Stratocaster Compatible Guitar Neck Roasted Maple Neck 9.5" Radius 8 mm Holes 21 Frets Satin Finish

Product Overview

A replacement electric guitar neck for Stratocaster-style instruments, built from Canadian roasted maple and finished in satin. It keeps the geometry most Strat players already know — a 9.5 in radius and 21 medium-jumbo frets — and pairs it with wood that has been heat-treated for stability. If a neck has warped, if the frets are worn past a comfortable dress, or if a build is stalled waiting for the right board, this is the part that gets the guitar back on the bench and playable again.

Both the back and the fretboard are roasted maple, so the colour carries from heel to headstock and the surface under the hand feels dry rather than tacky. A maple guitar neck that arrives with the frets already levelled and crowned, the ends bevelled and the board edges smoothed saves the step that usually eats the first hour of a setup.

Feel & Playability

A 9.5 in (240 mm) radius is the middle ground that made the Stratocaster comfortable in the first place: flat enough for wide bends, round enough that chords sit under the fingers instead of fighting back. Of all the guitar neck shapes in circulation, this is the one most players have already spent years on, so a replacement feels like the guitar they brought in rather than a different instrument. Twenty-one medium-jumbo frets keep the vintage count with a crown that is a little taller and narrower than modern jumbo wire — good bite for rhythm, and enough material to take a refret later.

Depth is 0.82 in (21 mm) behind the first fret and 0.87 in (22 mm) behind the twelfth, with a Modern C profile that fills the palm without a hard shoulder. Those electric guitar neck dimensions put it in all-round territory: not a shredder's flat board, not a fat vintage club. It suits chord work, rhythm parts and the kind of bending that does not need the strings lying on the board.

The guitar neck width at the nut matches the standard Stratocaster measurement, so your existing string spread carries straight over and the outer strings do not suddenly sit near the edge. The satin finish on the back is the other half of the feel — the hand slides instead of dragging, which shows up on long sets and in warm rooms.

Roasted Canadian Maple

• What roasting does. Canadian maple is heated to a high temperature to draw out the wood's deep moisture, a process also called carbonisation. What comes out is a drier, stiffer blank that reacts less to the room around it.
• Why it matters on the road. A maple guitar neck that has been roasted is less sensitive to moderate swings in humidity and temperature, which suits players who move between climate zones, rehearse in a damp basement and gig in an air-conditioned hall, or live somewhere the air stays wet for months.
• How it sounds. Expect a forward, articulate attack with clear separation between notes; the low end stays full and firm rather than soft, and finger and pick detail comes through immediately. It reads as a modern voice more than a mellow vintage one.
• One wood through the neck. Neck and fretboard are both Canadian roasted maple, so the guitar neck parts that carry the string energy are the same material and the colour stays consistent from nut to heel.
• Rosewood skunk stripe. A dark rosewood stripe runs down the back against the natural maple — the detail vintage-minded builds tend to look for.
• Chosen by hand. Blanks are picked from A-grade Canadian maple before machining, so the grain you see on the finished neck was selected at the start rather than sorted afterwards.

Fretwork & Finish

1. Wood selection. Every neck starts as hand-selected A-grade Canadian maple; the guitar neck parts are machined and finished in our own workshop by luthiers who build complete instruments, not only components.
2. Fret seating. Fret positions follow the electric guitar neck length, pressed into the board at precise increments so every slot lands where the bridge expects it.
3. Leveling. All the frets are brought level to one another across the board — the step that stops a string buzzing on one fret and ringing clean on its neighbour.
4. Crowning. The tops are hand-polished and bevelled into their final shape, so each crown meets the string at a clean point instead of a flat plateau.
5. Fret end bevelling. The ends are rounded and worked flush with the edge of the board. Nothing protrudes to catch the side of your hand, and the board edges are smoothed so there is no scratch as you move up.
6. Inspection. Necks are checked at more than one stage of production for fret level, edge finish and fit before they are packed.

Fit & Compatibility

• Start with the numbers. The electric guitar neck dimensions that decide whether this one works — heel width and depth, nut width, scale, bore and the depth behind the first and twelfth fret — are set out in the specifications table. Measure the neck you are taking off before you compare anything else.
• Neck pocket. This is a Stratocaster-compatible neck, not a universal fit. Set the heel into the pocket dry before you drill or bolt anything: it should sit snug, with the fretboard edge following the body rout and no gap at the back of the pocket.
• Scale check. The board is fretted and the neck is drilled for a 25.5 in scale. If your body was built around a different electric guitar neck length, the bridge will not intonate however you shim it — work that out before ordering, not after.
• Headstock bore. The peg holes are drilled ready for tuner bushings. Compare the bushing diameter of the set you intend to fit; if your tuners need a larger hole, plan for reaming, because that is a one-way job.
• Nut and string spread. The guitar neck width at the nut sits in the familiar Strat range, so string spacing at the first fret lands where most players expect it. If you run a wide-spaced bridge, check that the outer strings still clear the fret ends.
• Heel height. Depth at the heel decides string height over the body. Compare it with the neck you are replacing; if your pocket is deeper, you will be shimming rather than sanding.

