Affordable neck for strat copy

[waltchwarzkopf]

Hi guys,

 

I have an old strat copy, a Marshall Rocket Special to be precise, it has a HSS configuration and a 21 fret rosewood fretboard. The humbucker sounds very good and it is also fun an easy to play. I’ve had it since 1999, so it has a few dents and marks that give it some attitude, but not the road worn look. I’ve played with it live and in several garage practices, so I’m not thinking about selling it.

 

However, I’m contemplating about changing the neck for two reasons:

 

1.- Since it’s quite old and has been played a lot, the frets are really worn out, showing some dents right bellow the strings.

 

2.- I like the look, feel and sound of a maple fingerboard better and most of the times I need the 22nd fret.

 

Therefore, I’m looking at 22 maple Fender(ish) necks on sale.

There are a LOT of options out there. From the original Stratocaster necks ($400-$600), throught the mighty mite or göldo necks ($100-$200) and the Chinese? Andoer or Kmise necks ($20-$50).

 

Since my guitar costed about $250 when I bought it, and that is with a Marshall G15RCD amp, cable, gig bag, tuner and the rest of the starter pack. Buying an original Fender neck is out of the question, especially because for that price I could buy a new HSS MIM Stratocaster. The Mighty Mite and Göldo seem also a bit pricey, and for that price I could buy a Squier Strat. More important, I don't want another guitar, I want to keep mine and upgrade/repair it.

 

So I’m leaning towards the Andoer neck, I found one on amazon (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00LHPD4BO/) with good reviews. So I figured, my guitar is “Made in China”, most probable with Chinese quality components, so this neck should have similar standards and its only $40.

 

Do you have any experience in replacing the neck of a guitar? What would you advise me to get?

 

Cheers,

Walter

P.S. If you live in Zürich and want to get together and jam, send me a PM.

[humbuckerstrat]

I like the GFS XGP necks http://guitarfetish.com/XGP-Necks_c_554.html

 

But I don't know how cost-effective it would be to ship to Switzerland.

 

The only maple neck that seems to be in stock is this satin-finished one, tho

 

http://guitarfetish.com/XGP-Professi...h_p_12644.html

 

Also, they only have 21 frets.

[mrbrown49]

Are you sure the neck pocket specs match fender specs?

 

Have you considered have a refret? Depending on the wear, sometimes you can get great results with a partial refret. Say for instance most of the wear is below the 5th fret because you play a lot of open chords. Only those frets will need to replaced. Then all frets would be leveled, crowned and polished.

 

[WRGKMC]

You can buy great necks off EBay, many for under $50. I've bought many and currently have two Strat and two Tele necks waiting for me to complete projects. They do sell some really cheap ones. The wood is white maple and the build quality isn't very good, I'd go up a level and buy something in the $50 range or higher and you get a much better build, ast least as good as any Squire neck.

 

I bought one of these and put it on one of my Strat's as a replacement. The original neck had been refreted several times already and it was in need of being retired. This one has a large peghead and sustains very well. The frets are medium so I'll likely replace them with jumbos at some point. The nut is plastic so it might be best to swap that out too. These are in the $30 range so the quality may suffer a bit. They may have sharp fret ends and need some additional fret leveling. The one I got was dead straight with an excellent fret job so I got lucky on that one for the price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/22-frets-Replacement-Maple-Neck-Fingerboard-for-ST-Strat-Electric-Guitar-G3K8/351707976799?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D2220072%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40130%26meid%3D46928a20a6ee4d9da2bf093faa04b1c3%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D122447866336

 

 

 

 

They make a rosewood version too. Rosewood tends to be a bit better on the budget necks, mainly because they don't finish over the frets and because the fretboard tends to be less suscceptable to warping. http://www.ebay.com/itm/22-Frets-Replacement-Maple-Neck-Rosewood-Fretboard-for-ST-Electric-Guitar-Z9Z2/131888822965?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D2220072%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40130%26meid%3Dd503d7dff87544feb1d68c512264c5dd%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D351707976799

 

 

 

This ones $50 and has the classic skunk stripe. I have one of these too. The finish is better and so far its been solid as a rock. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kmise-MI0051-Neck-for-Stratocaster-Replacement-22-Fret-Maple-Fretboard-vintag-/122447866336?hash=item1c827629e0:g:lKkAAOSwpP9Y8crf

