Product Overview
The familiar Strat neck, in plain Canadian maple
This electric guitar neck is built for Stratocaster-style bodies, with Canadian maple used for both the neck itself and the fretboard. The geometry is the conventional one: a 9.5 in radius, medium-jumbo wire and a bone nut on a 25.5 in scale. It suits a straight replacement for a worn or damaged neck on a Strat-type guitar, and it suits a partscaster build where the player asked for a familiar feel rather than a flat modern board. Because every dimension that decides fit is published, the neck can be checked against the body on your bench before you commit — heel, nut, scale, peg holes and thickness at the first and twelfth fret. Repair benches buy it to get an instrument playing again without booking in a week of fretwork. Small builders buy it as the standard-geometry option in a build where the customer wants a Strat feel. Shops keep one on the shelf because 9.5 in with 21 frets is the combination most players recognise. Players fitting their own neck buy it because the awkward parts — pressing, levelling and dressing the frets — are already done before it is boxed.
Neck Profile & Playing Feel
- Modern C carve. The back of the neck is shaped in the modern C profile, one of the most widely played guitar neck shapes there is. It fills the hand without feeling like a baseball bat, so open chords sit comfortably and your thumb still has somewhere to wrap when you move up the board.
- 9.5 in (240 mm) radius. Curved enough for clean barre chords, flat enough that a step-and-a-half bend does not choke. Players coming from a 7.25 in vintage board will notice the strings feel a little more even under the fingers, without the neck losing its familiar curve.
- 21 medium-jumbo frets. Medium-jumbo wire has a taller, wider crown than vintage wire, so notes ring with a lighter touch and bends hold their pitch more easily. 21 frets with the single dot at the 12th is the layout Strat players already know under their hand.
- Slim, even depth. 0.82 in (21 mm) at the 1st fret and 0.87 in (22 mm) at the 12th — the taper is gentle, so the neck does not grow heavy as you move up.
- 43 mm (1.69 in) nut width. Standard Strat spacing, so the chord shapes you already play carry straight over and a replacement nut can be cut to a known size.
- 25.5 in (648 mm) scale. The standard Strat scale keeps string tension and the feel of a 9-42 or 10-46 set exactly where a Strat player expects them.
- Satin back. The finish is satin rather than gloss, so the back of the neck stays dry-feeling under a warm hand and your thumb moves without drag through a long set.
Canadian Maple & Finish
Why Canadian maple
Canadian maple is a dense, hard tonewood, and on an all-maple neck that density is what you hear. Notes come out bright and articulate, chords keep their definition when you dig in, and single-note lines have a snap to the attack that a warmer board softens.
Used as neck wood, maple is also stiff. It resists bending under string tension better than softer species, which is one reason relief tends to stay put between setups, and it reflects sound efficiently, so the sustain you feel through the body is not lost on the way to the pickups. It holds tension well along the whole length of the guitar neck, which matters on a bolt-on instrument that gets strung, played and moved around.
An all-maple guitar neck like this one behaves as one continuous piece from nut to heel. There is no glue line between dissimilar boards to blunt the response, so string-to-string separation stays clean and the top end keeps its edge even under gain.
The finish
The satin vintage tint is deliberately thin. It protects the wood and gives the neck a pale-amber, slightly aged look without a lacquered feel under the hand, and it lets the maple grain show through. The rosewood skunk stripe and the dark insert over the truss rod channel break up the back of the neck and give it the classic bolt-on look.
Fretwork & Build Quality
- Fret slots cut to the scale. Slots are cut at the precise increments the scale dictates, so every fret lands where the maths puts it rather than where it is convenient.
- Leveling. The frets are pressed in and then levelled against one another, so there is no high fret waiting to buzz the moment you drop the action.
- Crowning. Each crown is hand-polished and bevelled into its final shape, which is what gives you a clean, centred contact point under the string instead of a flat top.
