A Wide Neck Guitar-Is It For You?   Do you need one? 

Twenty four years ago, at Haywire Custom Guitars we featured several changes that pleased many of our core customers  and one of those changes was “guitar neck shaving” for players with smaller hands. The move proved a big hit. Many players began to think that they can now get their favorite guitars where they want them.  New orders for neck shaves were one of the most visible signs of that. Players were getting what they needed and a very reasonable price. At $135 for a custom shave of any thickness, and matching refinish, the total shaving process is a bargain. Suffice it to say a 2 day turn-around time is the second best part. 

Looking back, I feel a bit guilty that we overlooked players needing guitar models being made with wider necks  thus depriving our customers of choice.  Our core thrust and philosophy has always been, “Musicians working for musicians”  There is indeed an increasing need for wide neck guitars, no question about that… but it’s not for everybody. The players who need them already know who they are.

Why play a Wide Neck guitar? Is it for YOU?

Today, I feel much less guilty because we serve players who have longer or fatter fingers, and players with very small but agile artistic hands. It’s true, for some players improper tools can make it harder for  them to play a guitar which has a narrower neck. It can slow their progress, speed and roadblock success. However, anyone who’s bigger with larger hands can find it troublesome and frustrating to deal with a standard, narrow neck guitar. We now provide wider necks for players in need.

For those overlooked players, opting for a wide neck guitar can make a huge difference! It’s in fact quite disturbing that for so many years, the music industry has not focused on these problems, but now Haywire Custom Guitars with our neck shaving/wide neck options knows these issues are not such a problem for players anymore.

I feel better about doing our part in helping players by removing obstacles in the way of their success as musicians. It’s not a “one size fits all” world and we are sensitive to that.  We help players get what they need. It’s not a perfect guitar world out there, but we’re doing our part to help get guitar players a step closer.

When I say “wide neck” I’m not referring to the thickness of the neck, which is something else altogether – as most players will be aware, different guitars have different neck profiles, with different shapes and different thickness.

I am, of course, speaking to the actual width of the fingerboard. Visually, at a quick glance, many people might not notice any difference in some cases, but the relationship between the player’s hand and the fret-board is so crucial and subtle, that just a matter of millimeters can make a huge difference – the difference in fact, between you loving a guitar or hating it!

What’s the Nut Width of a Wide Neck Guitar?

A regular guitar may have a width at nut of 1-⅝” to 1-11/16″, while a wide neck would have a width at nut of 1-7/8″ all the way up to and including 2-1/8” in width. 

We’re talking about large differences here which are crucial factors in how playable a guitarist will feel the instrument is. A guitar needs to be comfortable, familiar and easy to fret. The action needs to be set for the particular player, the intonation perfect, the neck straight, frets leveled and polished. This means for both a neck shaved down or a wide neck added on. 

It’s not about the instrument, it’s about YOU, the player. We are here for players and what their specific custom needs may be. The question remains: A Wide Neck Guitar-Is It For You?

Rick Mariner

Haywire Custom Guitars Inc.

Haywire Custom Shop

http://www.haywirecustomguitars.com

843-347-5742

“We are musicians working for musicians”

Thanks for asking us to work for you!

A wide thin flat Haywire Custom guitar neck provides maximum space for guitar players who absolutely need it. Also for those who love it!