Neck width. Sand from 45mm to 44-43mm?

[activateclint]

Hey folks!

So I have a Cort L300V with an Adirondack top that I actually really love, however its 1 3/4" (45mm) neck width and an edgy/sharp feeling C shape, actually gives painful pressure points at times. Whereas my preferred is more a 1 11/16" D on my other guitars. So its not getting much playtime.
Am thinking to tape it all up and possibly clamp a straight edge wood block against the fretboard and lightly sand about 1 to 2mm (a flat 0.5-1mm per side) off the width, frets still on.
There is plenty of room it seems before id run into strings fudging off the sides. Then re dressing the fret ends and scraping/rolling fretboard edges hopefully taking that knife edge off, while reducing the width as I like to play the E string with my thumb a lot which I frustratingly can't on my fav sounding guitar.

Seems simple enough but hardest bit could be to make it look ok and blend it at the body. Not too fussed if the dots come off or the metal fret ends show.

Looking for tips that could help and make it easier, what you guys think?

Cheers,
Clint

[Silurian]

Not something I would ever consider doing but good luck.

[YamahaGuy]

I traded (bad trade at the time) a minty Fender Modern Player Plus Trans black Telcaster for a poorly cared for Yamaha Weddington Special that had a broken blade switch, broken wraparound bridge, broken tuners, and damage to the neck on the bass side that looked like termites chewed a hole in it. Note: never trade in the dark during a snow storm 60 miles from home. Anyway, since the blade switch is a PRS style and costs more than I wanted to spend, and the wiring is way beyond my abilities, I went with a 3 way Tele (ironically) switch, new bridge, new tuners and now for the neck:
I sanded the crap out of it until the bass E string was about to fall off the fret and out of the nut. There was still a hole there remaining, which I filled in with wood shavings and super glue. I fit a new nut and have been playing it ever since. I went ahead and relic'd the guitar for the heck of it. It gets lots of looks and people ask tons of questions about it. The Dimarzio pickups in it sound so good, I couldn't care less what the thing looks like. It plays fine.

[Italuke]

Interesting, so you're not removing a little wood from the back of the neck, changing the C profile a bit, you actually want to narrow the neck/fretboard by removing wood only from the sides? What about the nut? Normally people have the profile reshaped, but leaving the existing fretboard width. Let us know...

[goog64]

I'm about to try the same thing. A friend is giving me a 12 string neck which I am going to convert to a 6 string by sanding it narrower and cutting off half the headstock.
I'm looking forward to hearing how you deal with sanding the fret ends.

[flatfinger]

Was thinking of doing the same thing with one of my old guitars. I was planning to remove the frets first before sanding the edges but I also wanted to flatten the fretboard radius a bit. I would think it would be tougher to achieve a uniform rounded edge with the frets still in place.

You might get more response if you post this question in the build and repair forum.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...splay.php?f=44

[thefsb]

I think adapting yourself would be quicker and easier than adapting the instrument.

I played electric for 40 years. Got an acoustic earlier this year. I played it so much I'm now putting 11 and 12 gauge strings on my electrics and thinking about cutting a nut with a 47mm spacing for my PRS.

[upsidedown]

Originally Posted by thefsb

I think adapting yourself would be quicker and easier than adapting the instrument.

What he said. Failing that; as people advised me when I thought about reshaping the neck on a guitar (or 3) of mine; better to find one with a neck that already suits your style.

[Sugar Bear]

Well, if nothing else, it will certainly be a learning experience for all you fledgling guitar modders.

[flatfinger]

Originally Posted by Sugar Bear

Well, if nothing else, it will certainly be a learning experience for all you fledgling guitar modders.

Exactly. Mine needs frets anyway. Good time to tweak the neck a bit

[takamineGD93]

I've sanded a 48mm 12 string to 1 13/16, and a rekording king from 1 7/8 to 1 13/16.

I even did a video about it but no one knows how to post pics or videos on this forum so...

[flatfinger]

Originally Posted by takamineGD93

no one knows how to post pics or videos on this forum so...

If it’s hosted, it can be posted

[goog64]

Originally Posted by takamineGD93

I've sanded a 48mm 12 string to 1 13/16, and a rekording king from 1 7/8 to 1 13/16.

I even did a video about it but no one knows how to post pics or videos on this forum so...

I would love to see it. Is it on YouTube?

[generalliamsayn]

Originally Posted by upsidedown

...better to find one with a neck that already suits your style.

This.

Why lower a guitar's value (or worse...potentially damage it) when there's SO MANY guitars in this world that would suit you better?

No offense...just my $.02

[Tony Burns]

not standing on the throne of judgement -
but altering a guitar like that will make it
hard to resell ( if you ever want to do that )
just my two cents -its a bad idea