How much do you value neck feel?

[ThePanda]

How much does the neck feeling come into play when purchasing/frequently playing a guitar?

I played a Touchstone OM and the neck was crazy comfortable vs. my OMJM which is nice to play but the neck doesn't feel as good.

[TheGITM]

It's easily 80%+ of my decision. The neck feel alone can eliminate a guitar for me, even if I love it's sound.

Additionally, if I have 2 guitars there are candidates based on the sound, I will gravitate to the one that is 'easiest' to play. Playability is probably a more important factor that sound/tone. I can have the best sounding guitar in the world, but if it isn't high on the playability scale I'll never get the most out of it... and won't enjoy playing it as much.

[mr. beaumont]

Very important. I'm lucky in that I find a variety of neck profiles and widths comfortable, but if it's not comfortable, it really doesn't matter how good the guitar sounds.

[rollypolly]

It's pretty darn important. I'd almost take neck comfort over tone as long as it doesn't sound like poo.

But something I've noticed is that I can have an immediate level of comfort on a neck , but also over time learn to appreciate and like a different neck profile as well. There are some that are just hard to manage, like right now I have two Seagulls with fat necks. I still enjoy playing them but I don't see myself ever loving them. Maybe one day.

[Malcolm Kindnes]

It's very important to me, I like to feel a good chunk of wood and wide string spacing.

[jaymarsch]

Very important to me. One crucial aspect of getting great tone from a guitar is technique. I find that having a comfortable neck shape and other neck related specs supports my ability to play with good techniques. I don’t want to feel like I’m fighting the guitar when I’m playing.
With so many great guitar choices at so many price points, you pretty much do not have to sacrifice comfort for tone these days.
Best,
Jayne

[TheGITM]

Originally Posted by ThePanda

How much does the neck feeling come into play when purchasing/frequently playing a guitar?

I played a Touchstone OM and the neck was crazy comfortable vs. my OMJM which is nice to play but the neck doesn't feel as good.

Actually, this just reminded me of a real situation that occurred some years back...

I saw that a pawn shop in the area had a Bourgeois dread arrive, and they were offering it at a reasonable price, so I headed over to have a look. I got there and had the guy pull it down for me. I sampled it... and it didn't feel good in my hands at all. It also sounded dead, which I thought might have been the strings, but it also just didn't seem like the top was very resonant. It was just... meh.

Then, I noticed another guitar on the wall a few spots over... and it was an Alvarez-Yairi WY1. I had him pull that one down, and the moment I strummed the first chord and was literally WOWed by it. It was freaking glorious. The sound was amazing... it was clear and present, good tone and volume, and the easiest to play of any guitar I have ever played before.

I handed the Bourgeois back and cut a deal on the Yairi on the spot and walked out with my first Alvarez-Yairi guitar.

I don't know what was wrong with that Bourgeois. It just wasn't right at all, to me. I suspect it was that specific guitar, though, and certainly not an indictment against Bourgeois.

[Llewlyn]

I literally don't play guitars whose neck I don't like (and sold many of them for this reason).

Ll.

[Kh1967]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

Very important to me. One crucial aspect of getting great tone from a guitar is technique. I find that having a comfortable neck shape and other neck related specs supports my ability to play with good techniques. I don’t want to feel like I’m fighting the guitar when I’m playing.
With so many great guitar choices at so many price points, you pretty much do not have to sacrifice comfort for tone these days.
Best,
Jayne

What Jayne said...

[SGFletch]

I can be pretty utilitarian about guitars. Like, I can play anything. What I find though is that when I pick up a guitar with a great neck I can play some things that aren't always as easy on others and I want to play more.

[zuzu]

Neck feel is the deal.

[Gryf]

I don't have a favorite neck shape. If I pick up a guitar, I definitely notice how the neck feels, but I think my assessment is based on how I react to the whole guitar. My three main acoustics all have a very different feel to them, and their necks are each different.
OTOH, I've definitely picked up a guitar and thought "wow, I don't like the neck."

[warfrat73]

It's basically one of two deal killers.

Do you like/love the tone? Y/N
Can you live with the neck? Y/N

A NO on either and it's done.

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by Llewlyn

I literally don't play guitars whose neck I don't like (and sold many of them for this reason).

Ll.

Agree. I just sold an absolutely stunning guitar, visually and sonically, because, for me, the neck was way more than a handful. And with arthritis setting in, a comfortable neck is more than just a matter of comfort.

David

[jmagill]

I have long fingers, and after many years and many guitars, I've found (a little to my surprise), that I can adapt pretty well to most necks. An exception would be if the neck is too thick, because my hand will get fatigued quickly, especially since I use my thumb a lot to fret the 6th string.

Of course, I do have a preferred neck width/girth/profile, and when I commission an instrument, I provide the builder with templates of the neck I want, which will match those of all my other custom guitars so that when I switch instruments the neck feels the same.

Several here have said that they wouldn't buy or keep a guitar they otherwise love if they didn't like the neck. If the neck is your only problem with it, change it.

If I acquire a factory or small-shop guitar whose sound I really like, I have no qualms at all about modifying the neck, if necessary, to suit me. I may give it to a luthier, but I've also stripped off the finish and reshaped a neck myself several times. If the neck's not perfect, make it perfect.

While visiting a luthier friend in his shop one day, he held up a detached guitar neck and said, "THIS is the guitar. The body is the amplifier, but everything about playing a guitar happens right here, on the neck, so it's got to be right."
.