Vintage guitar that have chunky necks?

[dorfmeister]

New here. This looks like an exciting place.

I know the H-44 Stratotone is the archetypal fat-necked old school guitar but I am wondering what other vintage guitars have really chunky necks?

I want to get a vintage guitar but I really need a chunky neck.

Thanks,

Bryan

[VintAxe]

Hey Bryan.

To me this is an impossible question to answer since different builders adopted different technologies at different times.

In general, the earlier the guitar, the chunkier the neck. Think of it this way. Earlier guitars used the wood of the neck to stiffen the fretboard. These are chunky necks and this technology dominated the 1950's-Early 1960's. Then companies introduced the "steel reinforced neck" where some of the tension stress was transferred to a steel rod in the neck. Next came the adjustable truss rod which allowed necks to become thinner and adjusted to changes in temperature and humidity.

So, the general answer to your question is that the earlier the guitar, the more likely it will have a chunkier neck. However, builders adopted new neck technologies at different times so in 1964 you can find chunky necks, medium necks and thin necks.

Personally, I can't give you a rule that guarantees a chunky neck. If you see a guitar you like, members can probably tell you whether it has a chunky neck or not.

[cheepaxes]

What Vintaxe said.

I have an Old Kraftsman made by Kay around World War Two that has the biggest fattest neck of anything in my collection.

-Scott

[dorfmeister]

Thanks for the replies. The Kay sounds really interesting

I am looking at 50's era Guild X-50's. Anybody know about whether they have a truss rod and if the necks are chunky? Seems like a really nice alternative to a Gibson ES-125 which is kind of the model for what I am looking for.

Would love to get a really nice fat necked vintage axe with something like a P-90 for not so much money.