I Bought a Loaded Charvel Body, Now I Need a Neck!

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

Hello All,

I recently lucked out and bought a Charvel Pro Mod body on eBay at auction for a great price (little over $300). The body came loaded: Duncan pickups, neck plate, neck screws, Floyd tremolo, knobs, pots, back plates - the whole 9. My initial thoughts were to simply mount a Warmoth neck onto it, seeing that the neck pocket difference was minimal, with the Charvel body pocket (57.15mm) being roughly 1.5mm wider than a Warmoth neck (55.56mm) needed. Now, as I venture down the rabbit hole, I'm seeing other factors like neck pocket floor measurement on the Charvel body not being the right height for a Warmoth neck. So what are my options? Buying a genuine Charvel neck from Reverb or eBay would ensure a perfect fit. I saw that custom builders like Musikraft and KnE offer the correct 2.25 inch neck pocket width, but don't mention body/neck pocket depth. In closing, I ask: What would YOU do if you were in my situation? Thanks in advance, and please help steer me in the best, most logical direction if you have any experiences dealing with putting an aftermarket 3rd party neck on a Charvel pro mod body.

 

[MoreSpaceEcho]

What specific model Charvel is the body? If it's a So Cal, I have one of these, barely ever played, sitting quietly in a gig bag in the closet and I would be delighted to sell you the neck if you're interested.

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

It's a recent Pro Mod HH with Floyd - Chameleon satin with white Duncan pickups. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Musikraft custom built neck - as you can get a great looking Kramer Banana head as well as GIANT Dunlop 6000 frets. *but* I'm willing to hear what you had in mind as far as pricing on your neck. Thanks!

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH FR M Chameleon​

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

Looks like the same seller has another one listed on eBay for auction:

 

[Spud]

I am unsure any Warmoth neck will fit that body properly.

 

[stratamania]

Not really compatible.

Will it fit my Guitar Body?

warmoth.com

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

So after much exploring in the said rabbit hole I mentioned earlier, I found out that it appears that the neck depth neck pocket in the body in those newer MIM Charvels is indeed the same depth that Fender and Warmoth use - 5/8ths (16mm) deep. Makes sense since back in the day, Wayne copied the measurements of a vintage Strat. Not sure why they went wider in the late 1980/early 1990s? A true Charvel-Head can provide all the juicy details. Anyways, to get back on track - I bought the body because I thought it was an exceptional deal. I've seen the same loaded bodies on eBay in the $500-$600 range. Heck, buying both Duncan pickups and the Floyd 1000 trem would be the same price as what I ended up paying. It's like buying the parts and getting a completed painted and wired body for free. I do love me a good deal. So, I'm waiting for the body to arrive. I'll test fit a Warmoth neck I have lying around, bought with the intention of using it for another build. So if, and that's a BIG if - If the neck and body gaps on either side of the neck aren't that big a deal from that scant 1.5mm difference (divided by 2 both sides would be .75mm)... in it goes. I bought the body knowing that my playing level and the fact that I just noodle around in the bedroom would never justify me dropping $1200 on a new Charvel San Dimas pro mod. Yeah, I know that people buy Charvels for the neck and not the body - but this lets me live out a little fantasy and trick myself into thinking, if I squint my eyes real hard, that I'm playing a real one.

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

Looks like it has been done before - with success if the guy's being honest at least.
taken from The Gear Page forum:

"I put this together recently. Really happy with how it looks and plays!

Charvel San Dimas body

Warmoth modern maple neck - standard thin, compound radius 10-16, SS jumbo frets , tung oil
Hipshot locking tuners
Schaller lockmeister 6 tremolo
FU-Tone trem stopper (dive bomb only) and noiseless springs
Little blue cut off switch
Dimarzio gravity storm neck
Dimarzio Utopia bridge"

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

the poster replies in the thread concerning the gap issue with the blasphemous Warmoth/Charvel unholy body and neck marriage:

"Thanks fellas. I wasn’t aware about the difference in the charvel neck pocket and the Warmoth / fender spec neck until I got all the parts. The pre drilled holes in both the body and neck lined up fine but There is a slight gap between the treble side of the neck and heel and the body. It’s really a small gap. Doesn’t seem to cause any issues and I can’t notice anything with feel etc. I usually buy Warmoth bodies and necks when doing a build but I got the charvel body for $230, painted, routed etc so I couldn’t pass it up. This is I think the 4th Warmoth neck I’ve bought and I’ve been happy with the fret level on 3 of them. One had a couple high frets here n there. Another neck I leveled and crowned all the frets just for the heck of it and that plays amazing. I’m happy with the new neck on this guitar. Frets seem to be nice and level.

Oh I forgot to mention I also put on Hipshot locking tuners… for easier string change. I’ll add that in my specs above. Thanks"

It looks like it's a go - but would drilling the mounting holes bigger on the body help reduce the imperfect hole alignment issues? A little wiggle room might make things tighter?

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

OOoooo...

 

[Spud]

If there is a will...............there is a way...........

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

If there is a will...............there is a way...........View attachment 64059

I watch that Sam Crack guy on YouTube, who repairs salvage title super cars and I think a quote from him would be suitable here:
"You can fix ANYTHING if you put enough time and money into it."