 

 

 

 

Most of the EBay seller have on line stores like this... http://stores.ebay.com/friendstore1682010/Neck-/_i.html?_fsub=3280045013&_sid=1021602733&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

 

 

 

[Freeman Keller]

I build guitars and most of the time make my own necks. However because Fenders are so generic I sometimes buy commercial cnc'd necks for my tele-clones. I've had acceptable results with Mighty Mite necks but they have always required fret work. I also find it kind of ironic that Mighty Mite sends maple that was cut in the Eastern US to China to machine the necks, then back to the US for sale. In your case it would take another trip across the big pond.

 

While I have not used Warmouth necks on any of my guitars I have looked at a few of them and IMHO they are better quality out of the box and certainly offer more options. Obviously they are considerably more expensive.

 

I have also worked on a couple of no name necks that were purchased on evil-bay, they have required fretwork. All of the necks have had nuts installed, Mighty Mite and Warmouth were some kind of micarta, the no name necks were soft plastic (which I replaced) - all of the nuts have been too high and required work which I assume you can do. (remember that Fender style nuts are curved on the bottom and a little bit tricky to make)

 

Almost any replacement neck will require fitting and drilling the mounting screws. While they are fairly well standardized to Fender pocket dimensions there is a chance they won't fit perfectly (and a bigger chance that the installer will not get the geometry correct). You'll have to switch the tuners and tees, adjust the truss rod and possibly shim the pocket. If you are going from a 21 to 22 fret neck you may have to cut the pickgutard to fit. One advantage of a replacement neck is that you can change profile, radius and/or fret size if you don't like what you have now.

 

Depending on the condition of the neck and what a customer wants for frets, I can do a refret for somewhere between $150 and 250, which will include a new nut and setup to the players specifications. I don't do refrets on maple boards and I don't do the ones where the frets where are pushed in from the sides, but other techs do these all the time.

 

So, short story, if it was my guitar I would refret the old neck if I liked the shape, if not I would buy a Mighty Mite or Warmouth neck and be prepared for some work. let us know how it goes

[daddymack]

You did see the part where he is in Zurich, right? Shipping internationally is not an option for most inexpensive items. He's looking at necks in the 35-40 euro range [sub $50]. The EU is a very different market place.

[daddymack]

Freeman, the guy is in Zurich, and he has an old el cheapo guitar, with an actual value of maybe $200. He isn't looking for a custom job, and he doesn't want to spend more than $50. This would not be worth doing a refret [would you spend $150 to refret the neck on a $ 200 instrument?].

I agree that often people just think they can transfer the hardware over and screw in the new neck and voila!

[daddymack]

based off your original link, there is this option, a few euros more...maple, 22 frets...https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00LHPT0US?psc=1

I can't read the reviews [my German is very rusty], but there are the usual mix of 1 star to 5 star.

[jtr654]

I'ld sell as it is. Its not worth the money to buy a new neck even if you keep it.

 

[Freeman Keller]

I realized exactly where he was, even tho he was talking in terms of dollars. Apparently he can get Mighty Mite necks there. What I wanted to say is that the cheap imported necks that I have dealt with didn't impress me at all - I just helped a local high school kid build a strat-clone and the cheap neck that he bought somewhere on the internet was a piece of junk. The good part was that he learned how to make a nut and dress frets.

 

I have used four Mighty Mite necks, they were decent but still needed some work. I think I paid just over a hundred bucks for them. I've seen Warmouth - they seem to be very good.

 

And to your question about fixing a $200 instrument - I'm faced with that dilemma every day and I'm one of the few people who will put the time and effort into almost any guitar that crosses my desk. If he were close to me I would refret his guitar, charge him my absolute minimum and make a friend.

[waltchwarzkopf]

Ok guys, thanks a lot for all of your comments and sugestions.

What you are saying is: the guitar is too OLD and too CHEAP to be worth a neck change, correct?

I also had a couple of other mods in mind, but it would be better to buy a HSS or HH Squier or Sterling by Music Man SUB3 with a 22-fret maple fingerboard and start from there, right? I could get one for around 200€...

