Neck Width

[William2]

I own two Larrivee guitars. One has a 1-13/16" width and the other has a 1-11/16" spacing. I have no problem with either width. The necks on each instrument are so comfortable I didn't even notice the difference until I looked at the specs. Is the wider spacing becoming the norm? I see players commenting that they prefer the wider neck. This is particularly the case in the Martin 15 series instruments. Some people are buying the 000-15SM because it is the only offering in that series with the wider neck. Is the narrower nut width designed for players who use their thumb for the bass strings instead of barring? I'm thinking about one last guitar and trying to decide on this spec.

[jpmist]

I had a LSV-11 once with a 1 13/16" width neck where I could definitely tell it was different from my other 1 3/4" guitars.

It was mostly the "C" shape chord where that 3rd finger had to go just a few mm more to fret cleanly on the A string where I noticed it. I'm on AGF a lot and I hadn't picked up on any groundswell for wider necks, but maybe I just didn't read those posts. But you may be on to something about the thumb access working better with thin necks.

[B0WIE]

Wider tends to allow for cleaner solo work. I think many people are looking for more than just strumming guitars these days so that may be why wider spacings are growing in popularity. Granted, there's plenty of people who will play everything on an 11/16 spacing but I know I definitely can't.  13/16 is ideal for me and I'm really glad to see more of these guitars becoming available in recent years. When I'm shopping I definitely see the trend. The narrower width keeps me from buying a lot of older guitars. Far fewer 13/16 guitars 15+years ago. At least, in the boutique market. I don't really follow what Martin or Taylor do.

[William2]

So maybe for resale it would be an advantage to go with the wider nut width. I can't really notice a big difference in the width my instruments. I will say I do prefer the SD-40RW with its 15-inch lower bout and the 12-fret body connection.  Perhaps this is due to playing classical guitar when I was young and then switching to playing an 8-course lute which had the same nut width as the 6-string classical guitar. I have noticed that Furch makes all their instruments with a 1-3/4-inch Nut width. You can request a narrower nut if you wish. Maybe Martin doesn't offer the 15 series with a 1-3/4-inch nut (except for the 000-15SM) for some authenticity reason? I was watching Tommy Emmaneul this morning. He really uses that left hand thumb on those base strings. I wonder if he uses a smaller neck, if his hands are that big, or both LOL.

[teh]

I think we were given an opposable digit (thumb) for a reason. To handle those bass notes when a barre chord won't do it.

I seem to have no problem on neck widths but neck profiles are another story. I pretty much like everything but a V or Modified V but there are lots of players good and great who won't settle for anything less than a V.

[B0WIE]

So maybe for resale it would be an advantage to go with the wider nut width. I can't really notice a big difference in the width my instruments. I will say I do prefer the SD-40RW with its 15-inch lower bout and the 12-fret body connection.  Perhaps this is due to playing classical guitar when I was young and then switching to playing an 8-course lute which had the same nut width as the 6-string classical guitar. I have noticed that Furch makes all their instruments with a 1-3/4-inch Nut width. You can request a narrower nut if you wish. Maybe Martin doesn't offer the 15 series with a 1-3/4-inch nut (except for the 000-15SM) for some authenticity reason? I was watching Tommy Emmaneul this morning. He really uses that left hand thumb on those base strings. I wonder if he uses a smaller neck, if his hands are that big, or both LOL.

1 3/4 seems to be the most accepted size. When you go larger or smaller you start to alienate some buyers. So, strictly from a resale standpoint, that's your safest bet. I'd go with whatever you personally prefer though.

[bobjtx]

As a large player, starting on small ukuleles, then classical guitar, then steel string guitar, what I have found, for me, is that body size, hand size and fingertip size all have a part to play in finding an instrument that is best suited to the player, especially for fingerpicking vs strumming.  I favor wider nut widths and string spacing due to the size of my finger tips.  While I have extra lage size hands, the most important factor in the equation for me, is the size of my large fingertips.

Too narrow a nut & string spacing, and my middle and sometimes ring fingertips will touch an adjacent string when fretting OR when the string vibrates side-to-side.  For example, I can many times play a 1 7/8" neck width steel string easier than the 2" nylon classical, because even though I don't touch an adjacent string when fretting, the larger stretch / side-to-side vibration of the nylon string causes the string to touch an adjacent finger! 

All this is to say that guitar neck width / string spacing should be appropriate for the player's hands.  I am convinced this is why some people like one size over another.  Can a player play either size? ... Yes, but one size will be better optimized for the player than another size.  It really perplexes me that guitar companies still focus on strumming / rhythm focused guitar designs that favor players with smaller fingertips or hands.  That is changing, but very very slowly.

I look forward to the day one can walk into a guitar shop, have them measure your hands / arms, and then size you up for the "right size" guitar based on your preferred playing style (finger pick, strumming, or combination), and then let you buy the guitar of your choice in the size that is best optimized for you.  We can do this somewhat today with custom orders, but the industry really isn't setup for this with 1+ year wait times for customizations.  Taylor somewhat addresses this with the ability to order a different bolt on neck size, without going full custom.  Just my thoughts on this.

[Queequeg]

With very few exceptions, electrics are 1 & 11/16 at the nut.
Lots of clean, articulate players.

And, again with very few exceptions classical guitars are between 1.875″(47.6mm) and -2.04" (51.81mm).
And I see these little kids on youtube and well...

[William2]

Just my thoughts on this matter. When I was young and studied classical guitar, I owned a wide neck Pena instrument, and it had a very long string length. Over time my hand adapted to this, and I was able to make big stretches. When I became interested in the lute, I found the distance between the courses much closer than on the classical guitar. And the repertoire didn't include many of the large stretches you find in some of the classical guitar repertoire. And my hand over time became adept at contractions and working in cramped situations. I think you just have to adapt to the instrument and its neck. I notice how differently classical guitarists will finger a chord compared with say an electric guitarist using a thinner neck.

[Silence Dogood]

It's funny, I've been playing for 30 years and reading guitar forums for over 20 of those.  I've heard "nut width" talked about a lot and never took the time to understand or even investigate it... till today.  I got out my scale ruler and measured the nut on my D03BW: it's an inch and 3/4.  Is this normal?  I've played many guitars over the years in shops and never notice string spacing, unless it's a classical guitar and obviously different.