Major Ibanez Gripe.... They're killing my hands!

gemini8026 · #1 09-30-2006, 04:40 PM

As some of you may recall, I had a thread a while back about an RGA121 that I had bought.
(http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50409)

Really impressed with the guitar through and through. It's all I needed/wanted, and I love the look.

However, in the last little while, I have been having MAJOR issues with my hands cramping on the neck. I posted on the Jackson forum asking if anyone had any advice for alleviating my pain. Im a tradesman, and I use my hands a lot during the day.

Anyhow, only after I got my Ibanez did I notice the cramps starting to really inflame. It's to the point where any long practice session results in big time pain.

So I asked my friend to borrow his strat for the weekend. It's a larger profile neck, and Im really not having the same pains. My hands arent nearly as bad after a practice session on the Ibanez. When im playing bar chords lower on the Ibanez is where I really notice the pain. They require a little more pressure and the thin wide neck makes things interesting.

Not sure of my options here. I really like the guitar, but I think im SOL in terms of options. Im NOT going to put on a Wizard 2 neck which wouldnt have the same quality and feel, let alone finding onr and ruining the value of my current RGA121.

What would you do? I was hoping to add an RGT to my lineup, and now im afraid to spend any money on something where my hands might have the same issues.

Anyone else having cramp issues with ONLY their Ibanez's?!?

Any advice/help is appreciated!

Planeflux · #2 09-30-2006, 05:37 PM

Sounds like the neck is too thin for you. This is not only related to hand size, but also how you hold the guitar, etc. There absolutely nothing wrong with this. I own the same model and it's great for me, although when holding it in specific positions it also unnecessarily strains my left hand. What I'd do is sell it, really. I wouldn't personally hold on to an instrument that's painful to play.

A good, higher-end alternative would be the PGM301, which has a neck that is 2mm wider than a regular Prestige Wizard.

gemini8026 · #3 09-30-2006, 05:47 PM

Hmmm..

2mm wider, or thicker at the nut. Sounds interesting.... As I said, I love the look, but need a thicker neck.

Thanks for the suggesiton, I NEVER considered the PGM series!

gemini8026 · #4 09-30-2006, 05:50 PM

I just checked out Ibanez's site, and they list the PGM301 (this years model) as having a Prestige Wizard neck, much like the neck on my RGA121.....

Possibly older models?!?

Planeflux · #5 09-30-2006, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemini8026

I just checked out Ibanez's site, and they list the PGM301 (this years model) as having a Prestige Wizard neck, much like the neck on my RGA121.....

Possibly older models?!?

I just checked, and indeed the '2mm thicker' detail is gone. Could anyone shed some light on this?

ryanb · #6 09-30-2006, 06:58 PM

You could always have a custom neck made that is whatever shape/thickness you want.

Otherwise, you are probably best to go for another guitar that suits you better.

S-man · #7 09-30-2006, 09:09 PM

Wizard II neck.

Your playing a Wizard I. My wizard II is alot thicker. I've delt with some cramping on the Wizard I. That's after I hadn't play it for a while.

Then I switched to the Wizard II. It was less crampy for me. That being said I'm back to the Wizard I with no cramping. When I switched back, it took a little while to get rid of the cramping. Eventually it went away.

There will always be some pain involved....I don't care what people say.
Sore finger tips or a wierd feeling after marathon playing sessions, etc.
That's just my expieriance.

Maybe I'm getting old.

The Wizard II is much thicker than you would think just by looking at the specs.

Darin · #8 10-01-2006, 09:12 AM

What is your trade work?

horstausmforst · #9 10-01-2006, 10:42 AM

Quote:

So I asked my friend to borrow his strat for the weekend. It's a larger profile neck, and Im really not having the same pains. My hands arent nearly as bad..

You should not have ANY pain after playing, no matter whether you played a strat neck or a wizard. If you start to feel any pains, stop immediately and rest your hands for a minute. Forcing your hands to play on will seriously ruin your hands in the long term.

