Building Blog Entry Sept.1/11 Guitar Neck Considerations Nut Width, Material & Slot Spacing: One of the first topics of discussion when mapping out a commissioned guitar, is the width of the neck at the nut. As most veteran players have found, the fretting hand of the guitarist can detect quite small increments in variation of neck width, particularly at the nut. In the steel string world, the two main nut widths are 1 11/16” and 1 ¾” (43mm and 44.5mm respectively). Popular wisdom dictates the narrower nut for flatpickers, and the wider nut for fingerstyle players … but of course this is a very subjective call that can’t be generalized.

Less talked about, is the spacing of the strings at the nut with regards to the positioning from the edge of the fingerboard, and in respect to each other. Some builders space the strings evenly from their centers, while others keep the spaces between the strings even … a very fine distinction at best. More important is the distance from the high and low E strings to the edge of the fingerboard. Most builders allow around 3.5mm space on the treble side and approximately 3mm on the bass side. Why the discrepancy? The majority of steel string players need a bit more room on the treble side of the neck so that they don’t pull the high E off the edge of the fingerboard when tackling some of the more difficult “grips” or chord inversions. Heel and Peghead Joints: Long before any of the player’s specifications are considered, the luthier has to decide whether to produce a one piece, two-piece or three-piece neck. This decision, in my mind, is a function of wood conservation rather than a structural consideration. One-piece necks are certainly easier to make (less joinery and no problems with colour matching) but waste a substantial amount of wood. Since most steel string guitar necks are fabricated utilizing increasingly rare mahogany from South America, I’ve decided to stop making one piece necks and have opted for the two piece alternative (with a glued on heel block) that involves very little waste. Truss Rod: The internal structural reinforcement in steel string guitar necks can be roughly divided into non-adjustable and adjustable. In the ‘70s and ‘80s many builders, including myself, utilized square tubular non-adjustable truss rods similar to what C.F. Martin used for decades. This type of reinforcement added significant rigidity to the neck and also offered resistance against twisting, if installed correctly. The disadvantage was, of course, that it was not adjustable to take into consideration different string gauges and tunings.

Today, most builders have switched to an adjustable truss rod. I am currently using a double action truss rod that requires only a ¼” wide slot to be machined in the neck and offers the maximum amount of flexibility with regards to adjusting neck bow. If the guitar owner is touring South America or South East Asia (where the average humidity can exceed 80%) or Scandinavia or Northern Canada in the winter months (where the average humidity is lower than the Sahara Desert) … the truss rod can be adjusted to give the neck the perfect relief. Neck profile/contour: There is no standardization when it comes to steel string guitar neck profiles. Walk in to your local guitar store and pick up a dozen different guitars and you will probably notice a twelve different neck shapes … everything from low profile “fast” necks, to large “boat neck” retro style soft-V contours. Again, this is a subjective call by the player. I typically carve a medium elliptical profile and then “roll” the shoulders of the fingerboard to create an overall pleasing neck shape that will not fatigue your fretting hand after hours of playing. I also offer the option of replicating the neck of an instrument that you currently own and love. Fingerboard Radius: Back in the ‘70s, I planed a very flat radius into my fingerboards, but my taste, as well as the current trend in general, has dictated more of a convex curve on the top of the playing surface. Most players feel that (up to a point) a nicely radiused fingerboard adds a degree of ease-of-playability and an element of comfort to the instrument. Neck binding: Historically, with steel string guitars, high-end instruments had some kind of binding on the fingerboard, both as a structural and cosmetic consideration. I personally bind my ebony fingerboards with two thin strips of matching ebony … not because I have anything against the more traditional plastic binding (I quite like some plastics as binding material), but because I like the simple understated elegant aesthetic. A bound fingerboard also can minimize the feel of the fret ends if the instrument is subjected temporarily to a dry atmosphere. Neck-to-Body Joint: Historically, the neck on steel string flattop guitars has been attached to the body by means of a glued dovetail joint. The last couple of decades have also seen the proliferation of the mortise and tenon utilizing bolts instead of glue for ease of removal. Since the late seventies, I’ve been using what I call a “pinned dovetail” joint, i.e. a dry dovetail joint (no glue) that provides a secure mechanical joint … and a bolt for added insurance and ease of removeablility. Position Markers: As opposed to the violin and classical guitar world (how do those people do it?), some kind of fingerboard position markers are typical in the steel string sphere. Most players that I come in to contact with agree that a side dot that is easily visible on stage is more than adequate. I often get requests to place my “Wren” inlay at the 5th fret, to further differentiate my work from the other builders out there, and to provide a visual position “anchor” to the front of the fingerboard. Neck and Fingerboard Materials: In my mind, the decision to use ebony for a fingerboard material is dictated by the fact that I use the mass of an ebony bridge to get the sound I’m after … and I like to match the fingerboard material to the bridge. This is sort of backwards logic, I know. I like the sound that an ebony bridge imparts to my guitars … I like the fingerboard to match the bridge … therefore I use an ebony fingerboard to match the bridge. Ebony also provides a nice dense fingerboard material that resists wear and contributes to the classically understated overall aesthetic that I strive for.

