Are there any negative ramifications to mounting a standard 4-bolt Strat neck on a 70’s style 3-bolt tilt neck body. Not sure if the addition of the 2 new bolts will cause problems with stability of the neck to this body assembly and if that 3rd bolt hole will drastically interfere with the plate mounting.

I know it’s not the best circumstances under which to work – just trying to help a friend fix a bad purchase decision… TIA

Please, don't destroy a 3-bolt Strat.

The best advice you can give your friend would be to just sell his guitar and buy another Strat without the 3-bolt micro-tilt neck.

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2006 Fender AVRI 70s Stratocaster: Natural Ash | Sovtek MIG 60 & A No Name Cabinet | Pedals & Junk

Actually the neck is not 3-bolt. The body is -- and it's a mexi reissue body. The neck is the jewel of this assembly. It's a 22 fret Amercian issue with the micro tilt feature.

He wanted the tilt neck function and didnt realize it was 3-bolt body until he'd bought it online...

The spacing of the top two bolts are closer together (side to side) than that of the four bolt system. Both the body and the neck would have to be doweled and the holes redrilled. The holes in the body where the 3rd bolt and tilt neck allen wrench went would continue to show after a four bolt modification.

You are better off keeping the three bolt system and putting a fourth bolt underneath the neck plate.

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Or better off just buying a four bolt body to go with that "jewel" of a four bolt neck, perhaps?

Meanwhile, sell the three bolt body - or buy a three bolt neck to go with it too? Hey, then you have two guitars! Nice!!

Cheers - C

I gotta agree with Ceri and phoenix there...for what you're going to go thru trying to make this work, I'd just buy another body to go with the "jewel" neck...there are -plenty- of good 4 bolt bodies available out there. Normally I don't have anything against mixing and matching parts like this to put together the guitar of someone's dreams but to me that really seems like a lot of unnecessary work when you can just get a different body.

Just my $.02 worth,
Jim

FWIW, that fourth screw is much less work than changing out the body as the neck's top two existing screw holes would have to be doweled and four new holes in the neck would have to be drilled; it is not uncommon that one of the lower screw holes may invade the edge of the rout where the disk in the neck (which would have to be removed) was. Naturally, installing everything on the new body must be done too.

My way:

1. Put a rubber band snugly around the neck/strings directly above the nut to contain the strings which you are about to loosen.

2. Relax the strings' tension but leave them on. (This is why you put the rubber band on.)

3. Apply hand clamping pressure to where the neck sits in the body so that the neck doesn't separate from the body as you proceed to remove the three screws of the neck plate.

4. Continue applying the hand clamping pressure. Remove the neck plate and reinstall the three screws without the plate to a 'good and snug' condition but not at full tightness. Let go with the hand pressure.

5. Tighten up the strings just a bit, ensure that they all are lined up properly up and down the fingerboard; shift the neck by hand if and as necessary.

6. Ensuring straightness, drive a PREMIUM, hardened wood screw through the body and into the neck at what would be approximately 8 o'clock on the face of a clock Do this WITHIN the imprint of the neck plate. Ensure that the screw is not pushing the neck away from the body as you go. You MAY want to drill a pilot hole first. I've done this procedure so many times, I don't bother; I do apply a bit of wax to the screw threads though. Now, even though you're at an 8 o'clock proximity, don't go too far towards what would be the center of the plate as you may encroach on the metal Tilt-Neck disk. Needless to say, don't use a screw too long where it will come out of the fingerboard either. Countersink the head of this fourth screw so that once the plate is reinstalled, this fourth screw's head does not act as a standoff for the underside of the plate. This fourth screw should now be permanently in place.

7. Repeat step #2.

8. Reapply hand clamping pressure to where the neck sits in the body so that the neck doesn't shift while simultaneously removing the three original screws of the the neck plate. Believe it or not, this fourth screw will be an immense help to you now.

9. Maintain hand clamping pressure; reinstall the neck plate and its three screws. Verify that the fourth screw is in fact, NOT acting as a standoff to the underside of the neck plate. If it is, drive the screw in slightly deeper before installing the plate. Upon completion of this step, the fourth screw is invisible and your neck wobble is now history!

10. Remove the hand pressure, tighten the strings, remove the rubber band.

Proceed to set up the guitar and you're done.

In the NYC area alone, there were/are MANY 3 bolt Fenders having this fourth invisible screw installed by my goodly self, especially back in the 70s. Maybe even some of you who have an original 70s, 3 bolt Fender without the wobble have one too! Have you taken your guitar apart lately

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Thanks everyone for all the great input! I suggested he just go with the 4 bolt body, but he wants to take advantage of the micro tilt neck feature.

Wondering, does anybody know of a way to get the micro tilt on a 4-bolt body?

Also, I took apart my 1976 3-bolt and found the 4th screw

It would be a lot of work where the end result essentially does nothing more than deface the guitar. Even the original cardboard shims were a, "set it and forget it" feature.

You'd have to drill a hole in the bottom of the neck to install the disk which the allen screw would push on, you'd have to rout and drill into the body to install the tilt neck disk itself and then, you'd have to drill a hole in the neck plate, straight through the wood to get to the allen screw of the tilt neck disk. Many precise measurements are involved where clearly, the end result is not worth the effort. (Unless of course, you're being paid good money for it.)

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

Having that fourth screw, do you find that your guitar sustains more than 'virgin' 3 bolt ones?

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Not sure if it sustains more, because I've never had it any other way, but it does sustain well. One thing for sure, that neck's not moving the least bit

I rest my case!!!

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