sadowsky vs grosh vs anderson necks

[nostatic9]

The usual story, long time listener, first time caller. Playing guitar for 40 years (hey, I started young), been playing mostly bass the past 20 though. Will be picking up some guitar gigs and many years ago pared down to a Warmoth parts strat with Fralins that isn't great. In a fit of GAS I was smitten with and ordered a Grosh ElectraJet, so I'm waiting on that, but will also want a SSS strat (the EJ is p90, which I've never owned - wanted something different).

The last few years I've been mostly playing a Martin OM-21 when on 6 strings and do fingerstyle on that. Because of that I'm wondering about trying to go wider with electric necks. The Warmoth is 11/16, but I don't really like the 6105 frets or the alignment. I know the EJ std is 5/8 and 6150 and I think I can work with that, but for the strat I'm thinking maybe 11/16 or even 3/4. I played a couple of Grosh RCs and they are nice, but one had 6100 frets and I know I don't want to go that route. I also played Suhr and Anderson Classic, the Anderson with an 11/16 neck and "heavy" frets. Of all of them I liked the Anderson the best, though the neck might be a little too small.

I have a Sadowsky bass that I love, and am wondering about their guitars. Haven't gotten to play one yet, but can anyone comment on neck profile and fret size? They say "between medium and jumbo" but not sure what that means. Pics make it look like the frets are pretty substantial.

I never should have sold my '65 Strat, but that is water under a long ago bridge

 

[Jim S]

Best to try a Sadowsky. Roger has a 7 day trial policy.
To my knowledge, he offers two nut widths on his solid body electric guitars.

 

[jcj]

I recently grabbed an Anderson with the even taper +.03 and LOVE it. See if you can try a couple of different neck shapes on the Andys. Far and away my favorite guitars.

 

[mslugano]

I guess, to me, it's not so much the builder in this case (they're all good), as it is the neck shape and nut width. They will all do a wide or thin nut and all will do just about any neck shape you want (and you should probably try Suhr too)...and with any you could end up with a guitar that "could" be the last you ever buy in terms of build quality etc...but , IMO, you need to know what you like first!

Not to over-complicate things but "that perfect guitar spec" seems to be a moving target for most of us. Also, you owe it to yourself to consider the numerous advantages of stainless steel frets...they do NOT impart a more bright nor more even more dull tone but they last forever and give a dramatically improved bending feel than nickel. Please don't listen to the SS haters (usually for "vintage" reasons) and try it for yourself...you'll be blown away.

I have owned dozens of Andersons, Suhrs, Tylers, Ruokangas, Fenders and others (and I desperately want to buy a custom Grosh Electrajet!!) and have narrowed it down to 1 11/16" nuts, 10 to at most 14 inch fret board radius, and 880-960" neck width. Others may not like this spec but, after years of experimenting, this is what works for me...you will likely find something that works better for you AND this will likely change over time.

All the brands you listed are great. Find a specific guitar that works for you or find a particular builder that you feel most comfortable with (that's going to be tough since your three are all great builders). A seven day trial , like Jim suggests, is great but is not long enough, IMO. Most of all, try to compare different spec'd guitars so you find the neck shape you prefer. I think you'll find that neck shape is probably the most "person specific" thing.

Bottom line, as far as I am concerned, find specific neck dimensions that you prefer and then find the builder that will satisfy those specs.

 

[nostatic9]

Agreed on trying. The problem with the "ideal" spec is that I've found that when push comes to shove, it just depends on the individual instrument. I've played strats with 1-5/8" nuts and damned if I could finger chords easily at the nut. But I played a Grosh 1-5/8 that was fine. I used to have hard/fast rules for basses but have recently blown that out of the water. I went for 9+ years with the same two basses - identical scale length and string spacing - because I was hung up on that. For whatever reason I got a wild hair, sold one of my Zons and bought a Sadowsky. Same scale length but wider string spacing. Have played a few gigs now and no problem switching between narrow and wide. And to push the envelope even further, I ordered up a 35" scale Rob Allen fretless to go along with my Zon 34" Lightwave fretless. Totally different vibes for different gigs, and my short stint on the 35" demo was perfectly fine.

So the long way of saying that your moving target comment is apt, and I think gets tweaked by intangibles. For me I think fret height is a big one that I have a tougher time adjusting to. I also know that 24.75" scale just doesn't work for me. Never has. 25.4" on the Martin is great, 25.5" on a strat is great, and I even have no problems with a Danelectro Baritone with 29.75" scale.

I played a Suhr and liked it but the tone was a bit strident for my tastes (RW fretboard). The Anderson by comparison was smooth and composed. I'm always hesitant though to buy an instrument on a 7 day trial, as I feel bad if I end up sending it back. I'd almost rather use frequent flyer miles and fly to NY to try it in person. That is the other complication with ordering something. The Anderson and Suhrs are local as are some Groshes (but not the EJ). I ordered the EJ just because I loved the aesthetic and on faith that it'll be something different from what I've always played and change is good. Then it is just a case of trying to find something else to fall in love with. The good thing is if the EJ doesn't send me I can flip it without losing much. But I have faith...

Anyone with a Sadowsky in the LA area want to give a quick demo? I've got cool basses to play in exchange

 

[Jazz2Punk]

I just started a similar thread. A couple of the responses might be helpful for you as well:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/651462

Good luck with the hunt!

 

[tele_phil]

+1 on playing a bunch of them and adding Suhr as well. I just went through a ~6 month search playing many guitars from big and small companies. After narrowing it down to the Grosh EJ Custom I once again played several of their guitars - EJ Standard, Set Neck, Turbo Jet, Plexi Jet, RC, and RC Standard. Each one was different and it helped me zero in on what worked best for me.