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Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl
I too have been looking at them, and facing the same dilemma. I think the humbucker is more interesting. Godin has some useful videos, and you can find several demos on YouTube to help you choose.
Don't feel you need to be a man. We have more than enough manliness in this forum.
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10-04-2021 03:46 AM
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Yuppers! But then, maybe he was just using a figure of speech. Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Litter I know we got a lot of something in this forum, not sure it’s manliness or childiness
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Originally Posted by JN Thomas
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Exactly what I would suggest. I have one of these, and it has the best neck I have; and you could not possibly find a better seller (and all-around-gentleman) than Joe D. Originally Posted by richpiv
This is a bargain!
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I think HB vs single-coil depends entirely on your style.
Some players can get a single-coil to sound quite a bit like a classic jazz tone.
But, I don't think it's so easy to get a HB to sound bright like a Strat or Tele. Not sure about P90.
So, I think that you have to choose the pickup based upon your internal sense of what your guitar "should" sound like.
If you can't decide, you can pick one at random, play it for a few months, swap the pickup out and try it for a few more months.
In case this is helpful: I play HB mostly, although I occasionally split the coil. I have a friend, whose tone I love, who plays single coil. I went out and bought a Strat in the usual hopeless effort to sound like an admired player. But, in my hands, the upper register is too thin. I need those notes to be thick and sustain because my style includes a lot of held high notes. His does not. He usually plays below the high E at the 12th fret of the E string, whereas I often go above it. And, he has the chops to build a solo with speed and I don't. So, it isn't so important to him for notes to sustain and it isn't important at all that they sound thick. The point is, that the choice of pickup (among other elements of your gear) depends on the sounds in your head.
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These threads always crack me up. Generally the inquirer is left with a million different suggestions and the inquirer hasn’t a clue what to do!
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I'm very surprised by people referring to the neck of the Godin Kingpin as "chunky" - when it is rather on the thin side...
Like the OP, I prefer chunky necks for comfort, my favorite necks are the Warmoth "boatneck" ones on my Teles - 1" (25.4mm) thick all the way from the 1st to the 12th fret and beyond; I also love the fat V-shaped neck on my Loar LH300 (also around 1" thick at the 1st fret), and the slightly thinner, but still chunky neck on my old Harmony H167 acoustic (.90" at the 1st fret, around .95" at the 12th).
The neck on my Godin Kingpin (the 2x P90 model with the cutaway) is not even remotely as chunky, it's very much on the thin side, and I only put up with it because that guitar sounds so great. It's a very flat-backed D shape that starts at around .80" (20.5mm) at the 1st fret, and goes up to a still not very chunky .94" (23.5mm) at the 9th fret - that's very similar to a lot of Gretsch necks (that the OP doesn't like) - though the Godin sounds much better (at least compared to budget Gretsch models from the Streamliner & Electromatic lines) - much more "alive", with a lot of "acoustic" qualities coming through even when plugged in. Nut width is 1.72" (43.5mm), BTW.
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Originally Posted by richpiv
Oooh!! It IS VERY intriging, but in retrospect, unless Max 405, can hold onto it until November, I'm out of luck (I have some significant bills I have to pay this month). Originally Posted by citizenk74
Exactly what I would suggest. I have one of these, and it has the best neck I have; and you could not possibly find a better seller (and all-around-gentleman) than Joe D.
This is a bargain!
Sorry, I should have been clearer to everybody - the $1000 I can swing to buy a guitar, is if I use plastic. Outright cash, I'll have to sell things. I apologize for not being clearer.
Thanks for the input everybody,
Ellen - the guitar playing girl (3rd generation of guitar players in my family)
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Having had a Godin 5th Ave Kingpin, all I can say is that its neck is definitely not a flat "D" shape. I have 2 guitars with necks that meet that description (89 Am Std Strat and D'Angelico EXDC). The Godin's neck was noticeably rounder and thicker than either of those. I'd call it "U" shaped. Originally Posted by RomanS
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Like I said hard to find Chunky Necks at any price point as standard fare.
Gibson 1958 Profile Les Paul's, Fender CS Nocaster, are about it!
Other wise Custom Ordered if possible?
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...well I missed the *not* in the title...
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Well, I have mine right in front of me... Originally Posted by John A.
Doesn't really get more D-shaped than this...
For reference:
https://guitargearfinder.com/wp-cont...es-diagram.png
Also, I'm not bringing out my calipers right now, because I'd have to take the strings off the Godin, to make a measurement, and I just put on a new set of GHS White Bronze 12s (perfect strings for using that guitar both as an electric and an acoustic, BTW) - but I take accurate measurements of each of my guitars when I get them, and my Kingpin is definitely 20.5mm (which converts to about .80") thick at the first fret.
That's not even close to "chunky", not even medium, but quite thin (.80" is what Warmoth calls their "Standard Thin" profile, Ibanez shredders and those terrible Martin MLO necks are around .78", most Gretsch necks - which the OP doesn't like - are around .78" to .82" at the first fret).
Thin = .80", medium = .85, chunky >.90", baseball bat >1", by most accounts.
To me, the Kingpin neck feels a bit like that of a classical nylon string acoustic, but shrunk down in size (the flat 16" fretboard radius enhances that similarity).
