The Finished Product

FERGUSON

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I just got my guitar back from the tech yesterday. He mounted the new Warmoth neck onto my 2018 Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition N.A.M.M. American Custom Strat and it's a match made in heaven!

This Warmoth neck is easily the best neck I've ever played on. The craftsmanship is superb. The finished guitar is a dream come true.

Thank you Warmoth!
 

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I would be interested to hear about the specs you chose, and the story behind your decision to do a neck swap.
 
The story is a bit convoluted, I’m afraid. (I’ll post some photos below to illustrate.)

I bought this Strat new in 2018. The model name alone is quite a mouthful: “Fender Custom Shop 2018 N.A.M.M. Limited Edition American Custom Stratocaster in Dirty White Blonde.” Whew! The neck it came with was a very beautiful “Medium Roast 3A Birdseye Maple” with the 10/56 "V" profile, 9.5” radius, and 22 frets. Something about the rather chunky 10/56 “V” and the sorta heavy gloss finish just didn’t feel right in my hand. I never bonded with that neck. And the pairing of that neck with that particular body (which is basically a ’57 Mary Kaye) just wasn’t right. They weren’t meant for each other.

So I ordered a neck from Warmoth, but not the one you see in the photo above, in the OP. The specs of that first Warmoth neck are a follows:

• Construction:  Vintage/Modern Construction
• Neck Wood:  Roasted Maple
• Nut Width:  1-11/16"
• Back Shape:  'Clapton'
• Fret Size:  SS6115 Wide & Tall (stainless steel)
• Radius:  10"-16" Compound
• No. of Frets:  22
• Inlays:  Premium Abalone Face Dots
• Finish:  Vintage Tint Satin Nitro

It was a beautiful neck too. But it also was a mis-pairing. The nut width, the satin finish, the very light weight and thin profile just didn’t mate well with the body and pickups and such. I sold it.

So I bit the bullet and ordered my dream neck from Warmoth. Specs as follows:

• Construction: Vintage/Modern
• Shaft Wood: **Highly** Select Quartersawn Maple
• Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm) - Vintage Medium
• Neck Profile: ‘Clapton’
• Fretboard Radius: Straight 9.5"
• Number of Frets: 22
• Fret Size & Material: GD6150 - Wide & Tall (Gold)
• Position Marker Inlay: Black Mother of Pearl
• Nut: Earvana Nut - GraphTech White TUSQ XL
• Finish: Vintage Tint Gloss (Maple/Maple)

Finally this was the match made in heaven. The body, pickups, and neck work beautifully together.

So I’m a happy boy!
 
The story makes sense overall.  I like the roasted maple neck, but the quartersawn plain maple is a great choice as well.

The vintage tint finish and gold frets are really well matched to your guitar.  :icon_thumright:

 
JohnnyHardtail said:
Did you notice any change in tone between the different necks?

Pretty dramatic, actually. Both the roasted necks were more mellow than the current one.
 
The traditional maple necks have a reputation for snappy tone on a strat.  I have never owned a quartersawn maple neck, but I would like to try one.



 
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