Options I might miss? s500

[cporro]

the only extra i was going to order was a 1b heritage neck. i hear they are closest to a fender strat neck. i have small hands and have played strats a long time.

are there any other options i might miss? i do a bit of whammy bar stuff.

thanks

[Fumble fingers]

I would add locking tuners , graghtec nut and the DFS upgrade

[suave eddie]

Depends on your budget and importance of cosmetics.

Personally I love to see natural wood grain showing, so I would order a clear or burst finish with ash body.
Also I love the look and feel of an ebony board.

[cporro]

I would add locking tuners , graghtec nut and the DFS upgrade

the tuner get you faster string changes. maybe staying in tune better?

the graph-tech nut is for staying in better tune i assume? maybe a subtle change in open strings?

DFS upgrade. this is supposed to improve sustain, clarity, attack. but i don't see much written about it here. mostly people do not talk about the tone difference.

[cporro]

Depends on your budget and importance of cosmetics.

Personally I love to see natural wood grain showing, so I would order a clear or burst finish with ash body.
Also I love the look and feel of an ebony board.

ha! i'm not considering cosmetics. i know the colors i want and they are all standard ones. i love wood but i'm over it for now due to my clear coated strat. : )

i'm wondering about tone and playability.

[SamIV]

I don't know if I would call that closest to all Fender necks except maybe a Fender Modern C. I had a MIM strat that this felt similar to. I have an ASAT with a 2b neck and it was similiar but has a 7 1/2' radius. The 1b will also be 12" radius where most Fender's are 9.5". Also you will probably have larger frets on the G&L unless you can request smaller. Not saying you will not like the neck, I own 5 G&L's now and do not own any Fender anymore. I just prefer the feel of my G&L's over any Fender I owned, but that is not knocking the Fenders. I prefer the necks, the 12" radius, and the larger frets. Probably going to sell the guitar with the 2b neck and get something with a 12" radius.

[Fumble fingers]

I all ready had two brand new and one used G & L with standard tuners when I bought my 2000 Comanche that had locking tuners and gragh tech nut , it's so much nicer and faster changing strings with the locking , my bone nuts hold tune fine but the gragh tech is suposed to be better for dive bombs and such , for sure a couple of minor up grades but they don't add much in cost either , DFS is just plain better material over the DF ...... if I could " do over " on my new one's I have , the locking tuners , gragh tech nut and DFS up grade are what I would change ..... my current "on order" guitars will have them

[cporro]

I don't know if I would call that closest to all Fender necks except maybe a Fender Modern C. I had a MIM strat that this felt similar to. I have an ASAT with a 2b neck and it was similiar but has a 7 1/2' radius. The 1b will also be 12" radius where most Fender's are 9.5". Also you will probably have larger frets on the G&L unless you can request smaller. Not saying you will not like the neck, I own 5 G&L's now and do not own any Fender anymore. I just prefer the feel of my G&L's over any Fender I owned, but that is not knocking the Fenders. I prefer the necks, the 12" radius, and the larger frets. Probably going to sell the guitar with the 2b neck and get something with a 12" radius.

do you have a suggestion? i just got an '87 asat that feels very comfy. have to pick it up from the shop today. maybe i'll see if they can take a few measurements.

yes, my fender is probably a 9.5. it has "jumbo" frets whatever that means.

i thought about taking a chance and getting the stock g&l neck. thinking i'd get used to it in time. i suppose it's another trip the store and play the g&ls. i suspect they are all 1as.

[Salmon]

I suspect they are all 1as.

You must mean they are all 1 (standard), right?

There is some variance within the same neck size that has made me ask whether a neck was something other than the 1.

I have only tried two non-1's, #1A slim and a #3.

I don't have enough experience with Fender to offer anything that would get you closer to one in a G&L neck. I just wanted to stress that you would probably be better off stacking the deck and aiming for shape and size. The consequence of choosing a 12" over 9.5" radius is less of a concern than the other side, a 7.5" and a 9.5" IMO. You might find that all of the standards feel about the same wherever you can get your hands on them. But they can vary enough that I would pick a smaller size to match smaller hands if it is a concern.

