benefits of a vintage v-neck
 

what does a v-neck offer?

Some people like the way it fills their hand, but I find them awkward when playing barre chords.

Historically, they were profiled that way as a way of making the neck stiffer (before truss rods were used).

Yep, they helped stabilize the neck before truss rods. Now, people really have a love/hate relationship with them. Martin uses them on the vintage series, along with GE and Authentic for replicatation puposes.

I prefer a slimmer profile myself.

Not really sure. I've always preferred low-profile necks.

To me v-necks seem obsolete.

I love "V" necks...in electric and acoustic guitars. As gitnoob said, I like the way they fill my hand. I find them very comfortable. It's just speculation, but I think the peek of the "V" provides slight leverage in forming chords. But I also think your hand has to be the right size and fingers the right length for that to occur. If my hands were smaller I don't think I'd like "V" necks as much as I do. OTOH, I'm a bluegrass guy and I play very, very, few bar chords.
Take this all with a grain of salt. As I said, it's just speculation. But I have small hands and there has to be a reason I find "V" necks so comfortable. However, when I was playing jazz I found them not so comfortable because of all the bar chords. My jazz guitar (Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster archtop with P-90s) did not have a "V" neck.
When I was playing traditional blues and swing/jump blues I used a Tele and sometimes a Strat, both with "V" necks and liked them a lot. But I didn't play quite so many bar chords in those genres. Also, those guitars had an offset "V" (toward the 6th string) and were a little more comfortable for bar chords.
My advice is to play a D-18GE or any guitar with a "V" neck and see how you like it. Neck size and dimension is such an individual/personal thing.


Tom

The mass of the neck adds to the tone of the guitar as well.

I like the V neck myself and I have a mild preference for it, but I'm pretty flexible about neck profiles overall. drbluegrass, I actually think the V neck helps me with barre chords - I am able to brace my thumb against the V to help hold down my index finger.

Comfort for those who like it.
Discomfort for those who don't.

I don't like a sharp pointy V, but a soft V feels very comfortable to me. Feels like there's a little less drag from the flesh between my thumb and first finger.

I can't stand v necks. I think the only people who like them are people who learned on them. In addition I know several times I have heard people develop hand problems from v necks so they had to switch. My guess is they had small hands but I really don't see why you would choose it. My first guitar had one and I didn't realize how much I hatred it until I bought a taylor.
Old habits die hard I guess.

Does anyone have a pic or link that shows all the different neck profiles? I've seen comparison charts like that for bodies, but not for necks. It would be intersting to see how a vintage V compares to a Martin C to a Gibson to a Taylor.

One of my Martins has a V neck and I like it. I find that in my playing position, I have a fairly small contact patch on the back of the neck and position changes seem smoother. I'm not very particular though and switch between V, Low Profile, and C shaped necks without much thought.

Some of my guitars have sharp V necks, some have a real fat V neck, some have a soft V neck, some have round necks...

I can play all of them equally well. Guess I'm just adaptable.

Only thing I can't handle are guitars with real high action (especially at the nut), more than 1 3/4" width at the nut on acoustics and more than 1 11/16" on electrics, or real super fat necks like some 30's Nationals and some cheap guitars from the 50's and 60's.

But if a neck is nicely shaped and the action is comfortable (AND the guitar sounds good!) it's probably going to be all right for me however it's shaped.

I can play either but then I do have large hands with very long fingers. My preference however is a low profile neck.

Depends on how your left handholds the guitar when you play -if your thumb is up on the side instead of the classical way of playing with your thumb centered on the back of the neck -you might like V necks . I play the guitar both ways - depending on what style im playing- but with me i have long fingers -I like a full size neck -more comfortable with me . but with necks -i swing both ways ( like all shapes and sizes -its the tone i look for not the nit picking neck thickness etc )

Martin vintage series are typically a step up on the quality level -thats one of the main reasons i bought my OM28v ( with a V neck )-i though it to be made of better quality materials with a bit more hand work than their standard series - well worth the difference in price .

