Any guitar builders here? Somebody with set neck or neck thru experience?

I have no such experience myself but the idea of building a set neck or neck thru strat is tickling my brain. Can't afford what I want from the custom shop so I'm thinking I might try the build myself so any advice or comments is welcome.

The Idea come from a recently acquired set neck custom shop strat that I'm really liking for the most part. However, the neck connection has a rather large heel. I'd much rather have a connection more in line with the Merle Haggard "Tuff Dog" Telecaster. That heeless connection is a thing of beauty.

I'd also like an angled head so I would by a neck from someone like Soul Mate. With my limited experience and two left thumbs there's no way I'd attempt to build a neck from scratch.

To save money I wonder if a standard strat body could be modified (read hacked on) to fit a set neck.

Just a few ideas. Any comments, advice, or suggestions is welcome.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

You could glue your strat neck in, then it would be a set neck.
There is no added benefit. Shape of the heel is totally down to design. The Les Paul for instance has terrible upper fret access despite it's set neck. Entirely because of it's bulky heel.

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No no and no

Agreed. My tech told me that he could adapt a fender body to match a PRS CE or EG neck. Might go that route.

Ed Roman used to refer to PRS CE and EG type connection a bolt 'in' rather than bolt 'on'. But PRS kind of defeated the purpose when they went to the large heel.

I have small hands and a heeless connection, whether it's a bolt in or set neck really helps.

There are some old Epiphone models that have excellent upper register access.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

Hello mhowell: I'm just browsing late at night on my tiny phone screen, so I'm not double-checking the following, so take it for whatever it's worth. But from memory I seem to recall that WDMusic.com and/or .co.uk stock set necks to which you can attach body wings of your choice. They offer tilted back paddle headstocks too, from which you cut your prefered peghead shape and drill tuner holes.

Be warned: there would be a fair bit of carpentry in getting a guitar you were not too ashamed to show people - carving the heel, thicknessing the body and through-neck to match one another, shaping the headstock, and so forth. Making a set-neck guitar is a helluvalot more work than just bolting aftermarket parts together - hence the Custom Shop's price scale.

But for a guy who wanted to make a through-neck guitar without actually carving a neck, this is the route to go.

Good luck - C

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This is very close to what I want.

Black Mesa Guitars

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

Found out that the neck on the above linked guitar is bolted on. It doesn't look like it at all.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

Hi again: and more to the point, you ain't going to get anything like that guitar without a lot of hands on carpentry work, which is what at the start you said you didn't want. Nothing like that guitar can be made from aftermarket parts.

Still. Now I'm at a computer I can't find what I thought I remembered at WDMusic. But Stew-Mac offer this:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bodies,_nec ... _Neck.html

Through-body construction, tilted back headstock - that's the closest you are going to get to what you asked for without building it yourself from raw timber. Though there's still a fair bit of woodwork to be done...

Cheers - C

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Have you done that kind of work?

I think I could handle shaping a head stock and I'm sure a jig could be setup to align and drill the holes for the tuners.

I can always get some junk wood for some trial runs.

Thanks for the feedback.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

Matter o' fact I've never done a through-body neck. But I've done everything else.

Some of the bits you might find tricky include getting the pegholes in exactly the right place - precisely the right distance from each other and all of them in the correct position so the string runs stay nice and straight. All of that matters much more with a six-in-line tuner layout than with three-on-a-side. The key is to remember to make your measurements from the edge of the tuner capstan, not from the edge of the peghole - let alone from its middle.

Also, if you were attaching body wings to that central through-neck then getting them the same thickness as the middle bit and everything flat and even with perfect glue joins takes various carpentry skills that are moderately above beginner level.

It's all perfectly do-able. But you just need to be aware of what you're taking on before you get started. Don't want unexpected frustrations to spoil the fun.

Cheers - C

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Apparently Black Mesa is for sale.

Whose ready to quit your day job?

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.