Silly binding question. . .

[wormdiet]

What is the purpose of neck binding? Visual? Aesthetic? Tone? Feel? If the binding limits the playing area on the neck, then what advantage offsets this liability?

[wileyibex]

To me, it improves the appearance and helps the "feel" along the neck. To me, a bound neck just "feels" faster and smoother. The binding on a Ric's neck certainly shouldn't diminish the amount of the neck's playing surface/area, as the binding itself doesn't extend onto the fretboard.

Again, it's just my personal preference, but I wouldn't buy a new guitar with an "unbound" neck.