 

[MoreSpaceEcho]

OK so I had a Warmoth neck sitting here, I just threw it on the Charvel body and the holes lined up. I didn't put the screws in all the way but it seemed fine.

A friend gifted me an old 1990 Charvel ST Custom and I put a Fender neck on that, holes lined up fine. FWIW, for that guitar, I had initially gotten a Charvel neck from Musikraft, specifically for the 2.25 width, and those holes DIDN'T line up. I ended up just ordering a body from them as well, which worked fine, I don't think Musikraft's QC is quite to the level of Warmoth's, but that guitar turned out awesome. So if you don't mind the neck pocket being a little big, a Warmoth or Fender neck should fit no problem.

ANYWAY! WCG, here's a quick pic of my Charvel neck, you'd just need a string tree. $220 shipped (assuming you're in the states).

 

[supertruper1988]

OK so I had a Warmoth neck sitting here, I just threw it on the Charvel body and the holes lined up. I didn't put the screws in all the way but it seemed fine.

A friend gifted me an old 1990 Charvel ST Custom and I put a Fender neck on that, holes lined up fine. FWIW, for that guitar, I had initially gotten a Charvel neck from Musikraft, specifically for the 2.25 width, and those holes DIDN'T line up. I ended up just ordering a body from them as well, which worked fine, I don't think Musikraft's QC is quite to the level of Warmoth's, but that guitar turned out awesome. So if you don't mind the neck pocket being a little big, a Warmoth or Fender neck should fit no problem.

ANYWAY! WCG, here's a quick pic of my Charvel neck, you'd just need a string tree. $220 shipped (assuming you're in the states).

View attachment 64060

if he doesnt take it I will!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

It may bolt up, but the bigger question is “Will it intonate”?

 

[Spud]

It may bolt up, but the bigger question is “Will it intonate”?

Word yo…… I had to plug and relocate the bridge for the above guitar for intonation FYI.

 

[supertruper1988]

It may bolt up, but the bigger question is “Will it intonate”?

most if not all 22 fret 25.5" scale Charvel necks and associated bodies are the same shaft length as Fender spec the biggest difference as mentioned is the butt width being 2-1/4" vs the Fender 2-3/16". There will be a small gap.

Musikraft makes the wider necks if the resulting gap bothers you.

Also the mention of bolt positions not quite aligning, just fill them with a dowel and re drill or get your replacement neck without pre drilled mounting holes then mark them when you dry fit everything.

Hope that helps.

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

Soooooo... I got the San Dimas body the other day. It's freakin' IMMACULATE. I had to scour it inch by inch, and finally saw the small neck plate indents on the back of the body at the neck plate area - at one point, it did have a neck attached to it. Aside from the neck plate attachment dents (which are normal, right?) the body looks to be brand new and never used. I've read it's common practice for eBay sellers to part out guitars with the hopes of getting more return rather than selling the guitar complete. I test fitted a Warmoth neck I have for a different project and it fits. No, it's not the perfect tight-ass, wedged in fit - but it'll do I think. There's no visible gap to the naked eye, at least, but you can tell it's a hair loose by the fact that you can wiggle it oh-so-slightly. As far as I can see, the fit on the nose of the neck where it curves and meets the body near the neck pickup is good with ample contact. No gaps up front. My big concern at this point is the height at which the Warmoth neck sits - it's maybe 1/16th an inch too proud from the face of the guitar body? It looks a tiny bit high in some of the photos. You can tell in person more easily. I was thinking I could just jack up the pickups and the Floyd mounting posts to compensate for the taller neck? A tiny 1/16th of an inch is nothing. Please don't tell me I need to run a router to deepen the neck pocket on the body 1/16th an inch, or run the neck through a wood mill... LOL! I'm thinking of going for it as it is, and if it's no good I'll whip out the woodworking tools. Your thoughts?

 

[Hodgo]

Deepening the neck pocket is the way to go.

By the way, I’ve tried all of the Musikraft Pro Mod profiles. This is NOT a Charvel, but my partscaster interpretation of what Wayne might have built if he was in business in 1963, using the early Prepro guitars for inspiration. It has my favorite profile of the bunch, the .81-.81 D profile with the 2.25” heel. I think it that particular chopped from the option list recently, but they might still make it on request.

 

[WchoyCustomGuitars]

Here's a shot I got online of the same guitar, but with the stock Charvel neck. I'm thinking that the neck rose up as I rested it to take photos with my cellphone? The neck depth measurements (bottom of neck at the heel where it contacts the body neck pocket floor and the top of the fretboard at the end of the neck) of a Warmoth, a vintage Fender strat, and a Charvel Pro Mod should be very, very close to each other. I'm thinking when the neck screws are tightened down all the way, and the neck is seated in the neck pocket tightly, it will be fine. The neck pocket on the San Dimas body I bought has a small 1.25 x .25 inch piece of silver grey duct tape attached to the neck pickup end of the neck pocket as well. Standard manufacturing element from the factory? Who knows. I think at this point, there's no use for conjecture on what might and might not work - I'll just have to give it a whack and see what the deal is once I get it screwed. <-- sounds a lot like my early sexual experiences.