Help needed

[DoubleG]

Hi all,

i have fender american strat (a 94, 40th anniversary), very lovely guitar, but the neck is sooo in a bad shape (disasterously worn frets, warped neck wood, stripped thruss rod, which is not working anymore) i am considering ordering a new neck from warmoth but i have some questions.

1. is it needed to drill pin holes for american standart series tuning machines and would warmoth do that for me?
2. what finish should be used to keep the authenticity? i know fender is using satin urethane now with gloss headstock, but im not sure my neck was finished like that.

regards,

 

[jay4321]

Hi Double G:

Are these your tuners?

If so, I'm not sure if they have the two little knubs that my Schallers have. But having ordered 4 necks from Warmoth they've only ever drilled the main holes for (though, I never asked them to drill the extra holes). Stew Mac sells a $35-ish little device that will help you line everything up, assuming it's compatible.

As far as the finish I'm having trouble finding out exactly what they did, maybe you could post some good photos of the neck front and back and someone can steer you right. If it happens to be satin, there's a forum member here who does nitro finishing and could sneak a nice looking Fender decal on beforehand, and shape the neck also, which Warmoth won't do. But yeah pics would go a long way.

This is all assuming you're talking about the regular '94 anniversary standard and not the special "54 reissue" anniversary they put out that year.

 

[DoubleG]

yepp those are my tuners and i know stewmac tool but i dont wanna do any drilling by myself and i dont know any guitar tech in my region, if W dont do the drilling then it will be my last resort.

the guitar is regular 40th anniversary not a 54 issue. i will add photos of my guitar later (i dont wanna put photos taken by a cellphone) but here are some photos from web

same color  :icon_thumright:

 

[tfarny]

I don't think warmoth will drill those holes for you, though if you pay them extra they might. There are ways to make everything line up right, using a ruler or straightedge and masking tape. It's not really a hard job at all.

 

[MUYFUE]

I don't think warmoth will drill those holes for you, though if you pay them extra they might. There are ways to make everything line up right, using a ruler or straightedge and masking tape. It's not really a hard job at all.

Word.

It's not hard, just take your time. This will also improve your confidence and skill!  :icon_thumright:

 

[jay4321]

You've got a rosewood board on the thing, so I don't think you can really go all that wrong as far as the neck finish goes, especially if it turns out to be a satin finish. The small holes are pretty easy and one way or another you can get it done.

 

[dmraco]

I don't think warmoth will drill those holes for you, though if you pay them extra they might. There are ways to make everything line up right, using a ruler or straightedge and masking tape. It's not really a hard job at all.

Word.

It's not hard, just take your time. This will also improve your confidence and skill!  :icon_thumright:

yep...it is easy on a strat or even and LP.  The WARMOTH head design is a little more challenging.  I often do not even drill...I will just punch the desired hole location with a small nail, this is just enough to get the screw going.  OR use a small bit with a peice of tape installed so you know when to drop drilling and do not go all the way thru the neck.

 

[-CB-]

Ya know... rather than buy that tool, I think I'd just get the neck reamed for a better set of tuners.  The better set of tuners will only be a little more than the price of the tool, ya know?

As far as drilling the holes.....

You select a nice small drill bit, and wrap some tape on it as a depth guide.  Then you go nice and slow, and dont let the tape hit the wood.  Stop just short of that point, and check again, to make sure the tape hasn't moved, before drilling the next hole. 

Finish... Warmoth doesn't do that very same finish.  You can get a satin finish from Warmoth, but its not quite the same, although its a good finish. 

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

They do not drill for those, they use to say they didn't but I haven't seen it mentioned on the new site.  My guitar player has a Warmoth neck on his Strat, he took it to get set up with those tuners.  When he got it back they were on there.  So even if it's not something you or Warmoth can do, somebody can.

 

[jay4321]

Ya know... rather than buy that tool, I think I'd just get the neck reamed for a better set of tuners.

You definitely don't need it and the price is a bit high, but I've already used it a couple times and just grabbed another couple sets of discontinued chrome Schallers for future projects, so it's worth the convenience. But yes a ruler and tape will work fine if you're careful, and aren't, say, prone to dumb measuring mistakes. 

I'd recommend better tuners also, if he's not determined to just carry the old ones over, just pick ones that don't need pin holes.

 

[DoubleG]

i have no problems with measuring and if necessary i can measure a dozen times before drilling but i have never drilled anyting in my life or i just cannot remember it =)

 

[blue313]

Go to any building supply store and get some chunks of maple and other woods.  Drill on it a few times to get a feel.  It's cake man!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

You could always line them up and tighten them ever so slightly that the nipples, for lack of a better word, would make an indent of where to drill the holes.

 

[jay4321]

Don't worry about drilling holes, that's the easy part and you'll understand how easy in about 20 seconds with your first drill. The important thing is putting the holes in the right place.

Say, what do you want to do about the Fender logo? That factors into your finish options also... if Warmoth finishes it any decals or whatever must go above the finish as they won't apply them. Actually, how accurate are you trying to be with this new neck, exactly? Have you looked at the neck contour options and various fretboard woods?

 

[DoubleG]

Say, what do you want to do about the Fender logo? That factors into your finish options also... if Warmoth finishes it any decals or whatever must go above the finish as they won't apply them. Actually, how accurate are you trying to be with this new neck, exactly? Have you looked at the neck contour options and various fretboard woods?

questions which i ask myself every five secs or so =)

fender logo: first i was considering putting a fender logo is a must but now i dont have much interest in a fake decal. it is what it is, not what is says it is
neck contour: standart, im happy with it.
fingerboard radius: i definetly wanna try 10-16 compound because i suffer from 9.5 while soloing especially when i bend, beaing a blues hobbiest i bend a lot.
fingerboard wood: this is long story. if i can find a good and trustworthy guitar tech, i will buy an ebony. ill get the original one fixed (seems very imposible to me) and installed back and use the ebony one for future projects. its very hard to decide, im still thinking about it...

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

It's a logo, not a Rolex.  Fake?  They're just not licensed to be reproduced.  If you want one, get one.  This was replacing a Fender neck right?

 

[DoubleG]

Bought this one from showcase 5 mins ago =D:

Stratocaster®, Vintage Modern, Right Handed Handed, Maple, Jet Black Ebony Fretboard, 1 11/16" Nut Width, Standard thin, 6150, Schaller (25/64", 11/32") Tuner Ream, 22 frets, 10-16" Compound Radius, Mother Of Pearl Dots Inlay, Black TUSQ XL, Clear Satin Nitro, 25-1/2 in. Scale

Maple is Q-sawn

with schaller minis

cheers ccasion14: