Anatomy of the Stratocaster: the Neck
The neck is arguably the most important part of your Stratocaster; It is the part of the guitar that your hands will be forming the most intimate relationship with, and it’s where all your Fret-Hand Finger-Magic will be happenin’.There are two basic neck styles that you’ll find on a Stratocaster: the original 1-piece maple neck and the 2-piece maple neck with rosewood fingerboard.
Generally, maple fingerboards are said to give a “brighter” tone, while rosewood fingerboards give a “warmer” tone. Maple lends itself to that signature-Strat tone: bright & quacky. If you can’t handle all that quack, you may want to consider a rosewood fingerboard to tame the beast that is your Strat.
On the 1-piece maple neck, there is a dark ’skunk stripe’ (typically made of walnut) on the back of the neck, where the truss rod was inserted into the neck. On necks with a rosewood fingerboard, the truss rod is inserted underneath the fingerboard, and there is no need for a skunk stripe.
Maple necks are laminated, resulting in their glossy look and feel. Rosewood, being a naturally oily wood, is not laminated, resulting in what most guitarist agree is a ‘faster’ neck. This lamination also means that the maple necks are harder to ‘break-in’ that rosewood (’breaking-in’ a guitar, in case you’re unaware, is the au-naturel counterpart of that crazy new-fangled ‘relicing’.)
As with the type of wood, all necks are NOT created equal in terms of measurement, either. Stratocaster necks vary in size and shape in three important ways: width at nut, fingerboard radius, and shape.
Width at nut is exactly what it sounds like, the width of the neck at the nut. Typically, this is 1-11/16″ on modern Strats and 1-5/8″ on vintage Strats, although necks are available with other widths. Fender necks from the 60’s and 70’s were made in four widths, ‘A’,'B’,'C’, and ‘D’, not to be confused with neck shape (see below). The letters for neck width correspond to the following sizes:
‘A’ = 1 1/2″… ‘B’ = 1 5/8″… ‘C’ = 1 3/4″… ‘D’ = 1 7/8″…
A move up to the wider neck may be worth considering if, like me, you’ve got big fat fingers that get too crowded when you’re playing open chords.
The fingerboard radius is the radius of the playing surface of the fingerboard. Vintage Strats used a 7.25″ fingerboard radius, while modern Stratocasters use a flatter 9.5″ radius. A wider radius allows for easier string bends, as it keeps the strings from ‘choking’ or ‘fretting out’. This problem drives some people to use necks with a radius as wide as 16″, but a more innovative solution is to use a conical fingerboard, also called a ‘compound radius’ or ‘hybrid radius’ fingerboard. A neck with a compound radius has a tighter, more rounded radius at the nut (usually between 7.25″-10″), and flattens out to 16″ at the higher end of the fretboard, allowing you to easily play chords in the lower register while preventing string-choking higher up on the neck.
The neck shape of a Fender neck is given a letter-name to describe it’s shape. For example, the now-standard ‘C-shaped neck’ roughly follows the curvature of the letter “C.”
‘V-shaped necks’ comes in two varieties: ’soft V’ and ‘hard or strong V.’ The ‘hard-V’ more closely resembles the letter ‘V’, while the ’soft V’ is somewhere in between the ‘C’ and ‘hard-V’ shapes.
There are also thicker, chunkier ‘U-shaped necks,’ which are commonly (and wrongly) called ‘D-shaped necks.’ The confusion comes from the letters used by Fender to describe the ‘width at nut’ of their necks, and the fact that the ‘D’ width is so wide (see above.)
A typical Stratocaster neck has 21 frets, although this is sometimes extended to 22 or even 24 frets. With necks that have 22 frets, the neck extends over the pickguard, forming a ‘lip’ that you need to be careful of when removing the pickguard. In the case of necks that have 24 frets, the fingerboard actually extends into the neck pickup position, depriving you of that sweet, sweet harmonic quack we know and love.
…and now, something for the amateur luthier in all of us: Removing the neck.
