20 Best Wood For Guitar Neck (2023 Updated)

If I had dreams about a fender strat neck, it would be exactly the same as this one. The Roasted Maple color is Marvelous. The Stain Finish on the back feels beautifully soft on my fretting hand palm when it comes to feel, and very smooth while playing.

I fell in Love with the narrow tall frets for the first time when I got my Fender Road Worn 60s’ Strat, and the narrow tall frets on this neck made me love it even more. it has the best of both worlds.

it’s better than medium jumbo frets, because while playing it’s like my fingers are playing on a trampoline (if that makes any sense), my fingers never touches the wood of the neck, so my playing is faster, more comfortable, and smoother.

And it is thinner (narrower) than Jumbo frets, so it’s not chunky or bulky under my fretting fingers while playing or sliding over the neck. The Best part is: I bought this Strat neck to put it on my Black Telecaster with a black pickguard, and my god, it’s even better than I ever imagined it.

The roasted maple neck on a black guitar body is the perfect match, it’s extremely beautiful. And the Strat neck on a Telecaster body is an idea that I got when Fender Custom Shop released Eric Clapton’s Blind Faith telecaster, and whoever said Clapton is God knew what he is saying, putting a Strat neck on Telecaster body is a brilliant idea when it comes to playability, sound, and looks.

So, putting this new Roasted Maple Strat neck on my Telecaster made it the best Guitar I have ever, seen, played, and owned. it’s my Number ONE guitar now. If you made it this far in my review, and If you are interested to see how it looks, e-mail me and I can reply with a picture.

Thank you ver much. Cheers.

After getting this neck professionally installed and set up by an experienced luthier I am very happy. I thought I could install it myself but it required more expertise than I possess to get the nut slots perfect and I also had to spend some time and money finding tuning keys that were made for the 60s style predrilled holes.

The tuning keys from the original 2020 Jazz neck would not work. Couldn’t have done it without the help of the luthier. That being said, this neck is awesome to play. It transformed an ordinary MIM Standard Jazz Bass into my favorite bass.

And I have three other Fenders that cost a lot more.

I bought a fender body and slapped on an unbranded scalloped neck to try it out. decided it wasn’t for me, and wanted a true strat. I always liked the oversized headstocks, and the roasted maple just looks SOOO good.

I took it to a pro for the install since it was going to require a 4th hole to be drilled in the neck, as I wasn’t comfortable doing that myself (especially not on a fairly expensive neck). Anyway, this thing plays incredibly well.

The frets did not really need any work. I don’t know how much the neck is contributing to the sound, but the guitar absolutely sings. and it is absolutely gorgeous.

So I had worn frets on my old Squire Stratocaster neck. I could have had a refret job, but that was the logical choice! I decided to go for a Fender MEX neck, that’s an UPGRADE! So whilst in transit from America, I thought it might not fit exactly somehow.

It’s not like close enough is going to be good enough! I pondered and cogitated thinking that I had made a grave mistake, especially as the Stratocaster Forum members unanimously disapproved. Well, it fitted perfectly and after a nut file out (expected) the sound, feel and tone is massively improved.

I can’t overestimate the outcome. Heretical as it apparently appears, I am so happy with the tone and feel. So that just goes to prove, that you can buy a cheap guitar, wear it out, then replace the neck and transform the way it plays and feels with an expensive neck.

Boom!.

My Fender GC-1 Roland-Ready Strat needed a fret job, and I have never liked the “Powered by Roland” logo on the headstock. So rather than replace it with the more expensive MIA neck (22 fret), I decided to take a chance and ordered this MIM 21-fret replacement neck instead, with the maple fretboard.

I am very pleased with it. The frets were dressed nicely, the nut looks the same as my MIA neck, and it bolted right on very nicely–a very good fit. It didn’t need any intonation or truss rod adjustment.

As advertised, it did need to have the nut slots cut for my specific string diameters (10-13-15-26-32-38) which I did myself with my StewMac nut files, but it looked to me like the nut slots may have been OK as-is with my relatively light string set.

I also installed locking tuners, which required the two small guide holes per tuner that this neck has, and the fit for those was perfect. Also the back of the neck is satin finished, and not glossy, like my original GC-1 neck–I like the satin much better.

My tuners are staggered, and I have a Blade Runner Super-V bridge, so I don’t use any string trees–just realize that if you need to install string trees, you will have to drill the holes yourself. Bottom line–this neck will stay on my guitar until I need another fret job, and then I will most likely replace it with this same MIM neck–a very good product for the price.

I bought this neck to replace a neck with a Rosewood fretboard on a Standard Strat. This was my first Strat, bought new 17 years ago. I now own two additional Strats, one of which is an American Deluxe.

I discovered along the way that I strongly prefer a Maple fretboard and medium-jumbo frets, so bought this replacement neck to “upgrade” my trusty 17 year old Strat. I’m delighted with the results. Fit was perfect; Alignment was perfect with no need to sand the the heel of the neck or the pocket, and no shims were needed.

I’m fanatical about setup, and fully expected to spend time doing these things, but not necessary 🙂 Also, the fretwork is excellent – not quite equivalent to American Deluxe but mighty close! The nut is very high quality and only needs string-slot filing and finish-shaping, sanding, and polishing.

A set of nut-slot files and a nut shaping files are the best tools for this.

The neck is made very well and with quality wood and frets. Has fret markers on both sides so you can use this neck for right or left hand basses. Simply draw your head stock design on it, cut, sand, drill holes for your machine heads, finish and voila! Truss rod is good, and has stayed true since installation (which is more than I can say for some far more expensive options!).

If you need a neck for a bass you are building, or to replace an existing neck, you can’t go wrong. Even the frets are finished pretty decently.

WOW!! The quality and attention to detail is equal to any $150 / $200 aftermarket neck. Fret ends are smooth, finish is thick , inlays are precise. Jazz Bass specs are authentic. The wood is choice clear grain.

hard rock density that almost smoked my bandsaw blade in the headstock cutting process. All smiles.

great value. dimensions are accurate. fret ends are very rough. at this price that is to be expected. the angled headstock with the fender scale and the diy paddle allow for a unique build.

It was a great price and a pretty good neck for my project. The edges of the frets were fairly sharp and I cut up my hand not know I should look out for it. The neck was not perfectly straight since there’s a slight bump in the wood near the mounting area.

this results in some buzzing when playing above the 14th fret. For me, that was acceptable since I have yet to play anything in that range, but who knows what the future will hold for me. Glow in the dark skulls on this neck were a nice surprise but not something I would look for specifically as a feature.

It adds a little extra to my project though.

Of course you will have to do some fret work. Other than the expected dressing, and leveling there is nothing else to say about these necks other than they are (mine is) straight, smoothly finished, and have a nice piece of Rosewood for the fretboard.

I have to add that the neck that I received is as good as or better than a stock neck on most 400. 00 guitars. Ps: One thing to add: Most of the “Canadian Maple” necks I have purchased are VERY light in weight.

The neck that I received is pretty hearty in weight. I like a heavy neck, and I usually add Grover’s to light necks to get a balanced feel. On this neck I used Open gear Hipshot’s, and I do like the feel/weight.

For the money, I don’t know how you could beat it. The only thing that needs improvement is some attention to the fret ends. Mine were bad enough they would have cut my hand. I invested in a fret end file and that took care of it.

That would not stop me from buying another. The two way truss rod works great. The frets themselves are level. Made from some top quality maple. Mine has some killer grain patterns. It does come with what I think is a plastic nut but I would expect that at this price and don’t count it against the manufacturer.

Just thought I should mention it. I am going to buy another one in a different style.

I got one of the last Professional necks, but the Professional II is identical in most ways, except the neck plate screws have an option for a squared-off neck, along with screw hole for rounded off neck too, so five screw holes.

I needed that, because this 2011 Squire thin line custom vibe “Nashvillized” mahogany telecaster (long description – eh?) body needs four evenly spaced screw holes to mount the neck, since it doesn’t have the rounded-off lower corner for playing comfort that Professional II bodies have, which require an offset screw hole to mount.

In any case, this neck is obsolete, but since it’s virtually identical to the Professional II with the exception of the neck plate screw holes, I can opine on what’s otherwise the same neck. They say the Pro-II has “rolled edges” on the fretboard, but this Professional neck is rolled too, so not sure why Fender marketing made it appear this was something new (?).

Marketing is not known for accuracy or honesty, FWIW. The Squire neck is a thinner, had a thick layer of polyester finish, and the frets were filed down to the point it was difficult to bend. This Fender Professional neck cost me as much as the used 2011 Squire thin line custom vibe “Nashvillized” (not by Fender) telecaster cost me, this neck was a little less expensive than the Pro II, which makes sense – Fender always increases prices with new models.

I used Fender “classic” tuners, which are the old style but fit the modern routes on the Professional (and Professional II) necks, which I prefer to modern locking tuners, but you might prefer them. The back of the neck is as soft as a boob, THAT soft, which I love.

The fretboard is has a gloss urethane finish, but it’s thin, and helps make it more durable. The frets are old style narrow, but plenty high for bending, and the fretboard radius is 9 1/2″, which helps with ease of bending, and not fretting-out on big bends.

The nut is bone, so no complaints there. I have my Nashvillized Squire Thinline Telecaster in my lap, and can’t stop playing it since picking it up this morning. The neck was riding too high in the pocket, so I let the expert luthiers file make it fit properly, something I could have done – but don’t trust my old self to do anymore.

They filed the bone nut to perfection too. I’ve got some stratocaster highwood saddles, which I may put on the six-saddle bridge for better tone. Even though they are for a strat hardtail size, they may work on this bridge.

They come with the traditional telecaster three-saddle bridges, but previous owner put in the six saddle bridge instead. I was going to take it off and put back on a traditional telecaster bridge, but remembered I have Highwood saddles for a strat, but the strats don’t need them as much as this telecaster does! In conclusion, great neck, well worth the money, because necks are the most important part of an elecrtric guitar – it’s where your body interfaces with the instrument.

I’m singing to the choir here, because obviously ya’ll want a better neck – why you’re here! Finally, it’s only a touch more chunky than Fender 60’s strat necks, and feels great to me with my medium sized hands.

I would think this would satisfy most players preference, although it may be too thin for some and too chunky for others. If you imagine a slightly chunkier 60’s “C” shape, this is it.

Nice neck, smooth finish, seems like great quality. I’m still in the build process, so it’s not on the bass yet, but I think it will work great. Like many others, the difficulty is finding the machine head tuners that go on the neck.

The peg-hole size is. 743 in, which is an odd drill. I tried 2 different types of tuners (Fender classic, Highway One), both didn’t fit the peg hole (too small). It turns out the Highway One tuner was the correct one, but you have to make sure you get the.

743 bushings, or order the bushing separate, which is what I did. The bushings that fit are: part # 001-9509-049, Fender vintage bass tuner bushings, The Tuners that fit the pre-drilled holes are: part # 003-6400-049, Genuine Fender MIM/Mexican Standard & Highway 1 Bass Tuning Machines.

This was confirmed by Fender (I asked), but make sure you also get the correct bushings as the ones that came with this order were the 18mm ones. Installed the bushings by using YouTube video techniques of a longer bolt, with a washer, through the bushing to a piece of hardwood, with a washer and nut, and gently tighted the bolt until the bushings were flushed.

I did lightly sand the peghole to remove some clear-coat. All good, but finding the correct tuners was a tremendous pain. I don’t know why that couldn’t have been clearly identified on the neck posting.

Finally. an actual soft V that is period correct unlike those that are on the Roadworn Series and Classic Player strats. I mean those necks are O. K. and somewhat period correct (albeit they are awfully small) but this neck is great.

If you like a smaller neck then this neck is not for you. On the other if you like the feel of a neck that fits just right in your large hands then this neck is for you. The other nice thing about this neck is that even though it’s period correct, it didn’t stop Fender from bumping the radius up (9.

5) for faster lead lines and zero fret out. Good job FENDER on this neck and the American Original 50’s and 60’s Stratocasters. Lastly, I would love to see all of these necks and Stratocasters made in Mexico at a more affordable price point.

I mean. seven hundred for just the neck (and it was six). IMHO, this is WAY to high for most people (at least it is for me, a working musician) to afford. so I only gave it four stars because of this.

Still, all in all I have to say. this is a great neck and the american original strat is a great series of guitars.

I think a lot of the hassle and aggravation you read about online that partscaster builders get, sometimes comes about when trying to get a Fender neck installed on a cheap body they’ve picked up on Ali Express for 20 quid.

I’ve had no such problems. I took one of my neck bolts and screwed it to the correct depth, into all the pre-drilled pilot holes, before I took the neck anywhere near the body. Then after pushing the neck home into the pocket as per the instructions show, I tightened up the screws and installed the strings.

Then, and here’s a useful tip, with it in tune, and the guitar pointing away from you, loosen the the neck bolt screws off again, very slowly, ignore all the creaking noises; that’s the neck being pulled into the pocket as tight as it will ever go; and will give your guitar a sustain comparable to a guitar with a set neck.

I got this neck to replace the one I had on my Squier FSR Bullet Telecaster (in Metallic Purple with Maple Fretboard). This telecaster has a Maple neck with a normal C shape and felt really unrefined for a “Fender” neck.

I decided to get this Fender Telecaster Standard Replacement Neck with a Modern C shape neck. This new actual Fender neck was a drastic change in quality and performance. Here’s just a quick Pros and Con of this product.

PROS: Real Fender Product – Because this is an official Fender product, the neck replacement on my Squier was seamless and very simple. Modern C – Makes a better feeling guitar when playing compared to the normal C shape neck.

Satin Neck Finish on back – The neck is very smooth feeling when playing. The finish on the back of the neck doesn’t get in the way of you playing fast. This helps if you have sweaty hands when playing.

Gloss fretboard – This makes a difference because if doesn’t feel like your fingers are sticking to the fretboard. Medium Jumbo Frets – Just feels nice when moving around the fretboard. Bending strings feel nicer than my old Squier frets.

Pre Drilled Holes for Tuners – I already had Fender locking tuners. So it was a simple swap with no mods needed. CONS: Nut not slotted – I don’t understand why the NUT isn’t slotted at least for common string size.

It is very slightly to get you started but you would need a file. I just used the low E strong and used it like a file but it didn’t come out too well and I’ve had to buy a new nut that comes preslotted.

No predrilled String tree hold – This really wasn’t too much of a problem but it’s scary if you get it wrong. Overall, I’m very happy with my purchase after two weeks of everyday playing with it. This was a much needed upgrade from my Squier telecaster neck I had.

Beautiful neck, however it didnt fit my new squire tele without shaving some of the neck pocket down vertically. Side to side it fit fine, actually perfect. Also, the nut needed to be filed slightly for 10s but thats not a big deal.

Otherwise its beautiful.

Im a player that has longer fingers and the fat neck cut down on player fatigue. Bought a rosewood a few weeks ago and came back to buy a maple neck with the nitro finish. They are beautiful necks and Im more than happy with my two Tele builds.

Keep in mind that you will have to remove the nitro finish from the frets for it is standard practice to apply the finish to the entire neck. There are a few YouTube videos out there on how to properly do this.

I personally taped up my fretboard and used a fine sandpaper to remove the finish from the frets. Also pay attention to the hole size in the headstock for your tuners. You may have to enlarge the holes provided and add those little pilot holes to stabilize your tuners.

Just TAKE YOUR TIME with your build or replacement neck and you should be as satisfied as I am.

I love that Allparts offers necks with many different specs. This model is perfect for me and before I discovered it I thought the only way I could get necks that I liked was to order custom made necks.

This is a significantly cheaper option and just as high quality.

Everything on this neck is what it’s supposed to be. The best materials, excellent workmanship. I will get some very good use out of this. Very satisfied with his purchase. I like Arkansas music and the way they show pictures of the actual neck you will buy.

Thanks for doing it right!.

Smooth finish, hard rock maple. Frets are sharp as razors along edge. You just need to know there’s some work involved. The neck is straight, but needed some touch up on a couple high frets.

very obvious blemishes on the fretboard but spacing seems to be correct, additionally this IS a FINISHED neck. have fun stripping -. – idk why they would advertise unfinished when its more work to finish it.

Whatever you are expecting for the price, lower your expectations slightly and you will be on point. OK value so far, will update if i find anything unusual.

Everything is perfect on this item. I expected nothing superb, just overall but the quality of the piece is AAA, the wood grain is beautiful, the finish on the neck is AAA and the most important thing is the feel that is actually SUPERB.

It weighed about 1LB is extremely light weight, and the balance is perfect!.

This neck Fits like a glove, has a fantastic radius (9. 5) which in my opinion is a lot more comfortable than the original 7. 5. The craftsmanship is excellent. The best replacement for my old Telly HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I purchased this Tele neck for a guitar build and I am loving the feel of the Fat U Shape of the neck. I’ve played an early Tele in the past , but that was many years ago. I love to build the guitar to my specs so it is just the way I want it.

I also think it the condition of the neck was great and was easy to install into the Tele body.

This is my second Mighty Mite neck. The first was a birds eye maple that they no longer carry. I was so impressed with the first one that I got a second neck. This time a rosewood fretboard. As far as I am concerned these necks do not have a finish.

They are sanded super smooth but need to have a finish put on them. Both times I used a tung oil finish that was super easy to apply and dried in just a few minutes. This allows you to put several coats on in a couple of hours.

Tung oil gives a very light coating finish that feels really fast and smooth. The rosewood neck unfortunately required fret leveling and crowning. Guns and Guitars on You Tube had the cheapest easiest way to fret level and crown a guitar so it was pretty simple.

I believe a neck that is shipped from Korea with all the changes in humidity is going to need fret leveling and crowning. Just accept it. I have had Fender USA necks that needed fret leveling and crowning so learn how to do it if you want to build or maintain guitars.

Chinese necks have poor quality control and usually need more work.

Fret work is just about perfect on mine. I put it on and set up was great out of the box. The maple is unusually white. No yellowness at all like most raw maple – not sure why. The size and specs seem right on, except, its listed as a 43mm nut width, it may be closer to 42.

The string spacing is fine on my fender body. I would buy it again.

Guitar neck is a great value for the price. If you are willing to out a little work in you will have a very good neck. I would but it somewhere between a good squier neck and a MIM fender neck. Nice satin neck for smooth gliding.

Mine did need some fret leveling but it wasn’t terrible. I also replace the nut with a graphtech nut but I do that on all guitars. Be comfortable with drilling neck holes of you decide to purchase, always a little nerve wracking.

Amazing quality! The neck fit perfectly in the Squier body I mated it to, The cut of maple is beautiful with lots of grain. Now to the best part, The frets were Leveled, Dressed and polished! The nut was cut perfectly.

I had to do nothing but drill holes to mount it. A slight quarter turn of the truss rod and it plays like silk. To say I’m pleased is an under statement. Perfect!.

This is an accurate repro to a late 1962 neck construction. Well made and occasionally get a very nice subtle flame in the maple (Ive bought a few). Most necks made are slab spec, but if you like the veneer style, this is the closest youll find to what Fender made in late 1962 and onward until 1967.

My All parts Neck was made in Japan, the fit and finish were absolutely perfect. The neck is dead straight and the fretwork was 99% perfect, a tiny bit of leveling and I was done. Fit perfect into my Tele body, I will always recommend All parts necks, fantastic value and very stable.

I purchased the neck with tuners and spacer installed by Bitteroot Guitars. They did a perfect job and included an Allen wrench for the truss rod and even a drill bit for the spacer install. I’ve purchased several necks and this is the first that included (adjustment) tools.

Neck feels and looks great. Customer Service was great too. I would not hesitate buying from Bitteroot Guitars again. -JJ.

An excellent American made quarter sawn neck for half the cost of a Fender. If your looking for a replacement or project neck can’t can’t go wrong with a WD. The fit and finish is on part with anything from Fender, plays well with a low action because the people at WD did an outstanding job of fret leveling before leaving the factory.

I would definitely buy another one!.