Gloss vs Satin neck
 

I was recently reading a piece on a couple variations of Fender Telecasters, one had a glossy nitrocellulose neck, the other had a satin neck. They said that the satin neck would play faster straight out of the box but that the glossy would break in over time. I’m assuming this is the same for acoustic guitars but never really gave it much thought. Has anyone noticed their glossy nitro neck become easier to move up and down the neck as they wore in? Is this a long process?

Gibson Telecaster? Did you mean Fender Telecaster?

Gloss vs satin? It depends on the particular finish that's used. I've got a Taylor 614ce that has a gloss neck and a 814ceDLX that has a satin neck. Neither one is a problem. A gloss neck that has too much "stiction" can easily be made slicker in a few seconds with a Scotchbrite pad.

But you know, I had an interesting experience not too long ago. I was at a store that had two of the same American made Stratocasters side by side. I was pretty stunned when one of the necks was slick and fast and the finish on the other was noticeably grippier.

I did have a Gibson Les Paul with a gloss nitro finish on the neck and it didn't give me any issues. OTOH, I have an Epiphone Dot with a gloss neck and I had to give it the scotchbrite treatment. FWIW, I was actually then able to buff it back to glossy, but the stiction was gone.

Yeah I did mean Fender, it’s edited now, thanks. I’ve never given the finish on the neck much thought but I’ve been playing a new J-45 that has a glossy neck and I’ve noticed it does stick some. I’ve been able to work around it but wondering if what they said about breaking in is true.

Just Google "speed neck" to find many posts here on AGF about this. I'm in the satin/no finish camp. Any instrument I plan on keeping gets the neck deglossed. Anyone that's played a sticky neck on a hot humid day would appreciate a nice slick satin neck.

It takes a little effort to maintain a satin neck - the process of playing where dirt, sweat and oils from your hand get on the neck will tend to build up a stcky, shiny coating. The rate depends on your own habits and skin. I find a once per year treatment with 0000 steel wool or 1000 grit sandpaper works.

On my fiddles and mandos that have raw necks to begin with I may have to apply a light treatment of tung or boiled linseed oil every year or so. Using dry, soft, lint-free rags wipe on, let sit maybe an hour, wipe off, buff out.

On my experience, necks that start out satin eventually get glossy anyway.

A couple of years ago I played a high performance Gibson SG at a Sam Ashe in Florida. The glossy neck was so sticky it was almost unplayable.

It was the prettiest blueberry finish. It spoke to you, take me home. If it wasn't for that sticky neck I would have worked out financing. Even with the wife being there.

Not all glossy necks are sticky. The necks on my acoustics are gloss and they all play like butter. But that Gibson was horrible.

Ive always liked gloss necks but I have dry hands

I like satin necks. I've never known a gloss neck to become less sticky over time, though satin necks will become buffed out with play time (but then they can just get roughed out again).

Too bad for you. Less than an hour's time would have made that neck silky smooth.

I own both and play both. It doesn't seem to be an issue for me.

Now, if I was still living back where I'm from in Western Missouri, where you're playing at an outdoor festival where it can easily get over 100˚ Fahrenheit with 100% humidity, I might have to rethink that.

But we don't get days like that in Alaska. Not yet, anyway. It reached 90˚ F here in the Anchorage Bowl last summer, the highest temperatures ever recorded in the state, and the effects of a changing climate are marching ever onward and affecting us all, whether we want to believe it's happening or not.

But for now, for the time being, it hasn't been a problem for me either way. I have zero plans to move to Florida, so maybe I won't have to worry about it until palm trees start sprouting up along Northern Lights Boulevard in Anchorage.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

I have a Taylor that started life with a satin neck. It is now glossy and shiny all the way up and down the neck, purely from play wear. I guess there's a difference between acquiring a gloss through wear vs. being finished that way, because it's smooth and easy, never sticky.

Micawber - my 50 yr old Martin 12 string still has a glossy neck ! But I admit that in summer with no a/c it can get a bit sticky but that situation is rare. OTH, my Taylor and a few electrics have satin-finished necks. They are smooth and fast for sure.
I guess when push comes to shove I'll go for the satin necks.

Frankly, I've never been able to tell the difference. My last Nitro neck was on a Gibson Hummingbird Pro, and both my current Taylors have satin - and to be honest, I've never noticed a difference. I play all up and down the neck, too -

The main reason I do not own at least one stellar Collings guitar (D1A) that I've played is the glossy neck. I don't know what my hang-up is. I play electric (have a Strat and two LPs) with glossy necks. But since acoustic necks tend to be chunkier than electrics, and I am an average height guy with average hands, I need as much "help" to get around the fretboard as fast as possible, and that means a satin finish neck.

Would be interesting if gloss neck acoustics do break in over time. And I mean it would have to be relatively fast. I don't want to buy the Collings in my forties and have to play it nonstop to have it break in by the time I'm in my sixties. :D

Mark wrote that neither finish style on guitar necks bother him.

Same here. Both work just fine for me.

That might be true for me in part because I don’t have sweaty hands. Those times when I have had them has been at those outdoor festivals in triple digit temperatures, but even then it’s only been the tops of my hands that start to sweat; for some reason my palms don’t seem to.

I’m not complaining...


whm