How do you know if a neck will fit your stratocaster body ? Is it all standard ?

If it's a strat body and neck, or a licensed strat body and neck, it'll fit. They are all standard. With copies, it becomes a little trickier.

I've had some minor issues fitting a MIJ/CIJ neck onto a MIM body and vice versa. Nothing that some careful shaving, sanding, and/or shimming couldn't overcome though.

HTH

Arjay

If it is a Fender/licensed neck and body (even Warmoth or Mighty-Mite) then in theory it should fit however it's -ALWAYS- best to measure first! Also make sure you buy from a reputable dealer just in case you do run in to any problems. I'd guess that about 90% of the Fender Strat necks out there will fit about 90% of the Fender bodies out there but it's not unheard of to get an odd ball. Copies of course as was already stated can be trickier...some Kramer necks for example can be a bit wider at the neck heal and won't fit a Fender body without doing some (very precise) routing.

Also since we don't know your level of experience here, it's worth paying attention to the fretboard radius as well. Any time you put a new neck on you -will- need to do a full setup but if you're putting say a 14" radius fretboard on a body that has a bridge setup for 9 1/2" or a vintage 7 1/4", you will have to pay some extra attention to the bridge setup. It's not really -that- big of a deal but if this is your first time doing it, it is something to be aware of.

Peace,
Jim

So, an American Series Strat neck will go on a MIM Strat body...right...?

Here's a little tip I just learned from the good folks at Warmoth. When placing your neck into the neck pocket, put the neck into the pocket from the top down, not sliding it in from the side of the body. In many cases you will be able to fit it in either way but when there is a tight fit, you want to insert from the top. Warmoth said that they now cut that pocket even tighter than before to allow for slight variations in neck heel widths. To make them fit snug you should sand the pocket ends with some sandpaper on a small block to stay level and even. This way you won't crack the fragile wood around the neck pocket or chip the paint.

I bought a Deluxe neck with the idea of putting it into an American Standard body only to find the neck is slightly too big. How could I go about fixing this?

That depends on your definition of slightly...just a little sanding of the pocket should do the trick.

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CREDO ELVEM IPSUM ETAIM VIVERE

I was always worried it was a fake, but the neck is just a little too wide to fit right. Thanks for the advice. I'll try it out