Neck Shapes

[rudarb]

Never really knew the Fender neck shapes. Specifically 'V', does anyone have an opinion on the V shape neck? Or any insight on Fenders neck specifications.

[G-Minor]

the usual is c which is as it is just a c. and h d is supposedly a massiv boat neck. i only played one v neck wich was on a clapton and i dint really like it. it seemed really this. there are different variations of v's and other necks. teres a soft v and a hard v and such

[Frails]

I own several V-shapes...from Hard V Clapton to Soft V 57' spec. While the C shapes are comfortable and a good overall suitor for most, once I played the soft V, I never went back. I have a 65' D shape that is nice also, but the V shapes are where its at for me. The Clapton is nice too but the soft V is IT. You really need to try one to see how you like it. The size of your hands, your thumb position while playing, playing style...all these things factor in. I don't have the fastest fingers and I incorporate the lazy, thumb over the neck style so I find the V fits me best. If you are looking to have one made, B Hefner did a fantastic job on the 57' for me. I will def be going back to them for my Tele neck.

[diceman]

I'm a fan of the soft V.

[rudarb]

I think the Clapton custom shop, or just the normal Clapton artist series has a 'soft' V, I really want to play one

[Kate033]

Personally, I prefer the C. Thinner the better. And to be completely contrary to most people, I actually like the vintage 7 1/4 radius over the modern 9.5 .

If you havn't had a chance to actually hold and play a variety of necks, then check out the warmoth site here:

Warmoth Custom Guitar Parts - Warmoth Pro Strat Neck

Click on the "back contours" in the left column. It'll give you a good visual of what the differences are between each shape. I find it's easier to visualize it in pictures like that then descriptions when you can't see it in person.

[Belzeebub]

Originally Posted by rudarb

Never really knew the Fender neck shapes. Specifically 'V', does anyone have an opinion on the V shape neck? Or any insight on Fenders neck specifications.

I've played a V shaped genuine Fender neck and all I can say is, for me, its comfortable. I have small hands with stubby fingers and I find the V neck (with the usual smaller frets - unlike the medium jumbo ones) comfortable to play and my hand doesn't tire out as much as say, playing a C or D shaped neck.

[mymindsok]

Man-o-man....

When it comes to Vs you really must include the EJ Strat neck. It's a variation of the Vintage soft-V and it's very nice indeed

[A string bounce]

Warmoth Custom Guitar Parts - Guitar Necks Page

Originally Posted by rudarb

Never really knew the Fender neck shapes. Specifically 'V', does anyone have an opinion on the V shape neck? Or any insight on Fenders neck specifications.

Check out link' it gives you a rough idea on the different shapes available.

[Paragon]

Best neck I felt was on a Gibson L-50 archtop. It has some sort of V neck on it. Man I loved that guitar but it was priced at $1800
Warmoth is a great site to get an idea of the profiles.
Never felt a Clapton neck or any fender V type, yet.

[A string bounce]

found this' might help?

btw. how do you post full size pics rather than thumbnails???

[Paragon]

Use the image icon when you are in edit mode. (that yellow picture icon) and it will add the proper img tag to it.

[A string bounce]

[QUOTE=Paragon;1258516]Use the image icon when you are in edit mode. (that yellow picture icon) and it will add the proper img tag to it.


Thanks Paragon!

[leftyguitarman]

Frails, where did you get your necks?

[Frails]

Not sure Lefty which you are specifically inquiring about so.....the Clapton Hard V (Sonic Blue) is a Warmoth. The Gilmour Soft V (Black) is a Hefner. The 65' Dakota D neck (Red) is original spec and the MIJ 57' Reissue (Sunburst) is stock.

[SpinWheelz]

I found this thread to be one of the more insightful threads on neck shapes:
Tele Neck Profiles - Telecaster Guitar Forum

Hope that helps.

[hbucker]

I have a Warmoth boatneck carve on my Tele. It's somewhere between a "V" and a "soft V". But it is big.

