Neck Profile - Silhouette Special vs. Albert Lee

[prowler]

Hello, this is my 1st post, but I've been a lurker for a while.

My only EBMM guitar is a Silhouette Special which I love. I've been seriously GASsing for one of the new Abert Lee HHs and I'm wondering how the neck profile compares to a Silhouette Special.

On the site, aside from the woods, the specs for both necks are identical. Are they indeed the same?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[banjoplayer]

Hello prowler,

1) welcome to the forum. As a lurker you are familiar with everything

2) your silo special doesn´t exist without pics

3) i owned a silo and I own an AL. Commonly the neck shape of silo and silo spec seems to be pretty the same. Compared to the AL I can say that my AL-neck has more meat.

You can find various pics of neckshapes here: http://www.ernieball.com/forums/mus...ckleheads-volunteer-neck-profile-project.html

 

[paranoid70]

I actually perfer the Silhouette/Silhouette Special necks. In my opinion, they are the best on the market. The Albert Lee is a bit meatier. It's not way different, but a bit thicker. Don't get me wrong, the AL neck is fantastic, and I have no problems adjusting to it... I just really love the Silo neck.

 

[mbgreene]

I'll add a similar vibe. They are both c shaped and comfortable with the same nut and last fret width, but the AL is just a bit thicker - finger to thumb. It is in no way a baseball bat, just a little meatier. Personally, I prefer the AL to the silo spec but I've also got fairly large hands/long fingers and like the feel of the extra depth.

 

[agt]

I have an AL and a SS, both from the the mid-late 90s. I measured them and the side-to-side widths are the same everywhere but, toward the nut, the AL is a bit thicker front-to-back. However, near the 12th fret, the SS is a bit thicker. So you could say that, at least for my specimens, the AL is a bit more uniform in its thickness as you progress from the nut to the 12th fret while the SS is more tapered: thinner at the nut and gradually getting thicker as you approach the 12th fret. The differences are small.

Before I measured, I would have said that subjectively the AL feels ever so slightly smaller. That's why I broke out the calipers and measured -- because all the posts above this one contradict what my subjective impressions were!

So, take my two data points for what they're worth. Perhaps the necks were shaped slightly differently in the 90s compared to nowadays, or perhaps I have worn my necks down through playing over all these years. Either way, they are fairly similar -- if you like one you will will like the other.

 

[tornandfrayed]

the lee is more of a C shape!

 

[John C]

I have had 2 Silo Specials (2004 and 2007) and 1 AL (2006) - agt's assessment is still applicable: the AL is a pretty similar profile (C shape) to the Silo Special but the AL is deeper up near the nut but they are about the same at the 12th fret.

I hate to use another manufacturer as a comparison, but the Silo Special has more taper (it's thinner at the nut than at the 12th) and is more like a mid-60s Strat while the AL more like a mid-60s Tele - not much taper and deeper at the 1st fret but they end up about the same at the 12th.

I've got small hands and a bit of some type of RSI/tendonitis issues in my left hand (plus I'm a lefty playing right-handed) so the Silo Special works better for me - I can't get around the AL as well in that 1st-5th fret area. In fact, I've got Silo Special #3 coming in some time over the next couple of weeks as a replacement for #2, which I let got over the summer to fund another purchase. I think this time if I ever get the idea to sell this Silo Special I'm just going to stash it in the closet until those thoughts go away.

I recently got an Axis SS; I'm digging that neck also.

 

[prowler]

Thanks for the responses. They were very helpful.

Hello prowler,
2) your silo special doesn´t exist without pics

I'll take some soon.