Thick-neck electric?

semolinapilcher · #1 06-26-2003, 08:50 PM

So I'm reading my AG mag about what Lucinda Williams plays and it says that she's got a 50's Fender Esquire with one pickup.

What interested me is that she has it strung with .013s! The guitar has a fat neck and feels like an acoustic.

So my question is, what new electric guitars could handle a set of .013s? Are electric guitar strings that thick even for sale anywhere, or is she stringing 'em with acoustic mediums? Is there a Telecaster out there for me with a neck like Lou Ferrigno's?

JedimasterPaul · #2 06-26-2003, 09:14 PM

I bet my Les Paul could take the 0.013s, properly set up of course. I used to have an ES-175 hollowbody jazz box that took 0.012s - they sounded great.

Incidentally, the ES175 is what I sold in order to pay for my first Taylor. I had started playing guitar in church on a weekly basis with Ovation Celebrity and a Dean Markley Pro Mag soundhole pickup! My wife AND my Mom both said I needed to get a better guitar - and to make a long story short, I ended up with the Taylor 314CE!

Jim Tozier · #3 06-26-2003, 10:33 PM

I have a Washburn J6 Montgomery hollowbody that sounds best with either .012s or .013s. The Epiphone Joe Pass I used to have was usually strung with .013s as well. Many string brands offer these gauges for electric . . . usually labeled as "Jazz" sets.

I imagine that most electrics, if properly set up, could handle these heavier gauges. Of course, I could also be wrong . . .

GordonHLau · #4 06-27-2003, 01:53 AM

A .013 electric set will have less tension than the same gauge acoustic set because of the wound string composition. Electric wound strings are usually nickel so they have less tension than the bronze alloy acoustic wound strings. Still any decent electric should have no problem handling the tension produced by a medium gauge acoustic set.

BTW, .013 is nothing. Dick Dale uses .016 thru .060!!!

He plays a Strat.

GL

Plexiprs · #5 06-27-2003, 06:20 AM

The Dick Dale info was on the tip of my fingers, when I went to bed last night. On Strats, Teles, and even Les Pauls, I've run a custom set as follows; 013 017 W24 W32 W42 W56, with no problem. Truss rod requires adjustment on all, especially if you are switching from .009's.

Playing at standard tuning is another matter, the LP was do-able, but I tuned down the two Fenders 1/2 to 1+1/2 steps. THe Strat also required some extra springs for the wobbly bar.

elterrell · #6 06-27-2003, 06:31 AM

I remember an article with Dick Dale, he was talking about the neck on one of his favorite strats. He said pretty much nobody but him could even stand to play it due to the twist from running such heavy strings on it for so long.
Like plexiprs, if the guitar has a trem, you will probably need to put 5 springs on it versus the stock 3 springs, or maybe just block it.
Fender Nocaster RI also have big chunky necks and could easily take some serious anchor ropes.
I would be scared to string an LP with super heavy strings and tune it to standard due to the headstock issues. Probably just me, but it scares me a little.

Red · #7 06-27-2003, 09:44 AM

My PRS Singlecut has the "wide-fat" neck which could handle the thicker strings. This is my favorite contour of any neck I've played and I wish I had ordered a thicker neck on my custom strat.

I really, really wish I could get this thicker contour on my Taylor as well. The thin neck is one of the things that has made Taylor famous but I really need a fatter one for my big hands. I wish they offered a thin and thick contour so that we could select the one that works best for us.

leftydude · #8 06-27-2003, 10:50 PM

Hamer is good for nice beefy necks. They don't make bolt-ons any more but they're readily available and IMO the best deal going on the used market. I use 13s on my Newport and I'm sure it could handle a heavier guage just fine too, although I don't think I want to go there.