On the back of the body, where the body meets the neck, is a slightly rectangular neck plate. Vintage Stratocasters, as well as newer Strats, use 4 screws here to secure the neck to the body. Stratocasters from 1971-1980, a period during those Dark Ages of Stratocaster History known as ‘the CBS years,’ used only 3 screws. Which style you have makes no difference, simply remove the 3 or 4 screws, and the neck plate, and you have successfully decapitated your Strat.
Now look at the severed head. The standard Stratocaster headstock is slightly smaller than what is commonly called the ‘”60’s style headstock.” First introduced in the late 1965, this headstock was replaced with the current narrower version in late 1981. Today, the 60’s style headstock is used extensively on the Squier Affinity series Stratocasters.
Anyway, back to removing the neck. Why would you ever want to take the neck off your guitar? you ask? Well, you may want to swap necks from one gutiar to another, you may have compeltely destroyed your current neck in a Pete-Townshend-esque explosion of rocktosterone, or maybe you just want to find out how old you axe is.
While the serial number found on the headstock can be useful in finding the rough age of your axe, definitively determining the year your guitar was made requires removing the neck from the body. The way the date was recorded varied throughout the history of the Stratocaster, but generally it will be written or stamped on either the heel where the neck fits into the body, or underneath the neck plate.
Well, there it is: just about everything you need to know about Stratocaster necks… Official Fender necks that is. I’ve not yet attempted to tackle the myriad of Fender licensed necks, and it would be impossible to cover all of the unlicensed Strat-necks out there. Ebony, Pao Ferro, Carbon Fiber… if you imagine it, it has been done; but the information here will cover just about any Stratocaster you pick up in a Guitar Center… and I encourage you to go to Guitar Center and pick up several guitars. As with all things guitar, the differences between different necks are almost purely subjective, and you should try out all of the different options yourself to get a feel for what best fits your playing style.
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Comments
Contrariwise, Leopold. The ‘62 neck is thicker than the 1960 neck. ‘62 strats seem to be a thick-necked anomaly in an era of thin neck shapes.
The ‘65 neck also has the larger style peghead.
The 1960/62 Strats would both have a width at nut of 1-5/8″. The ‘65 may be larger or smaller, as Fender was making it’s different width necks (A,B,C,D) by ‘65.
Thank you for your answer. To be honest I am a little confused right now. I have an American Vintage 1962 reissue strat. When I compare it to my 1960 heavy relic strat the neck ( the c shape ) is definately thinner.
It’s possible that the fingerboard radius may be smaller on your ‘62, giving the impression of a smaller neck back. While both should have a 7.25″ radius, I’ve seen ‘Reissues’ with a compound radius. It seems there is some variation depending on when the Reissue in question was manufactured… or more likely, who tinkered with it before you, if it’s second-hand.
In your experience, is it possible that an early 60’s neck could be issued by Fender without a serial number, other than on the neckplate? I , am considering a neck that displays exactly the right patina, (very difficult to forge), but has no serial number on the headstock, either side, or on the heel. The decals are correct in every way, vintage wire frets, truss rod at the headstock end, 21 frets, and thin neck, probably around 12″ radius. The neckplate is not available. any thoughts would be very welcome. Best wishes, arthur.
Yes, the early 60’s necks only had serial numbers on the neckplate. Until ‘62, the date was written in pencil on the heel, after ‘62 it was stamped on the heel. However, it wasn’t until the late 70’s that the truss rod adjustment was moved to the headstock, so be careful with this one.
Vintage decals and fret wire can be reproduced, but the 12″ radius and location of the truss rod adjustment tell me that you should probably stay away from this one if you’re looking for a true vintage neck.
Interesting info. I have an ‘86ish American Standard whose neck is very comfortable. Can a luthier identify the shape & radius & fretwire?
I have a couple of MIJ Squier Contemporary strats with a similar feel & I might want to change the necks on them, IF I can be sure to match the American Std neck.
thank you for the information on the stratocaster neck… but I have one question. I own a classic player 60’s stratocaster with a 12″ radius freatboard and c shape neck. Can this neck hold the weight of heavy gauge strings 11,12 or 13? or will it eventually bend and break?
