Anyone ever adapted a Warmoth body for a common 24-fret neck?

[farren]

I have a 24 fret Musikraft neck.  It isn't the extended overhang sort Warmoth sells for conversions.  The overhang is similar to most 22/24 fret necks.  I want a Warmoth body, but they don't sell drilling/routing options (bridge and bridge pickup) to make their bodies compatible with this kind of 24 fret neck.

This neck seems to be compatible with a Warmoth body (2-3/16" heel) as long as the bridge and bridge pickup are moved up toward the neck so that the 25.5" scale is preserved.  I'm not opposed to a small amount of work on the heel if necessary.  I know it will look a little funny, but it should still feel fine.

Am I forgetting any variables, or is this all I have to do?: Order a Warmoth body with neck pickup rout and index hole only, drill for a Hipshot flatmount closer to the neck, and have someone rout for a bridge pickup.

 

[mayfly]

Well, I've never done that, but based on everything you say yep, that should be all you need to do.

 

[farren]

I've noticed some nice Warmoth Soloists with 24-fret necks that clearly do not feature Warmoth extended overhang fingerboards, so it seems people indeed do this.  I'd still love to hear some first-hand experiences as 24-fret heels can vary even beyond the heel width measurement.

 

[Fat Pete]

I've noticed some nice Warmoth Soloists with 24-fret necks that clearly do not feature Warmoth extended overhang fingerboards,...

Examples?

 

[farren]

I base this on a Google Images search, and it may not be accurate.  Here's one that is possibly a Soloist body, neck unknown:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8vwfr2SYuuw/Seypx2u9-YI/AAAAAAAAAFE/DRSfgiqOV_4/s512/Warmoth%2520Soloist.JPG

Another turned out to be a Photoshop mockup which can obviously be discounted.  If he expected his Warmoth Soloist (including Warmoth neck) to have upper fret access like that, he must have been quite disappointed.  Yet another turned out to be an actual Jackson Soloist, which would have been obvious had the photo included the headstock.

It isn't the best of evidence, which is all the more reason for someone with experience to chime in

 

[pabloman]

I would trim the neck down to 22 frets. I've done this before. It worked great.

 

[farren]

Not sure if you're joking or not as that would involve mangling the heel and completely ruining the neck.  This isn't an extended overhang neck and the neck pickup rout is not the issue.  The neck is not the problem.

 

[pabloman]

Not a joke at all. Doesn't ruin the neck either, if you do it right. It's actually very straightforward as long as there is no binding. All you do is route almost an inch off the bottom of the heel, pop off the 23rd fret, chop the fretboard at that slot and you're golden. I understand it's not an overhang issue and not a neck pickup route issue either. 24 fret necks usually spec with a 2 1/4 heel. It's because of the longer taper on a longer neck. So instead of routing for a bridge, pickup cavities, and reworking a neck pocket, just trim a bit off the bottom of the neck. Like I said I've done it and it worked great. Don't knock what ya don't know. I would never advise someone to mangle a neck. Come on man. Either way good luck.

 

[farren]

Heh okay...  I actually had a 24 fret neck made for a reason, though, so butchering--err umm, modifying the neck is out.  Thanks anyway though: if I ever want to circumcise a 24-fret neck, I know how it can be done now   As I said, it has a 2 3/16" heel, so I think this would actually result in a loose fit in this situation.  Musikraft offers both 2 3/16" and 2 1/4" on all their necks.  The taper is going to be slightly different with 22 fret vs 24 fret if the heel is the same, which is why I expect minor pocket work regardless.  I suspect I'll only have to remove a little, which is better than shimming or adding to the pocket through other means...

I have the neck (the half of a guitar I care about most) I want, now I just have to adapt a body for it.  I have 24 frets on all of my electrics but one, and I've always felt limited on it, but in that way I understand I'm a minority and I hardly want to turn the thread into a 22 vs 24 fret thing. 

 

[stratamania]

Here's a suggestion. If you have a body for a standard 21/22 fret neck and want to fit your 24 fret without overhang without changing the neck itself or trying to move the bridge and pick up routs forward.

Have the bridge routed in the normal place, if you were to get pickup routs than you would need them with a 24 fret reposition. Have the neck pocket without holes drilled.

