Hello Everyone,

I wanted to try a new neck shape so I put a Fender John Mayer thick C on one of my Strats. It's cool EXCEPT that now between the 11th and 15th frets it has wicked fret buzz and string bends there "fret out". Above and below those frets it's fine. What should I adjust first? Seems strange that it's just before the neck joint.
Thanks, Babbie

The neck may need some relief, and string height adjusted. A good setup should cure the problem.

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American Standard Strat, Sienna Sunburst
Gibson Les Paul, Desert Burst
Gibson SG '61 Reissue, Heritage Cherry

I would check the relief. Could be there is too much, which usually causes buzzing in the higher frets. Not enough relief causes buzzing all over the place.

You need "just right"!

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'10 American Special Strat
'02 Les Paul R8
'08 Charvel US San Dimas
'85 Jackson Soloist

Splawn Quick Rod

Anytime you change the neck on a Strat it will most likely need truss rod adjustment and string height adjustment. A really good Full setup is most likely needed. Also look down the neck to see if the frets look nice and even.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

If the new neck is thicker than the old, and if you max out on the saddle hight, you may need to adjust the neck by shims.

String bends snuffing out is often related to saddles being too low. Check to make sure the fretboard radius and installed height, relative to the pickguard, is the same for both necks. If the new neck sits higher, even by a few thousandths of an inch or the radius is different you'll need a complete setup including re-contouring the curvature of the individual saddle heights. I would imagine the easiest possible way to compare installed neck heights would be to take both necks off the guitar and use a vernier caliper to measure the distance from the flat bolting area back of the neck to the top of the fret crowns at the highest point. Even with CNC machining I think it's a safe bet they are likely not identical which means you'll need a setup.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Ugh! I've been setting up my own guitars for years now and have never run into this. Yes, it's the saddles because a truss rod adj does nothing -- unscrewed to the point of the screw pushing into the body (it's at the body not the headstock) still frets out between the 11th and 15th fret. Raising the saddles (old neck was compound radius, new neck is 9.5 radius) puts the action a mile above the fret board. It's a Fender Masterbuilt '63 which had a No-Truss U neck on it -- that I love but couldn't get the action low enough, due to no truss rod. So I though I throw this John Mayer neck on it.... Any more suggestions before I put the original neck back on?

Thank you everyone!

Please just try tightening the truss rod so there is minimal relief. Too much relief causes upper fret buzz most of the time!

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'10 American Special Strat
'02 Les Paul R8
'08 Charvel US San Dimas
'85 Jackson Soloist

Splawn Quick Rod

Thank you everyone for your suggestions with my fret buzz. As it turned out, the replacement neck I was trying to make fit on a Masterbuilt body just didn't work. The original neck is thinner in the pocket, so the replacement neck being thicker, was pushing the frets into the strings and buzzing. I could raise the saddles to stop the buzz, but then you could drive a truck through that super high action!! Ha! Anyway, I'll put the replacement neck on a Strat body that isn't so fussy!! Again, thank you for all of your help. Bab

you shouldn't try the trussrod adjustments youself unless you are prepared to screw up your guitar get a guitar tech to do it for you