Legacy neck options?

[bluwoodsman]

I've been interested in a USA legacy--leaning Legacy HB--but am finding information on options and playability lacking. We have very few dealers in my state and even fewer who stock more than one or two (almost always an asat if USA or tribute legacy's) so I am planning on taking a chance and ordering one without playing one I like first. To clarify, I have played a standard USA legacy and loved the fit/finish and sound--bit the neck was not to my liking, too thick feeling.

My issue runs towards my preference for necks and being unsure if anything G & L makes comes in the thin neck style I like. What is their thinnest, fastest neck to play, or what comes closest to approximating an Ibanez Wizard (very fast/thin) neck? I'm wondering if G & L even accomodates that style of neck, from what I can see they may not have anything more than a shade thinner than the old fenders.

Thanks

[Craig]

I've been interested in a USA legacy--leaning Legacy HB--but am finding information on options and playability lacking. We have very few dealers in my state and even fewer who stock more than one or two (almost always an asat if USA or tribute legacy's) so I am planning on taking a chance and ordering one without playing one I like first. To clarify, I have played a standard USA legacy and loved the fit/finish and sound--bit the neck was not to my liking, too thick feeling.

My issue runs towards my preference for necks and being unsure if anything G & L makes comes in the thin neck style I like. What is their thinnest, fastest neck to play, or what comes closest to approximating an Ibanez Wizard (very fast/thin) neck? I'm wondering if G & L even accomodates that style of neck, from what I can see they may not have anything more than a shade thinner than the old fenders.

Thanks

See this post in our G&L Knowledgebase, General G&L Questions sub-forum: What are the USA neck size options, past and present?

Hope this helps.

[Dr B]

Necks are a very personal thing - but here are some observations from me for what they are worth.

I've played Ibanez necks, and G&L tribute and USA. My USA spalted Legacy has a 1# shape (Craig will correct me if I'm wrong) and its by far the best neck I've played. I have small (ish) hands but these necks appear to be both meaty enough to bend like hell, and thin enough to feel fast. Fits like a glove.

Another thing to note is finish - mine has a high gloss finish on it and not a satin finish. This also makes the neck feel more like your hands are gliding. Its important because if you are trying Tributes - I think they are all satin finishes - so even if they are similar in shape they will still feel very different due to the finish.

I would strongly recommend you try a USA Legacy neck, with a gloss finish, before investing.

[gitman001]

Hey Bluwoodsman,

I have several G&L's with all different neck profiles as well as a JEM 77FP and an old RG from my early shredder days. The G&L #1a is the "slim" neck but it is really no where near a wizard neck. Its almost apples and oranges. Not to mention the slim has a 12" radius where the wizard is like 17". You may want to get your hands on a slim neck profile to make sure you are going to dig it, i personally think that although it is a much different feel, it is very comfortable and you would be used to it in no time. Hope that helps you out.

Scott

[bluwoodsman]

Thanks Scott...problem is I can't get my hands on a slim neck!

I imagine most of you live in big cities--I live in one of the biggest towns around and it has maybe 20,000 people on a busy day, and it's at least a two hour drive to the nearest G and L store--and he has zero USA legacy's in stock.

I have a hard time even finding a store with ONE USA legacy in it, let along models with different necks! Most of the dealers I have talked with say they don't stock G & L's (Other than tributes) in higher numbers on purpose--people who buy them generally figure for that kind of money they want exact requirements met. If what some of you are saying is that a dealer can get a guitar in to try and then send it back with no cost to him if it doesn't work out, let me know as that's not the impression I get from dealers I have talked with.

I did see the chart you mentioned Craig but it still doesn't provide any reference point for people not intimately familiar with fine differences in neck dimensions and what they look and feel like. And it's confusing--what is claimed as the slimmest neck on the G & L chart is apparently their thinnest at the 12th fret, but is NOT their thinnest at the first fret. I suppose a guy can always use a capo...but....

I was able to find the following description of an Ibanez RG Wizard neck....which I'll contrast with G & L's claimed "slim" neck, the 1a:

1.69" nut width vs 1.625"

17" radius vs 12"

.650" to first fret vs .820

.728" to 12 fret vs. .870

This seems to bolster my thoughts that there really isn't a thin neck available for the legacy's....at least not in the modern thin neck sense. I think the thinner strat necks over the years might be similar to a 1a.

