Neck/nut width: Guild players unite

[Zelja]

I have large hands, long slender fingers & prefer 43mm (1 11/16") necks & always tried to find Guilds with these measurements. A narrower neck with some depth can be OK but I sold my 76 carved S-100 as the neck was narrow & shallow, just didn't feel right.

As mentioned above, string spacing also important.

I have no idea how anyone can play a 12 string Ric with the 1 5/8" wide neck with all those strings crammed into that little space. I have a Duesenberg Double Cat 12 & I think it might be 44 or 45mm wide & is super comfortable to me.

 

[Nuuska]

I took the caliper and measured my F-512

Over strings - not center-to-center - 40,2mm = 1 37/64"
Over the nut - 47mm = 1 27/64"

That means there is 3,4mm = slightly over 9/64" space on both sides. ( my caliper vernier does not show 1/256 . . . )

Should be no problem to have new nut w wider spacing if desired.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I am always fascinated by forum discussion on nut width. It seems that miniscule size difference of neck dimensions can make, or break a otherwise perfect love affair with a new guitar. . . .

Only if you want it to. GASsers fuss about nut width and neck shape because it's an excuse to get another guitar.

What's Chris Hillman famous for? Bass and mandolin. Come on. I've had Gibson's thinnest and widest guitar nuts and necks — 1970s versus 1940s. It takes five minutes to get used to a neck. Then you just play the dern thing.

 

[Nuuska]

One point that I have not noticed on these nut width discussions is that the neck & fretboard gets wider as you move from "cowboy-position"

On my F-512

Nut 47mm - 2nd fret 50mm - difference 3mm = roughly 1/8"

 

[Westerly Wood]

I grew up on my grandma's yamaha classical guitar to start, so that was fairly wide.
that being said, nearly every acoustic I have owned was 1 11/16 (martin, gibson, guild) and the only 1 3/4 were taylors.
I am not certain the nut width of the F30r, it does feel fuller than the Br, that is for sure.

I am so used to my D25 flatback, it is so comfy to fret.

 

[Boneman]

For me I agree its more the thickness of the neck than width, and really depends on the type of playing you do. I've found slim necks and smaller widths are disasters for me, but if that same width neck was thicker, my fingers wouldn't trip over themselves as much. Though I do have a preference. Lately I've grown accustomed to 1 11/16" width, but prefer to use the mm desginations as I do less math that way for comparisons. So for my 6 strings 43mm is about perfect. In fact I noticed Fender Stratocasters with modern necks have 43mm widths now. I think they used to always come in 42mm.

Also I think you might encounter some issues if you simply change the nut width to spread the strings, no? I can see the angle of the string to the tuning post would change, and without also changing the bridge pin hole locations, the strings relation to the saddle from the new nut slot is off. Maybe I'm overthinking it?

 

[teleharmonium]

Also I think you might encounter some issues if you simply change the nut width to spread the strings, no? I can see the angle of the string to the tuning post would change, and without also changing the bridge pin hole locations, the strings relation to the saddle from the new nut slot is off. Maybe I'm overthinking it?

I have not seen either of those turn out to be problems in practice in my limited experience with it, but the main constraint of course is the distance to the outer edge.

Some guitars have a little extra room on the edges that you won't miss. I've seen this on a Rickenbacker that had the 1 3/4 nut but still used the stock spacing at the bridge, so I replaced the saddles to use a wider slot spacing. I think I kept the original nut though.

 

[fronobulax]

Only if you want it to. GASsers fuss about nut width and neck shape because it's an excuse to get another guitar.

What's Chris Hillman famous for? Bass and mandolin. Come on. I've had Gibson's thinnest and widest guitar nuts and necks — 1970s versus 1940s. It takes five minutes to get used to a neck. Then you just play the dern thing.

I used to have difficulty switching to basses of different dimensions. But as a mostly self-taught player I also had a lot of bad habits and poor technique, I spent a few months focused on better technique and a side effect was that shifting basses was no longer the problem it once was. So I have to wonder whether changes in technique would make that 1/16" less important to some people.

