Guitar Neck Shapes

Guitar neck shapes can make or break your guitar playing experience. There is a difference in terms of playing comfort from a ‘U’ shape through to a hard ‘V’ shape and of course everyone’s fingers are unique, so learning a little about neck shape is a valuable exercise if you are seeking your perfect guitar.

     Guitar neck shapes vary considerably from thick-necked ‘U’ shapes, which are great for players who employ their thumbs on the back or side of the neck through to a medium ‘V’ shape, which are popular with blues and country players.

     Beyond neck shape, other factors that influence the feel of a guitar neck include; depth, width and radius. Depth is the thickness or the distance from front to back. Width is measured from side to side and usually at the nut. Radius refers to the curvature of the fingerboard and can very much affect playing comfort, especially if you bend strings a lot. The flatter the radius of a neck the easier it will be to bend strings and lower the action.

     So whatever your preference is as regards the neck on your dream guitar, you can now see how all these factors will affect your playing experience. The picture below will give you an idea of what kinds of necks shapes are currently used. Comment below what kind of shape your guitar has and let me know what shape do you prefer.

As always, Sound Theory here, thanks for reading!

Soundboard Wood

Today, I will talk about the most common soundboard wood used and that is the Spruce. This is the most common top wood that could be found in to any music/ guitar store and you will see that at least 80% of the guitars hanging on the walls have some sort of spruce top. The reason for this is that Spruce has a very high strength/weight ratio and it also has a significant amount of elasticity to it. The Function of a guitar top requires a large amount of strength and elasticity which makes spruce the popular option.

Types of Spruce

     As of right now the most common soundboard wood is the Sitka Spruce due to its superior strength and the ability to bend a lot before it actually breaks. The sound is consistent and very appealing to the eye. Spruce has strong articulation and has a great bass response.

Adirondack Spruce

     This spruce is commonly seen on pre-war guitars and is still used today on many high dollar Acoustic’s. The grain patterns and property’s of Adirondack Spruce give it an even higher Elasticity/Strength/Weight Ratio. This is partially due to the wider grain pattern that is common in Adirondack Spruce. By having wider grain Adirondack spruce has more flexibility and elasticity to it making it a more responsive and brighter wood than Sitka spruce. Generally speaking spruce is known for its durability and its clarity. It does not compress or distort when played aggressively. 

Cedar: The finger picking wood

     Cedar is on of the most popular alternatives to spruce. It is softer, not as strong or as elastic as spruce. It is, however, more stable with changes in moisture content. It has a powerful finger style tone with much brilliance and sustain, clarity, and focused bass, with a dry sound. Cedar does have a tendency to compress if you play it aggressively with a flat pick. Cedar is very common on classical guitars but is seen on steal string guitars.

Mahogany and Koa

     When working with warm tone woods it is not uncommon to see guitars built with the same top as the back and sides. This is because the warmer, more elastic woods work as soundboard woods and expand tonal quality. Generally these guitars will have less overall volume due to the less elasticity in the wood but have great variety in tone.

Stay tuned for more posts! Comment below on the type of guitar/soundboard wood that you currently have and what is your favorite guitar!