Hi all,

You may or may not have seen a previous thread I started entitled 'Battle Damaged neck', describing my 1988 Strat Deluxe's neck problem.
I have just had the guitar looked at and to get it repaired is going to cost more than a new MIM!

My thoughts are therefore to replace the neck with a maple version, as I already have a USA 62 reissue, but I was hoping to get some feedback as to suitable replacements. I really like the 'C' shape and radius of the 62 and wondered what might be the closest to this on the maple side.
I would prefer a USA-made neck, but wouldn't be averse to a MIM or MIJ. I have seen a couple of 57 reissue MIM and MIJ guitars that would work out cheaper than a new neck but would these be suitable? Would they slot in without the need for modification.
Any advice would be much appreciated so many thanks in advance!

Eddie

_________________
'I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me, than a full frontal lobotomy'

2007 Custom Shop Clapton, Mercedes Blue
2006 USA 62 re-issue, 3-tone Sunburst - CS 54s
1988 USA Deluxe
2007 Yamaha SA2200
2005 Pro Reverb
Tube Screamer, Vox Wah

Eddie,

My condolenses on your loss.

What about a replacement from Warmoth or such?

_________________
AmDlx HSS
62 Hot Rod
Luke w/Piezo
Carvin Belair

I believe any Fender neck can be replace without the need for modification....it would fit in like a glove perfectly....

Thanks Bruno, my concerns about going down this route would be...

1. I have no experience with them
2. They are not easy to find in the UK, therefore I would almost certainly have to bring it in from the USA which has tax implications for us.
3. Call me old-fashioned but I want to keep my Fender Strat a Fender Strat, including the free advertising on the headstock I'm afraid.

However if you can recommend me somewhere to research these I would be happy to investigate further.

Cheers,
Eddie

_________________
'I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me, than a full frontal lobotomy'

2007 Custom Shop Clapton, Mercedes Blue
2006 USA 62 re-issue, 3-tone Sunburst - CS 54s
1988 USA Deluxe
2007 Yamaha SA2200
2005 Pro Reverb
Tube Screamer, Vox Wah

Hi Eddie: some suggestions for other ways to go.

I perfectly get the idea that you want a kosher Fender neck. They do come up on Ebay.co.uk, though not nearly as often as in the States, obviously. However, purchasing on Ebay from America is fine, especially if it is from a seller such as Stratosphere who break down stock guitars to sell the parts and so who's necks can be relied upon to be genuine and new. They also have plenty of experience shipping internationally.

If you could stand not having the Fender logo after all, then a couple of thoughts. In addition to Mighty Mite and WD Music licensed Fender style necks there's also custom ordering from these people:

http://www.kavanaghcustoms.co.uk/

I haven't used them but other Forum members have spoken highly of their work. Lots of options and very affordable. Though it doesn't mention it on their site I believe they are happy to talk about things like timbers, frets and neck shape and radius too.

And at the top of the tree there's:

http://www.simscustom.com/html/home.htm

Their quality is as good as anything on the planet, and they have some very fruity options you don't see other places. A neck with flashing LED dot markers, anyone?

On the MIJ/CIJ thing: to my surprise and dismay I have been having a totally miserable time over the last four months obtaining a perfectly ordinary Japanese Strat - a story that is still ongoing... Unless you know something I don't that probably ain't the way to go. (If you do know something - please tell!)

Good luck - C

Hi Eddie...try eBay...there are a few reputable stores which have the neck worth the replacement for your Deluxe......

I have purchased an Allparts SRF neck (Strat rosewood fretboard) and find it to be an excellent replacement neck for Strat-type guitars. It is a little pricey (around $225-250) but well worth it. A nice vintage style neck with a 12" radius board.

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A bunch of guitars, a few amps, some pedals and some other stuff that makes noise.

Sorry didn't realize you were across the pond.

There are several licensed neck manufacturers. From my limited experience they all seem to make very good product. I am sure can ship to you, but I don’t think any of them will have the “free advertising” on the head stock. If you want the Fender logo on a new neck, you will almost certainly need to go to Fender. Have you checked with the Fender Dealer in your area?

