replicating a neck

[vtpcnk]

how do you make a neck exactly like another?

i have a early 90s gibson les paul studio lite. it has the slimmest flattest neck i have even seen - mahogany/ebony.

it is a pleasure to play. after playing that playing anything else is an effort.

what are the factors i should take into consideration if i want to build a neck exactly like this one?

would appreciate some insights.

 

[line6man]

No two necks are exactly the same, period.

 

[JaySwear]

if it's absolutely perfect in every way, i would literally measure every single fret. measure each one and make sure you replicate that measurement exactly when you build yourself a neck. measuring each one and recording it could be a hassle, but when the neck you build feels exactly the same it would have been worth it. plus scale length is a factor as well.

 

[-CB-]

The only thing I can add is....

Its important to profile the back of the neck before attempting <--- !!!!! to make the neck straight.  Stress relief in wood is such that any significant removal of wood from one side or the other of the baulk will cause flexing from internal stresses.  

IOW, you cant take a Warmoth neck and "just shave it down".  The neck will have a fairly good chances of becoming "pretzelized".

 

[Alfang]

The ultimate answer is this, get yourself a small collection of guitars, and play them all till YOU can switch from one neck to another with little or no effort.

I agree that no two necks are exactly the same, but the profiles, or the contour, ie... two warmoth thins should be close enough to feel the same. 

I have 4 warmoth thins, the only diference is on the ones that I've filed the ends of the frets. (with a nice diamond fret file from stew mac)

 

[vtpcnk]

guys sorry for not specifying that i don't plan to make any neck by myself - totally beyond my capabilities.

rather i was planning to get it done by somebody who specializes in building necks.

or maybe i could find a neck from the warmoth showcase based on certain factors/measurements.

so it is for this i am asking what factors/measurements that i should take into account for building a similar neck.

btw alfang, i have three warmoth 'thins' - all are significantly different in feel! :-( maybe it is that i have small hands and so the differences are acute enough for me to see/feel, which might not be for those with larger hands.

 

[koshersteel]

main things to look for are nut width, scale length, and neck thickness. measure the thickness of the neck at the 1st and 12th frets and compare that with what's listed under contours and see what comes close. You can't really make a neck thinner than a wizard without the pressure from the truss rod splitting the neck. keep in mind that your finished neck will be a hair thicker than the unfinished necks listed. this assumes the neck doesn't have an asymetric contour (which it probably does not).

having an independent luthier make a neck is an option but can be pricey and as has already been said, no two wood products can be truly identical. If price is no object than have your neck laser scanned and redone in CNC. Cheers,

 

[stubhead]

Well, of course you can duplicate necks, at least to the tolerances of .010" that a good luthier can work to. A good one will be able to account for the thickness of the finish. Major guitar guys have this done all the time when designing their signature guitars, but it would be pricey to pay someone, depending on how exact it has to be. Sadowsky, Suhr, any of those guys can do it. Personally, I would send it to Tommy at USA Custom, because they hand-carve all their necks. If you just want to send somebody specs, at the minimum you'll need digital calipers and you'll need to measure thickness every few frets and send an exploded drawing of the necks' contour at every few frets - at least a dozen or so cross-sectional drawings. In many ways, the contour of the shoulders is as important as the thickness. It seems to me that you're a lot less likely to get what you want, without sending them the exact neck.

It really just depends on whether you want to spend the money - I imagine it'll cost at least six or seven hundred dollars, for someone to take time off a busy production schedule. If you start searching the internet you're bound to find guys who hand-build bolt-neck guitars one at a time. I know I've seen people who say they'll duplicate necks. There are a bunch of builders who congregate over at TDPRI, Hahn, Kirn and others. When someone tells you that "no one can duplicate a neck" they just mean that they can't do it.