I second RGand's link to Aaron's videos - I find his videos are well-produced and informative. Aaron is very aware of what goes on at this site, so he knows to address the sorts of questions that this community has when considering parts/aspects of a build.
There's a "Polls" section on this website that gives insight in to what some of the favorite option choices are, and why. It's easier to get a fix on opinions and basis for those opinions with the polls than trying to search around on the site and reading tons of threads - although that can certainly be helpful as well.
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=5461.0;viewresults
Standard Thin neck is pretty well regarded due to its "Goldilocks" factor - not too big, not too small, but "just right." Followed by the 59" Roundback, who like the thicker Gibson vibe. Notable mentions go to the Wizard, which is preferred by the shredders, and the Boat, which is preferred by those who either play a lot of rhythm and barre chords, or other folks with arthritis. If you scroll through the comments, you'll notice that some folks really like the custom contours, but don't prefer them, because they don't like having to pay extra.
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=26484.0
Warmoth's compound radius is the big winner here. The notable outlier is folks who do a lot of lower-neck rhythm but little upper-neck lead playing - the smaller radii are easier on the hands, and they're not soloing up the neck, so they're not concerned with bent notes fretting out.
There's not a poll on fret size, but my impression of the preference of folks at this site is that medium-jumbo - jumbo is preferred. Frets that are too small (vintage Fender, to a lesser extent, vintage Gibson) make bending unnecessarily difficult. While some heavy-handed folks find that they squeeze notes sharp with big frets, many have attested that, while they were at first uncomfortable with bigger frets - once they found how much easier bends/vibrato are, and getting accustomed to the lighter touch required to not squeeze notes sharp - won't go back to small frets.
I don't want to overgeneralize and speak too much on the behalf of others, but an opinion often shared here re. woods and tone is that pickups and electronics contribute the vast majority of what constitutes "tone," and it's better to pick wood choices based on aesthetics or other characteristics (such as weight). IMO, someone playing a Tele in a country/rock style probably shouldn't be concerned about tonal differences between a rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck versus a maple fingerboard on a maple neck. Rather, what would look better with the guitar's paint job?
I've only ordered one neck myself, and was in the same option-overload boat as you. Getting a rough idea of your general likes/dislikes, and comparing it with what Warmoth offers, will serve you well.
Going by what you told us about playing "country/rock so I still want some heaviness but need some snap. I don't like super thin necks but I'm also not a fan of the fatty gibson esq ones..." it sounds like my tastes align pretty well with yours on that point, and Warmoth's Standard Thin profile is probably your best bet (it's the only Warmoth neck I have so far). If you want thicker than super-thin (Wizard) and thinner than Gibson ('59 Roundback), the only candidate is the Standard Thin, unless you might be interested in more of a V-shape (Clapton) or an asymmetrical shape (Wolfgang, SRV). From my experience, it's not really "thin-thin", just thinner than everything else besides the Wizard neck. It's thicker than necks of other guitars I've had that are considered some sort of "modern thin" profile (in particular, my Godin Freeway Classic, which is one of the favorite necks I've played), but not thick in a Gibson-ish way. Goldilocks...a most delicious porridge.
You also mentioned that "The reason I'm replacing the neck (besides the frets being worn down) are that the truss adjustment is at the heel, I hate the vintage style tuners, and it feels a little flat. Considering that, here are couple of thoughts:
- Warmoth's Modern Construction is a double-truss-rod design that has heel adjust at the neck, but also a side-adjust mechanism on the high-E side of the neck. This allows minor adjustments to be without replacing the neck. Vintage-Modern construction is a single-trussrod design has the truss-rod adjustment at the headstock. Some folks swear by the stability of Warmoth's modern construction necks (especially when maple, in particular, roasted maple is used), and find the side-adjust sufficient for any necessary tweaks. Others just don't like the side-adjust, and wish Warmoth would offer modern-construction with headstock truss-rod adjustment.
- I'm not sure what you mean by "it feels a bit flat." Some folks find that dual-trussrod construction causes a neck to be too stable, have too much mass - and because of that, feels less response. I would expect a ' 62 Reissue to have a single-trussrod neck (but I could be wrong), so I'm not sure if that would be a factor here. Could you explain a little bit more about what you mean by it "feeling flat"? Maybe comparing it with another guitar or neck you played would give folks a better idea about what you're looking for.
I'm a little surprised you find those pickups dark, considering how they're categorized at the Rio Grande website (https://www.riograndepickups.com/for-telecasters). Usually, pickups described as being lower-powered/vintage-voiced are brighter then higher-powered/modern voiced. Which one is the bridge, and which is the neck (Tall Boy, Muy Grande)? Also, any details on pot and cap values? Sometimes tweeking some of those components can brighten (or otherwise alter) a guitar's sounds considerably, and at minimal cost.
It seems to me that at this site, compared to other guitar sites, opinions are more heavily-weighted by direct experience, rather than...some personal need to have a strong opinion about something that might seem incontestable. So someone might post, "I've had Warmoth necks in Standard Thin, EVH and Boat, and although I liked the speediness of the first two, in my current cover band I'm mostly playing rhythm, and the chunkier Boat profile is easier on my arthritic wrists." As opposed to: "The Boatneck is the best profile, because more wood = better tone." That's why I love this place! :yourock: I'm sure you'll it a good resource for all your questions, as well as learning about stuff you never even realized you might have questions about!
