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Post subject: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 6:11 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Can a neck from a Strat be installed on a Telecaster body without too much hassle? I love this neck I have and well, it is a Telecaster!


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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:29 pm
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Eric Clapton did it:

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Blind Faith in Hyde Park, 1969.

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:33 pm
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A Strat neck cannot fit into a Tele body without performing some alterations. Strat necks have rounded heels as opposed to the Tele necks which employ a "square" heel.

Eric Clapton played a sunburst Custom Telecaster fitted with Brownie's neck during a Blind Faith concert at Hyde Park in 1969.

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 10:14 pm
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chromeface wrote:
Strat necks have rounded heels as opposed to the Tele necks which employ a "square" heel.


It's easier to fit a round peg into a square hole than vice versa. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:10 am
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Radiohead's Thom Yorke has a butterscotch blackguard fitted with a Strat neck. The jack socket is top-mounted into the control plate.


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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 5:03 am
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So one would have to mod the pocket a bit on the body to make the conversion work? Non Fender body is what I'm looking at so I wouldn't loose any sleep over it!


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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:09 am
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BrittB wrote:
So one would have to mod the pocket a bit on the body to make the conversion work? Non Fender body is what I'm looking at so I wouldn't loose any sleep over it!


If you look at the neck heel closely, you will see the difference in shape. You might have to do a little shaping but I believe it would be less to fit the Strat neck in a Tele neck pocket than vice versa. In any case it can be done and a number of people have done it.

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:50 pm
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You have to do some shaping on a Strat pickguard (not the body) to accommodate a Tele neck, but putting a Strat neck on a Tele requires NO work at all, you can just bolt it on.

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Tele with a 60th Anniversary Strat neck I put on it. I had to do nothing to the guitar body or pickguard to put the Strat neck on.

Here's a Strat body being prepared for new pickguard and humbuckers, plus the installation of a Tele neck. The Strat body required no modification to handle the Tele neck. In this picture, the neck is already bolted onto the body.

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In this picture, you can see that the pickguard did have to be squared up a bit. You can see the roundness of the heel cut on the pickguard in the photo. I solved this problem but wrapping some sandpaper around a dowel and gently sanding the joint to square it up. Obviously, most of the work was just getting the radius right in the corners.

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Here's the finished Strat with Tele neck.

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:10 pm
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Excellent. That's about what I figured, but not having done it myself I preferred to err on the side of caution. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:23 pm
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When it comes to putting a Strat neck on a Tele it's easy, like CR said it needs no body work. To put a Tele neck on a Strat it depends on the body. As far as i'm aware older bodies had a rounded pocket that fits the neck snugly, whereas newer bodies have squarer pockets because the corners are enlarged by the router. However this is just a general rule and there are differences, i'm just basing it on what i've seen and read on this forum.

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:29 pm
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CRGuitarMan wrote:
but putting a Strat neck on a Tele requires NO work at all, you can just bolt it on.


NOT TRUE.

The Tele pickguard ALSO needs some alterations in order to fit a Strat neck properly. Strat necks feature a rounded neck heel as opposed to the Tele neck heel, which is square-shaped.


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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:16 pm
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chromeface wrote:
CRGuitarMan wrote:
but putting a Strat neck on a Tele requires NO work at all, you can just bolt it on.


NOT TRUE.

The Tele pickguard ALSO needs some alterations in order to fit a Strat neck properly. Strat necks feature a rounded neck heel as opposed to the Tele neck heel, which is square-shaped.


Perhaps you need to reread the first part of CR Guitarman's post:

CRGuitarMan wrote:
You have to do some shaping on a Strat pickguard (not the body) to accommodate a Tele neck, but putting a Strat neck on a Tele requires NO work at all, you can just bolt it on.

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Tele with a 60th Anniversary Strat neck I put on it. I had to do nothing to the guitar body or pickguard to put the Strat neck on.


Emphasis on the last sentence is mine.

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 10:18 am
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chromeface wrote:
CRGuitarMan wrote:
but putting a Strat neck on a Tele requires NO work at all, you can just bolt it on.


NOT TRUE.

The Tele pickguard ALSO needs some alterations in order to fit a Strat neck properly. Strat necks feature a rounded neck heel as opposed to the Tele neck heel, which is square-shaped.


The trick with the Tele is that the Strat neck (fretboard and some of the neck itself) floats OVER the pickguard, thus eliminating the need for modification of any kind. If you bolt on the neck before you install the pickguard, the pickguard simply slides right under the Strat neck heel. :D

Thanks, Bill!

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 10:31 am
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CRGuitarMan wrote:
chromeface wrote:
CRGuitarMan wrote:
but putting a Strat neck on a Tele requires NO work at all, you can just bolt it on.


NOT TRUE.

The Tele pickguard ALSO needs some alterations in order to fit a Strat neck properly. Strat necks feature a rounded neck heel as opposed to the Tele neck heel, which is square-shaped.


The trick with the Tele is that the Strat neck (fretboard and some of the neck itself) floats OVER the pickguard, thus eliminating the need for modification of any kind. If you bolt on the neck before you install the pickguard, the pickguard simply slides right under the Strat neck heel. :D

Thanks, Bill!


Since you have done the changeover (I have not), it would be foolish not to believe you. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Strat neck to Tele conversion
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:08 pm
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I wish I hadn't learned this little tidbit, 'cause now I have to do this.


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