Neck profiles can be pretty important too - how comfortable a guitar is for you will have a huge impact on how much you want to pick it up. Finding the best Stratocaster for you will be just as much about how it feels, as well as how it sounds. Necks tended to be thicker in the 50s, and got thinner in the 60s. Their most popular one nowadays is the Modern C profile, which lends itself nicely to any and all playing styles.
The profile refers to the shape of the neck as you look down its length, with a letter denoting its curvature. ‘C’ necks are the most popular on Strats, as you get the best and even profile that’s great for bending and playing fast licks. ‘D’ profile necks are considered to be much faster playing, at the expense of some feel whilst bending, while ‘V’ profile necks feel slightly slower thanks to the ‘hump’ in the middle, which also gives you more grip when doing those massive blues bends. They’re pretty rare on Strat’s but you can also get a ‘U’ shaped neck, affectionately known as the ‘baseball bat’, these hefty profiles were often found on the earliest guitar models, and are can be unplayable for those with smaller dimensions.