Concave Neck For Stringed Instruments - Patent Pending

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 31 Aug 2021 12:50 pm

It might be the wrong section to post this, but since I am a steel player, I thought I'd put it here.
Last Winter I applied for a patent for my idea of a concave neck for stringed instruments and should be officially patented in a month or two.

The obvious improved feature is that when playing a barre chord on guitar, the thumb fits ergonomically better in a concave neck than a round one.
Also, the thumb rides up the side of a guitar neck just as it normally does and doesn't effect existing guitar technique.
The neck design hasn't changed since powdered wigs and I don't mean Paul Revere & The Raiders.

David Ball · Post by **David Ball** » 31 Aug 2021 1:12 pm

Looks cool--good luck with the patent!

Dave

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 31 Aug 2021 1:20 pm

Thank you, David.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 31 Aug 2021 1:33 pm

Oh man, what a great idea!

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 31 Aug 2021 1:34 pm

Your reinforcement of the idea means a lot to me, Fred.

Craig Stock · Post by **Craig Stock** » 31 Aug 2021 3:02 pm

Good to see things are moving along Chris!, Talk soon.

Bill Fisher · Post by **Bill Fisher** » 31 Aug 2021 3:28 pm

V neck D-28. That's what I like.

Bill

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 1 Sep 2021 2:30 am

“V” shaped necks are popular, I guess that this is the natural successor….the “W”.
Or maybe it’ll be called a “Reverse V”.

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 1 Sep 2021 2:53 am

Good names, Cartwright.

Lee Warren · Post by **Lee Warren** » 1 Sep 2021 4:44 am

Neat idea, Chris!
How might this impact the truss rod?
Lee

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 1 Sep 2021 6:47 am

That's what those little holes are in the electric guitar prototype. Checking depth. So far, not a problem.

Lee Warren · Post by **Lee Warren** » 1 Sep 2021 8:12 am

Cool!
I guess you could run carbon fiber truss rods down each of the ‘humps’, if the center section was too shallow.

Jim Fogle · Post by **Jim Fogle** » 1 Sep 2021 8:54 am

Chris,

Good luck with your patent request.

Karl Paulsen · Post by **Karl Paulsen** » 1 Sep 2021 9:01 am

Fascinating.

Personally I prefer that my necks be no deeper than necessary to accommodate the fingerboard, truss rod and enough wood to cover the rod. So this might not be for me.

However, having a constant lateral reference point and the likely strength benefits of a "u-beam" shaped structure is really intriguing. I wonder if such a neck could be made without a truss rod?

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 1 Sep 2021 12:36 pm

The truss still works on the electric. The classical guitar doesn't have one.
Let's say you want to have 8 strings on a guitar, a concave neck makes it easier to play, laterally.
Yes, the traditional roundneck is what people are used to, so I understand any hesitancy for switching over,
Wait until you feel one and you might not go back to a round one (tee hee).
Again, the concave neck does not interfere with guitar techniques already learned.
The thumb can still climb up the side of the neck .
For electrics; neck replacement. Acoustics: to be determined.

Johnie King · Post by **Johnie King** » 2 Sep 2021 5:55 pm

Wow, cool Chris thinking outside the box. I love it"!

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 3 Sep 2021 2:17 am

Coming from you, that means a lot to me, Jonnie.