Anyway, A neck swap would indeed the obvious choice. I play thicker necks (ultra necks/js necks) almost exclusively, since my hands tend to cramp up on thin ones too. And swapping your neck won't ruin your guitar; you can reverse the swap any time.
Finding one would be the hardest part. Have you considered having one custom made?

ot: aren't the current rga necks already wizardII-ish ? I recall someone mentioning that everything "wizard" coming from fujigen is 2 mm thicker now than it used to be 2 years ago.

supermau · #10 10-01-2006, 11:36 AM

I've had that problem somewhat after buying my JEM. It's a completely different neck than all my other guitars (Strats mostly). But I've gotten over it. I've found that it just requires a slightly different technique. My Strat always feels like home but it usually takes me a few minutes to warm up to the JEM neck. But my JEM's playability and tone are worth it to me.

tTz · #11 10-01-2006, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Planeflux

I just checked, and indeed the '2mm wider' detail is gone. Could anyone shed some light on this?

Isn't it 2mm thicker, not wider? My PGM has the same fretboard width at the nut as my RG550, but the neck itself is definitely thicker. Definitely much more comfortable to play than the 550 though; I've had/am having tendonitis issues, and the PGM is a much nicer feeling guitar as far as the neck is concerned.

MetalZone · #12 10-01-2006, 12:21 PM

I somehow find the wizard prestige neck a tiny bit too thin for me as well. Perhaps because I am used to playing my much thicker GRX neck for 4+ years. I'm getting pretty used to it already, but somehow it just feels a bit odd that I didn't have as much wood as I used to have on the back of the neck. I've been wondering if I need to adjust my technique of holding the neck. Anybody cares to post a couple of pics of how they hold a wizard neck from the back in a couple of playing positions? I'm just curious as to how you position your thumb and the palm section of your index finger.

rastachild · #13 10-01-2006, 12:37 PM

i agree with others about the wizard neck. not my cup of tea at all, but i learned how to play on a les paul during my formative years, so i'll always want to play something with a little meat on the neck. another consideration is the fretboard radius, because the wizard fretboard radius is night & day with a strat radius, which is more curved.

i would say just look on **** for a swap, but unfortunately ibanez doesn't offer a lot of variety (neck-wise) in the rg line. it's basically wizard or wizard 2 and that's it. wizard 2 is a hair thicker, but the fretboard radius is the same.

definitely look into having a custom neck built. it sounds like you'd really benefit from a thicker neck with a compound radius on the fretboard. that way the chords on the lower frets will be more curved (more ergonimically suited to your natural hand curve) and the higher frets will be flatter (better suited for faster runs). only person i know who is building necks is christopher woods (www.christopherwoods.com).

Praetorian · #14 10-02-2006, 02:11 AM

I had the same problem with my Rg550...I loved the crap out of it, it had everything I wanted, including the crazy desert yellow color...but the wizard hurt my hands too after playing a few hours. What I did? I got a Jem7VWH, which was good. And then I got an RG7CT because the wizard 7 necks are more comfortable to me than the Jem necks even. If I were you I'd try and find an RGT3020 or 3120 because they have the ultra necks on them, which are substantially thicker. I like the Fender c profile better than any profile I've seen so far, but a souped up strat still doesn't compare to my 7 string

.

gemini8026 · #15 10-02-2006, 02:48 AM

thanks for the support...

Ultra necks Are 1 5/8 I believe. My hands just dont like that width. I sold off a few Kramer Baretta's that played GREAT because after playing anythign wider, I noticed my stubby fingers had more room down low and my chording was cleaner. I really wish I had this great Wizard neck with another 3-4 mm of wood underneath. I have kinda shorter stubby fingers, they love a Wolfgang profile neck... except after ownign 2 wolves, they also were 1 5/8 and didnt agree. Im overly picky and anal, but hey, if your gonna spend the premium for quality, may as well get as close to perfect as u can!