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

Product Overview

Player wear, a warp the truss rod can no longer pull straight, or a build that has been waiting on the right piece of wood — a replacement neck is usually where a Tele project starts. This maple guitar neck is a bolt-on replacement for Telecaster compatible bodies: Canadian maple for the shaft and the board, twenty-one medium-jumbo frets on a 9.5" radius, and a satin finish laid over a warm vintage tint.

Most players notice the swap before they notice anything else. An electric guitar neck carries a third of the string length and takes all of the fretting hand's contact, so the profile, the board surface and the fret ends change how an instrument feels far more than a pickup swap will. That is why the geometry stays traditional here and the work goes into the details — level frets, dressed ends, a board edge that does not scrape a moving thumb.

Fitting is a bench job rather than a rebuild. The heel is cut to the common Telecaster compatible pattern, the scale is 25.5", and the headstock is drilled for vintage-style tuner posts, so the swap comes down to checking the pocket, bolting on, stringing up and setting relief and action. If you are building rather than repairing, the same neck works as the starting point for a partscaster where you choose the body, pickups and hardware.

Maple Wood & Construction

• Hand-selected A-grade Canadian maple — the shaft and the board are cut from the same grade, so this maple guitar neck behaves like one piece of wood rather than a shaft with a board glued on.
• Dense, hard tonewood — Canadian maple is heavy for a neck wood, and that density is where the snap comes from: bright, articulate notes that speak quickly, with the sustain a bolt-on Tele is supposed to have.
• Stable under string tension — hard maple resists bending and holds tension well, so relief stays closer to where you set it and the neck wanders less between seasons.
• Rosewood skunk stripe — the stripe down the back is the traditional detail on a one-piece maple neck, sitting over the truss rod channel the way it does on an original.
• Smooth board edges, dark dot inlays — the parts of a guitar neck your hand actually touches are finished first, with rolled board edges, flush inlays and a surface that does not scrape.
• Satin finish, vintage tint — satin keeps the back of the neck fast under a moving hand instead of grabbing at it, and the amber tint sits well against blonde, sunburst and aged finishes.

Radius, Frets & Profile

The electric guitar neck dimensions here follow the classic Telecaster recipe rather than a modern one — the scale and fret count in the specification table are the geometry most players already know in their hands. String tension feels familiar, and the board ends where a Tele board is meant to end, so upper-register lines are played where you learned them rather than two frets higher.

Radius is the number that decides how round the board feels under your fingers, and the figure here is the sensible middle ground among the guitar neck shapes players actually choose. It is flatter than the old 7.25" boards that choke on a wide bend, and rounder than a flatter modern board that can feel anonymous under open chords. Barre chords sit comfortably, and a whole-step bend on the third string still has room to ring.

Medium-jumbo frets add a little height and width over vintage wire, so bends feel smoother and there is more material to dress later in the neck's life. The nut width is the familiar Tele width, with a modern C profile that fills the palm without becoming a baseball bat, tapering gently from the first fret to the twelfth as set out in the specifications.

The Fretwork Process

1. Frets are pressed into the board at the precise increments set by the 25.5" scale, then levelled against one another until every crown sits on the same plane.
2. The tops are hand polished and crowned into their final shape — one of the parts of a guitar neck that decides how a bend feels and how long the wire lasts.
3. Fret ends are bevelled and rounded, each end brought back in line with the board edge so nothing protrudes to catch a hand sliding up the neck.
4. The finished guitar neck is checked for high frets, dead notes and rough edges in our own workshop before it is packed.
5. The wire itself is rust-proof nickel silver, so the frets stay bright through humid transit and long spells on a shop shelf.

Tuner & Hardware Fit

• The parts of a guitar neck that decide whether a set of tuners drops in are the hole diameter, the headstock thickness and the bushing seat. This one is drilled to the peg-hole size in the specification table, so measure the other two before you order.
• Vintage-style guitar tuners with matching posts fit directly, including the press-in bushing type that suits a headstock of this shape.
• The peg hole pattern follows the standard Telecaster layout, so a 6-in-line set lands where you expect it and the string path past the nut stays straight.
• Modern sealed tuners usually need a larger hole or a conversion bushing. Measure the bushing's outer diameter and the post length: a bushing sitting slightly proud of the hole is normal, a post that bottoms out is not.
• Do a dry fit on the electric guitar neck before the body comes into it — set the tuners in place, check the posts clear the headstock face, and only then reach for the drill.

