Gear Q&a
This issue: Neck aches, fake symptoms and soldering fortunes…
MIND FENDER…
It turns out the decision to buy my first Fender Telecaster, after years of playing Gibson gear, was the easy bit. I want something lighter than my current Les Paul Standard. Then there’s the snappier Fender scale length, and I also want a hardtail. The Telecaster is the natural choice, then, and I’ve got a couple of grand to get the job done. So, what’s the problem, you ask? Well, have you seen the choice of Telecaster models out there? I’d like to narrow the field a bit by focusing on the neck shapes. What I’d like to get from you is some description, and the evolution of those shapes and why they changed so much over the years. Any info will be gratefully received. Mike Hawthorne, via email Thanks for your email, Mike. As you can appreciate, there’s a lot to fit in here, but here goes… Neck profiles altered so much throughout the 50s and 60s thanks to good old player feedback. Gibson and Fender would invite patrons to suggest changes to their gear then debut those ideas on the following year’s models. In the case of the cats in Kalamazoo, that approach led to a progressive whittling of profiles from the fat pre-’59 shapes to the slimmer feel of the ’59 to ’62 necks.
The evolution of Fender neck profiles is a little more convoluted. It kicks off with the positively obese early 50s ‘U’ profile. We tend to refer to these necks as ‘baseball bats’, which leads many players to steer clear of the shape believing it must be too hard to handle. In fact, this shape is supremely comfortable. Furthermore, it’s a bucket list thing every guitarist needs to try before they snuff it.
As the 50s progressed, Fender began to remove some of the shoulder meat from the ‘U’ neck. The shoulder is the rounded expanse of timber between the treble and bass sides of the fingerboard and the back of the neck. This evolution from a soft ‘V’ profile ultimately led to a hard ‘V’ shape by 1957. This is the shape Eric Clapton loves.
From the period of 1958 to 1962, Telecasters had more of a ‘C’ profile. There was still some chunkiness there but nowhere near the beef of the earlier necks. 1963 on, the profile gradually thins down until you get to the slim late-60s shape, which was also confusingly designated with a ‘U’.
Given the amount of dosh you have to throw at this, Mike, you can have your wicked way with a bunch of US Telecaster models, or sniff around for a pre-loved Custom Shop gem. We’d obviously recommend that you try the various neck profiles on offer with a particular emphasis on the early 50s ‘U’ style. If you can handle the girth, you’ll love the sustain and tuning stability that comes with this behemoth. Alternatively, look at the 10/56V neck. One of the most popular profiles Fender has ever produced, it offers a combination of early fatness with the increased comfort associated with a mid-50s soft ‘V’. Whatever shape you eventually settle on, don’t forget to indulge in the thrill of the chase. Enjoy!
R8 My Purchase
I recently bought myself a Gibson Les Paul Standard R8, the Custom Shop replica of the 1958 model. I love the guitar, but my usual post-sale paranoia has set in and now I’m worried I’ve bought a ‘fugazi’. You see, I recently spied the Chinese Gibson fakes on YouTube, some of which at least look the part. How do I confirm that my R8 is the real deal? Also, if mine is