strat necks, need some advice

[Joe Baggadonitz]

I have a strat with a maple neck, it feels wide and flat. It's 'o.k.' but I prefer the rosewood fingerboard neck. It's not only the rosewood but the neck also feels 'rounder' and 'beefier' Is this a 'V' neck or a 'C' neck or what? What are the distinctions in size and radius?

[Kevin]

You can get different radii (fingerboard curvature) and back shapes with either type -- maple 1 pc., maple board, or rosewood board -- neck.... Older Fenders used a 7 1/4" radius, but newer ones (other than vintage series) use a 9 1/2" radius. This changes the feel of the board, but doesn't affect the width of the neck, at all.

If you have a V neck, you'll know it, as there is a "point" down the center, from which the sides taper. How "hard" the V is depends on year of manufacture, or what was specified from a custom maker....

There's also nut width to consider. Older Fenders used a 1 5/8" nut, but have switched to 1 11/16 in recent years.

Some necks are thicker from front to back than others. Some people like the U-shaped -- thick, with little taper to the sides -- necks on Nocasters and some 52 RIs. Others like the V-necks on 57 RI strats. Others like the thin, C-shaped necks on 62 RIs....

Another thing that affects the feel of the neck is whether the edges of the fretboard have been rounded. I've got a couple of necks -- one rosewood board and one 1 pc. maple -- that are virtually identical, except that the maple one has rounded edges on the fingerboard. I can really feel the difference and the square edges bother me. I'm thinking of rounding them myself...

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of variables to consider when finding a neck that fits your hands, but rosewood vs. maple really isn't one of them -- other than for looks and sonic considerations....