660/6 neck vs 620 or 350 neck

[MyBBruce]

I am familiar with both the 620 and 350 neck.. There is no where for me to try either guitar ..I want to 660 for it's features. I am a lead player though and wondering if the neck is to big for me. 1 3/4 nut is a wide nut..Especially for an electric..Can anyone shed some light on how big this neck is. I guess the depth would definitely come into play. I do have large palms with medium length fingers ..A Fender neck shape in C thats 860-970 fits great. That has a 165 nut.

I am assuming the depth of the 660 isn't like a chunky C .. Please help..I know some love this neck. But for what type of playing.

[8mileshigher]

A Gibson SG neck is 1.695 wide at the nut, +/- .050 according to their website. Almost as wide as a Ric 660. Of course every guitar manufacturer's necks have different feel.

There are several Threads here on the Forum, regarding different folks preferences for Ric 650 or 660 series neck widths compared to 300 series models. I have had three 650/660 series Rics over the years and each neck was a little different in its feel, although they measured the same across the width. I still have two of them (a 650 Atlantis and a 660-12). They have the wide necks and takes some getting used to. It's really going to be subjective to how the neck feels in your hands.... the wide fretboard gives you plenty of room for string bends, but there are tens of thousands of 300 series owners who will tell you they have no problem with string bends. There are some 650 models (Dakota for instance) that have an oiled finish instead of conversion varnish and will feel different too.

Having played narrow and wide neck Rics, my own preference is the narrower 300 series necks from the 70s and 80s. I have a 2006 year 330 with the big headstock and it's neck feels very big compared to the "narrow" neck on my 1981 370 WB. If there is no dealership local to you, maybe you can attend a Confluence and try out the different necks (300 and 600 series) because there are variances over the course of time....

But first read up the many opinions/threads posted here on the RRF to judge how enthusiasts rate them all.

[squid]

I own a 650C VH and a 660/12. It's true that the 650 and 660 necks are wider across the fretboard, but the ones I've played have felt much shallower than most 300's. You've heard of some 300's having a "club" or "baseball bat" neck? Very round, very deep, and for some, very uncomfortable to play. But if you were to saw a 660 or 650's neck in half and look at the cross-section, it would look like a flattened "D". I have small hands but I find them amazingly comfortable to play. No issues at all, especially for lead lines and stretchy chord voicings. I actually think my 650C's neck has a bit of taper to it moving from low E (deeper) to high E (shallower), as well, but I could just be imagining that. If you ordinarily use your thumb for barre chords, you might have to make some adjustments, but otherwise, it's business as usual.

[electrofaro]

I'm curious as to why the nut width of the 620 is the same as the 300-series, but the 650, 660 have a wider nut width?
Is there any logic to that?

[ken_j]

Since the 650 was also brought up I will add some info. Although the 650 neck is the same width at the nut as the 660 it is wider at the 12th fret. The string spacing is wider on the 650 at the bridge compared to a 660. In addition to that the 650 has larger frets giving it a whole different feel than the 660.

[electrofaro]

Thanks for those bits of info, Ken - I didn't know that either (before yesterday I thought all 600-series had the same nut width)

[melibreits]

I had a 660 DCM, and it was a beautiful guitar.... but I had to sell it, because I found the wide neck to be very uncomfortable to play. But then, I have rather slender hands and fingers. I love the very narrow, tightly radiused fretboard of my vintage 365 best, because it feels perfect for the shape and size of my hand.

[ken_j]

... I love the very narrow, tightly radiused fretboard of my vintage 365 best, because it feels perfect for the shape and size of my hand.

+ 1 on the tight radius. This is why I like the C63's so much.

[chuck_king]

The neck on my 650D is much chunkier than the neck on my 660/12. The 660 has more of a thin "D" profile neck whereas the 650 has a meaty "C" profile.

Obviously they're both wider than the necks on my 330 or 360, but it's just a matter of getting used to something new. My 360 is one of the most comfortable guitars I've ever played, but over time my 650 has also become a firm favorite. But I suspect that whether and how much a player can comfortably accommodate necks of different dimensions varies from player to player.

[ken_j]

My former 650C was erelativly thin.