This is a piece of information that should be listed on all product listings but for some reason rarely is. You will get nut width but never depth of the neck itself.

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Originally posted by Ddiggler808

Has anyone created a spreadsheet or cataloged the neck dimensions of the factory banjos? This has been a key discriminator for me when considering buying my next banjo. I've wasted a bunch of time on banjos that just didn't 'fit' well. It would be nice to be able to discard considering banjos that I know are outside my dimensional thresholds.  What are you looking for? 

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Let's Make a Descriptive List!

DEFINITIONS  this needs discussing...

narrow = less than 1.25"

medium/narrow/medium: 1.25" width   old 'Gibson typical' 

medium/wide = 1.375" width   current open back typical

wide = greater than 1.375"

depth = first five frets sets the pattern for the overall profile

MAKERS  not including specific "type copy" models in a makers model list 

Baldwin:

Bart Reiter:

Brooks Masten:

Chuck Lee:

Deering:  modern baseline, medium dimensions all around 

Gibson pre-war:  historic baseline, depth and narrow width

Gibson 1960-70's:  deep depth and narrow/medium width

Harmony:  medium depth and narrow width

Hoyt:

Kay post war:  medium/deep depth and narrow width

MIJ mid/upper Gibson(ish) clones: medium/deep depth and narrow/medium width

MIJ Kay clones:  medium/deep depth and narrow width (some are deep broomsticks)

Nechville:  

Ode:

Ome (coordinator rod years):  medium depth and narrow/medium width

Rickard:  medium/deep depth and wide

Romero: 

Stelling:

Stone: 

Vega (post-war) and Martin-Vega :  thin/medium depth and narrow/medium width

Wildwood:

If anyone has recorded the measurements of many different makers' banjo necks, they certainly haven't shared that information.

The best publicly available information I've been able to come with is in the two banjo neck profile templates sold by LuthierSuppliers.com:  1974 Gibson Mastertone and 1994 Gibson RB-4 Mastertone.  I bought both of these. The '74 has profiles at 1st, 4th, 5th and 15th frets. The '94 at 1st, 5th and 15th.

The '74 template did not match the profile of my early '70s neck before I had it re-profiled.  Also, the bridge and 22nd fret guides are way off -- as in string spacing of 2-1/4  inches at the bridge and neck width of nearly 3 inches at the 22nd fret. The '94 template doesn't quite match the profile of the '90s RB-250 neck I bought from Ceres a number of months back. The 1st and 15th fret cutouts won't fit onto the back of the neck. The cutout for 5th fret is very close.

Stew-Mac sells a banjo neck profile template for pre-war Gibson. Currently out of stock, but you can read the dimensions in the product photos.

I measured a friend's Stelling Whitestar over 10 years ago. And took profiles at various frets with a profile gauge. If I can find the notebook, I can shared those.

And for what it's worth, I think Gibson's traditional nut width was 1-3/16 inches. I don't think they went to 1-1/4 until the Greg Rich era. My '90s neck measures 1-1/4 with my cheap plastic calipers. The nut width guide on my '94 RB-4 template says 1.197 inches and it actually fits over the top of the nut on that neck. The string slot guide is dead-on.

I think it is nearly impossible to tell if a neck will feel right in your hand from something in print. Sure, nut width and scale but after that, question mark? Depth varies from nut to rim. Then there is the shape of the neck sometimes described as "C," "D," or "U" shaped or somewhat "pyramidal." I once had a custom banjo built and asked for a "U" shaped neck. I had in mind a comfortable rounded-bottom neck. Instead I got a odd, flat-backed banjo shaped like a classical guitar. I had even sent a photo of a Saga shaped neck with the rounded bottom but to no avail. Then there is fret height/thickness, pip placement, string spacing, etc. I don't think you can tell if you like a neck until it is in your hands.

One of the first things I look for when I pick up a banjo is to make sure the fifth fret area is correct, no crammed string spacing or a tuner too close to the fith fret wire that doesn't allow a capo to be put there. I prefer a pip in line with the fifth fret wire but that is not a deal breaker if the rest is OK. If this area is messed up. I don't care how "neat" the rest of the banjo is. andI won't even bother to strum it even once. I've seen $4K banjos with problems in this area. Picky me! banjered

Took me a while, but I found my notepad with measurements and 4 profile tracings of my friend's Stelling Whitestar, which he bought from Ben Freed and which Ben had used in recording his banjo parts for the Raising Arizona soundtrack. This dates the banjo to 1987 or earlier.

So here's my contribution to anyone's catalogue of banjo neck measurements:

Stelling Whitestar

nut: 1-1/4 inches

string span: 1 inch

width at various frets:

  1st:  1-5/16

  4th:  1-7/16

  5th:  just under 1-3/4

  6th:  1-3/4

  12th:  >1-27/32

  15th:  <1-7/8

  22nd:  ~15/16

depths at frets (fretboard to back):

  1st  11/16

   4th:  23/32

   5th:  almost 3/4

   15th:   ~13/16

Anything not listed was not measured. Simple plastic analog calipers were used, which is why no measurements are digital.

This is exactly the kind of information that would be useful. I have taken similar measurements on banjos I have had and would like to contribute to the pool of data if anyone has already started compiling it. I could start a spreadsheet if that would be helpful.