Neck thickness query?

Icelander53

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Lets say you had a ukulele that had a thin neck and you preferred a thicker neck for playing ease. (Not talking about nut width here but the fatness of the whole neck)

What could you or would you do to change that without getting rid of your uke or having a whole new neck installed? Any funky fix ideas that have worked for you?
 
I was just looking over my ukes and thinking this same thing. I always wondered why i loved my cheap makala tenor so much more than any other more expensive solid wood ukes and i really think its been thickness of the neck. Its a shame because i just received a really nice solid koa tenor that is just to uncomfortable for me! I dont have a clue how to make a thin neck thick but what are some examples of brands with thicker necks anyone know? Not trying to hijack the thread just another question along the same lines!
 
I was just looking over my ukes and thinking this same thing. I always wondered why i loved my cheap makala tenor so much more than any other more expensive solid wood ukes and i really think its been thickness of the neck. Its a shame because i just received a really nice solid koa tenor that is just to uncomfortable for me! I dont have a clue how to make a thin neck thick but what are some examples of brands with thicker necks anyone know? Not trying to hijack the thread just another question along the same lines!

I have heard that the neck effects the sound quality if the instrument. Otherwise I'd build up the back of the neck with some kind of material and tape it. But I wanted to hear from some others first. That might be a really bad idea. ;) The good part is it's not permanent as long as you can clean it up without marring the finish later on.
 
I haven't really run into any ukes that felt uncomfortable to me in terms of neck thickness, nut width, etc. Probably because there are so many stringed instruments in my house of various sizes and shapes. Switching between my Kamaka soprano (which has a really thin neck, but I'm used to it because it was my only uke for a while) and a Jazz Bass and a classical guitar and everything in between has pretty much conditioned me to tolerate almost everything out there. On a uke I don't think any neck shape/thickness/width would be a deal-breaker if I liked everything else about it.
 
Feed it chocolates, donuts, pasta, cakes and cream pies. Worked for me over the winter. More around the waste then the neck, but my collars are kinda tight so maybe.................;)
 
A friend of mine had a 10 string classical guitar with a neck that was too thin for him. He planed the back of the neck flat, and glued another piece of wood onto the back of the neck. The neck was then reshaped to his liking.
 
Feed it chocolates, donuts, pasta, cakes and cream pies. Worked for me over the winter. More around the waste then the neck, but my collars are kinda tight so maybe.................;)

So do I just mush them up and smear it on the neck and then let it dry? Then I assume you sand it and put some varnish on it.
 
I actually tend to find thick necks harder to play. A while ago I went to HMS to pick up a Gretsch (which sound and look great), but I couldn't deal with the neck thickness,
 
It would really help if vendors gave us more info, just like catalogs used to. Now they leave out some of the most basic of information, let alone neck measurements. Oscar Schmidt - I believe it is - has a "wide-neck" model tenor. How wide? No one says.
I have baritone with a 1 1/2" wide neck, & one with a 1 3/8" neck. Both are 7/8" thick, but, of course, have different curves. I do business locally with someone who uses a tool in some of his brief videos (mostly guitars) to show the neck shape, but he doesn't go into detail, unless you contact him.
... Sample:

1936 Dobro http://youtu.be/PcaEuRoHlyg

You can get used to different necks. The Fluke is just plain weird compared to my other ukes, but I learned to like it because it has so much else going for it. If you are like me, when you first pick up a new uke, you may be looking at the top, but you are feeling the neck.
... But I can't give you any good advice, because I don't know what I would do in your situation.
 
I agree with dickadock. More info would be great as many of us have to buy online. I also wish they'd specify string spacing. People often confuse this with nut width. I find some ukes regardless of the nut width have strings that bit too close together (or very occasionally too far apart.)

Back to the OP though..it sounds like such a big job it might be easier to sell the ukulele on and find a brand that suits you (maybe Pono.)?
 