 

[GAD]

I used to have difficulty switching to basses of different dimensions. But as a mostly self-taught player I also had a lot of bad habits and poor technique, I spent a few months focused on better technique and a side effect was that shifting basses was no longer the problem it once was. So I have to wonder whether changes in technique would make that 1/16" less important to some people.

I can adapt very easily from 1 5/8" to 1 11/16" to 1 3/4" widths, but if you make any of them thinner than about .78" deep at the nut, they're all but unplayable to me. Anything .80" and over and I can adjust.

 

[Midnight Toker]

Agreed. The thickness/shape makes the biggest difference for me as well. It's surprising to me how much difference it can make. Some necks I can play for hours and not have my hand feel strained or tired. Others I can play for 15 minutes and start to feel cramped.

Yep. Try going back and forth from a Les Paul w/ a 50's neck to a 60's neck. Many I know prefer the 50's. Not me. It's like a baseball bat. The 60's is like a woman's wrist. Ultra slim....just like my t100d, just how I like it. ...and I'm 6'4" w/ big hands to match!

 

[Nuuska]

Talking about big hands - how about Andres Segovia ?

 

[walrus]

How about Hound Dog Taylor?



walrus

 

[pdxdave]

Hi all,
Bumping this thread cause I’m very interested in this topic, but also new to the forum.
I’m a finger picker and am used to/prefer the 1 3/4in nut width. However I’ve recently acquired a 92’ DV52 that has a smaller nut width, which I’m starting/hoping to get accustomed to.

How common have 1 3/4 nut widths been throughout guild’s history of building acoustic guitars? Seems like 1 11/16 is guild standard yes? Sorry I’m a bit of a guild noob and am more interested in discussing here than scouring google for the answers.

 

[Walter Broes]

After measuring hundreds of guitars I have come to learn that neck depth matters more to me than width.

Depth and shape for me - not too much shoulder, so you get that "boat" or soft V shape.
And I wrap my thumb around the neck, so once it gets too wide and/or flat feeling, it just hurts my hand.

 

[schoolie]

I have a Guild M-40 which has a 1 3/4" nut, as does the M-20. HIstorically, I'm pretty ignorant, but a nice list of models with 1 3/4" nut has been posted here by SFIV1967
https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/guilds-with-1-3-4-nut.205634/#post-1922895

 

[fronobulax]

How common have 1 3/4 nut widths been throughout guild’s history of building acoustic guitars? Seems like 1 11/16 is guild standard yes? Sorry I’m a bit of a guild noob and am more interested in discussing here than scouring google for the answers.

Depends. Pick a time and model and someone can tell you which width 1 11/16 or 1 3/4 was more common. There is a thread where someone tried to collect models and years and widths but I'm not going to search for that now.

 

[davismanLV]

As frono has stated above, you'll need more parameters. My two from 1994 are both spec'd at 1 11/16ths, but they are both 1 3/4". So back then things varied. During the time that New Hartford had the Standard and Traditional series, they were both spec'd differently but I forget which is which. So many factories and so many different models. You'll have to narrow it down a bit....

 

[fronobulax]

As frono has stated above, you'll need more parameters. My two from 1994 are both spec'd at 1 11/16ths, but they are both 1 3/4". So back then things varied. During the time that New Hartford had the Standard and Traditional series, they were both spec'd differently but I forget which is which. So many factories and so many different models. You'll have to narrow it down a bit....

The NH F30 Traditional was 1 11/16". The NH F30 Standard was 1 3/4". Mrs. Fro. didn't care about the difference and chose the Traditional mostly because of the binding. Clearly the 1/16" doesn't matter to everyone because she got to play them side by side.

 

[pdxdave]

I have a Guild M-40 which has a 1 3/4" nut, as does the M-20. HIstorically, I'm pretty ignorant, but a nice list of models with 1 3/4" nut has been posted here by SFIV1967
https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/guilds-with-1-3-4-nut.205634/#post-1922895

Thanks, info in that thread is just what I was looking for.