Guitar Neck Profiles

[just strum]

The G&L ASAT thread made me curious about guitar neck profiles. I've seen reference to V, C, D and probably some others and have an understanding of them to some degree.

I was curious, let's say I'm interested in a G&L Legacy or a Fender JV - do they all come stock with a specific neck or would one find stock neck say with a V neck at one store and maybe somewhere else with a C neck?

I have no clue what neck I would prefer and I couldn't tell you what necks are on my current guitars (although I know it's not a V neck).

I also noticed that when you check out a place like ZZ or M123, some strat ads note the neck profile and other don't. I just checked 123 and it seems as you go up in price they are less likely to note the profile - is there a standard profile?

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

Here is what the G&L website sez. No metion of neck shape, except for the #1 V. This leads me to believe that most G&Ls do not have a V-shaped neck.

http://www.glguitars.com/options/options.asp

 

[marnold]

Here's how Warmoth describes their necks.
http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm?fuseaction=back_profiles

I assume their standard would be a "C" shape, the Clapton is a "V" shape, and the Wizard would be like an Ibanez neck. I haven't the foggiest where a "U" shape fits in, maybe their "Boat" or "Fat" ones?

Generally, when I think "Fender neck" I think "C" shape.

Here's Fender's official explanation:
http://www.fender.co.uk/support/faqs.php#q14

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Mine is a Modern C, with a 9.5 radius. It seemed to me without going back and looking that the G&L's were a little flatter in radius at 12 or so. I don't know about shape. The JV comes with a more V shaped one. I think with the 9.5 radius. As far as what that all means, all I can suggest is go to a GC or something and pick some up and mess around to see what works for ya. I went with the "go with what intuitively feels good" method when I was shopping for my Number One.

 

[aeolian]

Here is what the G&L website sez. No metion of neck shape, except for the #1 V. This leads me to believe that most G&Ls do not have a V-shaped neck.

http://www.glguitars.com/options/options.asp

You are right. G&L offers a handful of neck options and only one is a V-shaped neck, the others are C-shaped. In general there are 4 characteristics to a guitar neck: fretboard radius, width at the nut, shape of the back of the neck, and the thickness of the neck at the nut and at the body joint. US-made G&L guitars are now machined with a CNC machine, so there is probably very little variation from one neck to another if you pick a neck option from their chart. I do know they still hand-sand their necks so there may be a small leeway if you want a thick neck versus a thin neck.

Custom builders like Melancon (how I love to have one of these!) actually offers oversized thicknesses to their neck (e.g. +0.04", etc.). But then Melancons are completely handbuilt to exact customer specifications.

 

[Bloozcat]

Like the C shaped necks that come in various thicknesses and tapers, so do the V shaped necks. There's a hard V, a soft V, a 1952 soft V - and they're all a little different. Then there's the differences between manufacturers and their definitions of what makes a hard or soft V.

The Jimmy Vaughan Strat does come with a V neck profile. It's a soft V profile that's quite comfortable, IMO. It's one of several things that I like about the JV Strat.

I have a Mighty Mite soft V neck that's pretty close to the JV Strat neck, and I just picked up a Tele neck that's a 1952 soft V profile. Sounds pretty much the same except for the year, doesn't it? Well, the 1952 soft V is harder than the MM soft V. It's not like they're worlds apart, but they are different. And depending upon your personal preferences, one could feel great, and the other not so much. Or, like me, you might like them both. My Alvarez acoustic even has a soft V profile neck. I didn't know it when I bought it years ago, I just knew that I liked the feel...and that's the most important thing.

The only sure way to know is to try a few. I'd start with the JV since that's the one you're most likely to find without too much searching.

 

[just strum]

This post drew some good info. I'll have to take a trip to the local shop and have the guy give me some guitars to try out that have different profiles.

 

[cherokee747]

If you do decide to go with the JV you won't be disappointed.I had one for a couple years and loved the neck profile.Should never have sold it.Ahhhh!!!

 

[just strum]

Should never have sold it.Ahhhh!!!

I hear those words said all too often here

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

So many people have such good things to say about the Jimmie Vaughan strats. I've gotta try one someday.

I have no idea what neck profile I prefer. Both my Godins have a D profile, it's all I know.

 

[Bloozcat]

What makes the Jimmy Vaughan Strat so attractive, IMHO, is that you basically get an American Strat that's painted and assembled in Mexico.

Reportedly, the body and neck are made in the US, the bridge is an American Vintage w/steel tremolo block, the tuners are Gotoh/Kluson's, the pickups are Fender Tex-Mex, and the electronics are the same as an American made Strat. Now, unless all of that has changed in the last couple of years, that's a pretty good deal, if you ask me. Even if the body and neck are made in Mexico wholly, I still don't see a downside.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Remember also that the radius of the neck is going to affect how the shape feels. For example my Classic 50s maple neck is a V neck but has the vintage radius of 7.25. In comparison of V necks...the neck on the JV Strat is V shaped also but has a radius of 9.5. Because the radius is bigger on the JV it might feel bigger to you around your hands. It did me. The Classic feels somewhat smaller in diameter with the vintage radius and V neck shape. Plus the frets are smaller than the JV so it feels smaller around.