Vintage Fender necks

ruralfrance

If pre-CBS fenders are so great why do so many of the reissues have modern radius and big frets?

Keefy

Good point. I have a Custom Shop '59 RI with medium jumbo frets (as per the particular guitar it was modelled on), but there are times I could wish for a flatter fretboard! The relic'd neck is supremely comfortable though...

richardhomer

ruralfrance said:

If pre-CBS fenders are so great why do so many of the reissues have modern radius and big frets?

String bending wasn’t really on the agenda when the guitars were originally designed - and curved boards made barre chords easier.

As playing techniques developed - so did the instruments....

ruralfrance

richardhomer said:

ruralfrance said:

If pre-CBS fenders are so great why do so many of the reissues have modern radius and big frets?

String bending wasn’t really on the agenda when the guitars were originally designed - and curved boards made barre chords easier.

As playing techniques developed - so did the instruments....

In which case you would have thought that blues players would steer clear, but they seem to be the ones that rave about them the most!

Danielsguitars

well you combat that with a 7.25 to 9.5 compound radius and it works great imo, that's what we make anyway and all still vintage spec inc curved truss rod

ESchap

7.5" radius boards are great ... you just need to man-up and raise the action a little, ideally strung with 12's. 

GavRichList

Prefer 7.25” myself and as such, vintage fender necks very much are my jam. Low frets too if I’m asking. 

I don’t do the bendy thing though. 

guitars4you

richardhomer said:

ruralfrance said:

If pre-CBS fenders are so great why do so many of the reissues have modern radius and big frets?

String bending wasn’t really on the agenda when the guitars were originally designed - and curved boards made barre chords easier.

As playing techniques developed - so did the instruments....

valid point

also the profile of the  neck itself  is only one aspect of the overall feel - The fingerboard is the other 1/2 of the overall feel, so how easy it is to actually fret the note, bend and control the vibrato is an aspect that many refer with modern radius and larger frets

richardhomer

ruralfrance said:

richardhomer said:

ruralfrance said:

If pre-CBS fenders are so great why do so many of the reissues have modern radius and big frets?

String bending wasn’t really on the agenda when the guitars were originally designed - and curved boards made barre chords easier.

As playing techniques developed - so did the instruments....

In which case you would have thought that blues players would steer clear, but they seem to be the ones that rave about them the most!

I think you’re missing the point - until about 1983, 7.25” was the ONLY radius available on a Fender....

guitars4you

ruralfrance said:

richardhomer said:

ruralfrance said:

If pre-CBS fenders are so great why do so many of the reissues have modern radius and big frets?

String bending wasn’t really on the agenda when the guitars were originally designed - and curved boards made barre chords easier.

As playing techniques developed - so did the instruments....

In which case you would have thought that blues players would steer clear, but they seem to be the ones that rave about them the most!

many 'blues players' with old Strats have had them tweaked - many have had larger frets fitted to enable easier bending 

Not necessarily set in stone as Clapton still favours small frets - Hendrix never tweaked his guitars but used slinky strings - But SRV amongst others fitted big frets

ruralfrance

Interesting points.  Didn’t realise 7.25” went up to ‘83.  

peteri

Few points - firstly, remember that once an old neck has been refretted/played a lot, it flattens out anyway.

I have a 66 strat, that had been played until the original frets were like strips of foil, I've had it refretted since then - it honestly feels a lot more like 9.25 than 7 now.

Also, once you get used to it - it's just a feel thing, as others have said - you can bend fine on the tighter radius, just feels different and needs a higher action, it's not impossible.

Super low actions is something I associate as coming with the Charvel/Jackson/Kramer/Ibanez era - take a look at video clips of EVH and his guitars for example, his action is shockingly high to me.

crunchman

A lot of people like the vintage feel - me for one.

I'm probably going to cause a few heads to explode by mentioning the new John Mayer PRS in this thread, but that has a 7.25" radius, and PRS are selling loads of them.

guitars4you

crunchman said:

A lot of people like the vintage feel - me for one.

I'm probably going to cause a few heads to explode by mentioning the new John Mayer PRS in this thread, but that has a 7.25" radius, and PRS are selling loads of them.

indeed - and in the 2 recent reviews in Guitar and Bass + Guitarists magazine, Paul is interviewed about this - he points out that with totally level frets, plus the right amount of relief, then a good action and choking are not an issue

obviously all a matter of taste

I think on a blind fold test, many of us could not tell which is a 7.25 or 9.5" radius - but you can tell far more easily if either is fitted with small vintage or medium jumbo frets