I was thinking of somehow bonding another piece of wood to give it more girth. I have a KPK tenor with quite a thin neck, but it is very comfortable to play. Then again, my cigar box soprano has just a square neck that hasn't been shaped very much and it hurts my thumb after about 20 minutes. I've learned to adjust how I hold the neck when I'm playing that uke.
 
Ice, I have never, personally, heard of a way to thicken the neck without disfiguring the uke. Suggest resale, which should be quite feasible as almost everyone I know prefers a thinner, "faster" neck, and then buy that thicker necked instrument that you adore.

I used to like ukulele necks like I like necks on women: thick and firm. Think women named Gertrude, and ukes named Pono.

After playing thinner necked ukes, like a tenor vintage Martin, I have come around to a new appreciation of thin. Although I am a sop and alto scale player, I don;t mind a tenor scale with a thin, graceful neck.

So, to answer your original query, if you like thick necks, you may have to sell that Audrey Hepburn necked instrument and buy yourself a Kathy Bates.

audrey-hepburn-024.jpg
kathy-bates.jpg
 
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I second the Gretsch. My husband's Gretsch tenor is nice, not too thick, but easy to hold and navigate.

I really like the neck on my Gretsch Tenor but went into a local music store this weekend and picked up a Gretsch Soprano and the neck seemed much thinker than my tenor.
 
Ice, I have never, personally, heard of a way to thicken the neck without disfiguring the uke. Suggest resale, which should be quite feasible as almost everyone I know prefers a thinner, "faster" neck, and then buy that thicker necked instrument that you adore.

I used to like ukulele necks like I like necks on women: thick and firm. Think women named Gertrude, and ukes named Pono.

After playing thinner necked ukes, like a tenor vintage Martin, I have come around to a new appreciation of thin. Although I am a sop and alto scale player, I don;t mind a tenor scale with a thin, graceful neck.

So, to answer your original query, if you like thick necks, you may have to sell that Audrey Hepburn necked instrument and buy yourself a Kathy Bates.

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View attachment 66732

Thanks for the great advice and that presentation. lol

After reading all the replies I'm going to take a second look at Audrey. Since I'm involved in uke polygamy I think variety might just be the spice I'm needing in my life after all. Thanks for giving me a new perspective.

This forum rocks. I have yet to feel I have not been helped greatly in any thread I've started.
 
I agree with dickadock. More info would be great as many of us have to buy online. I also wish they'd specify string spacing. People often confuse this with nut width. I find some ukes regardless of the nut width have strings that bit too close together (or very occasionally too far apart.)

Back to the OP though..it sounds like such a big job it might be easier to sell the ukulele on and find a brand that suits you (maybe Pono.)?

My GF just bought a PONO from one of the members here. She has very small hands but I have convinced her that a Tenor really suits her style. Surprisingly she loves the thicker neck and is making it work. It strung with Aquila reds and sounds very awesome especially picked. I'd love a PONO but $1200 is still a little rich for my blood. She got a great deal on this one however for $850 and I swear it looks brand new. She's thrilled of course and I got points for finding it for her. I just wish I had her bank account. :drool:
 
I have heard that the neck effects the sound quality if the instrument. Otherwise I'd build up the back of the neck with some kind of material and tape it. But I wanted to hear from some others first. That might be a really bad idea. ;) The good part is it's not permanent as long as you can clean it up without marring the finish later on.

Not sure about the thickness of the neck significantly affecting sound quality unless one accepts the notion that enhanced sustain constitutes better quality.

I have a National Estralita round neck guitar with a rather thick neck that was so designed in order to drag out serious sustained Delta Blues notes, and it does so with impunity. When I play it, I think about the neck thickness for a few minutes and then forget about it. Much the same as I do going back and forth between tenor ukes that have thin vs. thick necks.

Given the sustain effect I hear with my thick neck guitars, as compared to ones with thin necks (other than the resonator National, not that much), I would doubt that two ukes with the same body but one with a thin and the other with a thick neck would sound much different. The sound box ain't all that big, nor as there that much of a difference in mass between thin and thick necks. I would think that decay would be similar with both instruments.

Sounds like a lab test is in order.
 
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