I am not a metal shredder, just a guy with a combination of smaller hands and aging (arthritis) hands, it's plain simpler for me to barre and move the fingers faster on a thinner neck with a low action. I don't necessarily need it as wide as a wizard or metal shredder neck, and while flatter radius helps with fingering fast I think there's a trade off with barre ability so I don't know that I couldn't live with a 12" radius... but it seems like the neck is either still quite a bit thicker or the standard action height needs to get lower--and I'm unsure if it can be lowered.

Maybe another question to ask is if people have had luck getting set ups with jumbo frets and very low actions to work without buzzing on a legacy. It's all a trade off, if you don't have as far to move the strings down to frets it's easier to play for me as well.

[Boogie Bill]

I agree with Scott, you're just not going to find a G&L with a Wizard thin neck.

Action is just SO subjective. All of my G&Ls have the number 1 neck, but many of them feel different--there's a lot of hand shaping of the necks. I have 16 G&Ls, and Gibsons, and Martins, and Taylors, and Taks and Ibanez guitars; so I'm switching back and forth all the time. I might go from a G&L neck to a Gibson Slim-Taper, or the baseball bat neck on my R8 Historic Les Paul, to a 12-string. I can adapt fairly easily and quickly, though I do have preferences. I like the Slim Taper necks, but if they are too thin, my hand might cramp a little. The big R8 neck feels intimidating at first, but it's actually pretty comfortable. You may have been playing the Wizards for so long that ANYTHING thicker is going to feel HUGE. It may take a little time for your hands to adapt, but adapt they will.

And there is a big psych factor to necks too. I'd bet that if you got stranded on a desert island and a G&L washed up on the shore, you'd learn to deal with the neck in no time at all; and you'd do the same whether it was a Wizard neck Ibanez or a Gretsch or a Ric or a big-necked R8. Don't let yourself be defeated. Determination. Perseverance. Remember Django only had two fingers on his fretting hand.

I might shop around on various forums, classifieds, Craiglist, ebay and such and look for a USA Legacy that you can find a good deal on. (Just don't bid on the ones I want!!!! LOL!) Try it, play it, dump it if you truly can't handle it. Buy low, sell high. Cheap research, minimal investment. Low risk, high reward.

I do know the situation you're in; I'm 60, with small hands, and feeling some arthritis these days, too--but they tell me the best treatment is to just play. You're doing the right thing, keep up the research. Try as many different guitars as you can.

Everyone has preferences, and sometimes getting out of your comfort zone is well...., uncomfortable. But you are Homo Sapiens, and adapting is what we do best. Set your mind to it and you can scale Everest, fly to the Moon or explore the wreck of the Titanic three miles deep below the surface of the Atlantic.

Good luck!

Bill

[bluwoodsman]

Still giving it a try...

I have only played a few wizard necks. Liked 'em. Probably the guitar I liked the most was an old SG, 70's vintage I think, that I saw in the 80's. That thing played so easy for me, if it hadn't been abused a bit I probably wouldn't be looking again now.

Actually the last guitar I played frequently was an 80's lawsuit ibanez strat copy, the neck was actually the same as they put on the strats in those days. I don't think the 1a would be much different than that--other than the fret job I suppose-- but how does one know without trying it out?

Have actually been scanning and considering guitars found on the net and auction boards, but again little info available on the necks at all. One that comes closest comes in a color I'm not sure I like.

After multiple calls to G and L went unanswered (you get in this endless loop and can't even leave a call back message-- try it yourself and see if you can actually get through to talk to someone!) I ran with a suggestion from and talked to one of the bigger dealers in the country, a place that sells a lot online and over the phone.

Finally someone who seemed to understand what I was looking for--nothing in stock but he had heard of a group of guitars G and L was soon to free up, was willing to check into them for me.

In the meantime I brought home a Hagstrom swede. Thinner neck but not wizard thin--a bit wider at the nut but flatter feel to the board, liking how it plays so far. Fit and finish pretty darn good for the price, only quibble is the pickups, a maple cap/mahogany body guitar can sound brighter IMO and I may end up putting duncans in it if I keep it.