The Neck

Nice chunky feel, not a '60 slim. Until I played a '57 RI I always thought these had a large profile. I can't say its a '59 profile, but it is very comfortable and solid. Nut and frets are original. There are some depressions moving up the board, with the most pronounced at the 4th, 5th and 6th frets. The 5th fret is just a little (few thousandths) high, and again, a little less, at the 9th and 15th. Overall, considering that this is a "fretless wonder", that has considerable playing time, fret wear is not at all extreme. David has a very light touch. No buzzes with a medium/low setup, plays just like a Les Paul should. There is a slight ding in the 18th fret between the E and B strings on the pickup side. Does not effect play or create buzz.

The back of the neck does exhibit the usual dings and depressions, it has been played! There is some wear through to the wood at the binding, primarily around the 5th fret, on the treble and bass sides as shown above and in the closeup below.