From le–(at)–winnett.COM Mon Oct 24 11:50:20 CDT 1994
Article: 30650 of rec.music.makers.guitar
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar
Path: geraldo.cc.utexas.edu!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!gwinnett!lee
From: le–(at)–winnett.COM (Lee Reese)
Subject: Re: Stratocaster neck shapes – Book?
Message-ID:
Organization: Gwinnett Computer Services, Atlanta(Duluth), GA
References: <37u0ni$m8--(at)--ewsbf01.news.aol.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 15:11:10 GMT
Lines: 35

In article <37u0ni$m8--(at)--ewsbf01.news.aol.com> mdladwi–(at)–ol.com (MDLadwig) writes:
>Does anyone know of a book that discusses the various neck shapes that
>Fender has used, and what years they were sold. I’ve found some strat
>necks that I like and some I hate – there seems to be a really wide range
>of shapes (V, U, and baseball bat shapes!).
>
>This weekend, I tried a ’68 reissue (Japanese) that sounded crappy, but
>had a great neck – I’d like to know what other years had that shape or
>something close.
>
>Thanks!
>mike.

Try Dan Erlewine’s book, “The Guitar Player Repair Guide”. He discusses
five basic neck shapes most Fender necks are based on. Dimensions vary
within the neck shapes for different models. For example, the American
Standard, ’62 reissue, and SRV are based on the oval pattern, but have
different widths, thicknesses, and shoulder size to make them feel
different from each other. Anyway, here are the basic shapes:

#1 — Early 50’s “U” shape – .900″–(at)–1st fret

#2 — Earle 50’s “Soft V” – .850″–(at)–1st fret

#3 — “60’s Style oval” – .810″–(at)–1st fret

#4 — Mid 50’s “Hard V” – .820″–(at)–1st fret

#5 — Modern Flat Oval – .780″–(at)–1st fret

There is also a variation on the “V” shape called the “No. 1056” which
is commonly referred to as the “Boatneck” shape.

Lee