Musikraft Profiles

[RifleSlinger]

Howdy.

I'm hankering for a strat to join my tele, since it's been 20 years since Ive had a strat and that's what I started on.

I built my tele with a Musikraft 52 U (.98-.98). No complaints. It's home.

I don't want to just do a repeat, and would like the strat to be rooted in the mid 50's era, say 1955. I'm going to do a black body.

I don't really want to go smaller than .90, and while I'm intrigued by the idea of a V profile, deviating too sharply from the known seems risky. I keep thinking I should have a flat back in case I want to revert to classical style with my thumb back there, but I think I'm almost always over the top, and the lowest my thumb goes is in the top 3rd of the back or so.

Here's what I've been considering:
-.90-.99 C. My most conservative choice.
-.86-.96 57 V, classic strat choice
-something like a blackguard soft V

Any comments on those or other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[El Tele Lobo]

If it were me, it would be an easy choice. I would go for that Fat C. I find V necks fatiguing if I have to do any significant amount of chording (jazz or barre). If all I did was play leads, maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but I find a Fat C quite comfy even for lead work.

 

[RifleSlinger]

You speak wisdom. That's probably what I'll do.

 

[Antoon]

I play a big V neck and those feel (obviously) totally different from a U or D, so I am not sure that if you are used to the latter, you will like a V profile. I find that when I am playing in the classical position, I rest my thumb against the V neck ramp instead of in the middle, so no problems there.

 

[FuncleManson]

Warmoth's "boatneck" might be a consideration. 1" thick all the way, but with a soft "V" at the nut end, transitioning to a "C" higher up.

 

[pbenn]

+1.
My '99 Warmoth boatneck is .92 to .98. V is very soft, and sort of disappears up the neck.

 

[Hodgo88]

My Musikraft Blackguard neck is purportedly based off of serial 0039. It's .91" at the nut down to a full inch at the 12th fret, with a soft V and heavy rolled edges. Ridiculously comfortable. Don't fear the V!

 

[nickmm]

Not many original L series or Pre-L Strats have huge necks. I played a real 1964 the other days that felt like a Fullerton 62 reissue with a small soft V and hard edges..... Nothing like the current unplayable baseball bat custom shops.
If you are doing a Black Body the Clapton profile would be cool. But it's smaller than you think.

 

[Blue Bill]

While you're at it, get stainless steel frets. My Musikraft neck with SS is really great, fun to play.

 

[schmee]

I've had the Musikraft and Warmoth soft V. They are OK ish, but not as good as the Fender EC soft V. I dislike hard V's a lot, (no shoulder) makes for an achy hand for me.
I discovered the Warmoth '59 Roundback.... and man, it's a great neck shape. It's somewhat thick but not huge like the one on your Tele.

 

[gonzo]

i just ordered a Musikraft neck for my new tele project (which i'll document when i get far enough down the road with it)

the neck i got (i have small hands) is a 1-piece flame maple neck with a C79 89 profile.

should be close to previous necks i've had made from USACG

i also went with a 14" radius (yep, this is not a purist tele build!)

 

[gonzo]

this was a side by side comparison i did of the profiles off the musikraft site, when i was considering a soft V (ON the left, the one i got is on the right)

 

[Sax-son]

+1.
My '99 Warmoth boatneck is .92 to .98. V is very soft, and sort of disappears up the neck.

I have a few of the Warmoth boatnecks and for the most part, I really like them. However, I don't care for the modern build versions (with the double truss rods) as much as they feel stiffer than the vintage build boatnecks. I have a few Musikraft necks as well. Both companies have their plus and minuses, but both are good in my opinion.

 

[telestrangler]

I've had the Musikraft and Warmoth soft V. They are OK ish, but not as good as the Fender EC soft V. I dislike hard V's a lot, (no shoulder) makes for an achy hand for me.
I discovered the Warmoth '59 Roundback.... and man, it's a great neck shape. It's somewhat thick but not huge like the one on your Tele.

I agree with this exactly. I like old style soft Vs a lot but the Musikraft soft V doesn't have enough shoulder especially low down on the neck. Fender and Martin got this just right. And with Vs the fretboard edge roll becomes more important too. So I have to end up taking material off. Warmoth boatnecks are mixed, I have one that's pretty nice and another where it's really harsh. When it's done right it's the best. I might try the EC soft V and the Warmoth 59 roundback based on this.

 

[Singin' Dave]

When I was building my now #1, I opted for the Musikraft C 90-99 myself, but with a 1 11/16 nut width and its is the PERFECT neck for me. Full but not a baseball bat and just that little extra spacing due to nut width. Highly recommend!