Who Likes a V-neck?

[Aaron Foster]

So, an old regal came into my shop recently for repairs, second time I have had this guitar in for repairs and playing it a little I am struck by how much I like the v-neck. I have never really given the v-neck much consideration before, but now I can't stop thinking about building a guitar with one.

I am not however looking to make myself a new personal guitar, and I don't know what the ratio of love to hate for a v-neck profile is.

Who likes a V profile and who abhors them? I am V curious, but would you buy a new guitar with a v profile neck?

[drplayer]

I’m not super sensitive to neck geometry, but I like V-necks and any other “beefier” profile. Both my Martin’s have mod-V’s and I much prefer them to the MLO/PA, which is too thin for me and causes my hand to cramp after extended periods of play.

[Silly Moustache]

Modified V is what they call most of mine, but I have a couple of g'tars which have deep rounded "C" profiles and , frankly I like them a but better.

[Shredmaster007]

I like full necks (like on my 50s j45) , but not a fan of my father in law's v neck on his 56' D18.

[oliverkollar]

I like vintage style V necks a lot.

I'm sure that old Regal has a crazy pronounced V like many of the budget brand 20's guitars did. Those things can be giant! My 1920's Sovereign/Schmidt guitar has a HUGE V neck, and it's one of the fancier models with red spruce/mahogany.

The most comfortable V necks, for me, have been the ones on 1930's flattop Gibsons. They're big, and I have average size hands, but they seem perfect to me. And I have no problem wrapping my thumb around them.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Aaron Foster

Who likes a V profile and who abhors them? I am V curious, but would you buy a new guitar with a v profile neck?

No, I would not buy a new guitar with a V neck.

[jaymarsch]

Most V necks, no. But I have played some Santa Cruz guitars with very soft V's that I have liked. My most recently purchased guitar has a very soft V and I find that I like it very much but it does have a very shallow neck profile anyway. For me, the depth and other aspects of the neck shape influence whether or not I like the feel of the V. I certainly have discovered that not all V shaped necks are created equal.

Best,
Jayne

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by Aaron Foster

...would you buy a new guitar with a v profile neck?

Never. Total dealbreaker for me.

[mysterious1s]

LOVE the V neck on my Martin CEO-7. It feels great!

[mcduffnw]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE a BIG "Strong V" neck

Like the old Gibson Arch Tops from the 40's and 50's.

The bigger and V...er...for me!!!

The guitar that John Greven made for me has THE biggest V neck I have ever seen/felt, and with a 1 7/8" nut.

Think of the biggetst fastest Gibson V neck you ever felt and add another 20/25% more girth. When John made it, he said if he could have found a Louisville Slugger baseball bat brand stamp...like oval brand logo that they hot stamp into the wooden bats, he would have stamped it into the neck of my guitar. I told him that would have been hilarious, and I would have loved it!

I specifically wanted this big neck design, as I have small hands/fingers but I have arthritis/tendinitis in my hands and I find that the modern low profile very thin necks aggravate the arthritis and causes my left hand to tire and cramp and hurt very quickly, where with my huge neck, it fills up the palm on my left and and thus adds a ton of support to the muscles and tendons in the whole hand and lets me play...plus I like the strong "V ridge" in the middle of the neck as a very very comfortable resting/anchor for my thumb.

Not many people like the feel of it, but when I explain why I had it made that way, they get it, and the folks who like big V necks really do like the feel of mine.

duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[redir]

Some time around 1995 I built an electric guitar modeled after the Fender 50's V-profile and I still play it till this day, it's my No. 1 electric guitar. I also have a Regal (branded as an SS Stewart) from about 1925 that has a thick V-Profile neck and I like that too.

I think though that I prefer it on electric guitar more then acoustic.

[AMW]

"V" neck fan over here!

Everyones hands and preferences are a little different, but when I'm looking at my fretting hand, whether relaxed or spread wide open, the shape of my thumb and index finger doesn't approach anything close to a perfect semi-circle...

As a player, I personally try to be adaptable to different neck shapes and nut/saddle specs, just because if a guitar has the sound I'm after, well, I might not have a choice but to learn to play it!

Our customers, on the other hand, mostly prefer low oval, mod V or C shaped necks. The "small neck" Waterloo guitars have outpaced the original V neck shape in sales over the last two years, for example. None of our small shop brands produce a hard V (Waterloo aside) but a few of the single-luthier shops will do it by request.

[godfreydaniel]

I like Collings’ modifier V neck, which is very subtle. Sharper Vs don’t have the “shoulders” (?) I need to comfortably wrap my thumb, and they sometimes make it difficult to cleanly fret the low F on the high E string (I notice this when attempting some Blind Blake stuff). C shapes are my favorite.

[Fresh1985]

I love the martin mod V. I also like the furch soft V but sometimes wish it was a bit more a handful like the mod v.

[Nctom]

I hate to disagree with AMW's customers, but I love Waterloo's V-necks to the point of buying used rather than the the smaller neck. I also really liked the neck of my CEO-7 much more than the current modified style. That said, I'm not that particular about neck shapes and can (and do) play whichever is on a guitar I like.