Hey guys, I picked up an Olympic White '89 USA Strat this summer. Sounded, played and looked great when I got it. Long story short, the weather changed, the neck developed a bow, and that's when I discovered the last guy had stripped the SH*T out of the truss rod nut. Took it to a trusted repair guy, and he took one look at it and basically told me I could use it for slide, dump it, or replace the neck. Bummer. Since the body is pretty beat-up and nicotine-stained, and this guitar doesn't really have any intrinsic value, I was thinking of picking up a Road Worn 50's neck on ebay and slapping it on. My question before I pull the trigger is this: is there any difference among the mounting patterns for different necks, or are all 4-screw Strat necks pretty much interchangeable?

Thanks!

Nope, that's one nice thing about Strats, they're interchangeable 99.9% of the time. In the specific case you've mentioned, they're wont be a problem, the mounting pattern will be the same.

Of course, how they (necks) fit in the heel pocket is something to consider. There are slight differences that may lead one neck to fit very snug, and another, not so snug. In some cases shims are also necessary but not usually... I've never had to use them to get correct neck action.

I say go for it... the bay has treated me kindly over the years.

Try to find a used US Strat neck with a serial number though, around the same year, so in the end you still have a US Strat if you want to sell it someday.

Thanks for the help guys. I actually did end up pulling the trigger on the Road Worn neck. Unfortunately money's a little tight right now, and I could not find a USA neck with a rosewood fretboard from a similar year that was close to what I got the RW 1950s neck for. Also, I was strongly advised by the aforementioned repair guy to avoid dual-action Fender necks. Apparently he's seen a lot with the the same problem mine had - truss rod nut stripped, and no where for it to go even if it wasn't. Only downside is I realized afterward the RW necks have 6105 frets, so I'll probably have to get them filed down a bit to fit my taste. I'm still planning on holding onto the original neck. It's honestly not that horrible - plays better than 90% of the factory setups I've tried at the big guitar stores on new Fenders, but it'll never be right to me. This is a working guitar anyways, so I don't really care if it's a little bit of a bastard child.

In my experience with neck swaps, all fender strat necks fit all strat bodies just fine. It is the screw holes that may not line up. This is no big deal, cause you just glue and dowel the old holes (in the neck), then drill your new holes and mount the new neck!

Sounds great. Let us know how it fits. Also some picts? Was this a 1989 American Standard Strat? Nice guitars if it is. And I love slightly beat player guitars. Are you sure it is Olympic White? That would be a very pure white color. Almost all the white-ish Strats I have seen around 87-89 were Vintage White, which is a creamy color and with age became very creamy looking. If you go to my build thread on the Forum http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=63598 you will see around page 10 we are dealing with the bowed neck issue. You might try experimenting like I am with taking the bow out. Also Stew-Mac makes a truss rod tool that is tapered and grips slightly stripped truss rod nuts. If it is rounded way out then some call it the Kiss of Death to a neck. But... if the bow can be taken out it could be a good player neck as is.

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It seems you are absolutely right about the color! It is a creamier white; hidden areas and spots that have worn through are a bit more pure, as I'm sure this guitar has seen its share of cigarette smoke. The one thing I'm curious about is the type of finish. It is MUCH thinner and softer than the rock-hard poly on my 70s Strat. If I look at it wrong it chips. Is there any chance Fender used Nitro during these years, or is this just the result of years of degradation? Either way, I do think it has a lot of mojo for a guitar that isn't really that old. Right now I need to get this thing in playing shape, but I would definitely like to explore some options for getting the original neck straight again.

Anyways, here's a couple quick pics of the guitar in question:

Alrighty, the 'new' 1950s Road Worn neck came today. I finally got the guitar all strung up and set up, and MAN is this thing nice. The neck fits perfectly and looks fantastic! The Vintage Tall frets are not bothering me anywhere near as much as I thought; in fact, I like them a lot better that the ones on the stock neck. They still make my '70s Strat feel like a fretless in comparison, but they're easier to bend on and with the narrow frets I can still feel fretboard against my finger tips. The relicing is maybe a little over the top, but I like the fact that it helps mellow out the maple fretboard tone. Overall I'm really happy this guitar is playable again, and it still looks really sweet!

Very cool! Now some more picts as I was wondering how that neck would look on your relic Strat body. BTW that is vintage white. Not as yellowed as some but still Vintage White. Olympic White is very snow white looking and can yellow a slight bit, but not has creamy as yours is. I love the natural relic look. Makes me want to pick up a beat old Strat and make a player out of it! "Play without Fear!" type of guitar!

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Here's some pics of the guitar in its new configuration.



and an artsy filtered "analog" version:

That really does fit the bill!!!! Love maple with Vintage White. Thanks for sharing!!!!

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