60's 70's Fender Telecaster Necks ???

[telemonster77]

I've owned mostly mid to late 70's Telecasters and a recent 52 RI Telecaster. I've also owned a 69 Tele and a 71 Tele and now I have a 66 Tele. The necks all seem so different. From what I have noticed, the mid to late 70's necks are nice and fat, but early 70's necks are pretty thin. The 69 had a nice fat neck but my 66 maple cap neck is pretty thin compared to my late 70's and 52 RI Telecasters. Is this the norm? I haven't played too many 60's Telecasters but they all seem to be pretty thin to me. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in. I'm beginning to think that the only good Telecasters are from the 50's. Hmm

 

[t-ray]

I'm beginning to think that the only good Telecasters are from the 50's. Hmm

Depends on what you like, I guess. I bought a CS '63 Tele not long ago. I was a bit worried that the neck would be too thin. After playing it for a while, it has just about become my favorite. I also own a CS Nocaster and a LaCab. The necks, in order from thickest to thinnest: Nocaster, La Cab and '63. That latter two are almost tied, the La Cab just edges out the '63. I have concluded that the Nocaster (pretty close to 1" at the first fret) is too big for me.

 

[roycaster]

In the ‘60s and ‘70s you had your choice of 4 nut widths, but the neck profile could be anything. They were all done by hand. Thick, thin, c, v, u, you never know what you’ll get till you played it. I had an ’81 Strat with the same profile as my ’73 Custom, that tells you what to expect.

 

[johnnykazz]

Yeah before deciding I wanted a late 60's Tele, I got to play one of those maple caps, and it was actually a pretty fat neck. I think, as someone suggested, that the quality of being done by hand is much better, but the consistency of things such as neck profile is not accurate.

 

[Robert H.]

My '72 Tele had a nice full "C" neck. Not thin at all. I didn't care much for the thick poly finish which grabbed when I got a little heated up...but the shape was great, to me.