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UNLIKE many of my guitar playing friends - and probably many of you readers - I’m not facile enough to play just any old neck. It’s got to be just right - or nearly so - for me to get anywhere on it. So, speaking from my own experience only - not yours or the majority’s - I do not like the neck shape of Eastman’s trad series. And the feeling is mutual. Just too flat, so my fretting hand is scrunched into an uncomfortable position. And the bulge on the shoulder or cheek - where the neck meets the fretboard - adds to the discomfort. Then there’s the sharply angled fretboard edge! Any longer than 20 minutes play time and I’m icing my wrist.
It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that comfort with the (guitar’s) neck is vitally important to me. Longer still to figure out what shape I like best. Unfortunately, much too late for me to realize what a good thing I had in my E10SS several years ago (Eastman just don’t make ‘em like that anymore).
But you can’t push the river.
Of course I keep trying.
My E6OM was listed for sale for a week or so. While I was waiting for someone to pounce, I played it daily - in short intervals - and came to really like its sound. And, given that its neck is slightly deeper (more better) than the one on my E6D, I started to consider slight modifications that might lead to increased playability. For one thing it needed a setup, for another, a new nut with increased spacing. For a third, a rounding of the fretboard on the bass side.
Picked it up yesterday and, well, so far so good. The new nut took me from slightly under 1-1/2” spacing to slightly over, so my big fingers now go where they're supposed to, so there's less strain. The rounded fretboard is a joy too; my thumb-bone is no longer connected to the wood-bone.
On day two I can definitely report improvement in playability. We’ll see how things progress in the long run.
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