Scalloped neck opinion

[ketsueki15]

Im thinking about getting my Gib. Les Paul special scalloped from the 9th fret and up and replacing the bridge pickup(i think thats the pick up thats mainly used for solo, i get them confused)with a dimarzio (sp?) pickup
any comments??
and has anyone played on a scalloped neck and are Di marzzio(sp?) pickups any good?

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Don't do it.

[Jimmi431]

what exactly happens to/is a "scalloped neck"? sure sounds painfull though!

[Hammurabi]

From what I've heard about les paul neck joints it might make more sense getting the scalloping done on a guitar that's more playable in the upper register.

Dimarzio pickups are good if they fit your preference. I like them, but at the same time lots of people prefer their emgs, or Seymour Duncans, or Bare Knuckles, or whatever. It's more personal perference than anything else. Same with which pickup you use for solos, use whatever sounds best to you.

[Hammurabi]

Originally posted by Jimmi431
what exactly happens to/is a "scalloped neck"? sure sounds painfull though!

http://warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/images/Scallopedlg.JPG

[ketsueki15]

hmmmmm....i think ill keep the pickups but why dont some of you tihnk i should get the neck scalloped...i knoe itds a different feeling but it has its advantages

[Hammurabi]

Scalloping is fairly expensive and I don't think it would be easily justified on a LP.

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Originally posted by ketsueki15
hmmmmm....i think ill keep the pickups but why dont some of you tihnk i should get the neck scalloped...i knoe itds a different feeling but it has its advantages
Nothing wrong with a scalloped neck, I have two guitars with scalloped necks. But on a Les Paul...?

[hairbndrckr]

I think the big question is.... Have you actually ever played a scalloped neck, or are you just going by what other people have said about it. I have a few guitars with scalloped necks, some scalloped from the 12th fret on, some completely scalloped, some like my green JEM, only scalloped on the last 4 frets. I like them a lot, but my favorite guitar that I play more than others doesn't have a scalloped board. It's personal preference but I would suggest playing a guitar with a scalloped fingerboard for a few hours before taking the file to your Les Paul. I would, if I didn't know anyone with a guitar like that, would go buy a cheap guitar like a Jay Turser Strat ($150) and take a 3 corner file, a half round file, and some masking tape to protect the frets somewhat, and do a scallop job on the neck myself, then play the **** out of it. It's not a hard job to do yourself, but it is time consuming.

[PonyOne]

I've wanted to do a scalloped neck for awhile, but for some reason people seem to stay away from scalloping set necks. As was mentioned, it probably has something to do with the strength of the neck joint. I'd be wary about the whole thing and definitely ask a tech.

The last thing you would want to do is scallop the neck of a really nice guitar that you really love, and end up not liking the scalloping and screwing the thing up to boot. Also, keep in mind, if you scallop the neck of a guitar that has a rosewood (or any other laminate) fretboard the tech will, as far as I know, have to remove the fretboard, scallop the neck and then make a new fretboard to go on top of it that matches & fits the scalloping. This could cost some, let's say, tenacious bling-bling. i.e. cost a hell of a lot of money, and keep your guitar out of action for a few weeks at least.

Here's a thought: think about getting something with a bolt neck, like an inexspensive Fender or a Kramer Striker, something that has an all-maple, preferrably 1-piece neck that is commonplace and easy to replace should you decide you don't dig the scalloping. Go and get it scalloped, I know some people do it for pretty cheap, or you could even just go and get a new scalloped neck from Warmoth. Get something with at least a bridge humbucker since it sounds that is closer to what you're thinking of tonally, and then see how it works out. You could spend as little as $300 for the entire package, and then you'll actually know if you like it. Or get one of the Kramer Baretta neck through guitars and get that scalloped (they're on sale now, you know... see my post in the gear section) as a keeper guitar.

In my Kramer's bridge I have a DiMarzio ToneZone, which is a stellar pickup. I know that one of the Dream Theatre guys uses or has used these pickups in the past. They kick ass, put bluntly, they are amazingly dynamic, and have higher output than most four-blade pickups. The way they sound through a Metal Zone and a Roland JC120 is truly amazing (can we guess what I have in my rig..?) They are designed to work well both distorted, where they have awesome dynamics and tone that is still definable through it all, and also great clean, where their ingenious design is most evident: picking lightly and quickly produces an angelic, light, soft tone, and then quick, hard strumming produces slightly overdriven mids and thicker-than-hell lows that sound awesome. It's almost like learning to play a whole new instrument... because of the absurd levels of output you have to get used to the fact that EVERY SINGLE LAST LITTLE FRICKIN NUANCE of your picking gets picked up, so you literally have to clean up your act; you can't hide behind the distortion anymore. But once you get used to it... wow.

