Neck radius, sizes, shapes, etc

Gear
24

I have never thought about, nor even taken into consideration the nut width or neck radius when shopping for basses, until this topic popped up and piqued my curiosity. So I did some research on the basses I have owned and loved, including the one that is on a FedEx truck headed to my house. Here’s what I’ve found:

Yamaha BB series (235 and 735 that I owned):

  • Neck Radius: 600mm
  • Nut Width: 42.9768mm

Ibanez Fretless 5 string:

  • Neck Radius: 305mm
  • Nut Width: 45mm

Hofner Ignition:

  • Neck Radius: 304.8
  • Nut Width: 42.86

Ibanez AFB200 Hollow Body (I haven’t played it yet)

  • Neck Radius: 400mm
  • Nut Width: 41.9862mm

I haven’t listed any of the “no name” basses that have come and gone, nor the Stringray that I returned to Guitar Center because it arrived damaged.

All the above basses were playable and enjoyable. Despite the fact that the dimensions are all over the place, I never noticed any difference from one to the other.

So I guess I’m saying, those factors are not important to me, however I’m still interested in this topic. It’s very educational.

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25

Hey, Pam @PamPurrs . . . no problem :slight_smile:

If you like the way a bass and its neck feels then it doesn’t matter what the specs are.

There you go! . . . :wink:

The reason I’m interested is only because I’m trying to stay as close as possible to the J-bass neck dimensions . . . it’s just me.

Cheers
Joe

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26

Laurent @terb, now that I’m thinking about all this, I recall (way back in the 70’s) that our lead guitarist had a Jazz bass, and he said it had an “Ultra Slim” neck. Did you ever hear of that? I don’t know, maybe that was a 7.5" radius neck? :thinking: Anyway, I didn’t know anything about specs (or much about anything else either :grin:) back then, but it was very noticeable when I compared it to the off-brand bass I owned at the time.

So thanks once again for your post . . . it’s helping me put a few things in perspective!

Cheers
Joe

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27

no, it’s not related to the radius, it’s more about the thickness. it’s just a flat neck, possibly a U-shaped one. usually, slim necks have a large radius, but a 70’s Fender was still in 7.5" at the time.

yeah @PamPurrs, I totally agree with @Jazzbass19 : if a bass feels good to you, that’s what matters and you don’t need to know all the numbers. that said, those numbers can be really useful for reproducibility purpose. for example we know that @Jazzbass19 prefers a 38mm neck (which is certainly what has become the most standard size since the Jazz Bass) and I myself prefer a 42mm ; it can really help to choose a bass and predict how it will feel. kind of.

for guitars I know that I absolutly want :

  • a 25.5" scale (which is the standard “long scale” of guitars - in fact the Fender scale)
  • a 9.5" radius (modern Fender radius)
  • a C shape, deep enough (I prefer a deeper than a slim neck)
    (which is a Telecaster neck)

I’m a bit more tolerant with basses, but I really prefer a C shape, 9.5" radius and 42mm nut width. (which is a Precision Bass neck)

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28

So now this thread got me digging into Rickenbacker neck profiles lol
Apparently the older 4001s like @TNKA36 and I have varied from bass to bass !
The new ones however reportedly have the thinnest production necks so far and taper gently from the first fret.
Still looking for measurements but I’ll post them if I find them reading through the pages and pages of internet posts I’ve found

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29

It’s hard to tell. On a 4string I like a thin sleek neck, but I play a 6 string which has a very wide fretboard, but the curve on it is slim on the back.

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30

You were mixing 5 strings and also listing 4 strings with very big nut widths.
Possibly because you started on the 5 string, you don’t have an issue with the wider nut, and just get the advantage of the strings not being as close to one and other on the 4 strings.

I think because all the basses you have listed are so close together, it would be hard to understand teh value of these dimensions.
However, if you were to get a 4 string with a 1.5" (38mm) nut and not like it, and thought it felt too small and odd, then you would at least understand why we talk about our neck specs and how the differences would affect a player going from a thin neck to a thisk neck (I think the harder jump then thick to narrow). Like I said, your 5 string play may have made this a moot point for yo undil you try a 4 string Jazz bass or 4 string Sterling Stingray 4 string.
You might like it thinner, you may hate it, but then you would at least know what all the fuss is about.

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31

You mean the current 4003 models, @Mac ? . . . :slight_smile: . . . nut width is 1.68" or 43mm, so ~5mm wider than a Jazz. It’s the taper that I’m really interested in.

Don’t want to pop my GAS balloon too early! :wink:

Thanks for your post, Joe

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32

For necks on a 4, I like ~10" radius (relatively flat), 38mm nut width, and thin (D or C shape - not U).

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33

According to what I’ve read they taper very nicely @Jazzbass19

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34

So, now I think I understand why people like @Jazzbass19 like jazz basses so much. I never really understood what the difference is, and now I think I do.
@T_dub are you saying the StingRay is like a jazz bass? Narrower nut?

Is the nut width and the neck radius what makes a Jazz and Precision bass tone sound distinctive from each other?

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35

no, it’s more the pickup configuration. a P with a J neck (they are compatible) still sounds like a P. but different necks makes the bassist play differently, and that’s something to take in consideration !

