I think I'm growing old... Neck size preferences...

You guys know how it is... When you first start off, you want the thinnest necks ever so you can fly up and down the fretboard easily...

I began with an Ibanez 440R. not the thinnest of necks, but not the thickest either. In fact, it's more like a Fender 62 neck profile. Ibanez called it the Ultra neck profile as opposed to their other more popular Wizard profile.

I then progressed nicely to Fenders and the like, with the 60s C necks to be my favourite. The 50s V necks were always an ok compromise, but the thickness of my neck preferences always hovered around 20 to 21mm at the first fret.

I had a few Epis and Edwards here and there, but never really liked the thicker necks. They always felt cumbersome to me.

Then came my EBMM fetish. 41.3mm nut widths (which I still like), and 21.5mm necks at the first fret. Many of my EBMMs were Silhouettes, which featured the same dimensions in all their necks. The exception, was the Petrucci, which was paper thin at 20mm at the first fret.

Then I began playing Les Pauls, and the Slash GT was my first Gibson. it was a C shaped neck, and was really comfortable. Never measured it, but I know it's close to the EBMMs if not just a tad thicker. But the C shaped profile was still my fav.

I stumbled across a beautiful standard after, and while I was worried about the 50s neck profile, I wasn't about to let that stop me from owning one of the nicest lightbursts I had ever seen, played and heard. But oddly, something happened. I grew very quickly to learn to love the 50s neck. So much so, my Slash felt wrong after that, and I sold it.

The 50s neck was just nice for me, and I still play the same way I did on my Petrucci. Same speed, yet probably more stamina, as my hands don't tire out as quickly.

Lastly, comes my R7BB. Baseball sized neck. And guess what? I LOVE it! I wish the frets were a wee bit taller (it IS known as the fretless wonder, after all) but the neck girth was perfect for me now. it doesn't slow me down either. I still like my EBMM Silhouette necks, but my hands do get a bit tired on those too.

I like the R7 neck so much now, and the 50s neck, believe it or not, feels "thin" to me...

Note: I don't have large hands. But they feel very comfortable wrapped round the R7.

I think I'm getting old.

(I say that, after 21 years of fun filled playing... Just thought I'd add...)

A childhood dream come true...

It's been what? 21 years since I first began playing? Ever since I first picked up guitar, I've always drolled over a certain silhouette of a Gibson headstock. And not just any old Gibson Headstock, not even a normal Les Paul headstock at that... But this:



Yes, it was the Les Paul Custom that got me. Clearly visible from album covers such as The Cult's Sonic Temple, that was the quinessential rock guitar look for me.


That iconic Pete Townsend rock guitar pose accentuated with that sleek looking black weapon. That was the one guitar I had always dreamed about, but never really hunted for, because it was always deemed "beyond my reach" price-wise.

Then one day, I got a pleasant surprise walking into a friend's guitar shop. There was this nice ebony custom sitting in the window. I honestly wasn't expecting much, becuase I had tried many customs before this, and all of them dissaponted in one way or another. But here was something different. For some reason, this one spoke. From the first appraising look I knew I had to try it out... And from the first note plucked, I knew this was going to be a good try out. After less than 5 mins of playing, I knew I had to take it home.

This was one guitar where I knew, if I had let it go, I'd take a LONG time before finding a nice one again. Something about Gibsons and Fenders. Some work for you, and others just don't work for you. This one not only worked for me, it washed up the dishes after too!

So here's the pics of the newly acquired Gibson 1957 Reissue Les Paul Custom V.O.S. 2-Pickup Black Beauty. (what a bloody mouthful...)





Someone told me this looked like an evil twin with it's brother...