traditional style 00-21 has too wide a neck

[tony]

i've had a 00-21 style made a few years ago.
really nice sounding guitar, great player, but
don't know why, had the neck width made 1 7/8, with a relatively low profile neck shape.
always felt it was too wide too handle and after coming back to it after a year or so, definitely feel it's too wide, by up to an 1/8th.
it's unbound.
how invasive is making it narrower?
last thing we want is to wreck it....

[Jim Bancroft]

It's possible, but, what I would suggest is present the idea to the Luthier that built the guitar and get his opinion.

Jim

[Ronnie Nichols]

This is definitely a repair that can be done. Since there is no binding to deal with, you're free to shape it to fit your hand . You'll have to make a new nut but it can be done. In the past, I've reshaped some guitar necks and made 5 string banjo-type necks on some acoustic guitars. I was able to reshape them without removing any frets. I'd suggest covering the fretboard with masking tape and marking a line down both sides so you will have an idea how much you have removed. It would be good to find a guitar that is the width you like and copy the measurements onto this neck. I'd also recommend stringing the guitar and feeling of the neck several times during the process. This will give you some accurate feedback on what you have accomplished. A good wood rasp will remove the wood and fret at the same time. You'll need to refinish the neck. If you are not equipped to spray on a finish, some of the wipe-on Poly finishes might work for you. You'll also need to smooth the fret ends and the edge of the fingerboard to give it the proper feel. The side position dots will probably need to be redone, depending on how deep the original ones are. You may need to check the truss rod after removing the wood. This may change the neck relief slightly since the amount of wood remaining will be less. Frets.com would be a good place to get some great tips for some of the operations involved. I hope your repair goes well.
Ronnie Nichols

[Jim Bancroft]

You forgot to mention that you have to remove the guitar neck from the body, as the entire length of the fretboard needs to be narrowed too.

Jim

[tony]

thanks for that fellows.

i have contacted the luthier but haven't heard back as yet,
so thought i'd arm myself with other opinions.

so ron, the neck removal would be inevitable?

re the bridge, it's a hand made pyramid one,
would a new one need to be made, as the new saddle width
wouldn't line up with the holed for the ball end?

tony

[Ronnie Nichols]

It is possible to narrow the nut end without narrowing the other end. The bridge end of the scale may not be any wider than what you desire. As Jim says, it would be hard to narrow the lower end with the neck attached to the body.
Ronnie Nichols

[thefishinmusician]

Possibly just removing the fingerboard, do the neck narrowing......Reglue fingerboard...Trim fingerboard to match neck...Definate touch up on the top of the guitar...My 2 scents...Good luck!

[Rick Homan]

Here's a thought: start by making a new nut of the width you desire: 1-3/4". Put it in place and mount the first and sixth strings. With 1 and 6 in place and attached to the bridge, you will see what needs to be removed from the fingerboard on each side.

The portion to be removed will be about 1/16" on each side at the nut, but will gradually taper. The portion to be removed will be a very long thin wedge. It would be a mistake to remove 1/16" on each side all the way down the fingerboard when you are leaving the original bridge in place.

I would want to see this and draw the new edges on the fingerboard before deciding how to do the cutting. And, this is easily reversible: just put the original, 1-7/8" nut back.

[Rick Homan]

I should have said, at the end of the second paragraph: I have made this mistake!

[Bob Webster]

Best suggestion so far. It will also allow Tony to evaluate whether or not the string spacing change at the nut is going to work for him. This is important because there's alot at stake; The right job is to mark as Rick suggests and, if the right hand (bridge spacing) still works okay, then remove the neck, taper the fingerboard, blend the neck profile to it, and then refinish the thing. It's a ton of work for a change that may or may not be worth it in playability. After all that, of course, one must refit the neck with the right action, etc.

[mike carne]

The guitar was made to your spec"like a 0021"-which has the wider neck.Couldn't you just modify your playing position a bit by placing your thumb more in the middle of the neck-almost a classical style.This style of guitar is usually thought of as a fingerpicker,but Peter Rowan and Norman Blake play Bluegrass on them.

[tony]

thanks for the commonsense post mike, i know what you mean..
ande before i decide to send it off to be changed, i will do that.
my proficiency level doesn't allow me many options for easy changes of playing positions,
but i'll certainly try!
the spec for this one was a little untested as i hadn't done any realtime on the wider necks
before this one, and the luthier didn't provide one for me to try.
plus, as i'm more into mandolin now, the extreme width just feels wrong..

anyway will see how i go.

[mike carne]

Okay,Tony,
The two guys I mentioned play mandolin as does Steve Earle,who has taken to wider neck guitars of
late.
Cheers,Mike.