Thanks for this very helpful breakdown. I was surprised that the C shape neck would be smaller than the D. I’d been led to understand it was the other way round. I’ve got to say I’m kind of hoping that, when I try them out, I get on with the Ultra and that it’s sound is sufficiently distinct from my Les Paul because I’m definitely drawn towards the locking tuners and the noiseless pickups. Having said that, would a decent noise gate resolve the Pro II’s hum enough for gain tones?
You're welcome.
This page on the Fender website has good info on neck designations, depths & widths.
https://www.fender.com/articles/instruments/c-u-v-which-neck-shape-is-for-you
But in my experience there are still slight variations in manufacturing, at least enough to make it useful to try a guitar before buying it.
Any Strat is going to sound distinctly different than a Les Paul. And of course feel quite differently in playing.
The issue of noise cancelling, gain tones, noise gate is going to depend a great deal on quite a few interacting variables. How much gain are you using? How loud are you playing? Do you hold notes or chords long enough to ring out while other instruments are quiet enough for the hum to be noticeable enough to be an issue? How good are you at always keeping the volume knob on zero while not playing? Or disengaging the gain setting or pedal when you don't need it? How much are you going to miss the amount of treble missing on noiseless pickups?
I never really noticed it until I started being more aware of using a variety of dynamics. Then when I got into studio work where your tone is under close scrutiny it became essential to have absolutely no hum from my Strat.
This is another reason trying a guitar is a good idea. It's really helpful to play a guitar at the volume, using the amount of gain or effects you would expect to use if you buy the guitar.
Hope that helps!