I have a few guitars with a modified V ... I bought the guitars because of their tone, not for the neck. When I got the first one, I had great difficulty playing more than 10 minutes, whether from the profile, high action, medium gauge strings, or a combination of the three, but I loved the guitar and was determined to play it ... just adding time slowly until I adjusted to it. On my first string change, I tried light gauge, but didn't like the results so I quickly replaced them with mediums. I have since had it set up, so action is quite a bit lower (1/8" at 12th fret), though higher than most of my others as I play it quite aggressively.

I have short fingers, but I have a very light grip on the back of the neck, using my thumb more for balance and a positional reference. I usually place my thumb either on the v or on the treble side of the neck.

I don't know if it is the v neck or the bracing being shifted even more forward, but the difference in sound between the hd28 and the hd28v is significant. I wasn't real thrilled about the comfort of the v neck but practice and lowering the action on the guitar and now I like it as much as my Taylor, it's just different.

For me, a V-neck is far more comfortable than a round neck. The sharper the V, the better. I don't find a low-profile neck to be particularly uncomfortable, but V's just fit my hands much better.

I don't know if it's related to hand size, but I wear size 20E shoes and my hands are proportionally as large.

I didn't get an acoustic V-neck until I'd been playing guitar for 42 yrs. and exclusively acoustic (Taylor) for the last 10 of those years, so I guess I'm an exception to your statement. I like the Taylor neck (although I don't really play it any more); I like my Martin modified V-neck; and I like my Martin modified low oval neck. I also liked my Martin low profile neck when I had it. If I had to pick a favorite of these necks, I don't know if I could. Some adjustment may be necessary but I find it no biggie. Fwiw I have smaller-than-normal hands (but I have big feet :)).

I think V Necks should be outlawed :)

http://cdn.thegloss.com/files/2008/0...neck-shirt.jpg

Hey ChrisMartinMan. I love the sound off the forward shifted scalloped bracing of the HD28v and D18v. Amazing tone. I think it's more attributed to the forward shifted bracing than the size of the neck; however, that increased mass on the neck may contribute too, but IMHO, to a much lesser extent.

Mostly pain and discomfort.

It's supposed to make it easier to barre as it forces your thumb down to a more classical position, but I just find them painful.

**** right, Brian. Let's contact our congressional representatives immediately!
-Bob

It used to be that I vocally and vociferously disliked V neck profiles on guitars but liked them on old mandolins; in recent years I've come to like them a lot more on guitars. Maybe I've become a better player and less set in my ways, I don't know. In any event, they don't irk me the way they once did.

Most of my guitars still do have modern C profiles, though.


whm

Still my choice as well. Maybe someday I'll get accustomed to the Vintage V's... There are many guitars out there with that neck profile, to be sure.

I've got a Kalamazoo archtop from the late 30's with a big, honking V neck. When I first looked at it, I thought it would be impossible to play that baseball bat. However, as soon as I put my hand around the neck, it felt great. I have average size hands and the V neck fits comfortably in my left paw.

I guess I'm the odd man out.... I find playing barre chords on a V is easier than on thin necks. Placing my thumb on the point of the V gives me solid platform and makes for a secure grip.

Your mileage may vary, to each his own, etc. ;)

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ckprofiles.jpg

After seeing this, I realize that I like Ds, U's, and C's. But mostly D's.... which makes sense, being primarily an electric (tele) player for 25 years.

Can anybody match the profiles above to brands, in general? like:

Taylor = D or C
Martin "V"models = Medium V
etc...

Well the two Larrivees I have would be a blend of the "D" and the "Medium V" only a lot thinner than both pics. Almost as thin as some Strats I have.

I have a Recording King copy of a Martin OOO-28V that has a "Hard V" which I really like.

A Martin OOO-28 I played at a store yesterday had a blend of the "C" and "D" shape

Martin shows their profiles here:
http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/features/neck.html

OM28V...enough said. I love the neck. Makes me sound good. :)