I'll see if I can sell this one at a reasonable price, 150-200€ should be a good sell, right?

 

All those Mighty Mite or Warmoth or Göldö neck end up costing €200+ with shipping and taxes, and some of you say that they still need some work.

 

My end project would be a HSH (or HSSH) fixed bridge, much like the EBMM Steve Morse signature or Y2D.

 

Do you know if any Squiers have HSH routing? The Silo has a "swimming pool" routing that allows the instalation of any combination of pick-ups. However, the only thing that puts me off is the plug, nothing beats the strat jack location, well maybe the JEM style...

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Ok guys, thanks a lot for all of your comments and sugestions.

What you are saying is: the guitar is too OLD and too CHEAP to be worth a neck change, correct?

I also had a couple of other mods in mind, but it would be better to buy a HSS or HH Squier or Sterling by Music Man SUB3 with a 22-fret maple fingerboard and start from there, right? I could get one for around 200€...

I'll see if I can sell this one at a reasonable price, 150-200€ should be a good sell, right?

 

All those Mighty Mite or Warmoth or Göldö neck end up costing €200+ with shipping and taxes, and some of you say that they still need some work.

 

My end project would be a HSH (or HSSH) fixed bridge, much like the EBMM Steve Morse signature or Y2D.

 

Do you know if any Squiers have HSH routing? The Silo has a "swimming pool" routing that allows the instalation of any combination of pick-ups. However, the only thing that puts me off is the plug, nothing beats the strat jack location, well maybe the JEM style...

 

IMO, the age and price are irrelevant.

 

If it's a good body made from a quality wood, then a new neck will only improve it, however as Mr Brown says you'll first want to check that it is Fender specs

[Freeman Keller]

What RC just said. I work on inexpensive guitars all the time - you've obviously loved it and played it hard and it certainly would be a candidate for either a neck or fret job. Without seeing it I can't give an opinion but I can tell you what I have seen with replacement necks. I'll add that I am very particular about fret work - I think the neck and frets are the key to a guitar that you enjoy playing.

 

As I said before, I have used four Mighty Might necks on guitars that I have built. They were good necks, nicely finished, the fretwork was adequate but I always give my little touch. The micarta nuts were OK but maybe a little high, again I tweak them when I do the final setup. Based on that I would say that you could buy one and be fairly happy with it.

 

The one no name internet neck that I encountered had very sharp fret ends, a couple that needed leveling, the finish was rough and you could feel the skunk stripe. The plastic nut was a piece of junk - it was amazing how fast it filed away when I tried to lower it. I'm not saying they are all like that but I think you are taking chances.

 

Stop and think about it - if you buy a neck for say 50 bucks (delivered in the US) off the internet. We usually assume markup is 50 percent, that means the cost of the material, shipping, overhead to make it in China and ship to the US was $25. I can't buy a hunk of maple, a truss rod and some fret wire for 25 bucks, not to mention amortizing a cnc mill. By the way, the Fender pocket is well documented but I would recommend buying a neck that has not been drilled and using your body to locate the holes.

 

Refretting is a viable option - it can be expensive but you know what you are working with. I charge a little less than many techs, but I think it would be worth your while to get a quote.

 

As far as your other questions, I can't really answer. Routing for different pickups and all the wiring is fairly major work

[uab9253]

I bought a Mighty Mite soft V 9.5 radius maple for my Squier Tele and it plays like a dream. New cost was $105

[waltchwarzkopf]

Ok. The neck arrived and it's going back the way it came...

 

It had some scratches and dents on the fretboard, one of the tuner holes had some broken edges, it had a huge dent on the back of the headstock which was badly covered, the truss rod was not aligned with he truss rod access and it was covered by wood splinters, and the nut was very thin and looked bad, which made think if it was not possible to install a comercial TUSQ nut there (for half the price of the neck).

 

I'll keep the current neck and play the guitar until it's time for her to retire. Then, I'll buy a new strat with better specs or seriously consider investing in a proper neck. My advise, stay away from cheap chinese necks!

 

Thanks again guys!

[mrbrown49]

Wow, that's pretty bad. Is that wood filler in the dent on the back of the headstock?