Malazan66

I have been learning to play guitar on Jackson with a 16" Radius. Today I played a friends Schecter with a 14" Radius. I felt way more comfortable on the Schecter.

Does this make sense, or is it just my imagination?

Roc8995

What makes sense? That you have a preference? That you can feel a difference in radius?

None of this is crazy. Preferences like this will start to show up once you get comfortable playing and start to develop an ear. It will be amps next - careful, they're expensive.

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Zoomyrs1

The radius is just the curve of the fretboard.

The shape of the back of the neck is, for me anyway, the more determinant part of comfort. Flatter radius lend themselves better to chord work, tighter radius will be "faster" by feel.

Mileage may vary of course.


Plus if that Jackson is a bolt on you can buy a neck with a tighter radius.

Malazan66

It seemed like like my hand did not fatigue as much with the Schecter. I'd like to try a 12 or a 10 inch Radius now.

My Jackson is a bolt-on, Didn't even think about the neck change scenario

W4RP1G

If your Jackson has a compound radius, then it will graduate from 12" to 16" as you move up the fretboard.

Also, there are other factors at work, like the size and profile of the neck.

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MrFlibble

Hand fatigue is more often caused by using a neck that's too thin for you, rather than anything to do with the fretboard radius. Schecters have an average-thickness neck while Jacksons have a fairly thin neck, so it's not surprising that you may find the Schecter more comfortable.

The difference between a 14" radius and a 16" one is, by the way, virtually nothing. Really anything more than 11" is flat enough that bends will never choke out and once you go beyond 12" you're playing on a practically flat surface.

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Axe Murderer

This all day long. Amps are a b*tch!

Malazan66

Why does a thinner neck, fatigue my wrist more? I would have thought a thicker one would be harder on your Hand/Wrist.

Thanks for the replies

W4RP1G

Depends on your posture. Many people that use the baseball bat posture find a thicker neck to be more comfortable. And many people that use classical posture prefer a thinner neck.

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t1mman

I also agree that the thickness is more the reason why!

For example, the difference in the radius of an ibanez standard vs. prestige is about 400mm vs. 430mm wich is basically nothing. But the neck of a prestige is 1 to 2 mm thinner than a regular line and it makes for a massive difference.

trashedlostfdup

honestly i call BS. you cannot generalize the conditions of hand fatigue, everybody has different hands and preferences.

i am not disagreeing about anything else, just the conditions of hand fatigue.

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samuraigoomba

I couldn't stand schecters because chords were so much harder for me with that style of neck. A flatter neck feels better to me all around. To each their own.

JustRooster

Which Jackson and which Schecter? You could also have just played a better quality guitar.

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Zoomyrs1

Or just better set up.

A guitar with a proper set up and extra-lights is ALWAYS going to be easier to play then a guitar with the strings 3 gauges to heavy for its tuss rod setting.

There are a shit load of variables.

I don't remember ever playing a Jackson that was hard to play, I got the impression that the Schecter necks were relatively similar.

Malazan66

It was a Hellraiser Special C-1

and my Jackson is a 96' PS-4

W4RP1G

Your guitar has a compound radius neck, with a different profile. Consider other guitars if you aren't happy with yours. Try out some LTDs and Schecters, but also try everything else you can get your hands on. You obviously don't know what you need from a guitar, so think about that as well. Make a list of things you want in a guitar, and a list of things that don't matter. A list including these things:

Scale Length
Fret number
Fret size(regular, jumbo, ect)
High fret access
Fretboard radius
Neck thickness
Neck shape/profile
Neck heel/joint
Bridge
Pickup configuration
Shape/style
Wood types

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Axe Murderer

Honestly, owning various guitars is the best Ive found (obviously not economical). How many times have you tried a guitar at a store, it felt good, you loved it. You get it home and then you love deminishes the more time you spend with it. That initial infatuation can be a bitch.

For me, trying only eliminates guitars that I REALLY dont like, but then theres still a huge list of possibles and some those dont pan out months down the road.