What's your favorite neck radius?

I’ve played jazz basses for years. For the longest time, I thought it was the 1.5″ nut width that was the secret to their easy playability for me. I figured anything with a 1.5″ nut width should play more or less the same. Then one day I picked up a MusicMan Caprice and I was forced to reevaluate my previous assumption. My hands just seemed to glide up and down the neck effortlessly.

I came to the conclusion that having the proper neck radius for me was just as important as having that 1.5″ nut width. My hands are on the smaller side of the spectrum and that generous curve of the 7.5″ radius makes it easy for my thumb to stay comfortably in contact with neck throughout it’s journey. I think it may also have to do with where you play mostly frequently on the neck. For me, I tend to dwell around the 3rd to the 7th fret and the curvature of the 7.5″ radius really works for me there. Admittedly, playing upper register notes(12th fret+) is more difficult with a curvier board but I rarely play their anyway.

I was wondering which radius other players prefer and why. I would also love to see EBMM offer their best selling models with different radius options as well. I think finding the right radius is one of the aspects that really helps a player to bond with his/her/their instrument. I understand, having different neck radius options may affect production on the line and would be more than willing to pay for this option. In fact, I recently had one of my jazz bass’s converted from fretted to fretless and was more than happy to pay the $90 upcharge to go from a 12″ to 7.5″ radius. So I definitely put my money where my mouth is. Whether enough people would pay for this option in order for its inclusion to be a sound business decision…that I cannot say with any certainty.

Cheers,
-Greg P