50's vs 60's (Old topic I know) but new to me!

[chrose1201]

So... in my quest for a new to me LP, I have been looking at a bunch of different ones. But one thing I shied away from was anything with a fat 50's neck. I had an early 70's Firebird with the baseball bat neck and did not like it at all!
Now having been a Strat, EBMM & Ibanez player for the last 25+ years or so I really like the slim, fast necks, so naturally I was drawn to the slim taper. However I went to GC today just to choose between the slim taper of the Classic and the asymmetrical of the Trad Pro V. I asked the guy if they had any 50's necks and the only thing they had was an Epiphone with the rounded C neck. Well color me shocked! I found the Rounded C neck to be really comfortable and in an odd way it seemed more natural. So now I have to add guitars with a 50's neck to my search!

So are there any differences in the 50's necks, or are they all the same?What do you guys like in the way of the 50's necks? Thanks

 

[DaveSG]

Epiphone necks are drastically different from their Gibson counterparts. I've always found the Gibby necks more comfy, but maybe it is all in my head.

If you are considering a 50s Standard, definitely go put your hands on one first. Each neck is going to be a little different from guitar to guitar, but it will get you in the ballpark. I ordered mine sight unseen and I love the neck on it. It is a medium thickness, not HUGE thickness, with medium shoulders. It feels great. and never think about it when I play, which means it is doing what it is supposed to be doing.

 

[sonar1]

I was traumatized by the fat clumsy neck on my first guitar:

So always wanted the slimmest most supple neck as I grew up.

But Byrdland Gibsons were $pendy!
And pinner necked Peaveys were ridiculously small.

As I got older I began to notice it wasn’t the size of neck that made them seem fast: it was how precision the frets were: even on a thicker neck.

I’ve enjoyed bigger necks since then.
The current production medium C, or ‘50’s, aren’t as big as my Slash Standard, which is very much like an R9 CS I had.

If you look at Wildwood guitar porn, they generally list the neck specs.
0.92 - 1.00” is fat. When they’re 0.79 - 0.85, they’re in the ‘60’s range.

 

[GrecoGibson]

Would be best if you could try each kind ... I personally like the chunky 50s neck..

 

[Oranjeaap]

For me there is 2 important factors when it comes to neck size:
1) How comfy / natural does it feel in your hand?
2) How well does it suit my playing?

I discovered that for me, fatter necks are more comfortable to play, but also inhibit my playing.
I have weird small hands, and short fingers, for someone that is 6 ft 2 tall. On fat necks I just can't play the same stuff, I need a thin neck to really bring out my best playing.

So, one time I bought a crazy nice Fender Anniversary 54 reissue strat with a huge fat neck (one of the biggest Fender ever offered according to the forums). That guitar looked so nice, it sounded INSANE, the neck felt so great, I was in love so I had to buy it.
Few days and some hours of playing later, I was like "well shit, fck me, I can hardly play anything on this thing". Can't do thumb over chords, can't play lead the way I normally do. Yep open chords and barre chords felt nice but that was about it.
So ye, lesson learned for me, big necks feels nice the first time, but they are not marriage material
( insert 'that's what she said' joke here )

 

[musicmaniac]

Unless you're willing to try them stick with what you like.

 

[Dark Horse]

I found the Gibson 50s neck to be very chunky personally. I could get used to it but also preferred the sound of the 60s so went with that.

 

[chrose1201]

Boy this is a toughie. I am going to the HOG this morning and trying out a 50's. I'll bring my strap so I have a sense of what it will feel like in a regular playing situation and then plug 'er in. No matter which way I go it will be a different experience. But I think it's time for a different experience. Like Oranjeaap said "( insert 'that's what she said' joke here ) "

 

[MP4-22]

Boy this is a toughie. I am going to the HOG this morning and trying out a 50's. I'll bring my strap so I have a sense of what it will feel like in a regular playing situation and then plug 'er in. No matter which way I go it will be a different experience. But I think it's time for a different experience. Like Oranjeaap said "( insert 'that's what she said' joke here ) "

How did it go ?

 

[chrose1201]

How did it go ?

Well DavesSG was right. Near as I can tell there was a definite difference between the Epi and the Gibson neck. I played it for awhile and while it was very nice it just didn't seem to sit that well in my hand. I had surgery last year on my fingering hand index finger and the pulley just below the finger in the palm. And while it is much improved the fatter neck feels a little tiresome. I did see a detail showing a 60's slim taper, a 50's and a 59 neck over top of each other and the 59 was right in the middle. They had a Custom Shop 59 and it really was right in the middle. It was great, however I can't see myself paying $4500-$6999 just to get a 59 neck. Can't justify it. So maybe just stick with the 60's Standard. Although GC had an interesting 2021 Tri-Burst Standard for $2499 with 48 months no interest! Of course they have an Epi 59 for a fraction of the price But even if I swapped the electronics it would still say Epiphone at the headstock and not Gibson