Slope shouldered dread

[swainsong]

I played a thin 1-11/16 dread for over 35 years before switching to the Larrivee SD-50. (I'm too far gone now to ever go back.) My hands don't feel big, but other folks insist they are. Nevertheless the wide nut intimidated me. Took three trips to play it in the store before I dropped the dough and brought it home. While the proper technique is, of course, to place your thumb behind the neck rather than around it, which is why one's hand size shouldn't correlate to their nut size, I'm a thumb wrapper kind of player and so have developed quite the callous (and often painful pressure point) on the outside of my thumb joint.

I have since discovered the reason why this is so, and the remedy to fix it. Larrivee CNC's his necks – that is, they are cut to shape six at a time by a computer guided machine – and then the fretboards are glued on. This techniques creates a ridge where the two pieces meet, which actually makes the neck feel bigger than it really is, and that ridge is causing my thumb grief. I realized this was so when I played a 1-7/8 hand carved neck that felt much smaller and did not pinch the pressure point I've developed on my thumb. Whether your mind can tell the difference or not, your body can sense the most minute tolerances in such things.

What makes a hand made neck feel better in the hand is that once the desired shape and overall thickness has been achieved with a spoke shave, you then sand the neck to its final dimensions. And you do so with a piece of belt paper with a shoe shining motion, which keeps the radius of the neck true right to the top edge of the fretboard thus eliminating the ridge where it was glued on.

Once I have a second instrument to play (either the neck reset on my Tak or finish building the  one I'm working on now) I'm going to perform this technique on my SD-50. Shouldn't take more than an hour to get the result I'm after, but the refinishing is going to be tricky. Haven't decided to respray it, or attempt to blend a French polish into the finish on the heel and headstock - but I'm leaning towards the latter procedure, which will take at least a week between coats and to allow for a final hardening. And I'll be able to add to it or allow it to wear to my heart's content over the coming years. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.