I think I'll call this one "Honey"

[Cagey]

"Burn Unit"

Ok, now I get it. That's a wicked looking guitar.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I'm thinking rosewood over maple w/ gold frets and vintage gloss for the neck. Vintage pearl pickguard. Gold hardware.

I've got a Maple/RW neck and that's what's out there on a lot Fenders.  IMO, Maple/RW is a safe choice but Warmoth could do you a lot better.  That's not an ordinary body, don't put an ordinary neck on it.  Goncalo Alves with Ziricote Fretboard and no dots would look great.  All Pau Ferro or all Rosewood would also look great.

 

[Cagey]

I'm thinking rosewood over maple w/ gold frets and vintage gloss for the neck. Vintage pearl pickguard. Gold hardware.

I've got a Maple/RW neck and that's what's out there on a lot Fenders.  IMO, Maple/RW is a safe choice but Warmoth could do you a lot better.  That's not an ordinary body, don't put an ordinary neck on it.  Goncalo Alves with Ziricote Fretboard and no dots would look great.  All Pau Ferro or all Rosewood would also look great.

You're right, of course. Normally, I do ebony fretboards no matter what, but I wanted to brown up a bit for this body. I thought about that ziricote, only over canary. The ziricote has a similar feel to ebony, but with a more interesting presentation. Put a vintage finish on the neck meat, and it might end up golden enough to nearly match the body. Warmoth isn't doing canary necks anymore, though. In any event, I've got time. As I mentioned earlier, I bought this before I was ready to build again, so finances will have to recover a bit before I can plop down another $500 for a neck <grin>

 

[hannaugh]

Warmoth just made a canary neck for me.  You just have to call and order it.  There was a whole discussion about this a while back, but we discovered that if you just call them, you can usually order it over the phone no problem.  It just depends on availability.

 

[Cagey]

Warmoth just made a canary neck for me.  You just have to call and order it.  There was a whole discussion about this a while back, but we discovered that if you just call them, you can usually order it over the phone no problem.  It just depends on availability.

That's good to know. I thought maybe they just couldn't get pieces good enough to make necks out of any more. Some of the exotic woods they use are getting tough to get. Brazilian rosewood is a good example. Stock must be getting pretty scarce on that, when necks are $995. Gonna have to change its name to "unobtainium" <grin>

I know even walnut is getting tough to get wide pieces of, if you want to do cabinet work. The biggest trees are getting pretty thin on the ground. Anything over about 5"-6" wide is priced pretty high. I bought a piece of 8"x48" 4/4 about a couple months ago that ran $85. Nice piece, but damn!

 

[Patrick]

i saw that tele neck also
all of the awesome woods in the neck showcase are on tele necks which is quite disappointing to me because im not what you would call a tele enthusiast

 

[Cagey]

i saw that tele neck also
all of the awesome woods in the neck showcase are on tele necks which is quite disappointing to me because im not what you would call a tele enthusiast

I saw a couple Brazilian rosewood necks in the Strat neck showcase, but they're just as much. A lot of people (inluding C. F. Martin) say there's little or no difference between that and East Indian rosewood, but who knows at that price? It's not like you'd buy one on a whim just to check it out.

I know what you mean about Teles. Years ago, I was a hardcore Gibson enthusiast. If it wasn't a Gibson, it's CRAP! <grin> Then one day I played a tele and thought "y'know, this isn't such a Bad Thing". Couldn't get next to that body style, though. Plus, it was a Fender! Yuck! Like a dog adopting a kitten or something. It can happen, but it just aint right <grin>

But, as time went by I came to own a Strat design from G&L, then subsequently some actual Fenders, and everything changed. Now that's the only design I play. You wouldn't think a few degrees difference in neck radius, or .062" in width, or .750" in length would make that much difference, but as we all know...

 

[greywolf]

That's going to be some sweeeet honey

 

[Cagey]

That's going to be some sweeeet honey

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to finishing that one up. I'm eating up Warmoth's bandwidth poring over their necks every few days, doing wood research, trying to envision how different combinations would look and feel, and what they might do to the overall tone of the guitar.

But, that's all part of the fun of building a guitar, right? The studying, plotting, planning, doing "what-if" scenarios, then the anxious anticipation of parts showing up, and dry-fitting them. Finally building the thing and playing it is great, but it's almost a let-down. Project's over. Now what?

Oh, yeah. Build another one! <grin>

 

[Cagey]

Yay! The neck arrived today! It's a Warmoth Pro, ebony over koa, gold 6100 frets, gloss vintage tint finish. Absolutely perfect job, as usual.

(click any image to enlarge)

 

[JaySwear]

i love it! i don't know how i missed this the first time around. that body & neck are going to look amazing. love the headstock veneer

 

[m4rk0]

that is a sexy lookin neck!

 

[Cagey]

i love it! i don't know how i missed this the first time around. that body & neck are going to look amazing. love the headstock veneer

I was afraid that veneer wouldn't look quite right, and I took a chance on the vintage tint finish, hoping that over the koa would end up gold-ish. It worked out great. Other than the differences in grain, laying the head next to the body the color match is almost perfect.

 

[Cagey]

that is a sexy lookin neck!

Looks even better in real life. For some reason, those gold frets don't photograph well. Sun might be too bright today.

 

[OzziePete]

that is a sexy lookin neck!

Looks even better in real life. For some reason, those gold frets don't photograph well. Sun might be too bright today.

Koa and Ebony, Oh. My. Gawd. Great looks with the gold hardware.  :blob7:  :blob7:  :blob7:

 

[Nando Vallart]

WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[D-rock]

That Neck is just FANTASTIC!! So gorgeous  :icon_thumright:

 

[elfro89]

mate... I absolutely need a new amp and an fx section. But after seeing that guitar, i can't resist the urge to get my strat. Looks like a nice wee bank over-draft is in the works.

I'm itching to get my bursary in september, then my strat will be ordered!

 

[Kaoskadosk]

i love it! i don't know how i missed this the first time around. that body & neck are going to look amazing. love the headstock veneer

I was afraid that veneer wouldn't look quite right

Yeah I'm a bit worried about the same thing. Hopefully they'll make the veneer out of the same piece of wood that they used for my laminate top since that piece of koa is very dark with texturing that's not really like your "avarage" flame koa. But seeing as your neck got a very well-matching piece of koa and that TeleCaster someone built with flame koa got a matching veneer, I'm slightly less worried about that issue right now.

On Topic:
HOLY BANANAS THAT'S A NICE GUITAR!  arty07:

 

[Cagey]

Hopefully they'll make the veneer out of the same piece of wood that they used for my laminate top since that piece of koa is very dark with texturing that's not really like your "avarage" flame koa. But seeing as your neck got a very well-matching piece of koa and that TeleCaster someone built with flame koa got a matching veneer, I'm slightly less worried about that issue right now.

Here's the wild part: That body top is curly maple, and the headstock laminate is curly koa. Two entirely different woods. And the body is a dyed tiger eye finish, while the neck is a vintage clear. But, as you can see, it worked out pretty well, so with fewer differences than that you probably don't have to worry about yours doing the same.

On Topic:
HOLY BANANAS THAT'S A NICE GUITAR!  arty07:

Thanks! I'm quite pleased with how things are turning out. Wait'll you see the completed instrument.