Was just wondering if anyone plays a stratocaster with a conical radius neck. I've become interested in a particular spec of 10" (at the nut) fading to 16". I'm sure they're not standard issue on store bought strats, so this would have to be a strat with a replacement neck.

I love my stock Amreican Deluxe but sometimes find myself wondering if it wouldn't be a little easier on my fingers with a super fast, flat fretboard.

I know the Eric Johnson Rosewood model has a 12" radius board, the thing is, I'm a real fan of the LSR nut and that only fits necks that are 9-10 inches in radius at the nut.

Anyway, was just curious if anyone's experimented with such a fretboard and what you thought of it.

Thanks.

I own a Charvel/Jackson mutt that has a Charvel body and a Jackson neck. It has the compound radius fretboard (10-16"). I like it very much. I tend to play more "metal-like" if that makes any sense, on that guitar. it just lends itself to shredder-type solos. The combination of big frets, compound radius and the overall feel is right for ROCK!!!
That being said, I also love my Strats with vintage radius fretboards (7.25) and others with 9.5" radius. it is all about adapting to each guitar. The compound radius idea is a good one tho.

My electric guitar has the very neck you describe, and I love it... ti's hard to play anything else now.

I studied classical guitar for a time at Jordan College of Music and got used to really, really flat fingerboards... so when I first installed the compound radius board, I could play faster and cleaner than I ever could before. 10" is comfy enough for chords, and since it flattens out to around 12: at the 12th fret, the upper register is very easy to get around on. Plus you can run crazy low action if you like.

It's so easy to get used to that I forget that it's compound radius until someone asks about it.

Hi leathan: I wonder whether the Custom Shop would make a conical radius neck to order - I don't know. It isn't available anywhere else in the Fender catalog, to the best of my knowledge.

Warmoth make compound radius necks for Strats (and every other guitar, too) that run 10" to 16" specifically so that they fit LSR and Floyd Rose nuts. Check out this page - you'll need to click "Fretboard Radius" from the menu on the left:

http://www.warmoth.com/Pages/GuitarNecks.aspx

Personally, I don't have my action set low enough for it to matter, so I have no personal experience to give. Like paisley strat (above) I find myself easily adaptable to many different fingerboards.

But respectworthy players like conical radiuses, so it's an interesting way to go.

Good luck - C