The Official Measured Neck Thickness Appreciation Thread !!

Cherryburst · Apr 29, 2007

I measured 5 different reissues at the 1st and the 12th frets. I was curious since they seem to vary so much guitar to guitar.

Measured at the center of the 1st fret with a 1" micrometer. Thinnest to the thickest.

02 R7 Goldtop -------- .907"
06 R8 Tobacco burst - .917"
02 68 Authentic RI --- .922"
05 R8 iced tea burst - .938"
04 68 Cherry flame RI .947"

Measured at the center of the 12th fret, thinnest to thickest.

02 R7 Goldtop -------- .990"
05 R8 iced tea burst - 1.017"
06 R8 Tobacco burst - 1.022"
04 68 Cherry flame RI 1.026"
02 68 Authentic RI --- 1.030"

It's weird how much difference only .040" can make in the feel of the neck.

If you have measurements on any of your guitars, post em !

Axel · Apr 29, 2007

Great thread!

I have two questions:

1. By "1st fret", do you mean you measured from ontop of the first fret (the fret wire itself) or in the middle och the "fretting area"? Maybe a stupid question...

2. This is maybe not a question, more of a wish... will anyone posting measurements please include metric values for us living in the jungle?

Cherryburst · Apr 29, 2007

Axel said:
Great thread!

I have two questions:

1. By "1st fret", do you mean you measured from ontop of the first fret (the fret wire itself) or in the middle och the "fretting area"?

2.

It was measured in the middle of the fretting area. Rosewood to Mahogany.

Use this to convert: http://www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm

I should mention to be careful not to mar the back of the neck while doing this. I used a piece of scotch tape to protect the neck and then subtracted .001

DanD · Apr 29, 2007

I'm going to dig up a mic and do my R7 and BFG and add them to your list. Your R7 measurements confirmed my feeling of my R7. Where my R7 feels like a rounded D shape the R0s I have handled feel like the curve in the D is flatter. I think this comparison would be more informative if someone could come up with a simple way to measure the actual shape of curve in our necks. Any ideas?

andy k · Apr 30, 2007

I dont own any R series -yet--
but next time I got my strings off, I will be measuring as per this thread.
Something that has been bugging me--
my 03 standard, I thought, has a 50's neck--
my 00 GM---, I thought, has a 'chunky' neck--
my 95 studio, which I stripped, has the thickest neck-almost parallel--without any real finish, measurements will have to be taken to prove this---I'm sure string guage and action has a big effect on neck feel.
Before I owned any real Gibsons, my old fav LP was a washburn WP50, which has a real thin,flat back neck---how I would imagine a 60's LP--thin and fast.
heres another thing---does the Butt end of the neck (where it turns 90 degrees and joins body )shape, reflect the profile of the actual neck section???---could this help?????
I think the 60's started to use a smaller BUTT, which would reflect the change to a smaller section profile?
I did see a chart which had a lot of measurements for different years here somewhere??--but gave up on trying to use it when I realised that string guage and action obviously have a big impact on perceived neck shape--
As a comparrison--I also had a look at my Wolfgang, which has a REALLY good feeling neck--even though I cant say I can feel the much advertised Assymetric feature--just feels very comfortable and worn IN--which might explain why some old guitars have such great necks.
Still---I will take these meaurements, when I can, and am still interested in any others , while we can at least agree on the controls--wood/inlay to wood--first and 12th frets--allow a thou for a strip of tape---cool.
I have a metric mic--being european--so will have to convert , I doubt I could tell an 8th from 3/ 16th (3.2mm from 4.8 mm )between my fingers these days anyway????
nice one.

Adwex · Apr 30, 2007

Yes, interesting thread.

I'm surprised the R7 is the thinnest. I wish I had a means to measure mine.

DANELECTRO · Apr 30, 2007

Here's a chart I've used to log the weight and neck thickness of guitars I own (or owned at one time)

Lindgren · Apr 30, 2007

Very interesting.

Measured at the center of the 1st fret.

03 Classic - 20,5mm = .807"
04 Standard 60's - 18,5mm = .728"
05 Standard 60's - 19,1mm = .751"

Measured at the center of the 12th fret.

03 Classic - 22,0mm = .866"
04 Standard 60's - 20,5mm = .807"
05 Standard 60's - 21,0mm = .826"

DanD · Apr 30, 2007

Adwex said:
Yes, interesting thread.

I'm surprised the R7 is the thinnest. I wish I had a means to measure mine.

I've mentioned this in other posts, every R7 is not the baseball bat many claim it to be. It does however have "shoulders" more of a D than a C shape if that makes any sense. This is why I'm hoping someone will come up with a simple way to acurately measure neck shape not just depth. The depth dimension alone means very little to the feel of the neck. We need to be able to get multiple measurements to deduce an overall neck shape. Just my two cents...

AndyC · May 1, 2007

I agree with DanD's comment. At last summer's SummerJam event at the Gibson Custom Shop, Historic program manager Edwin Wilson was talking about neck sizing and he said that many times they have found that when a guitar player says they like a thicker neck, they are really talking about the shoulders, not the neck depth at the center of the neck. In other words, the player thinks that the neck is thicker, but in reality it may be the same depth or even thinner, but different shape.

Cherryburst · May 1, 2007

AndyC said:
I agree with DanD's comment. At last summer's SummerJam event at the Gibson Custom Shop, Historic program manager Edwin Wilson was talking about neck sizing and he said that many times they have found that when a guitar player says they like a thicker neck, they are really talking about the shoulders, not the neck depth at the center of the neck. In other words, the player thinks that the neck is thicker, but in reality it may be the same depth or even thinner, but different shape.

Good point. The Burst 68RI I measured has wide shoulders (and is thicker overall) compared to the 68 Authentic. The Burst is what I would call a 'baseball bat neck'

I don't know an accurate way to measure actual shape other than to describe it. I suppose with a hand sanded neck, anything goes. :hmm

rsneha · Aug 28, 2020

Cherryburst said:
It was measured in the middle of the fretting area. Rosewood to Mahogany.

Use this to convert: http://www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm

I should mention to be careful not to mar the back of the neck while doing this. I used a piece of scotch tape to protect the neck and then subtracted .001

Also try this site to convert: https://www.easyunitconverter.com/

SpencerD · Aug 29, 2020

Measured with what?

MarcB · Mar 2, 2024

*bumping this..

Anyone have a spread sheet or similar to update this thread from 2010 to 2023/4

Cliff Gress · Mar 3, 2024

My 2010 R7 has a D shaped neck. If I measured correctly, it is .90 at the 1st, 1.03 at the 12th.

Big Al · Mar 3, 2024

DanD said:
I've mentioned this in other posts, every R7 is not the baseball bat many claim it to be. It does however have "shoulders" more of a D than a C shape if that makes any sense. This is why I'm hoping someone will come up with a simple way to acurately measure neck shape not just depth. The depth dimension alone means very little to the feel of the neck. We need to be able to get multiple measurements to deduce an overall neck shape. Just my two cents...

IME, this is the defining characteristic of neck feel. How the neck is shaped determines our perception of neck thickness, regardless actual measured spec. Both play a part and the sum of profile and shape equals ultimate feel.

DanD hit the nail on the head. Measured thickness is an unreliable spec to gauge neck feel or comfort.

MarcB · Mar 3, 2024

I agree.. each person will perceive a neck differently.. regardless of neck size..

1allspub · Mar 5, 2024

It’s all about the shoulders.

And while I recognize this is an old thread, what‘s the deal with measuring the middle of the fret area? Everyone I’ve ever seen or talked to about it (until now, I guess) measures right directly in front of the respective fret, like this:

Isn’t this the standard method? Certainly how I’ve always done it.

renderit · Mar 5, 2024

Any Name You Wish · Mar 5, 2024

1allspub said:
It’s all about the shoulders.

And while I recognize this is an old thread, what‘s the deal with measuring the middle of the fret area? Everyone I’ve ever seen or talked to about it (until now, I guess) measures right directly in front of the respective fret, like this:View attachment 25050
Isn’t this the standard method? Certainly how I’ve always done it.

This "should" be the standard. The thinnest part of the neck is right where you have it in the left photo. As you move toward the nut the neck will get thicker, to varying degree depending on the guitar maker.

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