im wanting to get a standard strat because before i started playing electric, i had no idea what kind of sound that i would enjoy and like to strive for...

my first electric guitar is a Michael Kelly Patriot Custom, your able to coil tap the humbuckers, but its still a little too muddy for what i think i want...even when tapped, and rolling the neck pickup

i understand its not a high dollar guitar, but for the money i think i got a very good guitar, its a decent LP copy.

so having said that... now that i think i want to go to a fender strat, mostly because i see and hear people playing with them, and i like that sound, i start trying to educate myself about what all is out there......and i just need some clarification...

im still pretty new to guitars, but as i understand it, the width and size of the neck on my guitar as i come to find out, is now rendered something akin to a fence post now that i got to play on a few strats and tele's, i wasnt aware of how much my hand would rather hold a strat.

i do not know the neck profile i played (yet), or the fret radius (yet), all i know is that it was way different than my MK, and i liked it a lot, i felt faster, could grip it deeper, since i have a half bar chord grip using my thumb, playing all but the A string....

but what is the attitude toward which profiles more or less are stereo typed with what style of playing? meaning: why did SRV play the neck profile and fret radius that he did, and why did so and so play a different type neck for reason x, y, and z? sorry, but im having trouble making sense...

i know all folks have different needs, and learn to play in a style thats unique to them, so im just looking for broad notions, for when i start trying all these different types, i might understand why i like or dislike that particular setup...

i dont understand the fret radius sizes, their pro's/con's, or the neck profiles, C's, D's, V's ect...

wow thanks for the info, that was a good read. Im glad to read about the part where it mentions about playing with your thumb hanging over the side, and most folks prefer the V shape or some variation of it...

this helps me a lot. I'll still try as many as i can stand, but i think i'll start with some v necks and see if they feel good..

i see the deluxe strats are V necks, and about 5 hundy more bucks though!

this helps me a lot. I'll still try as many as i can stand, but i think i'll start with some v necks and see if they feel good..
i see the deluxe strats are V necks, and about 5 hundy more bucks though!

If the money's a deal breaker then be sure to try a Classic Series '50s Stratocaster, which has the V neck and 7.25" radius, and the Classic Player '50s Stratocaster which as a V neck also but a 9.5" radius.

Baja Tele anyone? Monster tone and beefy neck - sound slike what you're after!

http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/se ... 0141502389

Cheers

Nutter

BTW great graphics, Nevin. Thumbs up!

If you're looking specifically for a V neck for less than a deluxe, I can tell you that the guitar center in manchester CT currently has a used Korean Strat in natural finish with a V neck. I played a bunch there Thursday and was most impressed with this Korean guitar. And I played a couple deluxe players strats, some standard mim, and a standard american. You can call the manager there to have it sent to you. If it didn't play well, I would not even mention it.

_________________
2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

I'm not so sure about most players prefering a V neck. Most modern Strat's have a C shaped neck. In fact, V necks are mostly found on '50's reissues. The American Deluxe Strat comes with a C SHAPE neck, but there is a version of the guitar available with a V SHAPE neck so be careful about that one. The price should be basically the same on those two different versions.

I personally love V necks but I also feel that if they were that popular, Fender would make more modern guitars (standard series, deluxe, etc) with V-shaped neck profiles. From memory, as mentioned before, the Classic Series '50's Strat has the V neck and a vintage radius of 7.25 and runs about $7-$800. The Classic Player '50's Strat has a V neck and a modern 9.5 radius and costs about $50 more than the Classic '50's. The Classic Player has American Vintage '57/'62 pickups though which are better than the stock pickups in the Classic '50's Strat. The American Vintage '57 Strat has a V neck and the vintage radius costing in the $15-$1600 range, pretty close to the price of an American Deluxe V-neck Strat. There are also a couple Tele's with a V neck, the Baja I believe and there are a few signature series Strats with V necks, like the Clapton Strat, the Jimmy Vaughn Strat, the Buddy Guy Strat and maybe more. And of course there's the high dollar Custom Shop Strat's, some of which have V shaped necks.