Shaved Neck

[palmerfralick]

We all have read how some of the old guys like Page and Walsh had the necks of their bursts shaved down. If I decided the reshape the back contour of my R8 is that a big deal? what's an approximate price to take an R8 down to a slimmer R9 profile? Thanks in advance. And no I don't want to sell it and get an R9.

 

[ARandall]

I can understand that you might think that you have an awesome guitar and its a keeper and therefore its better to shave than to replace.
But keep in mind that there is a chance that the only reason why its a great guitar is that the neck is really thick. Another thought to consider is that it might also become more prone to weather related instability.

Where are you located?? If you give responders that then it might help with getting meaningful estimates as shipping will be an important aspect here. And its not a job for just anyone - so you'll need to select your luthier carefully.

Be aware that you'll need a whole neck shaft strip and respray, and that if sold at any point in the future then you'll lose out at that point too.

 

[palmerfralick]

I live in Atlanta.

 

[moreles]

It is amazingly easy to mess up a neck even though the job seems to be, and actually is, pretty straightforward. I've made innumerable necks from scratch, but that's a different story as you have a full mass of material from which to begin, which is way difference from working on something where some dimensions may already be spot on even though you might need to remove mass from elsewhere. I'm sure it's do-able, but I'll bet that the majority of attempts do not turn out for the better. But I have no idea of your skill level, and maybe this is right in your wheelhouse. As A Randall points out, it's easy to create instability or other problems if you make an extreme change or move too much material. Again, you may have the skill and judgment to avoid this. In any case, I sure do understand the attraction of making a custom shape ideal for you, but my approach has been to find that in the guitars I buy (I don't build these days -- no shop) rather than retrofitting.

 

[judson]

i dont have an idea of cost but shop around and get some opinions and cost.

whoever you chose to to do the work, they better have the skills but the biggest concern is to be aware of the depth of the truss rod so not to take off too much and expose the rod.

i bought a 71 LP Deluxe with a shaved neck online and it plays great.

real simple...did you buy it to play or did you buy it to worry about how much you can sell it for some day ...

it may or may not affect the value in the future ......so do what you want

do you buy new furniture and put those see thru plastic covers on it so it doesnt get worn....

 

[rabidhamster]

I shaved the neck on my acoustic for the cost of a utility razor and a couple afternoons.

Of course I’d charge someone else a lot more than that.

 

[jvin248]

.

You'll cut the value of your guitar in half with that mod. While that is generally not a problem when people want to do these things, it becomes a problem when they need cash later for an emergency or when they have their eye on a new guitar and want to sell the modified one to get them there.

Check out another guitar brand for different skinny neck shapes, like shredder guitars, and see if that is what you want for certain or just buy one of those for the 'thin and fast' experience. Ibanez has those 'wizard' necks. Squier necks are pretty skinny. You can buy one for cheap and play or even mod that for low risk.

Buy a used Epiphone Special and practice carving without exposing the truss rod before you tackle the expensive guitar.

One of these forums showed pictures where someone shaved down their guitar neck and cut into the truss rod cavity "what do I do now?".

.

 

[pavel]

We all have read how some of the old guys like Page and Walsh had the necks of their bursts shaved down.

The story also says that it's the same guitar -- Jimmy already got it with a slim neck from Joe. He may have left the neck as is for all we know, had it not come his way already modified.

 

[diogoguitar]

not advocating for or against the idea, but one thing to consider if you decide to move forward is to shave just the taper/shoulders and leave the overall thickness intact.

I was surprised how my Standard 60's felt so much thinner with only 0.04" thinner at the 12 fret. I mean, technically 0.04" is not much considering the overall 0.96" overall thickness , but I'll tell you with slimmer shoulders, it feels A LOT thinner.

 

[hamerfan]

Up to now i shaved 5 necks so far but not the thickness in the first frets, only shoulders. I like v necks which feel so much thinner than a c neck. I like a very slight taper up to the 7 th fret. You must know what you are doing before you start.
A whole makeover with a new finish is costly but it helps to keep the value.

 

[pshupe]

You will be amazed how much thinner the neck feels by just shaving down the sholders. Going from a D to a C or to a V. No worries about hitting the truss rod either.

Regards Peter.

 

[charlie chitlins]

We all have read how some of the old guys like Page and Walsh had the necks of their bursts shaved down.

Odd...Joe has hands the size of bath mats.
You wouldn't think he'd shave a neck.

 

[Brek]

I did wonder about having my V2 done to match the ‘number one’ profile, but decided it was a non starter, for one the shape is really weird, it thins in the middle of the neck and back out at either end, personally I think the guy that did it for Joe ****** up, and for two it would kill resale after seeing what most people on here opine bout modding anything beyond the removable stuff. That being said what I would like to do (but won’t) would be to remove the ‘shoulder’ from the lower half only as that would suit the joint where my left hand index finger joins the hand, for some reason its a pressure point on a thin neck, but not on a fat neck. Weird huh? I suppose if I build one that’s not a complete dog, I could do it to that one.