I definitely notice the fretboard is flatter/less radiused than the Taylors I'm used to. I understand Taylor uses a 16" radius while RS uses a pretty unconventional and large 20" radius. After playing it for a week or so now, I don't mind it. In fact, I'm able to swap back and forth from Taylor to RS and barely notice it at all anymore.
The neck/fretboard feels a bit wider overall than my Taylors, as well. I didn't notice it until I played a D/F#
where it was a longer thumb reach than with my Taylor. Capoing the 5th fret and getting my thumb onto the 6th string is a challenge I'm currently barely able to manage with the RS, while it's not an issue with my Taylor.
Speaking of reaching the thumb around to get onto the the 5th or 6th string, and what is my main criticism of the entire guitar, are the sharp corners on the edges of the fretboard. That D/F# thumb wraparound jams my thumb into the corner of the fretboard, and the sharpness is a bummer. Someday when this guitar gets refretted, I'll definitely have the luthier radius these corners.
Speaking of sharp edges, the frets themselves could have been filed slightly better. If you run your finger along either the top or bottom edges of the fretboard to feel the ends of the fretwire, they are a little sharp. It's really not an issue as much as me being very, very critical and going out of my way to find "flaws", but in fairness, my Taylors don't exhibit this.
My last comment about the neck is regarding the N2 profile. I like it! After reading a lot of comments regarding the N2, I was concerned - but it's really no issue at all. In fact, it doesn't feel any more "full" or thick to me than my Taylor. My hands don't feel crampy or fatigued, even with barre chords. To qualify all this, I'm 6'2" and when I open my hand as wide as possible, I have a 9" span from tip of thumb to tip of pinky - so I've got relatively large hands. I have no idea what I'd think of the N2 if I had smaller hands.
10-08-2017, 12:17 PM