- Fret end bevelling. The ends are rounded and worked back in line with the edge of the board — nothing protrudes to catch the side of your hand on a fast pass up the neck.
- Edge finishing. The board edges are smoothed as well as the fret ends, so the fretboard feels played-in from the first day and does not scrape your fingers when you slide.
- The parts of an electric guitar neck assembled and checked. The bone nut is fitted and slotted, the truss rod insert sits flush and the rod is run through its travel, and the rosewood skunk stripe is set level with the back of the neck before packing.
- Built, finished and inspected in our own workshop. Necks start as hand-selected A-grade Canadian maple blanks and pass several inspections between blank, fretwork, finish and packing. Before a neck is boxed it is checked on the bench against the same electric guitar neck dimensions a repair tech would measure on arrival — fret height, relief and nut slots.
Fitting & First Setup
- Measure your pocket first. Check the heel against the body pocket and line the screw holes up with the neck plate before you drill anything. The electric guitar neck dimensions at the heel decide whether a swap is a straight fit or needs a shim.
- Dry-fit and check the scale. The neck is built to a 25.5 in (648 mm) scale, so with the neck seated the 12th fret should sit exactly halfway between the nut and the saddles. Measure that before you commit to a bridge position.
- A tech can cut a replacement nut on the same footprint if your customer plays wider or narrower spacing.
- Work the truss rod in small turns. The dual-action rod corrects bending in both directions — tighten if string tension has pulled the neck into a forward bow, back it off if it is back-bowed. Quarter turns, then re-check; never force it.
- String up, tune, and let it settle. Relief and action read differently after a day under tension. Set relief first, then action at the 12th fret, then intonation.
- Check the tuner bushings seat cleanly. The peg holes are already sized, so press the bushings in straight rather than pulling them down with the screws.
- Plan for a light fret touch-up. Minor fret dressing or levelling may be necessary to compensate for environmental shifts during shipping or to reach a very low action. That is normal for any wooden neck that has travelled, and it is a short job for a repair bench.
Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|
| Frets | 21 medium-jumbo, rust-proof nickel silver |
| Neck wood | Canadian maple |
| Fretboard | Canadian maple with black dot inlays |
| Fingerboard radius | 9.5 in / 240 mm |
| Scale length | 25.5 in / 648 mm |
| Nut | Bone, 1.69 in / 43 mm |
| Heel | 2.2 in / 56 mm wide, 1.0 in / 26 mm deep |
| Peg hole diameter | 8 mm |
| Neck thickness | 0.82 in / 21 mm at the 1st fret, 0.87 in / 22 mm at the 12th |
| Neck profile | Modern C |
| Truss rod | Dual action |
| Skunk stripe | Rosewood |
| Finish | Satin, vintage tint |
| Part number | STMM2400821M |
Other Necks in the Range
| Option | Key specification |
| The neck on this product | Stratocaster-compatible, Canadian maple neck and board, 9.5 in radius, 21 frets, 8 mm peg holes, satin finish |
| Same platform, flatter board | Stratocaster-compatible, Canadian maple, 12 in radius, 22 frets, 10 mm peg holes, satin finish |
| Roasted maple | Roasted Canadian maple neck and board, 21 or 22 frets, satin finish |
| Rosewood board | Canadian maple neck with rosewood board, 9.5 in radius, 22 frets, 10 mm peg holes, gloss finish, acrylic block inlay |
| Telecaster platform | Telecaster-compatible, Canadian maple or roasted maple, 21 or 22 frets, satin finish |
| Congolese mahogany | Telecaster-compatible, Congolese mahogany neck with rosewood board, 9.5 in radius, 22 frets, gloss finish |
| Four-string bass | Jazz Bass-compatible, Canadian maple, 9.5 in radius, 20 frets, 18 mm peg holes, satin finish |
Ordering & Delivery
- One neck is enough. We sell from a single piece, so a shop can order one neck for one repair job and a player can buy the exact spec they want without taking a batch.
