Best neck for wrist injury?

[PeteeBee]

Anyone have any experience with tendinitis or carpel tunnel? After years I baristaing I have some chronic wrist issue that are flaring up a bit. There is a rig rundown where somebody talks about playing music man guitars because of wrist stuff. I'm doing stretches and what not but it's still being a bit painful.

Anyone have any advice or guitar suggestions?

[Swordfishtrombone]

My left wrist has been messed up since I was 11-12 from an injury, so I'm not sure if this applies. I can't do Ibanez necks (not their thinner/flatter ones, anyway) without it causing my wrist to hurt even more + cramp up, and Epiphone + Gibson necks aren't very comfortable for me, and that's mainly just from how they fit my hand (and effect my wrist as a result), so your mileage may vary. Luckily, the best necks for me (that I've tried anyway) are Fender/Squier necks (9.5" radius fretboards). The only real problem I notice with those is that I can't play barred chords with the root on the low string without severe pain, but it's all good in all other aspects.

While you've probably figured this out, I think it's worth mentioning anyway. Keep your guitar at a reasonable height when playing, preferably where your wrist can mostly be in the position that's most comfortable for it (a big plus with Jaguars for me, since the butt end has enough weight to keep it at a good angle). My wrist barely bends, so having it in a position where it can be kept straight is fantastic. Sadly, this means that sitting is practically impossible for me if I wish to play at the lower end of the neck (mostly an issue with power chords + barred chords that are rooted on the 5th string (interestingly, those don't seem to bother me)).

One last thing is lighter strings. I use 10-52 for C standard, and can't play at all if the strings are heavier. I cramp up and end up with quite a bit of pain if I try to.

[PeteeBee]

I need to try a fender. I have a gibson and I think it's the same for me as for you. It isn't immediately terrible like a full on shredder neck, but it gets painful over time.

I play around with the strap length quite a bit. Seems to help a little if every few days I raise it or lower it a few inches.

Never really thought about string size. I normally play 11s but was considering going back up to 12s.

[Swordfishtrombone]

Yeah, that seems to be my experience with Gibson + Epiphone necks that I've played on. They're just uncomfortable at first, but gradually become painful.

I move mine up and down a little depending on how bad my wrist is at the the time (there's times where it swells up loads and it makes me have to reposition the guitar), but around this is best for me:



Not a great pic, but it should be good enough.

Yeah, I dunno if heavier strings would be good. I'd give it a shot if you were thinking about it, but in my experience, lighter strings = less misery when it comes to my wrist.

[rustywire]

Shortscale Fenders, no doubt. Or clones.
I have a 2 debilitated digits on my fretting hand: index finger and thumb. Radically influences my playing style, as they like to go all rigor mortis on me or feel all arthritis-y from time to time. Cold months are tougher...as are dealing with select precipitation/pressure systems. Tuning down to 432hz-A standard with light-medium strings provides me with a little extra relief. I would even consider going lower but this works for me, for the moment.

[skullservant]

I've started to develop carpel tunnel in both of my wrists, and I really did a number on my wrist a few weeks ago. I hate baseball necks, but a nice solid fender neck profile has been perfect. My EGCs feel very close to Fender with the thicker neck profile

[PeteeBee]

I wonder if I can get a prescription for an egc haha. Might try a mustang. Seems like a good option.

[Bon Hoga]

EGC. I don't admire their business ethics, but those things play themselves.

[Swordfishtrombone]

What's wrong with their business ethics? From what I've seen in the EGC thread, it seems like they take forever to build + send their guitars out, but I figured that was fairly normal for a custom build (especially an aluminum one). Is there more to it than that?

[PeteeBee]

I think it's a little lame that big names go to the front of the wait list, but I guess that's just the way everything is. I saw some interview of a guy playing one and he said he knew multiple more famous musicians that would order one and get theirs ASAP while he waited year for his.

[Swordfishtrombone]

Huh alright. Yeah, that is a bit lame. Not sure if I understand the reasoning behind that or not. I mean, for a not-necessarily-big-name company like EGC, it definitely makes sense to want to market your brand, and big name clients are a great way to do it, but I'd imagine that kind of business practice could end up hurting your base for filthy casuals such as ourselves.

I guess that when you make guitars that are meant to be as awesome as theirs, you can get away with it tho. I know I'd definitely be getting one from them if I could afford it. Meh, maybe for my next major gear purchase, I'll see if the company that's doing Skully's neck for his Jazzmaster can do a 24" for me to put on my Jaguar...

[skullservant]

Matt said that he's taking notes on what people would be interested in but that A) the next time he does a run of them he is making them up front so people don't have to wait and B) he's not going to do bass/baritone/short scale quite yet although eventually he would like to

[cheesecats]

fanned frets

http://www.novaxguitars.com/parts-accessories/necks-guit.html

[ChetMagongalo]

hey dude your wrists and body are probably not the same as others, so you need to find the guitar that is most comfortable for you, regardless of what works for others. also try finding some flaws and inefficiencies in your technique, most people tend to tense up a lot more than they need to do which in the long term will hurt your muscles and tendons. I would try as many different neck profiles as you can. personally I like V shapes, big necks and asymmetrical neck profiles

[SPACERITUAL]

Ive dealt with carpel for about five/six years ago and found the the solution wasn't so much varying the neck thickness as it was the fingerboard radius and nut width. Ive found that with a rounder radius and narrower nut i don't have to "reach" as much or use classical bent wrist posture and that i can play for longer periods of time without experiencing fatigue.

I think it's a little lame that big names go to the front of the wait list, but I guess that's just the way everything is. I saw some interview of a guy playing one and he said he knew multiple more famous musicians that would order one and get theirs ASAP while he waited year for his.

I can tell you first hand this is exactly what happens. I waited a long time for something that ultimately, according to egc, took them less than a day to make. The entire time i was talking to pro musicians who waited a week at most.
There is also the issue that if you ask for a heads up (i called once every three months at most) you will be flat out lied to just to get you off the phone. Then if you email, kevin will feed you the same bullshit "be done in a week".

Huh alright. Yeah, that is a bit lame. Not sure if I understand the reasoning behind that or not. I mean, for a not-necessarily-big-name company like EGC, it definitely makes sense to want to market your brand, and big name clients are a great way to do it, but I'd imagine that kind of business practice could end up hurting your base for filthy casuals such as ourselves.

I think the reason is because kevin owns the company and runs it the way he sees fit. This is not to say he hasn't tried to address these shortcomings but ultimately he does whatever he wants.
If prices were what they used to be id say go ahead and check it out but just don't give him the entire amount before you have confirmation that the guitar is ready, but at the current prices, with he lack of customization that he is currently offering, id say fuuuuck that.

A word on their neck- i thought the super flat profile would be the answer to my ailing wrists and it is in a way if you strap it up really high like you play in poison the well, but if you like playing low-strung forget it.