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36

@terb beat me to it, Pam . . . nut width and radius don’t affect the tone . . . just the feel of the neck. The pickups, and (to some extent) the body and neck materials do.

Cheers
Joe

6 Likes
37

No, Stingray is a tricky beast to conquer. There are quite a few different necks used between
EBMM Stingrays,
EBMM Sterlings
EBMM BFR SLO Special Stingray
and
SBMM Ray4
SBMM Ray24,
SBMM Ray34

There are 3, possibly 4 possible necks, and in some cases, you need to check the actual instrument

Neck 1, the Stingray neck - listed in these sizes.
1.69
1.6875
43mm
42.92mm
21 frets
This neck is found on Stingray Classic 4 strings, and SBMM Ray34

neck 2, the Sterling Neck
38mm
1.496"
1 1/2"
1.5"
22 frets
This is found on the model Sterling by Music Man

neck 2, SLO neck (San Luis Obispo)
38mm
1.496"
1 1/2"
1.5"
21 frets
This is found on Music Man BFR (Ball Family Reserve) SLO Special Stingrays
and it is found on the SBMM Stingray Sub Ray4 and Ray24ca
The quality of the neck from Music Man (SLO) and Sterling is obviously way different, so you can’t really say that the Sub Ray4 has a SLO neck on it, and you wouldn’t say the SLO Special has a Ray4 neck on it. so we could just call them the Sub Ray necks, even tho the Ray24 is not of the Sub Series., oh well, close enough

neck 4, The one that doesn’t belong
41.25mm. (41.27 to be exact)
1 5/8"
1.625"
This is reported to be the neck size for some of the Stingray Specials (note: in 2018 Music Man gave the Stingray Classic a face lift and a new name, called the Stingray Special). I have seen it called out on the Music Man website for some basses, but not all basses of the same class (Stingray Special). and I have seen other re-seller sites list the Stingray Special neck to be 1.625 at the nut, but I have seen the same seller list a Stingray Classic as 1.625 at the nut, and I have not been able to find anywhere on the music-man site stating a Stingray Classic EVER was 1.625 at the nut, only have I seen several Stingray Specials listed as that.
AND I have seen a couple BFR Stingray basses listed at 1.5/8" at the nut. I fully beleive the BFR claims, I question any other claims of 1.625 for Stingray classic or Special however, and I would want to measure it myself or have somebody measure it for me prior to believing that it is 1.625

If anybody has a stingray with a 1.625 nut width and it doesn’t fit within the scope of the Stingrays I mentioned above, please feel free to correct me, likewise with any of the neck information given above, this is from memory from limited research. I do like to know about the stingrays in general, bt I have verified the size necks mine have and am happy with them, so I cont’ follow it daily, and I know some things, especially around, before or after NAMM, can change fast and often.

This is found on

1 Like
38

more bluntly, because I read my post you were asking the question from.

No, I am saying a Sterling Stingray Sub Ray4 an Ray24 are like Jazz necks, and the Music Man Sterling bass is like Jazz neck and finally the Music Man BFR SLO Special Stingray is like a Jazz neck, and in all cases above, I mean similar to a Jazz necks, they are not exact to the best of my knowledge.

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39

You know I am kind of enjoying the more P-like neck on the BB. Nut/12th width and thickness are 40mm/56mm and 21/23mm; American Pro P-Bass is 42/57 and 21/24. The BB is kind of between a J and a P, on the P side. I’m liking it a lot.

500g heavier than the P though :rofl::cry::sob:

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40

kind of weird.
I found I like it either the J or the P, but not as much in between. Thats kind of a maybe tho.
My Dean MetalMan, IDK the neck stats for sure, but it is wide, like the 42/43 at the nut, but it feels a little on the thinner side, and I like playing it.
I would have to play an actual P to see how I like it to be I can say that for sure, but I like the J and the Dean for sure.

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41

Whoa dude! Welcome back!

So I’m loving the BB a lot. I actually like its neck better than the TRBX at this point. Only a little, but still. It’s just really good.

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42

Thanks, I am just gettin back and looking thru posts from last to first, so I will post up in the MIA thread to get everybody updated.
That is the same feeling I experienced going from Ibanez SR necks to the Ray4 Jass version neck. it is not so much wider, but it is thicker. I like that it gives it more for your hand to feel and work with in the palm area, without messing with the string spacing and your finger familiarity or stretching / reaching with your fingers. IDK, hard to describe since they are pretty small differences, but really make a difference.
The thing is, I think as I play more, I appreciate more finger spacing, which messed me up in the beginning. It also heavily vary with what type of playing I am doing, which, I think is why they have all the different necks.
Makes sense, they are made for style more so than the hands of the player I think, but beginners often opt for , or feel more comfortable with smaller necks, and I even think, some if might be mental. I think when people read about smaller and faster necks, they start to analyze their neck, and boom, GAS, lets go get for the thinnest neck possible. Everybody is different of course, but thats probably, if I am being Honest, the way it hit me at least.

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43

Yeah I’ve kind of owned the extremes before this - two TRBX’s for the fast thin side, and two Warwicks for the thicker side.

The BB is nice. It’s still a really fast neck. But it is much closer to a P than not.

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