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I have examined several Guitars recently in looking at making the neck for my purple heart build. The ones Ive seen ( mainly $200.00 or so guitars ) have a neck thickness of 3/4" at the nut and maintain that thickness to the heel arch . " Thickness measured WITHOUT fingerboard " .

Would a Neck not have a better strength factor if it tapered slightly , say for example 3/4" at nut and 1" at heel arch ?

What feedback do you have in this regard ? Is 3/4" the standard ? Do others taper the neck ? If No Why ?

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
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Yes, the neck would be stronger if the neck was thicker.
No taper seems to be the way many builders and companies are going.
With lighter strings, I don't see a problem.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Hey Jim,

Most necks I've seen are tapered. All but one of mine are tapered.

I usually rough the blank in a bit over 9/16" at headstock volute and 3/4" at the heel transition. The main concern is to have enough wood left under the trussrod, I shoot for a minimum of 3/16".

Steve

That makes sense to me as well , but being new at this I kinda wanted some feedback . On all my Mandolas I have taperd the neck slightly , but then again it is such a small neck to begin with that most dont even notice . However the Guitar neck is larger and it stands out more .

I welcome anymore comments on this , Please!

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I like to taper my necks. My standard, if it is a spec guitar, is 53/64's at the nut and 61/64's just before heel transition. That is with the fingerboard.

Chuck

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.850 at the first fret is a pretty generic thickness that works well. Of course the shape is just as important (if not more so in many cases)

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I go 21mm at the first fret avec FB to 24 at the tenth...

My neck blanks are 5/8th's with a quarter inch fretboard. I simply round the edges, very slight taper (1/16th inch), very comfortable, plenty strong.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

A lot of players like a taper on the thickness. I think that is due to the taper in width of the neck. The taper in thickness gives the same general feel up the neck compared to the ones with no taper. Again just my opinion.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I aim for 21mm at 1st fret and 22 or 23 mm at 9th including fretboard with a C section - (the 22 or 23 mm at 9th depends on how stiff the neck is)
For a more triangular section 22/23 at 1st, 24/25 at 9th, same caveat.
Of course it can can depend on who is getting the guitar - some people like beefier necks than others. I've heard people say thin necks can be tiring on the left hand if playing for long stretches.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Thanks everyone . I am gonna stick with my tapered one, as it stands I will be finished size approx 11/16" thick at nut and approx 7/8" -15/16" at heel transition.

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I can't tell you if a gentle taper adds to strength nearer the heel, but logic suggests that it would. What I CAN tell you is that it feels better to a lot a players. I would go so far as to say most players. Anyway, as a player myself, I think an absolutely untapered thickness would feel freakish.

For some reason,
the thickness of the neck doesn't seem to affect me....

To keep the same profile on a neck that tapers in width, you have to taper in thickness. Which IMO is a good thing.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I have to agree , While a person wants to make a good quality build , it needs to be pleasing to the eye as well . And really THAT was what promted my question more than anything . Strength is important in the neck . But if it doesnt " look " proportional and pleasing no one will pick it up to play it anyway .

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

As a player, I also prefer a tapered neck.

Just make sure you don't do this

Happened a while ago, fixed it, put in a new truss rod and fret board. All is well now.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I " Truss" you wont do that again !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Unless you play a lot with the Capo up and down the neck when a constant thickness helps. It's a player personal thing.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

looks like that lap steel is quite the chick magnet.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

When you hit 56 years old, or so,
you need all da hep ya can get!