Now what is left is an exercise to work out how to reshape the neck pocket closer to the bridge so that the 12 th fret of the neck will end up midway between the bridge and nut.  Once you've determined that position you would need to rout or with hand tools extend the neck pocket toward the bridge. So the neck will be in the correct place when fitted.

Then reshape / shorten the heel pocket body area, drill holes and that should do it.

Don't use the neck pocket as a datum to move the bridge. Use the bridge as a datum to determine how the neck pocket needs to adjust.

Obviously you need an unfinished body and finish after this type of mod, unless you like a radical sort of a look.

 

[Surf n Music]

I think Stratmania gots it. If you do do it post lots of pics. I would love to see a conversion. It is beyond my skills or equipment but I always love to see people modifying things. 

 

[farren]

I appreciate the suggestion and I'm sure it would work.  However, this kind of heel modification would leave me with the same limited access that a 24-fret Warmoth neck would have resulted in.  Moving the bridge and bridge pickup routs, on the other hand, would result in a less balanced look, but greater accessibility (I don't anchor, so moving my arm up an inch toward the neck is no problem).  There's no perfect solution unfortunately.

 

[stratamania]

It's not going to make any difference to accessibility you still have to attach the neck to the body. You need to do two things have enough stability of attachment and then create the accessibility.

If you follow the suggestion I made that takes care of where it needs to go, then you need to take care of how you attach it. For accessibility you are going to need to reshape the body heel and horns not leave them as they are. Compare a soloist body to a strat for example.

Then go for something like creating an AANJ ( all access neck joint ) and use ferrules and threaded inserts ideally.

Something like this guitar, but with a true 24 fret neck you could gain more access perhaps.

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=19996.msg295059#msg295059

Also look for pictures of an AANJ on a Jem.

 

[pabloman]

I understand the OP wants a warmoth body but come on. To me what makes a warmoth body is the precision of the routes, especially the neck pocket. Sure they use good wood but so do a lot of people. If you're willing to omit or undo what makes a warmoth a warmoth why not just find a vendor that does what you need? Shit just hit up KnE. CNC'd nice and precise. $130 to your door. Call it a love story.  :dontknow:

 

[stratamania]

What I described is a lot of mod work and attention to detail even if you know how to do it.

Pabloman, I am inclined to agree with you. It's not really possibly worth the bother if a part can be obtained without the hassle of doing the mod work.

 

[Fat Pete]

Seems to me that the original idea of ordering the body with no bridge drilling and no pickup routing would be a lot less work.

 

[farren]

You're right, Fat Pete, and it's still what I'm leaning towards.  I'm confident this neck will fit in a Warmoth pocket with little, if any, work, and it's work I'm confident in doing.  Totally reshaping the pocket really isn't.  Someday, perhaps, but for this build, it seems doing the relatively minor routing for the pickups and drilling for a Hipshot is more practical.

I've looked at all of the 'big' parts makers I know of and there's really no one that makes a square heel Jackson-style 24-fret replacement body with 2-3/16" heel, which is what would be ideal here.  Maybe I'm missing someplace obvious.  Fender or Ibanez replacement parts?  Easy.  Replacement body for my Musikraft neck which is 2-3/16" but has a Jackson-length overhang (which is far shorter than an old square heel Ibanez overhang or 24-fret Warmoth overhang)?  Not without a bit of work.

Edit: I just looked up KnE.  I hadn't known of them before, but their options are quite limited.  It says their SL body supports 21/22 and 24-fret necks, but for it to be compatible with both with the same bridge routing they must be referring to extended overhang necks, unless of course they offer routing for either.  I'll ask them out of curiosity.

 

[pabloman]

It's either or type thing, 22 fret or 24. The same body doesn't accommodate both. It's a legit setup. You can get exactly what you need from them, a body with a 25 1/2" scale, 24 fret, 2 3/16" neck pocket. They do great work and are priced pretty good. They do offer other woods and tops on the occasion. Just ask them. You might be surprised.

 

[farren]

I'm exchanging emails with Mitch now and I am surprised.  This might be a practical rout (ugh) to take.

 

[farren]

KnE could not be more helpful.  Looks like I'll be getting a walnut body from them for this neck in the not too distant future.  Thank you, Unofficial Warmoth forum (especially pabloman), for guiding me away from Warmoth and saving me much money and additional work in the process.   Now all I'll have to do is shape a bit of increased heel access.