Lordathastrings, who's been playing since before I was born, uses the Tone Zone as well. I'm sure there are others around here that do too.

and for the record, the bridge pickup is the one that's at the bottom guitar, closest to the tailpice; the neck pickup is the one that's, well, by the neck.

[ketsueki15]

thanks...i always get them confused for some reason
You have got a point.... do you tihnk a scalloped neck would ruin my Les paul??
Ive played one once but not long enough to decide...no of the stores around me have scalloped necks..
Would getting a better pick up be a bad idea?? or should i leave the pick ups

[sambob]

Eh, I scallop my necks.

Its not expensive, its free because I do it myself.

Try playing one before you do it though. If you like it, cool, do it to one of your guitars. But if you don't, don't even bother with it.

Whether it would ruin you Les Paul or not, thats up to how well you do it, and whether you like scalloped necks at all :P

[Hammurabi]

For the pickups it's always a good idea trying out pickups before buying them, or making sure there's a good return/exchange policy. Sound and tone is a very personal preference.

If you can't try out a specific pickup or if you're only going off descriptions of stuff online (which can be dangerous, byw), try out stuff between companies to find which company you like best and then use their customer support to help pick one out. Those guys always know a rediculous amount about which pickups work for different people and setups.

[ketsueki15]

thanx...i was going to get it done by the tech person at guitar center in Atlanta Georgia but im afraid it will be to different...will it change the way my Les Paul sounds since hes gonna be carving wood out?? I think ill stick with the Humbuckers i have

[Jimmi431]

hmmm okay so not only does it sound painfull it also looks it! what advantages does it bring?

[PonyOne]

I wouldn't be totally opposed to changing the pickups; you can always switch them back later. Personally I think scalloped necks are cool based on the five or so times I've played them (the advantage of a scalloped neck is that since the string only touches the frets you can bend more quickly, and some people say that it allows you to play quicker), but I would definitely do it to a cheapie first, or not even necessarily a cheap piece of crap, just not something that costs/is worth 1200+.

But the pickup question boils down to this: are you happy with the sound your guitar produces? what kind of music do you play? and how much $$$ can you spend?

[Azrael]

i cqn only say that i got my frets 16-24 and 30-36 scalloped and it REALY helps. it takes a bit more practice and sensitivity to play on a FULLY scalloped neck though, since the lower notes can quickly be off when you push a little too hard. but i can totally and absolutely recommend scalloping the higher registers of your guitar.

[Hammurabi]

I've never actually played with a scalloped neck, but that's probably because I very seriously doubt there's a single scalloped fretboard in the entire state of Iowa.

[sambob]

Yeah, thats another advantage of doing it yourself..

MOST luthiers you find at just any guitar shops will pretty much just scallop out the same amount of wood all the way down the neck. When I do it myself, it allows me to control exactly how deep each is. The first fret for example, isn't very deep at all, but up at 24... yeah, its pretty deep.

As for changing your sound, in my experience it will (its a more noticable change on say, strats though). But its a very sbutle difference. And generally can only be heard without very much distortion. I dont' think I've ever heard someone say that it sounded WORSE, just different.

[ketsueki15]

so yo guys dont think that scalloping my guitar from maybe say either the 9th or 12 fret and up would do any damage if i got it done by a pro??

[sme331]

I would think long and hard about it first and then go talk to a guitar tech and see what they tell you. I just value my investment toooooooo much to jump at a whim. YA KNOW?

[Azrael]

it will definitely do NO damage to the guitar if done by a pro. not even if you do it yourself carefully. the only thing is, that this process is irreversible. so if you end up NOT liking the feel of scalloped necks, you are boned. but the guitar will still be good.

[hairbndrckr]

Well....That's not exactly true as long as it isn't a 1 piece neck.... since most LP's have rosewood or Ebony fingerboards, they could always be replaced.... but it isn't cheap...