New Standard G&L Neck Profile - Modern Classic (2025)

Ches said:

I think G&L necks are probably more consistent now that they're offering more profiles, and I assume, more CNC involved than hand shaping.

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With the CNC they can consistently produce their selection of profiles.

Now if only they could be consistent with their neck tinting.

73Fender said:

Last I looked they had 6 shapes and the #1 was the most common one it seemed and the one I considered to be their unofficial "standard" neck.

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Since July 2015 they now have 9 neck shapes, and all 9 are available in 3 radius options (7.5", 9.5" and 12"). The "Modern Classic" was newly added at that point, and they made it with the 9.5" radius as the standard neck.

John C said:

Since July 2015 they now have 9 neck shapes, and all 9 are available in 3 radius options (7.5", 9.5" and 12"). The "Modern Classic" was newly added at that point, and they made it with the 9.5" radius as the standard neck.

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Yes. The new standard neck is the Modern Classic, which was why I made the thread. I loved the old standard neck with was .830 to .960 with a 1 5/8 inch nut and a 12 inch radius, but I was not really digging the low e and high e strings falling off the neck. It would not happen often, but I had to really be mindful about my playing. It was also really cramped around the 1st to 4th fret.

The new Modern Classic is a 9.5 inch radius, but it has a more even taper (.820-.870). The cool thing is that it has a 1 11/16 inch nut width, but with the 1 5/8 string spacing. It works out great, and it feels like a slightly fatter Fender Modern Classic neck.

Rotten said:

I thought the #1 was the finest standard neck shape around; not sure why they would go thinner. I always wanted them to have a Nocaster neck shape - 1" all the way down.

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You can still get the old standard at a small upcharge, but I did not think the neck was really slim. The 1 11/16th nut width makes the profile feel a little fuller.

GarMan said:

You can still get the old standard at a small upcharge, but I did not think the neck was really slim. The 1 11/16th nut width makes the profile feel a little fuller.

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I was mostly critical of the depth at the 12th fret. I like the beef.

Glad to see a move away from the strict 1 + 5/8ths width at the nut. Just too narrow for the typical American or Canadian player of 2016 and these big hammy hands folks have these days. My sense is orders of a 1 + 5/8ths width variant will be very small.

The thing was, when G + L said 1 + 5/8ths they meant it. It wasn't a bit more than 1.625. If you get away from the MIJs, the Fender necks that were nominal "1 + 5/8ths" were often more like 1.64 or 1.65. This IMO leads to people thinking they like "1 + 5/8ths" but they're actually playing a neck that's more.