Fender 12 inch radius fretboard

nonesuch

Does anyone have a Fender guitar with a 12 inch radius fretboard as opposed to the more standard 9.5 inch?

https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/0147602309/semi-hollow-hollow-body/fender-deluxe-telecaster-thinline-mn-in-candy-apple-red

I'm looking at this Fender Deluxe Telecaster Thinline, that’s described as having a neck that feels ‘notably flat’. I’m just wondering how much different this would feel compared to a standard Telecaster neck.

I’ve got an Epiphone Les Paul that I presume has a 12 inch radius, and to be honest I much prefer the feel of a standard Fender neck. I find the Epiphone a bit too chunky - is this because of the flatter radius or just the overall width and shape of the neck?

richardhomer

The Eric Johnson Strat has 12" radius board and always feels 'wrong' to me.

I accept it (theoretically) allows for a lower action without choking - it just doesn't feel like a Fender guitar to me....

nonesuch

Why wrong?! Does it feel that much different?

BoopDeWoop

The telecaster deluxe has a 12" radius and so does some of the classic player strats have a flatter fretboard. 

richardhomer

nonesuch said:

Why wrong?! Does it feel that much different?

Yes - and the two Fenders I own both have 9.5" boards - rather than 7.25" vintage radius boards.

I can only give a personal opinion - obviously different aspects of guitar construction work for different players - but 12" just feels 'too' flat on a Fender guitar.

nonesuch

Thanks Richard - that's what I was kind of thinking, that it would be too flat. Although plenty of other guitars have that flatter radius without any problems, so I'm still not really sure! I really like the look of this new thinline tele though, so I'll have to keep a look out for one and see what it's actually like.

BigLicks67

I tried this exact model the other day and the neck profile was similar to an American standard. I don't think you can make a judgement based on radius alone, for instance the Ej strat, telecaster deluxe and classic player strat all have 12 inch radius but are all
 different in feel.

HAL9000

I've got a Tele and Strat both with 9.5" boards, and a G&L ASAT with a 12" board. I prefer the 9.5" but am comfortable with either. I did have a guitar a few years back with a 14" board which I really didn't get on with. TBH I think it was more the neck profile than the radius that I didn't suit me.

nonesuch

BigLicks67 said:

I tried this exact model the other day

What did you think of it? How did it sound and was the 4 way pickup selector useful? I'm not sure what the difference would be between the 2 pickups in series or parallel.

Dan

richardhomer said:

The Eric Johnson Strat has 12" radius board and always feels 'wrong' to me.

I accept it (theoretically) allows for a lower action without choking - it just doesn't feel like a Fender guitar to me....

I had a EJ strat too. Great guitar but agree with richardhomer, didnt feel right. Much prefer 9.5 or 7.25 on fenders.

BigLicks67

nonesuch said:

BigLicks67 said:

I tried this exact model the other day

What did you think of it? How did it sound and was the 4 way pickup selector useful? I'm not sure what the difference would be between the 2 pickups in series or parallel.

The guitar was nice and light and specced like an american deluxe. Locking tuners, cutaway neck heel. Neck was very slim and easy to play. The 4 way selector is okay I suppose but I'm more traditional and happy with the usual 3 sounds. 

BigLicks67

Dan said:

richardhomer said:

The Eric Johnson Strat has 12" radius board and always feels 'wrong' to me.

I accept it (theoretically) allows for a lower action without choking - it just doesn't feel like a Fender guitar to me....

I had a EJ strat too. Great guitar but agree with richardhomer, didnt feel right. Much prefer 9.5 or 7.25 on fenders.

I have an EJ strat and I think it's not so much the radius but the combination of the girth of the 50's style neck and the radius which makes it feel different. If the modern 9.5 radius guitars had massive boat necks instead of slim C shapes then I think there would comments on them also.

Evilmags

Mine has a 9.5-12 and it feels great.

johnswiss

My 83 Telecaster has the 12" radius, I like it.

johnhe

I have two strats and a tele with 7.25 radius boards, and a classic player 60's strat with a 12" board. Over time, the 12" has become my favourite guitar, but at the beginning, it felt quite alien to me, as a user of more traditional Fenders. 

My opinion is that the chunkiness that you refer to is to do with the dimensions of the neck - not the shape of the fretboard. There is a big difference (imo) in the feel of different radius boards, but that's a different issue to the chunkiness of the neck.

if you'd asked me a year or two ago what my favourite radius was, I'd have said 7.25" - hands down. However, I have to say that I just love the neck on my CP strat. It's nice not to have to worry about choking out when bending, although I'm absolutely convinced that the reason so many older strats sound so good has a lot to do with the rounded radius boards and the fact that their action is set higher to compensate. Raising the action leads to a much better sounding guitar imo.

mudslide73

I have an EJ neck on my MJT Strat. I understand why some people don't like them (big neck, flat radius and a little bit stiff). I grew up on flat radius guitars (LPs and pointys) so it's the other way round for me. I don't mind the 7.25" inch radius but I'm not a good enough player to get away with a slightly higher action. 

Stuckfast

I've got a Strat with a replacement Warmoth neck that has a flat profile and jumbo frets. Took me a day or two to get used to it but now I absolutely love it.