The neck radius will make a
difference. 7.25" will be thicker
in the middle. I personally like
the Mexican jags with 9.25" radius;
however, overall I think that the
American jags have more comfortable
necks, even though they have 7.25"
radius. Squier Jags might have the
thinnest necks I've played. They also
have 9.25" radius. After that, early
1990s Japanese jags (MIJ made by FujiGen
Gallo) have fairly thin necks. After that,
CIJ Japanese Jaguars made by Dyna Gakki, etc.
seem to be thin, although not as thin
as the MIJ Jags. This is based on models I've
owned. Hope it helps!

I've read accounts of Squier VM Jags having pretty chunky necks. Mine was average, certainly not nearly as thick as my VM Mustang.

mjlee wrote:

I've heard the new Squier Classic Vibe Jag has a pretty chunky neck also.

You're correct. Those necks are the thickest of any Jaguar model I've ever played, and same for the Classic Vibe Jazzmaster, just way too bulky. I was totally going to buy one, but after i felt the neck i just had to pass. I like necks of many shapes and sizes, the thickest neck i own is on a Brian May guitar, and it's big, but it has a good shape, hard for me to explain, some necks just feel right, but those "Classic Vibe" necks felt almost gross, like a blob. It's certainly wrong of Fender/Squier to call those things "Classic Vibe", nothing classic about them.

I shave guitar necks thinner myself. I don't even take the strings off, and it takes less than an hour. It takes less time than buying and installing a new neck, more so when you include time for changing strings. I use a moto-tool, a sander and sand paper, then I finish with Tung Oil. It makes ordinary guitars amazing.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Jun 20, 2019 17:31:45

edwardsand wrote:

And on a related note, how would you go about measuring neck thickness in order to compare between guitars?

With that question I recently measured half a dozen guitars I own, with widely varying neck shapes and thicknesses. I used calipers to measure thickness at several particular frets on each, and I used a flexible fiberglass measuring tape to measure circumference at these frets underneath the strings. There was a clear result: my impression of ease of play corresponded to smaller thickness measured with calipers. This was especially clear for bar (barre) chords. Circumference mattered somewhat but less than simple thickness.

The thinnest guitar neck was almost flat in back. The thickest guitar necks were very rounded, almost circular.

So, for a measure of neck thickness I suggest simple thickness measured with calipers at several frets, e.g., 3, 7, 12.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Jun 20, 2019 21:26:25

edwardsand wrote:

Cool. Are you measuring just before or after the fret?

I enjoy your interest and your question.

I measure on top of the fret. This is because my hand must span this to hold the strings down. Moreover, I measure on top of the strings, again because this is how far my hand must span to hold the strings down.

This thickness probably reflects the heaviest string not the others because the strings vary in thickness one to the next, but again this is probably the best reflection of my hand span. The calipers I use have flat surfaces on both sides, it looks like the tool called a "try square" with two attachments each perpendicular to the main axis.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Jun 21, 2019 15:16:13

(unintentional duplicate post removed)

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

Last edited: Jun 22, 2019 11:29:11

Yeah I have a lot of Jag's, Squire, Fender Japan, Fender USA

The real Fenders have more meat near the nut then the Squires on the back of the neck. The Squires seam to be very rounded off under the nut on the back of the neck and less wood there. Besides that the necks seem to be identical. (Real Fenders feel heavier though over all. The Squires are lighter.

There could be a different roundness maybe, but can't tell just looking at it. The Fenders seem to look thicker but measured the same. I will see if I can find my profile tool and check out the necks roundness - The Squires seem to be more like a C neck possibly - Dunno.

mjlee wrote:

I've heard the new Squier Classic Vibe Jag has a pretty chunky neck also.

It's all relative. The best thing is to try it out if you can. There are variations even in a CNC production guitar, and profile shape and neck width will change the feel for a person. For me, a thin neck is anything less than 0.85" (21.6mm) measured at the first fret, with a C, D, or V profile. I prefer baseball bat necks, and my favorite is a Telecaster with 1 inch at the 1st and 1 inch at the 12th. It has a C profile. Anything between 0.90" (22.9mm) and 1 inch is where I prefer my necks, with a C or U profile. I avoid Vs because they feel 'thin' even with a 1 inch thickness.

My Classic Vibe 70s Jag is not that chunky to me. It's 0.88" (22.4mm) at the 1st fret, and 0.93" (22.6mm) at the 12th fret. I'm guessing that's too much to be called thin by most, but I barely notice.

Note that I'm measuring right next to the fret, ignoring the fret itself. Center of the top of the fretboard to the center of the back of the neck. No strings. This seems to be how most people compare, plus the general profile shape. Wildwood Guitars is one of the few sellers who post neck measurements in the same way. It seems to me more recent Jags are pretty thin, again, relative to my idea of what thin is.

A year ago I measured the necks of some of my guitars.
Nut measurement is the fretboard width at the nut (body side) using a digital caliper.
Neck thickness was measured with a 6-1/4" outside caliper from the center of the fretboard to the center of the back of the neck. The distance between the jaws of the outside caliper was measured with a digital caliper.
1st fret thickness was measured directly behind the 1st fret (nut side).
12th fret thickness was measured directly behind the 12th fret (nut side).

1995 MIJ Jaguar
Nut width: 1-41/64" (1.64") (42mm)
Thickness at 1st fret: .82" (20.8 mm)
Thickness at 12th fret: .91" (23.1mm)

2006 CIJ Jaguar Special HH
Nut width: 1-21/32" (1.66") (42.2mm)
Thickness at 1st fret: .83" (21.1mm)
Thickness at 12th fret: .93" (23.6mm)

2006 MIA '62 AVRI Jaguar "modern C-shape"
Nut width: 1-43/64" (1.67) (42.4mm)
Thickness at 1st fret: .82" (20.8mm)
Thickness at 12th fret: .90" (22.9mm)

2017 MIA AV '65 Jaguar "mid-60s C-shape"
Nut width: 1-11/16" (1.69") (42.9mm)
Thickness at 1st fret: .84" 21.3mm)
Thickness at 12th fret: .98" (24.9mm)

2005 CIJ '69 Mustang
Nut width: 1-19/32" (1.59") (40.4mm)
Thickness at 1st fret: .81" (20.6mm)
Thickness at 12th fret: .93" (23.6mm)

2004 American Deluxe 50th Anniversary Stratocaster
Nut width: 1-11/16" (1.69") (42.9mm)
Thickness at 1st fret: .86" (21.8mm)
Thickness at 12th fret: .89" (22.6mm)