How much would you be willing to pay for a custom neck profile?

For me, around 15% of the guitar's value.

[dneal]

Originally Posted by Haasome

I happily paid $250 for a custom neck carve on a new Froggy.

It's no secret I'm a FB fan, but I gotta say that is BS.

Want some odd compound fretboard radius? Ok, charge extra. Just want a neck a little fatter, slimmer, C, V or D shaped? Should be included in the cost since he hand carves them anyway.

[BrunoBlack]

Originally Posted by dneal

It's no secret I'm a FB fan, but I gotta say that is BS.

Want some odd compound fretboard radius? Ok, charge extra. Just want a neck a little fatter, slimmer, C, V or D shaped? Should be included in the cost since he hand carves them anyway.

A modified V. It wouldn't be hard to convince me of that, but we discussed my request and that was the deal we struck before we made the agreement. Michael was building me a custom guitar and I wanted it so I accepted his terms. And I was fine with that.

All builders have different pricing models, so it will vary some. I'd suspect that most single luthiers don't charge extra since everything is a more or less a one-off instrument. I know Howard never mentioned charging me extra for neck shape I wanted - and I was very specific. He nailed it too by the way. It is one of the two most comfortable (for me) necks I have. The other is the '48 D-18 that was the model for this one.

That said, a factory like Martin, Gibson, or Taylor has to charge more for anything that disrupts their organized sequence of events. Time is money and those changes take time and effort, even if the raw material cost doesn't change.

IMO the cost of getting the neck "right" for whatever that means to you is quite valuable. No matter how good a guitar sounds, I won't play it long if I don't like the neck. I can play about anything that gets passed around at a jam, but playing it long term is another matter.

[MrDB]

An OM-42 has the low profile Martin neck. The 000-42 has the Mod V. I prefer the LP neck but also the short scale of the 000.

I've not yet asked how much it would cost to put a LP neck on a 000-42. I guess I don't want to know.

[rogthefrog]

If the guitar totally blew me away tonally

... and there was a neck profile I knew I liked offered as an option (and maybe a model of that neck was on the floor in the store next to the guitar I did like)

... and the brand was consistent enough across models that a different model of the guitar I liked was guaranteed to sound as good

then I would consider special ordering one with the alternate neck profile. I don't expect it to be an upcharge, at least not from production factories like Taylor, Martin or Yamaha. There's no extra work to making that custom neck (see assumption #2).

If it was a production guitar where the neck would have to be carved custom (i.e. not offered as a regular option), then I'd forget about the guitar altogether.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

..Understood. I have an A-2 Aviator in my computer bag, an E1 backup as a carry light, and a few others scattered around.

Love it, Todd. I keep an E2 Executive Defender in my computer bag next to my CQC7, but do keep an Aviator in the entry drawer. And yes, a few more around the house.

[Captain Jim]

The thread that started this is in regards to carbon fiber guitars, where the neck is made in a mold, not carved. For most CF manufacturers, remaking a mold is not a trivial (read: inexpensive) matter. In fact, most CF manufacturers don't offer any changes in neck profile. Emerald is the exception. Not sure what their production procedure is, but I find the stock Emerald neck profiles to be very comfortable. But, if you want a different scale, a different nut width, thicker or thinner profile, Emerald is the only CF maker who offers this, as far as I know.

So, this is a very different proposition with carbon fiber as compared to a custom wood build... it isn't a matter of "just taking a bit more off"... it means a different mold that can costs thousands to produce.

[BrunoBlack]

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

All builders have different pricing models, so it will vary some. .....

I think this is exactly right. I've commissioned another custom build from Trevor Healy and his approach was to figure out what we were going to build and then establish a price for that finished guitar. The way a luthier arrives at a final price for a guitar is irrelevant to me as long as I know what the completed cost is and what I'm getting before I sign on the dotted line. Michael prefers to itemize cost. For whatever reasons, people run businesses very differently.

[Finger Stylish]

Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales

So while reading through another thread I got to thinking about custom options, in particular custom neck shapes, and what folks might be willing to pay for the option. Say you are considering a guitar that will cost you between $1500 and $2500 dollars, but the standard neck shape is not your favorite. How much would you be willing to pay to get a different neck profile that works better for you?

Actually Ted out there in LA, the land of nip & tuck. Custom neck profiles also should include double chin reduction, and I didn't see that in the choices.
BTW I voted (in the words of David Gates): "It Don't matter to me"

I play all those instruments in my signature so I better be adaptable.

Good poll Ted!

[jaan]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

The thread that started this is in regards to carbon fiber guitars, where the neck is made in a mold, not carved. For most CF manufacturers, remaking a mold is not a trivial (read: inexpensive) matter. In fact, most CF manufacturers don't offer any changes in neck profile. Emerald is the exception. Not sure what their production procedure is, but I find the stock Emerald neck profiles to be very comfortable. But, if you want a different scale, a different nut width, thicker or thinner profile, Emerald is the only CF maker who offers this, as far as I know.

So, this is a very different proposition with carbon fiber as compared to a custom wood build... it isn't a matter of "just taking a bit more off"... it means a different mold that can costs thousands to produce.

CJ, this does cut both ways. In my personal situation, I asked about another neck profile, a modified V; but not looking for a recreation all my own, but if an already created custom spec was available. If a mold has already been created, switching from the standard to this other one is just using the other mold I'm imagining. If that's the case, $500 seems like alot to me. And as I voted, I'd pay $200 for this easily; but at $500 it's caused me to pause and reconsider if the standard is just fine for me; as well as delaying my order.

[TBman]

Up to $200 for the extra time that it might take.

I sure builders have some sort of neck profile templates of sorts that they use. How do you do consistent work without templates to go by?

[walknbass]

As a lot of people I would consider a different neck in the $500.00 range
Of coarse it would have to be the exact neck I wanted.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by Finger Stylish

Actually Ted out there in LA, the land of nip & tuck. Custom neck profiles also should include double chin reduction, and I didn't see that in the choices.

Too funny, but it's still a guitar forum.

BTW I voted (in the words of David Gates): "It Don't matter to me"

I play all those instruments in my signature so I better be adaptable.

Good poll Ted!

Thanks, and I'm with you.

[Carmel Cedar]

Aa Captain Jim said, prior threads elsewhere debate this question. Here is a link to one: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...=479708&page=2

I paid a $300-ish fee to do a custom neck shape on my new Emerald carbon fiber guitar this year, to make it more fast/thin/Taylor-like than the standard build. Ted has suggested in the carbon fiber forum that an approach like mine is one few people are finicky enough about neck shape to want. I love that he posed the question here so we could all learn something about broader market interest. Thank you Ted!

Emerald is so far the only carbon fiber maker to offer a custom neck shape as an option. Offering a custom neck shape is easier for wood guitars, as has been noted (though rarely offered by the mass market builders).