Neck width versus playing style

[jwebsmall]

Hi,

I'm asking this as a novice player.

I find my Invade 1 11/16" neck much easier to play
than my Legacy 1 5/8" neck which feels cramped to me.

I was wondering if I get an ASAT would it be a mistake
to get one with the wider 1 11/16" neck width?

Since my playing skill isn't very advanced I thought maybe
there is something I don't appreciate in the two neck widths
related to flavoring a particular style of playing. After all the
Invader comes stock with a 1 11/16" nut width and there must
be some rationale for this related to playing style or at least
I figured there was.

For example if I try to fret 2 strings with 1 finger tip it may not be so
easy on the wider neck. Since my ability hasn't gotten
to the point where I can have experiential knowledge I don't
know enough to appreciate the differences as it relates to playing
style for the guitar type and neck width.

If there is no difference related to playing style but instead is
a matter of preference related to hand geometry would it be
better to trade the legacy for one ordered with a wider neck or
simply get a new replacement neck and install that?

Thanks in advance!

[jwebsmall]

P.S. I played my Invader yesterday (on the weekend for 10 hours) with
little to no discomfort. If I play my legacy for 2 hours the next day
the joint in my index finger of my left hand will be swollen. The 1 5/8"
neck feels tight to me like a tight new shoe versus the invader's 1 11/16"
neck which feels like a worn in old shoe.

[suave eddie]

Sounds like you maybe answered your own question...........................

Neck preference is all about comfort.

[jwebsmall]

I wanted to confirm this and not that
I was simply playing wrong or hadn't
advanced far enough with technique
that I would regret not having the
1 5/8" neck later.

I used to be a long distance swimmer
and knew people having shoulder injuries.
When they corrected their swimming stroke
the problems disappeared. I was wondering
if someone with similar experience with
the 1 5/8" neck would convey any similar
information.

For example are there any advanced
ASAT players who play a 1 11/16" neck?
If not - why not? Because there are so
few people who prefer the wide neck?
Or is it because the ASAT style of playing
comes alive with the narrow neck that favors
double stop bends, etc. that I can't
appreciate yet because my skill level
isn't advanced enough?

It just seems strange to me to think that
shredders on Invaders have as a group oversized
hands. Is there something about this style of guitar
and playing that favors the wider neck (or was it to
accommodate for the Floyd Rose dimensions mainly?)
After all the flatter radius necks are designed to favor
a shredding style of playing - no? Perhaps shredder
bends are less aggressive than ASAT country bends?
I don't know enough to know what I don't know.

I don't want to make a big mistake ordering an ASAT
with 1 11/16" neck only to discover as my playing improves
that I should have gotten the 1 5/8" to play some kind of
advanced technique.

[sirmyghin]

I prefer the wide nuts too, infact my ASAT special has the #3 neck for wide nut and flat radii. I feel 1 5/8 is also too cramped, always have. I like F spaced bridges too, opposed to standard (ToM) and such spaced, The oddity is I like to pair Gibson nut width, with Fender spaced bridges .

Hand size is a small factor here, as there are many components in the line up. Get what plays comfortable to you, there is no other 'right' answer. Radius is just a comfort thing, shredding has nothing to do with it. Yngwie shreds a stratocaster after all. Flatter radii let you keep lower action, which prevents fretting out to some extent on bends and may make playing slightly easier overall. I like 12" over 14" and beyon , chunkier necks over thinner necks, and I can play pretty dang quickly when I get a wild hair going. I am not a shredder though, as I am tasteful (very few guitarists rightly deserve the title shredder, MAB being one of them).

We all like different things, I can play 12 notes per second runs on my ASAT (I need them occasionally in my instrument work, not often though, it is all about muscle memory at that point). It has the #3 neck (thick and wide). Don't read too much into this stuff, let your hands tell you what is right.

[jwebsmall]

I like baseball bat necks and wide.

Thanks for the info.

[otis66]

P.S. I played my Invader yesterday (on the weekend for 10 hours) with
little to no discomfort. If I play my legacy for 2 hours the next day
the joint in my index finger of my left hand will be swollen. The 1 5/8"
neck feels tight to me like a tight new shoe versus the invader's 1 11/16"
neck which feels like a worn in old shoe.

Try playing the Legacy for 10 hours wait a couple of days and then play the invader for 10 hours. You would have the same results in reverse. If you play 2 hours a day you could build your muscles up to 10 hours a day. You have to build up the muscles. If you run 10 miles today and then try and run 10 miles tomorrow your body could not take at first but if you run 2 miles a day you can slowly work your way up to 10 miles a day. PS I don't think even a rock star could play his guitar for 10 hours a day for 2 days in a row.

[jwebsmall]

I wrote that wrong. I played the INvader for 10 hours on Sunday. Next day (today) no problem
with the index finger (it only has 9's on it). I was trying to finish writing some
new songs. So I was writing, playing, recording over a 10 hour stretch (you know how
it is when you go into a studio if you finish 2 songs in 10 hours that's pretty good.)

I didn't play the Legacy the next day (today). I meant to say when I play the legacy
for 2 hours on any given day the next day my index finger will be stiff.

I work long hours during the week (writing software on the computer all day long)
so I only play maybe 1 hr a day during the week. Only played about 20 minutes
today (on the invader).

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

....very few guitarists rightly deserve the title shredder, MAB being one of them.....

Would you mind defining who or what is MAB? I'm sorry I am not up on the context. I went back looking for something that might shed light on the reference but I only came up with a headache.

[jwebsmall]

Michael Angelo Batio (the Japanese call him the hands without shadows).

Here he is playing two guitars at once (specially built for him).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rutyA12z3Ok

Actually he can play two parts of an arrangement with his right
and left hands on two separate necks with the gain cranked.
Add a bass guitarist and drummer and you have a 4 piece band.

He plays regular guitars too He's on a milk run here (simple
stuff at least for him).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG74eVb6V10

I think he is a classically trained musician. I've heard me play
classical guitar with incredible beauty.

MAB can shred on any guitar even short scale with fat necks.

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

Michael Angelo Batio (the Japanese call him the hands without shadows).

Here he is playing two guitars at once (specially built for him).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rutyA12z3Ok

Actually he can play two parts of an arrangement with his right
and left hands on two separate necks with the gain cranked.
Add a bass guitarist and drummer and you have a 4 piece band.

He plays regular guitars too He's on a milk run here (simple
stuff at least for him).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG74eVb6V10

I think he is a classically trained musician. I've heard me play
classical guitar with incredible beauty.

MAB can shred on any guitar even short scale with fat necks.

Thanks for the definition. I recall learning of him here a while back.

[sirmyghin]

Thanks for the definition. I recall learning of him here a while back.

He is probably the most proficient player out there, but I have never heard him write a song worth listening to . For raw technique he is your man.

I like baseball bat necks and wide.

Thanks for the info.

I have similar preferences it looks like. The full C on G&Ls coming home at .96" is very nice. Heck my bass is only about that thick (5 banger, assymetrical neck, but it is 3" wide at the body as it has 19mm string spacing). I am a bassist so that probably skews my preferences a touch, but I have seen guys who can go from thin nut to wide nut no problem, I can do it too, but it takes about 5 minutes of playing. I just REALLY prefer the wider nuts, so if I am calling the shots it is what I get. So yes, you may improve with practice and precision. If you want to be really comfortable on both, play each until they are comfortable, if you stick to one longer it will be harder to use the other effectively.