Would be interested to try this out for sure, Strandberg sure make some interesting instruments!
I am proud to present the first result of a collaboration with Al Mu’min of the HAARP Machine, and the subject of my first ever patent application, the EndurNeck!
The EndurNeck allows you to play longer, faster and better by providing not only better support for the muscles and tendons of your fingers, palm, and forearm, but also acts as a guide that helps you straighten your wrist when playing the lower frets. Drawing on concepts like Jerome Little’s Torzal Natural Twist and Rick Toone’s Trapezoid Neck Profile, the EndurNeck is a brand new innovation that requires no special tools or techniques to manufacture or maintain.
The key is a cross section that forms an asymmetric trapezoid, leaning towards your thumb at the headstock end and one that leans towards your palm at the body end. This means two things: 1) when playing in a classical pinch grip, the surface that supports your palm moves gradually closer to the bottom of the neck, meaning that it is easier to reach around the neck with your fingers and 2) when pressing your thumb against the upper surface of the profile, its gradually sharper angle near the headstock helps straighten your wrist and the gradually more shallow angle near the body again also helps straighten the wrist and shortens the distance between the fingerboard and your thumb for a more comfortable and relaxed grip.
In addition, the shallow angle at the lower side of the neck at the headstock gives you more room right where the index finger meets the palm, again helping straighten your wrist. Combined with a slight fan of the frets that also follows the natural angle of your arm as you move up and down the neck in a “windshield wiper” motion, you are bound to be completely unconstrained by the physical limitations of a traditional guitar neck. The effect is greater and more noticeable for wider necks.
Together, these components of the guitar neck design all help to reduce the risk of Repetitive Strain Injuries, such as Cubital Tunnel Syndrome and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and improves your playing as a positive side effect.
The EndurNeck is patent pending and available on all .strandberg* guitars as an option at this time.
Slowy wrote:
That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.
I'm actually getting one of these made by Ola Strandberg; I picked up an Ibanez IMG-2010 body on eBay, so he's going to make me a baritone fanned-fret neck for it, and I've decided to give the EndurNeck a whirl. The bridge saddles on the IMG-2010 are so adjustable that I can get a scale difference of about 40mm across the strings, so with a bit of an angle at the nut as well it should be quite an interesting thing to play. ;)
Then there's the guitar synth side of it; I have a few interesting things to plug it into as well. Can't wait! ;)
This neck profile is on my long list of future guitar builds! I've heard of people carving hard cell foam etc to try it out, to me it seems like a great innovation, tuneable to different styles, but probably something that will only be picked up by the minority, too much of the guitar world is stuck in the mud luddite types....
Slowy wrote:
That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.
