I just had a person on EBay contact me to ask what the neck radius was on a guitar I am selling. I tend to classify my necks less mathematically, more tactilely. I know the feel of a '50 Broadcaster neck... baseball bat sanded into a U-shaped V, really meaty... and (of course) those odd bevelled edges on the side of the fretboard. I know the feeling of a 52 or 53 Tele/ Esquire neck... (I have owned 4 or 5... one was sprayed totally metallic green, and otherwise mint... in it's thermometer case... thermometer cases came with Tele's from 50 to 53). The 52/52 Tele's still have that 'bat' neck, but not a Broadcaster neck (these are not my favorite). Then comes the 55/56 Tele, with a neck everyone describes as anything from a thick baseball bat neck, to a large and chunky 'V'. I love my 56 Tele... and it has a neck similar to a 58 D-Shaped neck... which (by the way) is what Fender puts on most of their reissues now. It is a little thicker than a 58 D Neck. Meanwhile, my 55 Esquire is indeed clubby, but somewhere between a 58 and a 53 neck. What I am trying to say here is... it obviously was not rocket science back then, so there was variation even in the same year, between necks. We all know what works for us... and for me, neck radius is not the way I remember them...
