50s or 60s neck?

Everything that doesn't fit elsewhere
Post Reply
User avatar
elborgo
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:37 pm

50s or 60s neck?

Post by elborgo »

I see a lot of people are discussing this, which size people prefer.

I'm considering buying a les paul gold top standard.. but i'm really confused regarding the neck, as it has a chunky 50s neck. I feel "a bit" more comfortable playing on a slimmer 60s neck...- but the :haha: SALESMAN :haha: told me that it's something I would get used to. He told me that people got upset at first when Gibson introdused the 60s neck, but people liked it eventually.

When I compare the two I feel the difference, I'm a bit more smooth on the 60s neck. But, I REALLY want that goldtop :drool:
Its so pretty :shy:

Any experince with these necks out there?
gt.jpg
gt.jpg (51.32 KiB) Viewed 7723 times
"and if you wanna get high
close to the sky
welcome to the mountains"
User avatar
BadBluesPlayer
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 6:31 pm

Re: 50s or 60s neck?

Post by BadBluesPlayer »

I thought the newer Standards have the assymmetrical neck. Not sure how that compares to a sixties neck, but I didn't think it was supposed to be very thick.

Traditionals have a fifties neck. Traditional Pro's have a sixties neck.

I'm a little confused as far as what exact model it is, but I'm interested to see what the neck differences are between the different les pauls.
User avatar
MikeJackal
Posts: 264
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 10:28 pm

Re: 50s or 60s neck?

Post by MikeJackal »

Like you said its personal preference, i find a strat neck much easier to play than a Les Paul, but i love the Les Paul sound so you learn to get used to it. A good example is Peter Green (who i saw live last month and he was amazing), he sold his '59 Les Paul to Gary Moore because he found the neck very difficult to play because of it's thickness, Gary Moore then had the same trouble so he sold it too, even guitar legends have your same dilemma so don't worry!
"You Only Live But Once, When Your Dead Your Done...So Let The Good Times Roll" - B.B. King
"I'm So Lonesome I Don't Even Have Me No Friend, I've Done So Much Crying Will I Ever Laugh Again" - Peter Green
User avatar
Bluesmole
Posts: 98
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:59 am

Re: 50s or 60s neck?

Post by Bluesmole »

I had a Les Paul Standard with the 60's neck and found it very comfortable. However, I found the finish on the back of the neck very 'sticky' making fast chord changes very difficult. The salesman assured me that this would improve, but after four years, I still found the neck 'difficult'. I was also disappointed with Gibson Quality Control generally, the guitar having cost me £1,300.
I had convinced myself for years that the LP was my dream guitar, but, having exchanged the LP for a 52RI tele 15 months ago, I realised that I am a Fender Man through and through, with one exception: the Yamaha SG2000 (easily better than the LP and slightly cheaper IMO).
Mind you, I'd be tempted with a Gold Top if I could justify the cost one year away from my pension. If you buy it, I hope you have many happy years together! :oldie:
"Big Bill Broonzy, a white boy's inspiration" (1963), and the Blues ever since.
User avatar
elborgo
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:37 pm

Re: 50s or 60s neck?

Post by elborgo »

Thanks for the tips guys =)

Its a 2010 standard goldtop with a "50s neck", thats all i know... at least thats what they tell me.. the one with the sixties neck i'm not so sure of.. could be 08 or 09...

Im going to try it some more tomorrow... I'm really hoping its something i'll adjust to..

the neck feels fine to me, but when i compare it to the 60s i can't help to feel that its easier to play on...
"and if you wanna get high
close to the sky
welcome to the mountains"
User avatar
elborgo
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:37 pm

Re: 50s or 60s neck?

Post by elborgo »

Lynyrd77Skynyrd wrote:Like you said its personal preference, i find a strat neck much easier to play than a Les Paul, but i love the Les Paul sound so you learn to get used to it. A good example is Peter Green (who i saw live last month and he was amazing), he sold his '59 Les Paul to Gary Moore because he found the neck very difficult to play because of it's thickness, Gary Moore then had the same trouble so he sold it too, even guitar legends have your same dilemma so don't worry!

I've heard that the 59' neck was the biggest of the 50s... quite a lot bigger than the "standard"... but i dont know...
"and if you wanna get high
close to the sky
welcome to the mountains"
User avatar
VikingBlues
Posts: 4466
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Re: 50s or 60s neck?

Post by VikingBlues »

I guess that for me there's enough quality guitars around that I can get one with a neck that suits me. So I sort of have to confess ignorance of which sort of necks my guitars have other than the Hagstrom is definately thin, the "tele" copy is also slimmer compare to a Korean Squier Tele I tried, and the Tokai LC is slimmer than some of the Gibsons I tried. So I think my guitars gravitate towards a slimmer neck - I just find the thicker neck damages what little fluency I can manage.

I'm afraid my own neck is gravitating to a chunkier size the more I get into my 50s - I can only hope it'll get magically slimmer when I hit my 60s. :roll:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
Post Reply