Ever find one that blows you away, but.......

jklotz · #1 08-04-2021, 05:30 PM

Played a Collings OM2H rw with baked sitka today. Man that guitar knocked my socks off! I loved everything about it except that darned skinny neck. Ugggg! I can't do skinny necks. When I asked about getting one with a fatter neck, they told me there is a year backlog with Collings and if I put down a deposit, I couldn't even get an estimated delivery date for a year, so it could be as much as 2 years, possibly more, to get it.

I liked that guitar so much I'm going to go back and play it again just to see if I could possibly live with the neck, but I know it's doubtful it would be a long term guitar, and that's just too much money to put into something that's not perfect.

Bummer.

KevinH · #2 08-04-2021, 05:41 PM

Yeah that is a bummer. Could be hard to adapt to. How about looking elsewhere? For instance Elderly has this one with a Mod V neck. Is that the same neck that was on the one you played? Artisan has one as well.

Wade Hampton · #3 08-04-2021, 05:47 PM

The neck actually does have some impact on the sound of the guitar, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that you could find another one with the neck you prefer but which doesn’t give you the sound that you want.

I’d say keep looking.

whm

Mandobart · #4 08-04-2021, 06:21 PM

No, this has never happened to me. As an insensitive caveman multi-instrumentalist I've never found a great sounding instrument I couldn't adapt to.

Brucebubs · #5 08-04-2021, 06:30 PM

The same but different ... found 1.75" doesn't suit me, just a tad too wide.

DaveG · #6 08-04-2021, 10:17 PM

I had an OM-18 Authentic that was one of the best sounding guitars I ever played. I had to let it go because I couldn't deal with the neck. If it hadn't been actually painful to play I would have found some way to adapt.

big jilm · #7 08-04-2021, 11:28 PM

In my view, comfort and playability is far more important than tone.

If my hands don’t fit with a particular guitar, I will eventually case the instrument and play something else that feels better, even if the first sounds better than the second.

It’s taken me awhile, but I have come to realize that a guitar’s neck is the #1 concern for me. I like fat necks with wider fretboards, also preferring satin finishes that don’t cause drag on my left hand as I move around.

I’d say don’t waste your time and money trying to make a guitar fit your hand - there are plenty of guitars that will make your hands happy that will also please your ears.

Good luck in the search!

RalphH · #8 08-05-2021, 01:51 AM

With a few exceptions, I can adapt to anything, and I suspect most people could.

Is it just 'odd' feeling because you're not used to skinny necks or does it feel genuinely uncomfortable?

My GS mini gave me a weird hand/wrist cramp feeling that only started about 2 years after I got it and only got worse over the 5 years I owned it - guess I'm aging and something about the thin, narrow neck wasn't working for me anymore.

I put up with it because it wasn't my main guitar by the time it started, but the worse it got, the less I liked it until it was a factor in selling it.

Jay5150 · #9 08-05-2021, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

The same but different ... found 1.75" doesn't suit me, just a tad too wide.

Same for me. Had a crush on a CEO-7, but couldn’t deal with the 1.75inch and thicker neck. It’s just too large for me to use my thumb around the neck. I also have a preference for thinner necks.

EllenGtrGrl · #10 08-05-2021, 05:05 AM

I can understand where people are coming from in this thread. I stopped off last week at my favorite guitar shop to get some strings for my Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J45. While I was there, I noticed they had a used Eastman E20 OSS (Eastman's take on the Gibson L-00). Since I like Eastmans due to them sounding good, and having nice and relatively chunky necks, I took it for a spin. It sounded absolutely killer, and the neck felt good. I seriously considered buying it, but while I like chunky 1 11/16" wide necks like the E20 OSS had, I've grown to like chunky 1 3/4" wide necks over the past couple of years (I had never played a 6-string guitar with a 1 3/4" wide neck before 2 years ago) even more.

Since I've wanted a 00 or parlor guitar (either, preferably in a 12-fret style) for some time, and the guitar shop in question I tried the E20 OSS at is also an Eastman dealer, I made an inquiry about buying either an E20OO, or an E20P (both of which are 12-fret guitars with 1 3/4" wide necks). They gave me a good price for either of the two guitars, but told me that either of them wouldn't be received until at least December. I mulled things over, and decided that while the E20 OSS would very tempting (especially since I could have it now), it would end up not being what I really wanted (it would be a compromise), so I decided to put up with the wait, and ordered an Eastman E20P parlor guitar instead.

Tnfiddler · #11 08-05-2021, 06:17 AM

Played a ‘37 D28 Authentic Aged that was “mind blowing” but had the strangest neck profile I’ve ever seen. I’d have one for sure if it had a different neck on it.

J Patrick · #12 08-05-2021, 07:18 AM

…there will always be another guitar that blows you away…eventually one of them will have the perfect neck too…

gmruegg · #13 08-05-2021, 07:36 AM

Shortest time I owned a guitar occurred when I bought a Collings OM with a 1 11/16" neck. Really liked the guitar but couldn't get comfortable with the narrow neck as I am a fingerstyle player primarily. Sold it about 4 months after I got it. Took about a $800 hit on the transaction. I knew it was narrow at the time I bought it, but thought I would adapt, but never really could. Wait for exactly what you want would be my advice.

Silly Moustache · #14 08-05-2021, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl

I can understand where people are coming from in this thread. I stopped off last week at my favorite guitar shop to get some strings for my Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J45. While I was there, I noticed they had a used Eastman E20 OSS. Since I like Eastmans due to them sounding good, and having nice and relatively chunky necks, I took it for a spin. It sounded absolutely killer, and the necks felt good. I seriously considered buying it, but while I like chunky 1 11/16" wide necks like the E20 OSS had, I've grown to like chunky 1 3/4" wide necks over the past couple of years (I had never played a 6-string guitar with a 1 3/4" wide neck before 2 years ago) even more.

Since I've wanted a 00 or parlor guitar (either, preferrably in a 12-fret style) for some time, and the guitar shop in question I tried the E20 OSS at is also an Eastman dealer, I made an inquiry about buying either an E20OO, or an E20P (both of which are 12-fret guitars with 1 3/4" wide necks). They gave me a good price for either of the two guitars, but told me that either of them wouldn't be received until at least December. I mulled things over, and decided that while the E20 OSS would very tempting, it would end up not being what I really wanted (a compromise), so I decided to put up with the wait, and ordered an Eastman E20P parlor guitar instead.

Ellen et al:

You should know that the Eastman 00 and 0 (P) models conform to original Martin specs as far as fretboard widths and have 1 & 13/16" nut widths to 2 & 5/16" string spacing with scale length of 24.9"

Ellen, I sent you a PM with a couple of links.

Glennwillow · #15 08-05-2021, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

The neck actually does have some impact on the sound of the guitar, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that you could find another one with the neck you prefer but which doesn’t give you the sound that you want.

I’d say keep looking.

whm

Yes, stiffness of the neck does affect the sound of the guitar. A thicker neck will change the sound, but there is no way to know ahead of time if you'll like or not like the result.

But if you know you can't deal with that neck shape, from my viewpoint there is no sense going farther with this guitar.

- Glenn