A really cool Partscaster that almost worked for me

[pickdropper]

A buddy of mine always seems to put together the best partscasters.  He also has a woeful gear addiction (including pedals) so whenever it comes time for him to shuffle gear, he and I tend to do a bit of horse trading.

Up on the block this time is a really cool, and somewhat unique, telecaster.  In fact, it sounds quite a bit different from a standard Tele.  It has:

- Hollow mahogany body w/flamed maple cap
- 25" scale birdseye/flamed maple neck with rosewood fretboard and Sperzel locking tuners
- Lollar pickups (single tele in bridge, mini humbucker in the neck)
- Glendale bridge

It's a beautiful guitar and it plays really well.  It's a bit brighter sounding in the neck position (I'd consider changing the mini-hum) but it sounds great with the tone control dialed back a bit. I like the bridge with the tone control wide open.

Unfortunately, the neck geometry doesn't work with me.  I've somehow developed some tendinitis in my wrist and my hand starts going numb after a half to an hour of playing.  It's weird because the neck on my R7 is a freaking bat and it doesn't cause me issues, but some necks do.  This is the second one I've come across like that.

I'll probably swing some sort of deal for the guitar sans neck but then the real question will be what to put on it.  I kind of like the idea of an solid rosewood neck, but I might just stick with a maple neck with rosewood board in a form factor that suits my hand a bit better.  It's too bad because the existing neck is just beautiful; it has a cool mix of birdseye and flame.  I suppose I could shave down the existing one, but I doubt I will do that.

This is what the guitar looks like:

[jubal81]

Shazam! That's gorgeous!
Sounds like a great guitar, too. Love the configuration and pickups. I find ball-bat necks much more comfy myself, too.

[GermanCdn]

Yeah, excuse me for a second, I appear to have a guitarection......

Damn you and your sweet trades!  I seriously need to make more local friends with gear (right, like my addicition needs a buddy).

All rosewood baritone neck or roasted maple baritone neck.  The slightly brighter neck would balance well with the extended scale, though I don't know if an extended scale would make the tendonitis worse or not.

[pickdropper]

Shazam! That's gorgeous!
Sounds like a great guitar, too. Love the configuration and pickups. I find ball-bat necks much more comfy myself, too.

Yeah, I like the configuration.  It's different, which is cool.

It's funny, I find that narrow but thick necks don't give me too much of an issue, but wide, thick necks sometimes give me issues.  Standard Fender necks never seem to give me problems, although they can be a bit thin.

[jubal81]

Can't take my eyes off it. Happen to know what he used for finish on the neck? It looks perfect.

[pickdropper]

Can't take my eyes off it. Happen to know what he used for finish on the neck? It looks perfect.

I know it's a USA Custom Guitars neck.  I believe they finished it as well.  It would be their clear gloss finish.  It does look fantastic.  I think the shape is a no go for me, which is really too bad.  It has me seriously considering getting a similar looking neck from them, however.


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[dodgechargerfan]

That's hot!

[john-t-b]

Now that's nice.

[mgwhit]

Unfortunately, the neck geometry doesn't work with me.  I've somehow developed some tendinitis in my wrist and my hand starts going numb after a half to an hour of playing.  It's weird because the neck on my R7 is a freaking bat and it doesn't cause me issues, but some necks do.

Interesting.  Fender "Modern C" necks started giving me similar trouble about eight years ago.  Around that time I played a Baja Tele with a "soft V" neck profile that was the only thing I could stand.  Based on that experience I've used fairly thick "boat" contour necks on my two partscasters, which I've been extremely happy with.  Sorry to hear you're having trouble, but glad you've got something that works for you.

[pickdropper]

Unfortunately, the neck geometry doesn't work with me.  I've somehow developed some tendinitis in my wrist and my hand starts going numb after a half to an hour of playing.  It's weird because the neck on my R7 is a freaking bat and it doesn't cause me issues, but some necks do.

Interesting.  Fender "Modern C" necks started giving me similar trouble about eight years ago.  Around that time I played a Baja Tele with a "soft V" neck profile that was the only thing I could stand.  Based on that experience I've used fairly thick "boat" contour necks on my two partscasters, which I've been extremely happy with.  Sorry to hear you're having trouble, but glad you've got something that works for you.

Yeah, I'm still trying to pinpoint exactly what the cause is.  Fender "Modern C" necks don't cause me any issues, nor does my Callaham, which is a somewhat narrow, very thick strat neck.  My G&L Legacy is a wider, but not super fat neck that hasn't been a problem either.

My suspicion is that wider, thicker necks mess with me because I play a lot of thumb over style and it might be pinching something on my hand.  Narrow but deep necks probably place my thumb in a different position.  I have a pinched nerve (or tendenitis or carpal tunnel or something) in my wrist that causes numbness, so it's more of a case that I know what doesn't work when I come across it.

[wgc]

cool guitar, bummer about the tendinitis.  I did some deep research a long time ago about this, prevention being worth a pound of cure.

Anyway, without seeing how you hold the guitar, or your technique, one idea to think about is the angle the guitar sits on your lap (or strap).

Meaning a small angle change at your elbow or shoulder can also continue down to your wrist, thumb, etc. enough to cause pain after a short time.  Just for grins, try playing with it on your other leg.  It might make it feel worse (I hope not!) but at least it would be another data point.

IMHO though, its likely a combination of neck geometry and the angle thing I just mentioned.  One other possible contributing factor might be the string spacing from the edge, especially if you're fretting notes with your thumb over the top.

Anyway, hope it helps, it sucks to play in pain.

[juansolo]

Unfortunately, the neck geometry doesn't work with me.  I've somehow developed some tendinitis in my wrist and my hand starts going numb after a half to an hour of playing.  It's weird because the neck on my R7 is a freaking bat and it doesn't cause me issues, but some necks do.

Interesting.  Fender "Modern C" necks started giving me similar trouble about eight years ago.  Around that time I played a Baja Tele with a "soft V" neck profile that was the only thing I could stand.  Based on that experience I've used fairly thick "boat" contour necks on my two partscasters, which I've been extremely happy with.  Sorry to hear you're having trouble, but glad you've got something that works for you.

The Baja neck is the Goldilocks neck for me too. Had all the custom stuff carved with a similar profile afterwards.

[pickdropper]

I decided to get this with the current neck.  I'll play it for a few months and see how it works for me.  If I don't adapt well to it, I'll replace it with something else and sell it.

It is on the larger side.  I measure the thickness at a bit over an inch at the 12th fret.  It's a really nice neck.  Hopefully I can make it work.


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[jubal81]

I'd love having this thing around just to look at. Easily one of the classiest Teles I've ever seen.

[mandrewbot3k]

Gorgeous guitar. I'm a sucker for Macassar Ebony Fretboards. So look into those if you want to replace.


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