Note the difference when same term "Medium Jumbo" is used. Fender "Jumbo" would be the equivalent to G&L's "Medium Jumbo":

Fender Frets:

6230: The smallest fret wire found on older Fender necks (.078″ x .043″)
6150: Vintage jumbo. Much wider but not as tall as 6230 (.102″ x .042″)
6105: Modern narrow and tall; currently very popular (.090″ x .055″)
6100: Jumbo. The largest fret wire available (.110″ x .055″)
6130: Medium jumbo (.106″ x .036″)


G&L Frets:

6100: Medium Jumbo (.110″ x .055″)
6230: Vintage (.078″ x .043″)

[cporro]

I suspect they are all 1as.

You must mean they are all 1 (standard), right?

yes.

i like the 9.5". my gut was my issue on the g&ls had to do with the profile of the neck not so much the radius. but that's a guess.

[Boogie Bill]

I have 18 G&Ls, if I were to order one it would definitely have the Graph-Tech nut and locking tuners. I like the Legacy bodies...Legacy and Legacy Special, S-500 and Comanche.

I would also consider the DFS. I love the birdseye necks, but the quarter sawn option might be a better choice. I love the Gun Oil Tint and the vintage tint, but those options would be totally dependent on what color I chose. Another option to consider would be stainless steel frets. People claim that stainless frets change the tone.

The other cosmetc option I would consider again depends on color. If I decided on a solid color like the Ruby Red, LPB or CAR and a rosewood or ebony board, I would strongly consider the matching headstock. It adds a certain elegance. The Fenders of the 1960s with this option are highly desirable and collectible, but I am of that generation. I have a Vintage White Legacy and a Baby Blue Comanche with the MH, and they always induce a lot of drooling. However, it is a look that I do not like with a maple board.

Good luck with your order...I hope you find the guitar of your dreams.

Bill

[Ray Barbee Music]

None of the USA G&L necks comes very close to an American Fender neck, but some of the tributes seem to approximate it pretty well. This is especially true in the shoulder shape, where USA Fenders don't taper much just below the board and actually seem to bulge out a bit. The newer tributes have that. The USA #1a isn't far from a MIM Fender. FWIW I'm not a fan of USA Fender necks, mostly due to that below the board bulge effect.

[supereiv]

I'll add that, having very small hands myself, my 3 current G&L have all the #1 neck, and it feels really comfortable, weird at first, but now I'm sold on it.
My first G&L (a '94 legacy) had a slim neck, and I prefer the #1, less fatiguing because it fills the palm nicely.

[SamIV]

You asked me for a suggestion, and mine would be to play as many as you can. I used to be a skinny neck only guy, but have gravitated to the necks on my Tributes which is a little thicker. I have grown very comfortable with these and when I do order my ASAT Classic, I want it as close to these as possible. I have small hands as well, I am not considered over-weight by any means, so my hands are skinny and small.

Ray Barbee Music and I were emailing back and forth over the weekend about a neck I have for sale and the measurements on my S-500 Tribute neck thickness I have are .83 at the first fret and .916 at the 12th fret. Width at the nut is 1.68 inches and 2.41 inches at the 12th fret. I will want something as close to this as possible when I finally order a custom build. All of my Tributes seem very close to this.

[Fumble fingers]

I had a Fender Highway one with 2007 American standard neck back when my Legacy was first delivered , they are close enough that I couldn't really tell a difference , my Legacy has the #1 neck , I sold the Fender

[Salmon]

There are also a couple of off-menu items that apply to the S-500:
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewt ... =12&t=6442

Regarding the slim neck and fatigue, I found the same thing Xavier described except I have larger than average hands. Somehow playing with the hand more open using a beefier neck can be comfortable. A relatively slimmer neck requires curling the fingers. Maybe that position is less natural so theoretically small/slim matched to smaller hands does not produce the expected results, at least as often as one might expect?