- Confirm lead time and shipping before you commit. Transit times and shipping cost depend on where you are and how the order travels, so ask us for the current position for your address.
- Packing protects the vulnerable ends. Necks are packed to protect the headstock, heel and fret ends in transit. If you are ordering several, tell us and we will pack them so they cannot move against each other.
- Choosing between this guitar neck and the other specs. The range covers both vintage and modern guitar neck shapes, with different radii, fret counts and peg-hole sizes. Tell us the body and the feel you are after and we will confirm which one to order.
- Look the neck over before you fit it. Check the fret ends, the nut and the heel as soon as the box is open. If something is not right, send us photos before you drill or string up and we will work out what happened.
- Larger and repeat orders. If you are stocking several necks, or coming back for a second build, message us first and we will confirm availability across the range in one go.
- Duty and local tax. Any import duty or sales tax is set by your country rather than by us, so check what applies before you order.
Technical Support & Model Matching
Not sure whether a part will work with what you already have? Tell us what you are building or repairing, or send a few photos and measurements, and our team will help you confirm the match before you order. If something looks off after delivery, get in touch with pictures and details and we will help you find the cause and put it right. We can also walk you through fitting and first setup, step by step. Behind that is more than ten years of working experience, 100% quality control, and customer service that answers around the clock.
FAQ
Will this neck fit my Stratocaster-style body?
It is built to the standard Strat pattern: a heel 2.2 in (56 mm) wide and 1.0 in (26 mm) deep, a 25.5 in (648 mm) scale and a bone nut. Those are the measurements that matter for fit. Measure your pocket and the distance from the pocket to the bridge saddles before ordering — if your body is an unusual pattern or a copy built on different tooling, send us the numbers and we will tell you whether this neck is the right starting point.
Is a 9.5 in radius with 21 frets a vintage feel or a modern one?
It sits in the middle, which is why it is so widely used. The 9.5 in board is comfortable for chords but does not fret out on big bends, and 21 medium-jumbo frets give you the classic Strat layout. Among the guitar neck shapes players ask for by name, the modern C back on this one is the most common compromise — full enough for rhythm, slim enough for lead work.
How wide is the neck at the nut, and does that change my string spacing?
The guitar neck width at the nut is 1.69 in (43 mm), with a slotted bone nut already fitted. If you are moving from a wider or narrower guitar neck, the difference across the first few frets is noticeable for a day or two and then disappears. A tech can fit a replacement nut with different spacing on the same footprint if you want to change it.
What scale length is it, and will my strings feel stiffer or slacker?
The electric guitar neck length is 25.5 in (648 mm), the standard Strat measurement. If you are used to a shorter 24.75 in scale, a set of 10s will feel a little tighter here; plenty of players drop half a gauge or tune down a semitone to compensate. Tension at pitch is set by scale and string gauge together, so nothing changes until you change one of them.
What does a dual-action truss rod do that a single-action rod cannot?
A dual-action rod pulls the neck in both directions. It can add relief when string tension has pulled the neck into a forward bow, and it can straighten a back-bowed neck instead of relying on string tension to do the work. The rod and its insert are one of the parts of a guitar neck that get run through their travel before the neck is packed, so it should move smoothly from the very first adjustment.
All-maple or rosewood board — what is the difference in sound?
An all-maple maple guitar neck is bright and immediate: strong attack, clear note separation, a little more top end under gain. A rosewood board on the same maple neck takes the edge off the treble and gives a rounder, warmer fundamental, which suits blues and warmer clean tones. Neither is better — the maple version is the one to choose if you want the snap.
What is already fitted when the neck arrives?
The frets are installed, levelled, crowned and bevelled, the bone nut is fitted and slotted, and the truss rod, its insert and the skunk stripe are in place. The main parts of a guitar neck are assembled, so what is left is the work on your instrument: seating the heel, setting relief and action, and intonating it.
