{"id":7360,"date":"2015-06-09T10:59:47","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T15:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/?p=7360"},"modified":"2015-06-09T13:11:07","modified_gmt":"2015-06-09T18:11:07","slug":"wide-vs-thick-bass-guitar-necks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/gear\/hardware\/bridge\/wide-vs-thick-bass-guitar-necks.html","title":{"rendered":"Wide vs. thick bass guitar necks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Above is a Squier Classic Vibe Precision Bass ’50s, and it’s being shown for a reason. It has a neck that is chunkier than most low-cost basses in the same price range. Incidentally, we do have a pickup<\/a> that would be a significant upgrade for that particular instrument.<\/p>\n

What is wide?<\/h3>\n

A wide-neck bass typically refers to the nut width. For example, a 5-string is wider than a 4-string.<\/p>\n

What is thick?<\/h3>\n

This refers to the amount of wood your fret hand grabs to play the instrument. This is commonly referred to as chunk, regardless of neck shape. For example, if a neck “feels like a baseball bat,” that’s a chunky neck.<\/p>\n

The plight of the big-handed player<\/h3>\n

A big-handed player usually has a tough time picking out a bass in a guitar store because many if not all of the basses in stock have necks that are just too thin – especially<\/em> if the player is on a budget and can’t spend too much.<\/p>\n

This is, by the way, why so many bass players seek out older Fender bass guitars from the 1970s, as many of them had significantly chunkier necks compared to modern models.<\/p>\n

Some big-handed players try a 5-string on the assumption a wider neck will feel better in the hand. Sometimes it does, but many times it doesn’t. What some players want is simply a neck with more wood to it.<\/p>\n

How does one get a bass guitar with a chunky neck on a budget?<\/h3>\n

Basses by Squier will have more neck wood compared to most similarly priced new models made by other companies. <\/p>\n

However, if the Squier models aren’t thick enough for your liking, the next step is to either construct the neck yourself, or buy an aftermarket neck.<\/p>\n

AllParts, for example, does sell the JRF-FAT Chunky Jazz Bass Replacement<\/a> neck. While not particularly cheap, it does have the chunk. You can also try an eBay search for “JRF-FAT bass neck” and you may find a few JRF-FAT necks there, sometimes at a nice discount.<\/p>\n

In case you’re wondering, yes, the JRF-FAT is Fender Licensed; this gives you good assurance that the neck will be good – although you will obviously have to adjust the truss rod and possibly perform a fret leveling when you receive the neck.<\/p>\n

Is going through the trouble of getting a chunky neck worth it?<\/h3>\n

It is if that’s what your fret hand prefers. <\/p>\n

If you’ve played a 1970’s era Fender bass with a chunky neck and said to yourself, “Yes, this is what I want,” get the chunky aftermarket neck. Try the Squier basses first, and if that doesn’t suit, get a bass body you like and buy the chunky neck separately. Afterward, you can get some good tuners from us<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Is getting a wide neck worth it?<\/h3>\n

Wide-neck basses are available just about anywhere covering all the price ranges from cheap to expensive. All you need to do is go to your guitar store and try 5-string basses. <\/p>\n

Do you know of low-cost new bass guitars that have chunky necks?<\/h3>\n

There are big-handed players that would sincerely appreciate knowing which brands have inexpensive models with chunky necks. If you know of any, feel free to post a comment or two below with your recommendations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Above is a Squier Classic Vibe Precision Bass ’50s, and it’s being shown for a reason. It has a neck that is chunkier than most low-cost basses in the same price range. Incidentally, we do have a pickup that would be a significant upgrade for that particular instrument. What is wide? A wide-neck bass typically … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,6],"tags":[64,29],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}