I had been playing other guitars(mostly Strat-like) for 26 years before I got my first Les Paul.
To be honest, that is one of the ergonomic things that actually causes me to prefer my humble, lowly Washburn HB-30 to an actual Gibson ES-335.
The Washburn has the pickup selector in the upper bout.
Similar story here. I had played my '74 SG for years before I ever got a Les Paul. And, I had a Stratocaster before the Les Paul. So, you'd think I would have a strong preference for the SG/Strat location for the pickup selector. But, I very quickly took to the switch in the upper bout.
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I guess all changes feel that way initially.
That, I can totally appreciate. That is how I felt when I cradled the massive double necks for the first time...and how switching between the 6 positions, literally gave me six different guitar sounds...
The first thing I notice about a guitar now is how the neck feels. I bought so many guitars because of the name, color, body type and how the thing sounds. All those reasons were wrong. I would turn it into a closet queen of sell it. Now the neck is the key to a happy guitar love affair. My left front paw has feel it and it has to be a fit. Then other stuff I can change.
Session 5
Ambassador of Strings & Wings
I agree! Kev. The neck for me is number one also before anything else. I have the B.C.Rich Eagle1 a nice guitar. I played it at the shop before I purchased, I noticed some difference in the feel of the neck compared to my Godins, but didn't think anything about it. It had a C shaped neck so like my other guitars I started playing it every day , coming into about the sixth week I noticed my hand started hurting badly, so badly I was very concerned. I said to my wife it hurts so bad I'm thinking I wont be able to play any longer. I stopped playing the Rich, the next day I forced myself to play my Godin Strat it hurt but my hand seemed more comfortable. Each day I continued to play it started to get a bit better after day 5 my hand was pretty much back to comfortable. I have to tell you that was one of the happiest times in my Life, I thought I might never play again the pain was that bad. So the Rich is going when I replace with the new one. I certainly learned a lesson from this. if the neck doesn't feel perfect to the way of my understanding , it wont leave the store.
Thank you Grant
You are a man that knows what hurts. It took me a little longer to stop banging my head and it felt great when I stopped. I was at one of my near favorite guitar stores, I saw an EXP that was Japanese and beautiful. Dark blue with gold hardware, Bigsby tremolo and fancy. I normally test guitars unplugged, this thing was perfect. The neck was flat and wide, smell paws won't reach but my hands will grow on the way home. Nope they never did grow in the next two or three years I had this guitar. I traded it in for the normal $200 dollar loss. No I know my paws are as big as they will ever be. Now I got it and my guitars fit. That is it in the photo.
Rory Gallagher said the neck is the most important part of the guitar...
"The neck is the vital part of the sound. People think that the body is the important thing, but it’s not really. If you put a bad neck on a good body the guitar will sound bad, whereas if you put a good neck on an average or even a poor body it will work..."(Rory Gallagher – Strat Masters Interview).
That is odd! He was Irish and I am Irish! We both know where the bottle opens and a guitar begins!
Dude I am impressed! You do foot notes!
I was going to ask you why so serious and I thought everyone loved poppycock? I'm into women so that poppy doesn't matter to me.Not everything I say is poppycock....
I'm similar, but on the opposite end of the spectrum, I guess. I want my guitar necks to each feel different! That's part of the fun of swapping guitars for me. I mean, the main thing is the sound difference, but I enjoy the sense of going back and forth between the different neck profiles and feel of certain guitars.
I said this along the way here that when I test a guitar that I might buy I play it with out an amp. I have no distractions. I played a Les Paul in a nice amp a few years ago and I bought the amp and left the guitar. With no amp I listen to the guitar only. Fret noise and feel, the weight of the guitar.
If I need to I will plug it in, I end up changing the pickups down the road anyway.