter, spankier, to me.
@@m.a.nelson9427 Good point, resonance is definately a factor, but I don't think a larger neck of the same wood is going to be less resonant because it's bigger. Also, damping is also movement, if the neck doesnt move it isn't going to add or subtract any volume.
Wow! I was expecting to hear some difference due to more mass but not that much of a difference. That fatback is noticably thicker and we'll beefier sounding. It actually sounds kinda like badass Tele with the fatback in the bridge clean and dirty it has almost that SRV Texas blues beef.
Great video! This one was one of the coolest ones yet..
What I found most interesting is the fatback was definitely thicker under distortion, but I also thought it came at the expense of clarity. That could be because of the additional gain from the extra loudness you described.
Didn’t think I would hear a difference, not that I’m that much of a discerning musician, but I sure did. I thought it’d be in the cleans for me, but heard it more in the overdrive/distortion tones.
The Fatback sounds just a touch brighter and a little more 'open' sounding that the Standard Thin to my ears, although in fairness that difference seems rather subtle and may not make much of a difference during a live performance. One thing is certain, both guitars sound great. Thanks for posting. BTW, I love my recent Warmoth Jmaster build; still wondering why I waited so long to do it.
After playing a Fender Richie Kotzen Tele with a Fat neck I set out to build a clone and used Warmoth body and Fatback Tele neck. They had a Strat version also available in the Screamin' Deals section so I snagged them both and I'm glad I did. I have big hands but not actually long fingers and these necks are super comfy for me and my hand experiences less fatigue during extended jams. If you're curious, find a store that has a Kotzen in stock and give it a test drive.
I agree with your conclusion and I would add one other variable: fret size and profile. I have three Warmoth-neck guitars, two Strats, one Tele with big necks. All have 1.75 inch nuts, the most important change for my hands. Two were fatback profiles with medium jumbo frets. The best one for tone and playability was the latest, a Strat 1.75 nut, Rounded 59 profile, and slightly narrow tall frets. The fret change makes a noticeable improvement in sustain, playability, and intonation for me. Glad your company makes these neck options possible.
oddly, Modern thin necks really cramp my hand after about 30 minutes of play. I now play fatbacks and can shred for hours....I do not have big hands. Thanks for this video.
Great video!
If possible make a headstock guitar vs headless guitar video 🙏
Dude, your videos are so good! I miss the daily videos!
You know, as unimportant as this stuff is when you really get to playing, this is an incredibly helpful video!
Very nicely done video. That was a LOT of work! I have always found the neck profile to strongly influence the way I play a guitar. Tone-wise, I can’t say I much care that there is an empirically provable subtle difference. For any given neck profile, the differences that really count for me are in the hands, pickups and strings.
Agreed 100%!
Cool Demo, was a noticeable sound difference. Thanks for another great video.
I noticed the Fatback had a bit more crunch!. Were you turning up the volume a bit?.. lol...Awesome review!...🤘
The fatback has more volume and more low end, so it sounded like turning up the volume and the bass on the amp.
Awesome video comparison!!!! Could definitely hear the difference too!! Thanks!!! My chambered Warmoth strat is almost 15 years old with a 59 round back neck. It’s by far the best strat I’ve ever played!!!!
Thumb up for your professional and useful work!
What I heard was, test 1 was the most obvious and drastic difference and I agree with all of your closing comments. The fatback was more full bassy/middy and round sounding. Thin was bright and punchy. I'm in my 60's with pretty bad arthritis problems in my hands and shoulders. I had surgery on my fret hand, including a bone fusion. That severely limited my hand movement. I was playing your standard thins and having problems when I started playing again. I have a PRS Fat/Wide neck and that was much more comfortable to play. I put a '59 roundback on a telecaster and that worked out real well for me. I wasn't able to scrunch my hand down on thin necks any more. Any old farts might want to find a fat neck and see what you think.
This is such a great video, and I think Warmouth is super awesome for educating us
I know from personal experience that neck thickness has a huuuuge effect on tone!
When I built my p-bass neck (very hard and heavy birdseye maple), I first went for maximum "tone", which to me equalled maximum thickness (about 1 inch). What I got was endless sustain and huuuuge bottom end - in fact way too much bottom end, as I've blown a speaker for the first time in 39 years! It sounded nothing like a p-bass: no attack, no sweet midrange... a complete failure. Playability also became an issue very soon.
I've since shaved the neck twice, and now it's considerably thinner. And lo and behold: that bass finally came to life! Much wider frequency response, more harmonics, more dynamics... and no more blown speakers! ;-)
I completely agree with Mr Warmoth's conclusions - 'You play the guitar, don't let the guitar play you'. I think very often if people have a guitar whose action, neck dimensions etc. are really challenging the physicality of playing the instrument, this will have a huge effect on playing and even creativity.
Love your videos, your attention to detail is inspiring
Great comparison video, as always! It would be great if you'd do a comparison between fretboard woods to find out if that changes tone. That would be really amazing!
Good video...I could hear the difference.
Didn’t expect such a huge difference!
Fat sounds warmer and louder. But the thin sounded better and the bridge position. Interesting vid. Thanks.
I totally agree with choosing the profile the FEELS best in your hand. That is going to have the biggest impact on how you play. And how you play is going to have the biggest impact on your tone. The inherent tonal differences between these two necks could easily be compensated for with a little EQ.
I felt like the Fatback had more upper-mid presence, more articulate, almost like the string gauge was 1 higher. The Standard Thin had spanky highs and a more percussive low-end, maybe more like a telecaster. But it was subtle. Both were definitely a strat. The pickups make the biggest difference anyway. Thanks for making these videos, they're really satisfying and informative.