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As I mentioned earlier, while I like chunky necks, even a Medium C profile (say .850 - 860 inch or thicker at the 1st fret), is fine by me. I'm perfectly fine with the 60s C my old 60s Fender Baja Tele had, or the Deep C (which is more of a U shape) my current Fender Britt Daniel Telecaster Thinline has. I should have probably said "chunkier than the typical neck most guitars have nowadays." It seems like most guitar builders are gravitating towards shredder thin necks - they just aren't my thing. I've even realized that the Gibson Slim Taper necks I was OK with for a long time, are not my thing anymore - it's why my Gibson ES137 went bye bye 3 years ago. Originally Posted by jads57
Finding neck dimension data is a bit of a hassle (especially if you need to know it for a guitar that you are unable to try out before you buy it), since most manufacturers don't publish their specs. In a few cases I've sent out e-mail inquiries about neck dimensions, that weren't even responded to. A neck profile is helpful, but it's kind of subjective, due to one person's thick, being another person's thin. Actual dimensional numbers do the best job of providing me with the information I need, if I haven't tried out a guitar, or for that matter, from a history of playing a specific brand of guitars, know what I can expect from them neck-wise. This is really weird for me, 10 or 15 years ago, neck feel was important to me, but wasn't a deal breaker (and I used to say to myself, "so what?", when I read interviews of guitarists who gushed about the "awesome way the necks on their guitars felt"), nowadays it is.
Maybe my mom's comment is right - due to breaking my left wrist twice (the second/last time was in the mid 80s, when I was in college), I might be developing some arthritis in my left hand. This could be resulting in the neck profile becoming important for me, from a comfort/pain mitigation standpoint - especially since I also have asthma. I can't take the usual over the counter pain relievers that also deal with inflammation and swelling (also know as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory meds), such as asprin, ibuprofin, or sodium naproxen (Aleve), due to them aggravating asthma, so trying to avoid hand pain is the best thing to do.Last edited by EllenGtrGrl; 10-05-2021 at 03:14 PM.
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Like yourself, I too am looking for the very same instrument. I agree neck shape is huge for player comfort. Unlike RPjazzguitar my arthritic left hand is much happier with a baseball bat. If and when you find your instrument please let us all know the specifics. I live a long way from guitar stores so going and trying is difficult if not impossible. Sadly, manufactures do not give thickness dimensions of their necks. Thanks for the thread EllenGtrGrl and happy hunting
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Thanks for the info. Yeah, it looks like the Kingpin is a No Go for me. The search continues. Originally Posted by RomanS
Well, I have mine right in front of me...
Doesn't really get more D-shaped than this...
For reference:
https://guitargearfinder.com/wp-cont...es-diagram.png
Also, I'm not bringing out my calipers right now, because I'd have to take the strings off the Godin, to make a measurement, and I just put on a new set of GHS White Bronze 12s (perfect strings for using that guitar both as an electric and an acoustic, BTW) - but I take accurate measurements of each of my guitars when I get them, and my Kingpin is definitely 20.5mm (which converts to about .80") thick at the first fret.
That's not even close to "chunky", not even medium, but quite thin (.80" is what Warmoth calls their "Standard Thin" profile, Ibanez shredders and those terrible Martin MLO necks are around .78", most Gretsch necks - which the OP doesn't like - are around .78" to .82" at the first fret).
Thin = .80", medium = .85, chunky >.90", baseball bat >1", by most accounts.
To me, the Kingpin neck feels a bit like that of a classical nylon string acoustic, but shrunk down in size (the flat 16" fretboard radius enhances that similarity).
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It looks to me like the kind of neck the OP wants on the kind of guitar the OP wants is not particularly available in the price range the OP wants over the time horizon the OP wants.
I suggest spending less energy on a snipe hunt and instead work on ways to increase the budget. Put the purchase off for awhile to get a guitar that fills the bill.
The OP seems to have liked Eastman archtops - that might be the solution to the conundrum.
Buy cheap, buy twice.
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Originally Posted by Ralphy
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Yeah, the more I think about it, the more it's looking like Eastman is going to be the way to go. I'll just have to be patient, and save up some more pennies. Originally Posted by dconeill
Ellen
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I had the same experience/revelation with thicker necks after playing a Nocaster. It inspired me to build a Telecaster using a Warmoth "fatback" neck, which like the Nocaster, is a full 1" deep. I absolutely love it. In fact, I would suggest considering that option, though I know you mentioned archtops.
For a hollowbody, I highly recommend the Epiphone Broadway. I really like mine, particularly the neck. It isn't as deep as the "fatback," but importantly, it's also wider than the Fender-style nut width, so it seems to equal out in a way. The body is a full 17" with a 25.5 scale length, and because it's laminate/pressed, it seems to respond like a cross between an L5 and a Tal Farlow. Also, under $1000.
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I've tried out Nocasters, and I had a few Teles that came pretty close to having necks as chunky as one (MIM Cabronita Tele, and an MIM Esquire - both were great guitars that I should have hung onto). My current Tele - a Fender Britt Daniel Thinline, may not have a Nocaster neck, but it is a bit chunkier than a Medium C, which makes it a fine guitar playing-wise for me. Originally Posted by markesquire
I'm just missing having a full blown archtop hollowbody, but I got so sick of the thin necks my Gretsch Country Clubs had (with the exception of the restored, player grade [the person who restored it painted it in Country Gent colors] '54 Country Club, that I should have NEVER gotten rid of - such a chunky neck, and 50s era Dynasonics pickups have killer tone!). When I decided to go back to my Gibson semi-hollowbody roots (in the 80s I had a Les Paul SIgnature, and in the 90s, my main gigging guitar was a 1980 Howard Roberts Fusion), I found out to my chagrin with the ES-137 I had for almost a year, that me and Gibson Slim Taper necks do not get along anymore. I also found out that the ES-335 style Heritage H-535 (with the optional chunky neck) that I had for a few months, just gave me the blahs - I think I prefer singlecuts. It's going to take a while to find what I want.
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The Gretsch Filtertron pickups will get a fatter sound up high; they are hum-buckers, but with single-coil tonalities available, although generally "sweeter" or less harsh than P90s or Fender pups. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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