Can anyone tell me if the different necks have different string spacing? Also how would they compare to a MiM standard tele?
I have a tele as my main guitar right now and like the fact my fat fingers seem to do pretty well with it. I have a worry that I might struggle with a different guitar having played my current one for so long.
Thanks!
A little struggle will make you a better guitar player...More versatileOriginally Posted by Desperado
String spacing at the bridge on all PRS guitars is identical to the MIM Fenders. In fact, most guitars have the same string spacing at the bridge. The Fender American vintage style tremolo is the anomaly: it has a wider string spacing, which I find uncomfortable, so I totally get where you're coming from.
HOWEVER, string spacing at the nut will differ due to nut width. With the exception of the Pattern Regular neck shape, most PRS necks will be wider at the nut. If you have large fingers, this will probably be a good thing, especially since the shorter scale length of a PRS means that the frets are closer together than on your Tele. I grew up playing Squiers and Japanese Fender Strats and my personal experience is that the wider nut width and shorter scale length of my PRS cancel each other out.
Last edited by Sage; 02-27-2013 at 08:59 AM.
Thanks for the replies.
Blue fade - I totally get your point, but unfortunately my fingers are sausages and I really struggle with Gibson guitars for example as their spacing feels terribly tight.
Sage - Thanks for a concise reply, I appreciate it. I have a SE singlecut on its way so I will soon be able to feel for myself. I am however feeling a lot more positive after reading your post.
I think the SE I'm getting has a wide fat neck so I was hoping for it to be similar to my Tele.
Well, if Gibsons give you a hard time, then the good news is that the SE Singlecut should be a little easier for you to handle. The bad news is that it will still be closer to a Gibson than a Tele.
Most Gibsons have the same nut width as the wide-fat neck you'll be getting. Your SE Singlecut has a 25" scale length as opposed to the 24.75" scale length of most modern Gibsons and the 25.5" scale length of your Tele. So the frets won't be quite as close together as they are on a Gibson. Hopefully that will be enough room to be comfortable.
I'll be interested to hear what you think once you've played it. My fingers aren't especially fat but I have similar frustrations with Gibsons, so this is a subject that I've put a lot of research and thought into.
The scale length isn't something I've given much thought to until you mentioned it. I realised of course that it would be slightly shorter, but didn't equate that to less room between the frets...though clearly it's obvious when pointed out. Shouldn't be an issue. Will let you know how it goes. Delivery should be tomorrow so will update here once I've had some time to play a bit.
Nut width: MIM Std Tele = PRS Wide Fat = Gibson. Each is 1 11/16" wide. The PRS Regular neck is slightly narrower, but not as narrow as vintage Fender.
Saddle spacing: MIM Std Tele is 2 1/8" vs 2 1/16" used by PRS and Gibson. Vintage Strat style is 2 7/32".
The SE Singlecut will have a tiny bit less room, but probably not a big deal. FWIW, I switch from modern Tele necks to PRS W/F necks regularly with no issues.
--Garrett--
This is incorrect. The MIM Std Tele has a 1.650" nut width and 2 1/16" saddle spacing. The SE Singlecut will be the same at the bridge and wider (1.6875") at the nut. As I said, you may find the wider nut width compensates for the reduced scale length. That has been my experience.
It's the American Standard guitars that have a 1 11/16" nut width.
2 1/8" saddle spacing is very rare, and usually is the result of poor measurement (measuring a 2 1/16" bridge to a 1/8" tolerance).
Last edited by Sage; 02-27-2013 at 12:52 PM.
Just wanted to update this for those interested...
I received my SE Singlecut today and have had a number of hours playing it. I really do like the neck. It's a good width and feels very comfortable in my hands.
In terms of the string spacing I needn't have worried. It definitely feels slightly tighter than my Tele, but actually I haven't had a problem in this respect.
Surprisingly the thing I've found the trickiest is finding the sweet spot for palm muting at the bridge. The nature of the Tele bridge seemed to give me more control over muting and gave me a nice spot to rest my hand.
Still it's early days. Enjoying the guitar a great deal so far. Thanks again to those that replied.
Hello everyone!
I am about to order a PRS guitar. I am from Russia and do not have a lot of opportunities to touch a PRS before ordering. Can anyone tell (preferrably after measuring) the exact string spacing at the nut on a 1 11/16 neck PRS guitar? A measurement with a trammel from outer sides will do. Thank you very much in advance!
Alexey
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote