There are ways to customize all necks for certain sounds by using different woods, thicknesses, and construction strategies. You have to consider all three when making a choice.

You may prefer the sound a “baseball bat” neck gives you, but you might not like the joint pain that comes with trying to wield it. When it comes to the size of the various guitar neck profiles, you have to balance feel, sound, and comfort. This thickness difference caters to the playing preferences of the player. “U” shape necks can come perfectly balanced or thicker on one side or the other. Older Telecasters are famous for this shape, as well as the famous “Nocasters” that were produced with only the Fender label. The U-shaped neck is beloved by players with large hands, particularly those who prefer to keep their thumbs on the side or back of the neck. By many regards, the most comfortable V-shaped necks are the ones that taper to almost no “V” closer to the nut. The hard “V” is seen on both vintage guitars and re-issues of older models, but don’t appear frequently on modern guitars.

There are two chief varieties of “V” shape necks: soft, or rounded-V, and hard. V-shaped necks are of the so-called “old school”, they worked great when players would hold their thumbs over the fingerboard to hit bass notes, and used their fingers for playing chords and melody lines. There are a lot of different versions of “C” shape-slim, extra-slim, fat, nut-shaped, and even huge (for the curious, the huge is nearly a one-by-four and has very little taper between the first and 12th fret, pretty wild stuff). Some guitars, such as some Fenders, may have an even flatter C-shape than other guitars, but the basic premise is the same. It is fairly flat and is comfortable for players with all but the largest hands. We’ll talk about what these letters mean, what each of these guitar neck shapes do well, and where each might leave something to be desired for certain players. Guitar neck shapes tend to fall into one of three categories: C, V, and U.

Sure, they have a lot in common, but as with all things guitar-it’s the small differences that count. As any player with a few notches on their belt knows, not all guitar necks are the same.

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