When I began playing years ago, I thought thin necks were best. After hearing better tone out of tons of guitars with thicker necks, I now play both. If you spend time with any neck, your hands learn how to deal with it. I don't have big hands, and I play thin Ibanez and thick Les Paul necks and like them both. Each one has pros and cons. If you choose one and reject the others, you are definitely missing out on some great guitars.
From the Gibson guitars I've measured with slim 60s, most of them are around the .820-.823" range. The biggest being .835" and still very comfortable.
The Historics will have bigger beefy necks. My R8 has a .925" c shape neck, which is suppose to be "smaller" by R8 standards. Fits like a glove though.
I don't have any issues switching from the slim 60s to the R8. D shape necks throw me off for a little, but I adjust. I have a project going with a soft v and warmoth-ish '59 thickness; .870"~. Curious to see how it plays.
Edit: anyhow, going back to the OP, some shops measure neck thickness at the 1st/12th. You can try and ask in advance maybe.
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When I began playing years ago, I thought thin necks were best. After hearing better tone out of tons of guitars with thicker necks, I now play both. If you spend time with any neck, your hands learn how to deal with it. I don't have big hands, and I play thin Ibanez and thick Les Paul necks and like them both. Each one has pros and cons. If you choose one and reject the others, you are definitely missing out on some great guitars.
My current favorite neck is a Warmoth...
Modern Construction
Roasted Maple
Roasted Maple Fretboard
1-5/8" Nut Width,
Boatneck
6105 frets
10-16" Compound Radius
GraphTech Black TUSQ XL - Standard Nut
25-1/2" Scale
While their website lists the spec's as Boatneck. I found it actually be a massive V shape neck. Thick at the palm, but thinner for wrapping my thumb over the top and cradle the bottom with my fingers.
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My favorite is the small Music Man necks, the symmetrical ones with the 1 5/8" nut width. I have small hands, and have trouble with many guitars. Vintage Fender necks are good size-wise, but the small radius gets to me.
the point I would like to raise is this: is 25" the perfect scale length? PRS seems to think so.. Gibson are a bit shorter but then the necks are often wide so if you your fingers are on the short side, like mine, it may still feel uncomfortable. I never see a PRS with 3 single coils ; they work with 25.5" -ie a Strat, on the other hand many down tune Fenders because of the extra tension...it's all compromise.