Builds & Applications

• A warped or broken neck on a sound guitar. The body, pickups and finish stay untouched; a maple guitar neck at the original radius brings the instrument back to the feel its owner already knows.
• Frets dressed as far as they will go. When an old board has been levelled down to nothing, a replacement neck resets the whole playing surface in one step rather than a refret followed by a new nut.
• A first partscaster. Matching a body to a neck is easier when the electric guitar neck length is the standard 25.5 in scale — the bridge on a Strat-style body already sits where it should and you are not chasing intonation.
• Players who dislike flat boards. If you have tried other guitar neck shapes and found 12 in radius boards too flat under chords, this one brings the roundness back.
• Restorations and vintage-style builds. Satin natural maple, a dark stripe down the back and period-correct geometry suit a guitar that is meant to look and feel like an older instrument.

Specifications

Setup & Adjustment Notes

The neck carries a dual-action truss rod, so relief can be corrected in both directions — backbow as well as the forward bow that appears when a guitar sits unstrung or moves into a dry room. Work in small increments, let the neck settle between turns, and read relief with the string held down at the first and last fret.

One honest note before you fit it: minor fret dressing or levelling may be necessary to compensate for environmental shifts during shipping, or to reach a very low action. Most necks go on and set up cleanly; if you or your customer runs the strings close to the board, plan for a light touch-up rather than expecting that height straight out of the packing.

Give the neck time to settle at room temperature before the final adjustment, and re-check relief and intonation after a change of string gauge or tuning. A neck that has just crossed a climate zone will usually move a little in the first week and then hold.

- The nut is already in place. This neck arrives with a nut seated and slotted, at a guitar neck width of 1.69 in (43 mm) at the nut, so bench time goes on the setup rather than on shaping, gluing and slotting a blank before the instrument can even be strung. - Judge the slots by clearance, not by eye alone. Press each string down at the third fret and look at the gap over the first fret: a hair of clearance is right. If the string lies on the fret the slot is too low; if a business card slides under it easily, the slot is high and the notes near the nut will pull sharp. - A heavier set may need a light file pass. Slots cut for a standard set will pinch a heavy gauge — the string pings or jumps in pitch while tuning, or sits proud and goes sharp on the first few frets. Two or three careful strokes with the correct nut file, checked against the string, is all it usually takes. - If the nut works loose in transit. A knock can break the adhesive joint. Lift the nut out, scrape the old glue from both surfaces with a sharp blade, then reseat it with two small drops of wood glue and hold it against the end of the board with string tension while it cures. Avoid gap-filling adhesive — you want to be able to take it off again. - Match your bushings to the 8 mm peg holes. Measure the bushing across its widest point before pressing anything in. Bushings made for 8 mm holes drop straight in; if yours are larger, ream the holes lightly and evenly, because wood does not go back once it is removed. - Set the tuners before any drilling. Drop each machine head into its hole, sight along the row and check the posts follow the string path; only then mark and drill pilot holes for the mounting screws. Drilling first and aligning afterwards leaves holes you cannot move. - Fit a string retainer if your layout uses one. It holds the two high strings down behind the nut so they break cleanly over the slot instead of rattling or buzzing on an open string — a two-minute job that solves a noise you would otherwise chase for weeks. - String the outer pair first. Fit only the two E strings, bring them to pitch and look down the board: spacing at the nut should match the spread at the bridge, and both strings should clear the fret ends. Adjusting a slot with two strings on is far easier than with six.

Other Necks In The Range

The same workshop builds the rest of the range. There is a Stratocaster-compatible neck with a rosewood fretboard on a maple neck — 9.5 in radius, 22 frets, gloss finish and acrylic block inlays — for players who want a warmer board and a dressier look. The Telecaster-compatible side covers a rosewood board on a Congolese mahogany neck at 9.5 in with 22 frets and a gloss finish, a rosewood board on maple with block inlays, and a plain maple version at 9.5 in. Bass players have a premium 4-string Jazz Bass-compatible neck in maple, 9.5 in radius, 20 frets, 18 mm holes and a satin finish. They differ in wood, fretboard and electric guitar neck dimensions, so if the 9.5 in, 21-fret layout is the feel you are after, this is the one to start with.

Ordering & Delivery

• One neck is a full order. There is no pack size or case quantity to fill — a single guitar neck can be ordered on its own, which suits a one-off repair or a single build.
• Packing. Necks are packed with the headstock and fretboard protected, so fret ends and the heel arrive as they left the workshop.
• Where it ships from. Some stock goes out from our warehouse in Texas and some from our workshop in Guangdong. Tell us where the neck is going and we will confirm the route.
• Import costs. Depending on the destination, duty and local taxes may be collected on delivery — worth checking before you commit to a repair date.
• Timing. Dispatch depends on stock and destination, so ask us for current timing if you are working to a deadline.

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