Anyone get hand/thumb pain with somewhat larger necks?

[chris32895]

I found an old American Ash Telecaster (the "8502" model for those in the know) at Guitar Center that sounds wonderful and plays beautifully. No luthier work needed, 22 frets, and the previous owner swapped the bridge for a Callaham 3-saddle, the neck pickup for a SD La Brea, and the bridge pickup for a SD JB JR with both wired with a 4-way switch. The guitar feels super solid and has no issues and I adore the sound I get from the guitar. The setup is also good and I took the nut slots down and I have pretty low action.

The big BUT is that the guitar neck is a touch bigger than I'm used to. Most guitar necks I find seem to be around .80"ish around the 1st and generally .90"ish around the 12th. This neck is .87" at the 1st and .93" at the 12th. In the upper positions I have no issue but I find as I get into the lower positions my left hand thumb starts getting angry at me. It's not the typical pain I see described that's located on the big muscle at the base of the thumb (this usually occurs from gripping the neck too hard). It's a very localized/sharp discomfort on the top knuckle of my thumb and a little bit on the pad/tip of my thumb. Also, after a playing session I find the first joints of the finger of my left-hand are somewhat sore (this is a little unusual for me).

I have been playing guitar for a long time and have never had my hands feel like this on any guitar. I have tried putting my thumb on the back of the neck, wrapping it over, and any kind of in-between and it will help for a bit but eventually I'll play some chord where I become acutely aware of the discomfort. My hand is not constantly in pain, more like I'll hit a certain position and get a slight pain then stop, stretch, and start playing again.

The good news is, since I bought from GC, I can return it anytime within the next month. I'm wondering if maybe I just have to let my hand adjust?

P.S. I did try putting on a different neck and while that helped I found the tone I loved was gone. I'm convinced that this guitar body and neck are either mated or that the bigger neck simply imparts a better sound, given it has more mass.

[Unclegrumpy]

You can make the neck smaller, 7/100” is not much. Your hand position is also worthy of examination as years of playing may have taken a toll.

but sharp pain is not good, so I would examine the hand position associated with this and see if a little position modification helps.

good luck, playing with pain is awful.

[bluejaybill]

Obviously only you can know if the neck is uncomfortable, and if it persists I would return it.

For me, thinner necks are more likely to give me that problem. I have a Les Paul R8 with a really think neck, and it is not the most comfortable, but it sounds great, so I put up with it. But it doesn't cause me pain.

I will say that I get more pain now as I get older, and I think t is probably arthritis. Not much I can do about that except pace myself.

But in my experience an uncomfortable neck doesn't get better. You can adapt somewhat, but not 100%.