_________________
AmDlx HSS
62 Hot Rod
Luke w/Piezo
Carvin Belair

You can make any fender neck fit on any fender, believe me. you may need to do some fine tuning on it. For example, the neck plate for an Am Dlx has a different screw pattern that an american Std, or any other one for that matter. Making a new hole wont hurt the neck, if you want you can fill in theold holes. I would suggest getting a neck from Warmoth though, their products are FAR superior to the other replacement necks, plus you can have built to your specs. A replacement American Fender neck are priced so high, that they pretty much put them out of the realm of good choice. Ive seen Am. Std necks selling for well over $500, I'm not saying they're worth that much, but thats what ive seen. American necks are definitly better built and use better materials than MIM necks, but you can fine tune a MIM neck. For example, I recently bought a AIMM 5760 Reissue MIM, and I CAREFULLY shaved the sides of the fret board to make it similar to the american std, and american deluxe, and it came out perfect. I will be replacing the neck very soon because I'm not a fan of the 7 1/4 inch radius or the narrower nut of the vintage necks, as well built as this one is. I'll be getting a Warmoth, and Ill probably get either the Clapton or SRV neck prgile on it. So thats what i see, and Ive been paying very close attention to what's out there over the last few months

Ceri/All,

Thanks for all your input so far.
I have investigated Kavanagh and Warmoth and I have to say I am quite impressed with what both have to offer. I am quite tempted by either the 'Total Vintage' and 'Vintage Modern' as I think the profiles would suit my playing and requirements. I am also interested in what they (Warmoth) have to say about compound radius fretboards. Does anyone have any experience with these and if so how do you get on with them?
Any feedback on Warmoth or Kavanagh necks in general would also be welcome!

Cheers,
Eddie

PS. Ceri, what do you mean when you say you are struggling to find a basic MIJ Strat? Do you mean in terms of quality or at all?

Id recomend the vintage modern, just for the fact that you have the truss rod adjustment at the headstock instead of the bottom of the neck where you have to pull the neck off to adjust it.

I believe that is only the case on the RW fretboard version, as I think the all maple has truss-rod adjustment at the headstock, but thanks for your feedback.

Hi again Eddie. Back at the end of summer Orvilleowner showed me a neat way to navigate Japanese websites even if you don't speak Japanese (hover over hyperlinks and look at the status bar at the bottom of a browser window). I went off on a happy surfing spree and quickly got the hots for a Fiesta Red '57 Reissue, and confidently announced that I would immediately purchase one - because CIJs are easy to buy in the UK.

Well, used to be, turns out. With the exception of a couple of models (Jaguars and such) Fender Europe doesn't import from Japan any more, and the private importers are giving it up due to currency slides destroying the profit.

Months later I'm still chasing it - I won't write it all out again here but if you need the info the story to date can be found at:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... ht=#178537

haven't got that CIJ Strat yet, but on the plus side have found a very nice guitar shop.

Cheers - C

Its funny how things come around. My very first Fender was a MIJ standard, lake placid blue RW and it seemed all we could buy was MIJ aside from MIA. Obviously since MIM took off and became the big success it now is, MIJ has become surplus to requirement in both UK and USA. I guess the profit margins on getting a MIM to US or UK make it very difficult for MIJ to compete, plus if Fender now have a policy to keep these instruments closer to home...
Still, some very nice MIJs seem to come up on eBay for relatively nothing. I nearly bid on one last night but got too engrossed in the darts on BBC!

However...
What I did do first thing this morning was order from Warmoth a quilted maple modern vintage neck with Ziricote fretboard! I know I was talking about getting an all maple, but I just couldn't reconcile spending that much on a neck and it not being a little different. Ziricote appears to look like a light ebony, but apparently with the tonal qualities of Brazilian RW. I am looking forward to mating it with the 1988 Deluxe body and seeing what we now have. I will post pics if anybody is interested...
Anybody else have experience with Ziricote? Doesn't exactly slip off the tongue, but it sounds like a great wood for neck and fretboard.

Cheers,
Eddie

_________________
'I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me, than a full frontal lobotomy'

2007 Custom Shop Clapton, Mercedes Blue
2006 USA 62 re-issue, 3-tone Sunburst - CS 54s
1988 USA Deluxe
2007 Yamaha SA2200
2005 Pro Reverb
Tube Screamer, Vox Wah