Wide necked mandolins

[mrchurch]

I previously had a post about being a beginner and having problems with large fingers fitting between the strings. #I have been doing some searching on my own to see what stock mandolins are available with wider necks. #A custom made would be too expensive at this time, so I am looking for a factory made model. I did find out that Gold Tone ( an import, I think ) makes an A model with a neck width at the nut of 1 9/16 and it sells for about $270. #Does anybody know anything about the quality of these mandolins? I guess they are more well known for their banjos. Also the Mid Missouri A models that have 1 1/4 nut widths are a possibility. Does anyone know of others that offer a wider neck as an option? #Any suggestions would be appreciated. #Thanks to all for the encouragement and information.
Michael Church

[ira]

how much is too expensive. though i have short fingers, they are kind of fat and i have minimal flexibility. i have a custom made that was quite reasonable with an extremely wide neck- check out www.kennaquhair.com and speak with/email doug about what you need.

for a stock item, the midmo is a great alternative, as are some early gibson a models if you want vintage.

ira

[Chip Booth]

Breedlove mandolins, at least the Quartz series, which aren't terribly expensive, have a standard nut width of 1-3/16" and a radiused fretboard. I find them to be very compfortable. That's not enormously wide but it's better than most standard widths I think.

Chip

[mandroid]

my martin backpacker feels somewhat wider(30mm@nut) fretboard than the old A4; (measures pretty close though)significantly more than newer F5.
fiddles necks are lots narrower, and still some decent tunes are played by some large hardworkin' hands.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Check out radim zinkle's site, he gets his gear made to his spec and Wide spacing is what he wants, and buys.

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[jasona]

Rigel and Ratcliffs have wider necks

[mrchurch]

Thanks for the responses. I guess I need to get my hands on something with a wider neck and see how it feels.

Michael Church

[doanepoole]

Pre-snakehead Gibsons have wider fingerboards, as well.

I have small fingers, and greatly prefer wider fingerboards, both on mandolin and on guitar. #I can only imagine they might be good for folks with more robust fingers, as well.

[Chip Booth]

Oh and I played a Lawrence Smart recently with a wide neck, probably 1-3/16", just guessing. Nice mandolin!

C

[ira]

michael, one other note. at the bomando fest last weekend, i saw many a guy with big hands, fatter fingers, longer fingers, etc... pickin away on narrow necked mandos. it may just be practice. i took the easy way out and got a wide neck, but i have just the opposite prob. small, stubby, fatter fingers with minimal mobility, and the wide neck helps with minimizing the muting of strings while chording.
the point is, what is right for you as you learn the instrument maybe a wide neck and may not. large fingers don't necessarily translate to a wide neck.

[Big Joe]

I'm 6'5" tall and about 300 pounds with big ole daggum ole hands and play those little tiny necks. Just takes getting used to

[f5joe]

Big Joe is Big Joe, I've shaken his big, meaty hand. I, too, have large filanges and manage to get around on the mando neck. It's all in how you use your tools. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[jlb]

This all seems like a matter of preference...same thing with radiused fingerboards, or the size of frets. Seems like from your experience you enjoy the wider necks.

I would hunt down a Breedlove to try. I enjoy the wider, traditional Gibson neck width of the teens, and Breedloves are close to this width if not the same. They also have a nice radius, which isn't quite as dramatic as, say, a standard Rigel radius. Plus they have larger frets than what is standard on a Gibson. Trying a Breedlove may give you some experience with three distinct charachteristics of the fingerboard: width, radius, and fret size. If you could play one side by side with a Gibson or a Gibson-clone, well you will have your apples and oranges fingerboard-wise, and with some comparison it should be easy to figure which style you prefer.