so today I finished up carving the neck and sanding it out....
carving, shaping, sculpting, you can choose the verb that fits best, but the neck is what joins the instrument with the player. The feel of the neck can come in many shapes, round like a Louisville Slugger, flat like an electric guitar from the 80's, "V" shaped like a vintage Strat or somewhere in between.
whatever the shape, it needs to fit the players technique and style. for me, I like the flat back thin profile necks from the 80's the reason... That was the shape of the first guitar I ever played and I've tried to reproduce that feel on the instruments I create.
For this particular instrument, I went outside of my "Comfort Zone" so to speak and made a neck that has a broader profile with a little bit of a shoulder... thinking about it, shoulders were really big... I mean REALLY BIG in the 80's so this make sense.
when I create the profile, I find myself removing material, closing my eyes and run my fretting hand up and down the necks shaft. if I feel something irregular, I make adjustments and repeat... I literally feel the feel of each instrument until I arrive at the final... well feel of the neck.
Feel is a big thing when it comes to building instruments, feeling the braces so that they can generate the desired tone, flexing the tops for the same reason. Too soft, and the tone is muddy, too stiff, and the top is too punchy. its a delicate process and balancing act, but in the end the final result is... well,
TONALLY AWESOME!