Hi, excellent article you’ve written. I have two questions 1.) the “A” size denotes 1 1/2 width at the nut as according to your article, except on a Fender J-Bass I’ve never seen a neck this thin. Was it a slow seller hence them not being made in that size anymore? 2.) When I first started playing guitar I had/still have, a Squier Affinity Strat as my first guitar, fastforward 8 years I now own an American Telecaster(I’m really more of a tele guy) and looking at my pitiful Indonesian made strat makes me wonder what i could do to it. Well I have millions of hairbrained ideas but I need to pull the neck off, or at least remove ALL the strings. I have a general understanding of the truss rod and know the basic principles. What I’m worried about is if I leave it off for a long time, say 3 months, with the cheap and I presume not ideally prepared maple and rosewood neck warp, because the trussrod is still pulling warping the neck to no return? Or should I just loosen it and have an expert set it up at a later date, or just not worry about it? Anything would help thanx.
Lusifer - I’ve been warned about putting 13s on my neck by several people, but I don’t think it will do any real damage. It certainly hasn’t to my guitar yet. It’ll take a set-up, of course, after you change string gauge, but you should be fine as heavy as 13s.
Mike DiFran - I’m not sure I understand your first question… as for the Squier neck, go ahead and take it off while you play around with the body and guts. It may need a truss rod adjustment if you decide to use the same neck, but it’s nothing a quick setup can’t fix.
thanks alot for the info. keep up the good work.If I have any more questions I’ll let you know.tnxs again
Hello - great site & info
I have a American Standard with natural (finish) ash body, looks like one of the originals from the seventies but with a 5 way switch.
I am trying to find all the specs for the guitar, including neck shape (I wouldn’t be able to tell whether C, U or V shaped…
How can I say?
Serial is N3158555
Thanks — Max
Thanks for stopping by… neck shape should be a ‘C’, 1.685″ width at nut… head over to the anatomy section and check out the neck section for profiles of the different neck shapes
Hi I have a question. I have a fender strat and the neck # is 0903-4513 , The serial # is 525266 . Is it a 73 or 74 ?
Thanks,
Randy
HI,
WHAT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS THIS: CAN I REPLACE THE FACTORY NUT ON MY AMERICAN STANDARD STRATOCASTER WITH AN LSR ROLLER NUT AND HOW DO I DO IT? HOW DO I REMOVE THE FACOTRY NUT ON A STRAT? OR SHOULD I LET A GUITAR TECHNICIAN MAKE THE CHANGEOVER? THANKS. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU RE THIS MATTER.
RGRDS,
JOHN
It’s possible to replace the nut on your Strat with an LSR nut, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself. Take your ax to your local guitar tech and they should be able to swap in the LSR without a problem.
hi, mad stratter
good site mate
lots of useful info
Ive got a Japanese 62 Reissue Strat and the neck seems like a D shape. Ive been playing a C shape strat for quite a while so its really quite uncomfortable. Is there any where i could send it to be altered or reshaped to something a bit less chunky?
cheers,
raj
Hi, thank you for the info. I have a telecaster 69 RI blue flower cij with a fat u-shape neck. I`m looking for a Strat with a neck like that. Is there a Strat with the same neck-shape or a neck that comes close ? Should be a maple-neck.
Thanks
Andreas
i have a strat body (i think). very heavy like a dull yellow with a 3layer pick guard. has no neck or neckplate knobs look vintage. is there anything under the pickgaurd or maybe numbers of the pickups that would approximate what the hell it is? i would like to restore the guitarbody and make it play again. will have to replace just about everything as far as electronics but i would like to match a correct era neck and head with the body.
Thank you for this very good information. I have a question concerning neck shapes. What is the difference between a 60 , 62 and a 65 strat when it comes to neck shape? Is it a general rule that the c neck of a 60´s strat is thicker than the c neck of a 62 strat? And what is the difference to a 65 strat? Thank you very much in advance for your answer. Sorry if my english is not perfect, but I am not a native english speaker.
Leopold von Weiler