I have a chance to buy a 1979 Strat neck. Its got some weird hole and wires in it. I've never seen this before. Is this a legit 70's Neck thats been modified? Or is it a fake or reissue? Any clue what the wires might be? They run from the base of the neck to the tuners.

That's no '79 Fender Strat neck -- the 12th fret dot spacing is incorrect.

I'd say it's a Squire that somebody's diddled with.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Did they have maple cap fretboards then? I thought they had gone back to solid maple necks.
Also whats it worth?

I also think it's not Fender.
The edge behind the nut towards the tuners is wrong.
The written/stamped marks on the neck heel looks wrong to me.
12th fret dots are - as mentioned above - misplaced.
String trees have wrong position.
The curve of the neck heel below the last fret looks too roundish.
The Fender logo looks slightly too far from and not parallel to the headstock edges.

As far as the wires are concerned:

Either the previous owner had motorized tuners installed or he had LEDs in the fretboard. I guess it's been the tuners since the dots don't look like they've been repaired and you can see the wires "lurking" in between the present tuner housings.
Can't think of anything else which could be mounted to a neck with the need for wires.

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Looking at the quality of the flame on the fretboard. Coupled with what Arjay, Mr Smoking Frets and you yourself say and question. I think it could well be a Fender neck but at some point have had a new fretboard fitted.
If you look at the heel end that mismatch doesn't look like Fender work, the obvious join line. CBS could be a bit ropey at times as we all admit. But that doesn't look bad, just hand carved. It would also explain Mr Frets' misgivings about the fallaway from the nut to the headstock and Arjays concerns about the 12th fret dot spacing. My only concern would be the quality of the work done fitting the new fretboard.

I'd suspect the broadband connection socket in the heel end also has something to do with the new fretboard.

All in all, it's a nice looking guitar. I wouldn't buy just the neck. But if the guitar as a whole played well and was the right price, I'd be tempted. The flame board and worn black are sick.

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No no and no

For that to be true, the neck would've needed to be "harvested" from a '79 Anniversary model -- those were the only Fender Strats made that year that used the traditional 4-bolt method for securing the neck to the body.

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Whatever it is, it's had a lot of work done to it. Expensive work at that.
Looking at the picture of the tuning pegs. That same wire that is visible at the heel end photo is running behind the tuners. So the whole of the neck has been channeled out for this wire.
What for? Pyrotechnics or lights would be my guess.
Explains the maple cap, a bit.

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No no and no

Indeed it is!

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

It does look like a three-bolt neck with holes filled and new holes drilled. I've seen 25th Ann models f'd-up with a Floyd Rose, so it wouldn't surprise me if someone f'd-up this neck.

Even if it were a Fender neck, the new cap, routing and wiring, the cutoff tuner covers, would all seem to negate any collector value. I wouldn't want the POS myself. The guitar that it's attached too makes it look even worse.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Can´t be an Anniversary neck - they had no bullet trussrod.

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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+1, Robinstrat!

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Sorry about that, I didn't mean to imply an Ann neck. I knew it wasn't, as it looks to have been a three-bolt neck. Just that I have a friend that put a Floyd on an Ann Strat, so it isn't surprising that someone would do the same to any other Fender, ruining it IMO.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Fake

That's quite a Frankenstein creation.

I wish we could have seen it in all of it's modified glory!

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Run away from this neck as fast as possible