Why are so many guitar necks thin?

For whatever reason, this ergonomic nightmare continues.

A big reason I bought the SX Furrian guitar is because of its neck shape, as it happens to be one of the few electric guitars that has a neck with some thickness to it.

The proper term for guitar neck thickness is depth, although that's one of three things that contributes to how "fat" a neck feels. I'll talk about the other two in a moment.

Neck depth is typically measured at the 1st and 12th fret. On the Furrian (or at least on mine), the depth at the first fret is 22mm (0.866") and 25mm (0.98") at the 12th.

If you know neck depths at all, that is significantly more chunky than most guitar necks. The Furrian's neck depth at the 1st is where most necks measure at the 12th.

Some of you might recognize those measurements as being close to the neck measurements of a 1959 Gibson Les Paul. It's obviously not exact because the scale length is different as is the fretboard radius. But where measurements are concerned, yes it's close.

The second thing that contributes to how thick a neck feels is its shoulder. This is where the letter shapes of C, D, U and V come in. I'm honestly not sure if the Furrian is a C or D. Feels like a little of both but mostly like C. Definitely not a U or a V.

A neck that has one of the fattest feeling shapes is a "Deep U". The first fret neck depth measures 1" as does the 12th fret, the shape is U and has very pronounced shoulder. The one with slightly less pronounced shoulder is also a U, and Warmoth calls it a "Boatneck", a.k.a. a 1952 Fender Telecaster style neck shape.

The third thing is neck width. I interpret the "feels like a baseball bat" thing to be a skinny width with a fat back and pronounced shoulders. Wide width as far as I'm concerned doesn't make a neck feel thick, but rather the depth and shoulder. In fact, the skinnier nut widths with fat backs feel bigger to my fret hand.

What's "the standard" neck depth?

For most electric guitars, too thin.

First fret neck depth usually measures between 0.75" and 0.80", and twelfth at 0.82" to 0.85".

Where shoulder is concerned, too shallow. It doesn't matter what the neck shape is because most new guitars suffer from a distinct lack of shoulder.

And where width of neck is concerned, that's actually okay. Not too much of a problem here. Necks are certainly wide enough and string spacing isn't an issue.

Why does thickness and shoulder of a neck matter?

Ease of grip.

The best thing I can compare this to are steering wheels of pre-1980 vintage cars compared to modern. Most cars (regular cars, that is) made before 1980 had these awful skinny steering wheels. But then after the '80s began, a change was made to use thicker wheels because they just feel better in the hand, and it's pretty much been that way ever since.

Note that I didn't say bigger wheel. Thicker. A steering wheel with greater thickness makes good ergonomic sense. Easier to grab.

Similarly, a thicker guitar neck also makes good ergonomic sense. This is why so many guitar players - myself included - chase after electric guitars that have necks that are deeper and with more shoulder to them, as it allows for more comfortable grip.

So why are so many electric guitar necks so thin?

It's not for cost cutting reasons. Guitar makers don't save any money from making thinner necks. The wood waste made is negligible from thin or thick neck construction.

Originally, the guitar industry touted thinner necks as "fast" and easier to play. This started in the 1960s. But then when the 1980s came around, that was the Decade Of The Guitar Solo, so of course you had to have a "fast" neck for that (but not really).

Well, the '80s have been gone for over 30 years. Tastes have changed. And nobody wants to hear guitar solos anymore. I certainly don't.

But there are many guitarists who still believe the same b.s. guitar makers used to use in the '80s, even for those who were born well after that decade was over.

Yes, I'm blaming the guitar industry for this one. They are the reason so many new guitars have necks that are so stupidly thin. They need to get out of the '80s and start making necks that are thicker and feel better.

Am I saying to go back to the "baseball bat" shapes of the early 1950s? No. But it is well known that the '59 Les Paul neck measurements really work well, whether applied to a 24.75" scale or 25.5".

What can you do to find a thicker neck that feels better?

Specifically look up new guitar model listings that state the 1st and 12th fret neck depth measurements. That's a start.

As for the shoulder, that's not something numbers would give you good information on. But chances are fairly good that if the first fret has at least a 0.85" depth and the twelfth fret close to 1.0", that should feel pretty darned good to your fret hand.

Where the letter shapes are concerned, the vast majority will be C, D or U. I'd actually say go for the D first if you have the choice (again, that's the '59 LP shape), but a C with some good shoulder to it also feels great.

You may find that none of the guitars out there right now have that super-comfortable shape you want. If that happens, don't be afraid to just buy a neck outright (for bolt-on guitars, of course).

I got lucky with my Furrian. Rondo does list neck depth for many of their guitars, and the price is certainly good. But if you're looking for something more upscale, you'll have to do the research...

...but is it well worth your time to do so. Neck comfort is very important, and one thing is certainly clear. Where guitar necks are concerned, thin is not in.

What's a no-brainer way to get a fat neck?

A cheap Squier Stratocaster. NOT Classic Vibe. The low-tier one. Squier puts fatter necks on those. The tuners will suck, but those can always be replaced easily.

If you don't want to spend time researching and need a right-now answer for what's available with a fat neck on it, now you have an answer.

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Published 2020 Nov 5