Nailed it. Pick the neck that feels best and use eq to dial it in. Well done. Keep up the good work. I like these videos.
Aaron another great video. Especially like that you made both necks from the same piece of maple to make the comparison fair. I love the Warmoth boatneck shape it fits my hand like no other neck I have ever used and now I am spoiled I only want the boatneck shape. Since it is a thicker construction I will get some of the additional punch in the tone. I also heard a bigger emphasis on the bottom end. Do you think a fatter neck matched with a mahogany body might make the tone muddy and so a fat neck should be matched with alder or ash?
Wow, huge difference! Didn't expect that. More resonance or body with the thicker neck.
I ventured from steel stringed electrics into nylon stringed Flamenco guitars for a few years. In that world, the string spacing/nut width is relatively HUGE, in comparison! For example a 52mm NUT (2.04724") suited me, but a 54mm NUT (2.12598 inches) seemed noticeably wide. It was a trip, coming back to necks
Excellent comparison with insightful commentary. Well done.
These videos are great. Nice work!
Nut material makes a lot of difference too. Harder materials mean brighter sound and more sustain.
Softer materials make for less sustain and less “attack”.
Changing nut types can have a huge difference on the same neck.
automatics1im ....also, the 'quality' of the 'attachment' of the neck to the body can affect sustain, if nothing else. ymmv
Love the Warhead headstock. Also I hear a subtle difference. I prefer the 59 roundback because it's the perfect size for what I started playing on.
I heard a world of difference in tone, in favor of the fatback. I have a fatback profile on my '56 Strat replica build personally (that I built years ago), because I'm a thumb-over-the-strings player and it just feels better, but now I have part of the answer to why my build sounds so great.
There is a difference, but I guess that people will pick with what they're comfortable with?
There is a fairly obvious difference especially on the neck pickup. Great video
I only noticed a big difference on the neck pickup clean, but he strummed close to the neck on the thicker neck.
@@rwrp I listened on my fancy inear monitors. I could here a differences on all three pickups but the differences were more subtle on middle and bridge. I don't think it added body, I think some high end frequencies were muted and that's why the differences decrease as he switched pickups. I'm not an expert but that's my take on a really fun experiment.
Great advice and very worthwhile vid!
Great video as always, Aaron.
Hey Warmoth, I love my 59 Roundback neck on my Tele! Now I'm staring at my Strat which is in need of a refret and I'd like to buy another Warmoth neck instead of paying for a refret. My hesitation is that I don't think I can find a neck profile for what I'm looking for.
Can you share if any new neck profiles are being considered/developed?
I'm really looking for something like a "60's strat" neck - and to be able to leverage all the great options that Warmoth can provide in terms of wood/frets etc.
The neck on the Original 60's Fender Strat goes from .825" at 1st fret to .975" at 12th. IMO it's perfect - can play thumb over down the neck, but not too thin, with a nice taper getting thicker up the neck. A ton of "players" like a neck like this for a Strat. The current Fender American Pro neck is similar and goes from .820 to .920, not quite as think up the neck.
I am quite familiar with your different neck profiles and the only ones that comes close are the SRV (which is asymmetric) and the Clapton soft V which I'm not sure I'll like without having a chance to play it. Just one guy here with a suggestion, but I think if you guys marketed a traditional "60s style " Strat neck it would fill a gap and could be a hit.
Interesting that it’s not just material used but everything makes a difference. Even smaller differences need to be accounted for in the consideration stage of building/ordering. This video just made me like, subscribe and dong that bell. Thanks for this guys!!
What a well done and informative video. I was able to perceive the difference in sound, but with my small hands, I'll always go thin and find other ways to affect the tone.
Thanks for making this video, it helps alot as I go thru the buying process!
Aaron, your videos played a big role in getting me comfortable enough to recently purchase a Warmoth neck for my new Telecaster.
After agonizing a bit over neck profiles, I went with vintage modern 59 Roundback with the 1.650 nut width and I absolutely love it. It’s just what I hoped it would be, a nice happy medium, somewhat similar to a “60s” style neck you can find on some Teles today, but just a bit thicker which I like. The 1.650 nut width also makes it feel to me like a Tele. It’s roasted maple with no finish and stainless steel 6105 frets. It just feels amazing. Thanks!
Right on! I love the 1.650 too!
I ordered a curly maple neck with Brazilian rosewood fretboard and abalone dot inlays from Warmoth in 1996 with a boatneck contour. I’m 6’ tall and 200lbs and have short fat fingers from working with my hands building custom cabinets and mill working, hand grinding M4 steel for custom moulding profiles. I finished the neck in nitrocellulose laquer and played several gigs with it. It had great tone and sustain but was killer on my hands. Like an idiot I sanded the neck down til I felt was the minimum safe thickness without the trussrod bursting through and ruining neck and refinished. I noticed a huge loss in sustain and overall harmonic resonance but I could put my thumb on bass strings and play Hendrix licks way easier. The neck Warmoth sent was absolutely beautiful and I finished my first electric build in 2001. I’m still mad at myself for over sanding the neck but I learned a very valuable lesson if it ain’t broke don’t Fix It! I live in Louisiana so we had tons of bald cypress and I made the body from that and used Stewmac templates for all the routing. I mixed ruby red and chippendale mahogany analine dies and achieved a Cocobolo looking color with stunning depth as the grain shifts. I also have a solid Honduran Mahogany body blank that came from an 8/4” x20 inch wide by 16 foot long solid Honduran mahogany board. I cut a chunk off to build a body and that piece of wood has amazing tone, just need to order a new neck from Warmoth. You guys hands down have the best quality parts for a one of a kind build that would outdo a Fender custom shop guitar for less money. I still have the colored Warmoth Catalog from 1996. Awesome stuff!