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Picked one of these up yesterday at an attractive price. It's a 65 175, with a 1 9/16th nut and pretty slim neck. I'd always ruled out getting a 175 with these less attractive mid-60s specs, let alone a cherry sb version. And, my other guitars all have thicker necks. So, if I'd known initially that it was a 'thin neck' 175, I prob wouldn't have looked at it in the first place.
But what surprised me about this guitar is that it's so easy to play in the middle ( say Ab to D) of the neck, that it said 'buy me'. It doesn't feel right down at the bottom end, but then like most of us I spend my time around the middle of the neck, and in that area 'plays like butta' is about right. The other thing worth mentioning is that it's about 2 lb lighter than my Norlin 175, and sounds like a very different 175, more towards the acoustic end of things. The 'thunk' is more refined somehow, but still there. Downside is that it feeds back much earlier than the Norlin, so my guess is that it will only work for duo/ trio - but that's fine.
As for the cherry s/b, it sort of works, 'cos it's fading out quite fast towards the edges.
Any other 'thin neck' players out there? They made a lot of these 1 9/16th nut guitars in the 60s, so someone must have them..Still don't know if I'll be able to get used to the thinner nut, but if I can't, the price was right enough not to take much of a hit if I do move it on.
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04-02-2015 12:06 PM
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My '66 ES-335 has the 1 9/16" neck. I never even noticed when I compared it with several other vintage 335s in the shop long ago. Had no idea of year to year model differences. Now I notice it, but it's no deal breaker. The neck on this guitar is just right back to front. Doesn't feel thin at all. And it sure is easy to play in middle and higher frets.
For studying jazz, I do prefer 1 11/16". But that doesn't mean I'd automatically rule out anything. If I had known and believed the "avoid the thinner, late '60s Gibson" mantra, I'd be missing out on a truly wonderful ES-335.
MD
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I owned a '69 L5CES with a 1-9/16" nut width. It was intolerable for me. I sold the guitar and regretted ever buying it in the first place . . even though I made a few bucks on the resale. But, we're all different. Different psyche, hand sixe, finger length, finger fatness, etc.
I actually love having multiple guitars, each with a different feel and personality. However, I'm a true dyed in the wool 1-11/16" nut width guy. I can live with different neck profiles . . but, not nut widths.
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I play a fender lead I with a 1.6" nut. Most fenders are 1.68
Lots of bitching about the smaller nut being a deal breaker.
I notice it.. but it doesnt affect the playability
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I think Fender uses the 1.68" on the vintage reissues for the most part...all the modern ones seem to be 1 11/16...
I like at least 1 11/16...but I can play a skinnier nut width if the neck is fat in profile...but skinny/skinny, very uncomfortable for me.
My tele neck is a "boatneck" carve (about 1" deep at the first fret) and 1.75" at the nut. And that's really my favorite.
I'm always bummed when I come across the mid 60's--70's Gibsons, because they're usually priced fairly and sound great, but very often, I just don't find them comfortable.
The one in the OP...damn, I'd want to like it, because that's just sooooo cool.
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Yep, have 335 with skinny neck, its a treat to play in the middle of neck, and get use to the skinnes in the cowboy section, not a big deal
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I can't play a guitar that plays/feels good only in certain positions.
I can jump up to 1 3/4" easily and even down to 1 5/8" on some guitars if they have some meat on the back of the neck there, but 1 9/16" is out for me....
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Have to admit that I thought it was pretty cool too; I like the one-pick-up thing, altho it can't help the feedback situation.
The other thought was that something that would encourage more voicings further up the board wouldn't be a bad thing - I have small hands and fingers, and a 4 fret stretch is my max these days at the bottom end. This board is 2mm narrower all the way up, so it's easier in the middle width-wise as well as stretch-wise.
Of course, I could be just rationalising the purchase! Time will tell.
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Why and when did fractions become the acceptable way of measuring nut widths? I would be far happier reading 0.56 than 9/16, 0.625 instead of 5/8, and 0.68 instead of 11/16.
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rulers are in fractional inches.
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Not here ...
Originally Posted by fritz jones
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Oh Boy.. Here we go.
I will be the first to admit, our English Imperial system sucks. But I think is was devised in an effort to keep us smarter than everybody else by keeping us on our toes..
JUST KIDDING!!!
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I have a '67 L5CES with a 4cm nut, and it plays well for me. Had a friend visiting recently who had issues with it though. My '69 ES330 has the same nut, but shorter scale, interestingly less noticeable there.
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Food for thought there.
I'm English...but the official language of measurement in the UK is..... metric.
In fairness, it makes it easier to do accurate small measurements in mm. Hmmm.Last edited by Franz 1997; 04-02-2015 at 05:21 PM.
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hey Franz
thats mighty pretty
Thats my fave finish is it cherry sb
I thought it was called iced tea
are you still playing the mambo amp ?
jem
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Hi Jem
Yes cherry s/b apparently.
Still playing mambos, and an 80s polytone.
can't beat 'em IMO.
Chris
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Ok.. I will jump in..
I am in Canada so I still see $/lb for veges in the market and .$/l at the gas station.
I have a ruler that has 64th AND 100ths. All well and good.
My micrometer is in mm and decimal inches.
Inches or mm I dont care but we should be done with 64ths etc. Move along people.
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I have a ruler that is mm(305)/cm on one side, and inches(12) subdivided into 10ths on the other. Strange. Originally Posted by SamBooka
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I'm cool with decimals....except where pints are concerned��
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fractions are not that difficult. come on people.
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Funny, I didn't know there was such a thing as a 1 9/16th's neck width!
I just dismissed mine as 1 5/8th's on a very bad QC day, like maybe after an extended brown bag/cocktail lunch or something…
Yes, apparently (just measured) I have a 94 Epiphone casino with a 1 9/16th's neck. It also has an very thin neck profile and thin flat worn frets, this would probably be great for someone with very small hands.
For me, honestly I really don't like it at all, it's way to narrow and thin for me, and I'm not a fan of the frets either, haha. Unfortunately, I really like the sound and overall mojo of this particular guitar, so for now I deal with it…
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What is the advantage of fractionals over decimals? Originally Posted by fritz jones
What is the advantage of decimals over fractionals?
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I always know which decimal is larger or smaller relative to the size I prefer, whereas I'm forced to convert 23/32 and other non-standard fractions to decimals to determine where they fall on my preference scale. Originally Posted by SamBooka
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Originally Posted by SamBooka
" Or what about when a map says : " One inch equals 12 miles " ???
" I mean nobody said there was going to be math ".....
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i prefer guitars with 43 mm nut width.
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