70s Jazz Neck Profiles

The main mechanical difference between J and P is Js have thinner necks. On my wall my Rays and Sabres basically have the same neck profile as my '70's P basses with my Jazz being slimmer and narrower.

 

If you have a P, then any J will be fine. Modern J and 70's J all have thinner necks.

If you like the blocks and binding a US Geddy Lee is worth considering as well. Great neck IMO.

 

If you can find a used CIJ Geddy those have the thinnest front to back necks of any Jazz I’ve ever played. They’re in Ibanez territory that way.

 

Another one to consider is a Squier Classic vibe 70's. As a lover of higher end instruments, I almost hate to admit this, but I kinda like the Squier more than the MIM Fenders (For reference, I play an American Vintage RI 62 jazz and an American Elite jazz). The Squier necks felt closer to a modern profile (i.e. not as much pronounced depth as the American Original's neck), it has the modern fretboard radius, and the blocks.

 

To me, all Jazz necks seem petite. I currently have a '75 AVRI Jazz. Until recently, I also had a Squier. The neck on the Squier was more petite than the neck on the'75 AVRI. Their nut widths were the same of course, so the difference would be the thickness front-to-back. So yeah....the AVRI neck is more substantial....if we can use that term to describe a bass guitar neck which resembles a garden hose in girth. I exaggerated just now, I know.

 

I've learned what neck dimensions I prefer. For nut width I prefer 1.5". Neck profile thickness 0.82" suits me great. Armed with this I can shop of basses with good knowledge.

My 34" scale Warmoth neck is 1.5" wide, 0.87" thick. It feels thick & chunky but I'm used to it and really enjoy it. Note that Warmoth claims to have based their profile on actual Fender necks.

Both of my 32" scale necks are 1.5" wide an 0.82" thick.

The neck on my old G&L LB100 was great. 1.5" wide and 0.82" thick.

The Geddy Lee I had was a very thin profile. Probably 0.79" or so thick? I didn't like it.

 

Of those listed, the Pro is the thinnest front to back and all 3 have similar profiles. I’ve played all 3 and I prefer the pro, but the other 2 are very nice as well.

 

Most vintage Fender necks have a 7 1/4 in. radius. Fender modern necks have a 9 1/2 in. radius starting in the 80s, unless it's trying to be vintage then, it's back to the 7 1/4

 

I can confirm- I have a 2007 CIJ Geddy and it's got an unbelievably thin neck in all dimensions (front to back and side to side). I was actually able to compare it to an MIM Geddy and the MIM was noticeably bigger. However, between the two, I think I preferred the feel of the MIM. But I love my CIJ Geddy to pieces. Last Jazz I'll ever need.

 

Here are some measurements that might help:
Neck profile measurements
I know Ibanez puts neck thickness on the website, would be nice is fender did that...

I came up on an SR bass, and my fender standard jazz (modern c) is a little bit thicker but feels very nice to me; different but still “familiar.” Similar to the Player and Squier CV necks out now. Haven’t tried a Vintera but read the “70s C” is a little deeper, almost a U shape. I’d be surprised if that does it for you. I think “modern C” is what you’re looking for.

EDIT I see the AO is a U, which i haven’t tried. But I’ve played the Am Pros, both Ps and Js, and they reminded me of the Player necks, just more TLC on the finishing. One of very few P necks I could see myself owning. Out of your list, my money is on the Am Pro.

 

I had an American Original 70s Jazz and would not consider it thin at all. Pretty chunky D shape with a thickness just over 0.9” at the first fret. The whole “Jazz necks are always slimmer than Precision necks” doesn’t apply a lot of the time when you are talking about front to back neck thickness. There are plenty of Precisions that have slim necks.

If you are looking for a Jazz with a slim neck I would look for:

CIJ Geddy Lee Sig
MIM Geddy Lee Sig
American Performer Jazz

The 60s Jazz profiles seem to be slimmer at the first fret but are a bit thicker at the 12th.

Pretty sure every one of these I’ve seen have been under 0.8” at the first fret.

 

My 62 P bass is thin front to back but, nut width is wide. It is my favorite neck shape and feel.