I actually like it a lot but people who pick up my guitar a blown away by the thickness of the neck...

[Exluthier]

There's a lot of confusion when it comes to describing Fender necks. Mostly because fender used letters A-D to denote the width of the nut, A being the smallest (1 1/2") and D the widest (1 7/8"). These letters had nothing to do with the profile.

[leftyguitarman]

Originally Posted by hbucker

I have a Warmoth boatneck carve on my Tele. It's somewhere between a "V" and a "soft V". But it is big.

I actually like it a lot but people who pick up my guitar a blown away by the thickness of the neck...

Good to know. One day I am going to put a massive neck on my Strat. I love fat necks. Glad to hear the Warmoth boat is really big.

I seriously want a neck that is beefier than an R9.

[Frails]

Lefty, you should play my Gilmour Strat. Baseball bat thickness on that thing. But I love it.

[leftyguitarman]

Originally Posted by Frails

Lefty, you should play my Gilmour Strat. Baseball bat thickness on that thing. But I love it.

I'm goin to Scottsdale in a few minutes!

[Frails]

Bring Guiness!

[leftyguitarman]

Originally Posted by Frails

Bring Guiness!

You'll have to buy it. I'm a youngin'!

[Frails]

Oh, bring gum!

[leftyguitarman]

I'm gonna revive this thread with some stuff about necks. I've been looking to get a new neck for my MIM since the stock neck is just too thin for me. So, I went into SamAsh yesterday just to play through an amp I've been gassing for and ended up talking with a guy named Patrick who really knows his stuff and we got to talkin about necks.

Since us lefties only have one neck option available from Fender (unless you want to pay the big bucks), I've always wanted to know what the different necks feel like.

The first neck I tried out was the neck on the Custom Shop 56 Relic. It's a soft V* at the first positon, but as you get farther up the neck, especially around the 5-7 frets, the V dies out and the neck becomes rounder. I liked the neck past the seventh fret more than down at the first position. There was something about the V that I just didn't like. I have fairly big hands and long fingers, and the V just didn't sit in my hand very wild. I did think it was more comfortable that my MIM neck and the MIA Standard's neck.

The second neck I tried was the 57 Hot Rod Strat. I don't know if the the regular 57 Strat reissues have the same neck as the Hot Rod. Anyways, this neck felt like more of a V than the 56 Relic did. The V on this neck was more "pointy" for lack of a better word. It felt a little deeper. (Possibly because the amount of finish on the 57 vs. the thin skin of nitro on the 56?) I liked the 56 neck a little better than the 57 neck. The 57 neck also got bigger and less V-like around the 5-7 frets and beyond. The first position was quite thin, similar to the 56, which I didn't care for.

The last neck I tried was the winner in my opinion. I played the 62 reissue. It features the C shaped neck. The C shape neck is literally shaped like a C and was very comfortable. It was thick at the first position and got way thicker farther up. It was very, very comfortable and filled my hand nicely.

I want to replace my MIM neck as I mentioned, and I would like a neck with that 62 C Shaped feel, maybe even a little bigger. I want a maple board though and Fender doesn't make that neck with maple, as far as I know. I'm thinking of going to Warmoth to get a regular maple neck, with black dots; nothing fancy and have it unfinished. I'll probably end up tru-oil'ing (is that a word?) the neck and be done with it.

Anyways, hopes this helps answer some neck questions.

[Frails]

Lefty, after you get your quote from Warmoth and Musikraft, check out B Hefner. It took nearly three months to get but the 57' neck he made me is just fantastic. I mean, killer! I'm gonna have him make a 52' neck for a butterscotch tele at some point. I had it finished in nitro so if you don't have yours finished I think it will take two months tops. You can always have Rich Beck finish it off for you. I buy my paint supplies from Guitar ReRanch. Great stuff at good prices.

[leftyguitarman]

I was thinking about going unfinished and then tru-oiling it.