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I hope this isn't a painfully dumb question...

I have an SG that I love to bits; I think it's great. However, I have reasonably small hands, and I find the neck a bit too thick (ie, too 'deep' not too 'tall'). It is a Standard and therefore I think has both a wider and a thicker neck than, for example, a 61, and it deifntitely has a wider neck than my tele.

Would it be possible for me to have the neck on my guitar made thinner (ie. can a luthier plane off some of the wood from the back) or will this ruin my guitar?

If it's possible, does anyone know someone in the UK (preferably Scotland) who they'd recommend for this sort of thing?

Mr. Binary wrote:I hope this isn't a painfully dumb question...

I have an SG that I love to bits; I think it's great. However, I have reasonably small hands, and I find the neck a bit too thick (ie, too 'deep' not too 'tall'). It is a Standard and therefore I think has both a wider and a thicker neck than, for example, a 61, and it deifntitely has a wider neck than my tele.

Would it be possible for me to have the neck on my guitar made thinner (ie. can a luthier plane off some of the wood from the back) or will this ruin my guitar?

If it's possible, does anyone know someone in the UK (preferably Scotland) who they'd recommend for this sort of thing?

Yes, it's very possible.

Jimmy Moon, a Glasgow based luthier, will be able to do it for you.

http://www.moonguitars.co.uk/moonhome.html

Also, if you're closer to Edinburgh, give Rod Vaughan a tinkle.

http://www.rvguitars.co.uk/frame.html

Hope this helps.

I've seen this done a bunch of times actually. SGs have that notorious unfriendliness with small hands. I remember seeing a page online once where a guy made a slideshow on how to do this. A friend of mine attempted it and RUINED his guitar.

So stick with your original idea and have it done professionally.

I have a Gibson All- American (melody maker) that i reshaped. It was fairly easy to do, and the results are great.

You won't be able to narrow the neck, obviously. Mine was a thick C shape, I prefer the fender V shape. I also have small hands and have found that shape easier to deal with.

To start, I used a pencil to kind of outline the areas i was gonna remove, or shave down. I also made a line down the center and half way on either side, to help me keep everything even. Then I used a medium toothed rasp to remove material quickly...I worked from the headstock, where i was removing the most material, to the body, where i was removing very little. It's important to stop frequently and hold the guitar, making sure you get what you want. after the rough shaping I used a belt sander with 80 grit paper to remove the tool marks and finalize the shape. Then progressive sanding w/ 100/150/220 paper (I used an orbital sander where i could to speed things up). I have actually found that a sanded neck is much more comfortable than a finished neck.

This is, to be certain, RESALE SUICIDE. My gibson had an ugly headstock repair and a crack in the body. my 'telecaster' was built by a hippy who didn't own a router and my SG is a $100 chinese knockoff. I think if i'd invested real cash in any instrument, i'd be less likely to fuck w/ them...

-chris

Hey thanks very much everyone

(I have emailed Rod Vaughan as I'm too scared and ham-fisted too do it myself, and I live in Edinburgh)

Update:

Rod Vaughan tells me he thinks it's a really bad idea (for both physical structure and tone). I think in that case I'm gonna pass...

Looks like I might be saving up for that 61 reissue after all (or an eric johnson strat...)

I have fairly small hands also and am very picky about necks. I wouldn't recommend it, sometimes the smallest mods on a neck can make a huge difference....many times for the worse. Most guitar necks are put together a certain way for a reason.