In the past and currently, I use South American or “tropical” mahogany for the neck. This species is stable with regards to twisting and humidity fluctuations and has the right mass for the physical balance I like in a guitar. Fret height and profile: I use a medium sized “6230” fretwire manufactured by Dunlop on my flattop acoustic guitars. Some electric guitarists prefer a higher wire that helps facilitate the string bending and lateral vibrato techniques used with slinky strings and amplified instruments … but I prefer the medium height wire that facilitates the slurs and slides often utilized in flattop playing.

I spend a good deal of time pre-bending, seating, dressing and recrowning my frets. In my opinion, simply seating the frets does not get the most accurate results, even on a brand new guitar. Frets that have been professionally dressed, recrowned and polished inevitably provide the most accurate playing surface.

I also pay special attention to the treatment of the fret ends … rounding them enough to feel smooth to the players fretting hand, but not so bevelled to allow the string to slip off the fingerboard edge. Scale Length: As most players know, scale length is basically the distance between the nut and saddle i.e. the overall “speaking length” of the string. This distance not only determines the fret spacing, but also helps determine how much tension is exerted on the top and the “stiffness” or feel of the actual strings.

For me, the main determining factor in choosing a scale length, are the sonic implications (as opposed to ease of playability offered by frets that are very slightly closer together). I use what has come to be termed as the “long” or “normal” scale length, namely 25.34 inches, on my Concert and Remuda models. I like the initial aggressive snap it gives to the attack transient … especially on the lower strings. This longer scale also tends to give these models slightly more power and projection. On my small NL-1 model I am going for a funkier midrange-heavy overall tonality with a softer point to the attack transient and a slightly more intimate voice … so I use the shorter 24.9 inch scale. Peghead Angle: Some builders theorize that steeper peghead pitches provide added string tension but in practical terms, it takes quite a radical change in angle for it to be perceptible to the player. In my opinion, a guitar neck is designed properly as long as all of the strings have an adequate (but not extreme) break-over angle on the nut. Sonic Considerations: Most of the chatter you hear about guitar necks involves the physical issues I’ve raised above, but there are certainly sonic considerations involved in fabricating a successful neck too. As with all of the components of the instrument, the neck has its own resonant frequency that can work with and enhance the other parts of the instrument. The overall mass of the neck/truss rod/tuning machine assembly has an influence on how much energy from the box is absorbed or reflected by the neck … ultimately affecting the power, projection and sustain of the instrument. In any event, hopefully I’ve given you some food for thought with regards to the neck of the instrument. Until next time … keep your stick on the ice and keep on picking! Blog Index Top of Page