Specifications

Fitting & First Setup

1. Check the pocket against the heel before anything else: compare the electric guitar neck dimensions with the body you are fitting — heel width, heel depth and scale are all in the specification table — and measure the pocket rather than trusting the body's description.
2. Dry-fit the neck and clamp it lightly. Look down the board: the guitar neck width at the nut, the string spread over the saddles and the board edges should all line up before you commit to screws.
3. Fit the guitar tuners next, with the posts passing through the predrilled holes, and check each post clears the headstock face.
4. Bolt the neck on, snug rather than overtightened, and confirm the heel sits flat with no gap at the pocket.
5. String up to pitch and let the electric guitar neck settle before you judge the setup — then set relief with the truss rod and adjust action at the bridge.
6. Set intonation last: move each saddle until the 12th-fret harmonic and the fretted note agree, then recheck relief, because a small truss rod turn changes both.
7. Recheck everything after a week of playing. New strings, a new neck and a change in humidity all move the numbers, and the second setup is usually the one that holds.

Fretboard Wood Options

Every version in this family shares the same electric guitar neck dimensions, so the choice comes down to tone and feel rather than whether it will fit.

This all-maple neck is the brightest of the three. A maple guitar neck and board give a hard, immediate attack and a crisp top end — the sound most players have in mind when they picture a blackguard Tele. The rosewood-board version uses the same shaft but warms the top end and softens the attack, which suits anyone who finds all-maple too glassy.

Roasted maple is the third route: heat-treated for greater dimensional stability and darker in colour, which suits humid rooms and instruments that travel. Geometry is the other half of the decision — this traditional board, or the modern build with a 12" radius, 22 frets and 10 mm peg holes. Among the guitar neck shapes we make, the modern board is the flatter, faster-feeling option for work above the twelfth fret, while this one keeps the traditional roundness under chords.

Satin Finish Care

A finish to wipe, not to feed

The board on this maple guitar neck is sealed under the same satin finish as the shaft, so it behaves like a finished surface rather than raw wood: dust and skin sit on top of it and nothing soaks in. A dry microfibre cloth run along the board and up the back after playing is the whole routine. There is no oiling schedule to keep, and no lemon oil, wax or conditioner to buy for it.

Products to keep away from it

Satin is a finish, so it reacts to the same things a guitar body does. Solvent cleaners, abrasive polishes and silicone-based sprays will cloud it, flatten its sheen, or leave the back tacky under your hand. For anything stubborn — a sticky patch left by tape or a label — use a cloth barely dampened with mild soapy water, then dry the area straight away. Fret cleaning is easier with the strings off: a soft cloth run along the board edge lifts the grey residue that builds up beside each fret.

Where the satin will change

The finish is deliberately low-sheen, and the first place it changes is where your thumb rides, roughly between the nut and the fifth fret. Polishing the same spot hard and often burnishes the texture down to a shine; a wipe does not. That slow, uneven gloss is normal character on a played neck rather than a fault, and the same goes for the small shine a capo leaves where it clamps.

Heat, cold and humidity

A finished maple board is more stable than an unfinished one, but wood still moves with the room. Keep the instrument in its case when it is not being played, out of direct sun, away from radiators, and never in a hot car. A big change of climate tends to show up as a change in relief rather than as damage: if the guitar has just crossed a season, flown, or moved from a dry room into a damp one, give it a day at pitch before you judge the action.

When to check relief, and when to leave the rod alone

Check relief with the strings at pitch and the neck settled, then adjust the dual-action truss rod in small increments and let it settle between turns. If you have changed string gauge, expect to recheck — heavier strings pull more bow into an electric guitar neck. If the rod feels tight before the neck has moved, stop; forcing it is the one thing that turns a routine tweak into a repair.

Storing a neck that is off the guitar

A spare should lie flat in its own packaging rather than stand leaning against a wall with weight on the headstock, and it should not sit in a cold garage or a hot loft. Keep it at normal room temperature and let it come up to room conditions before fitting, so the rod and the pocket measure the same on the day you install it.

Ordering & Delivery

• Ordering starts at a single guitar neck — buy one for a repair job and add more later, without committing to a carton just to try the spec on your bench.
• Stock moves between our workshop and our warehouse, so ask us to confirm current availability and lead time for your destination before you order.
• Necks travel packed with the board and frets protected. If you are ordering with bodies, tuners or other parts, tell us so everything can be packed to travel together.
• For volume or custom-spec work, contact us first so we can confirm what is achievable.
• Read our return and refund policy before you order, and ask if anything in it is unclear.

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