THinking about a neck . . . .

[B3Guy]

Hey, all, I'm thinking pretty serious about a Warmoth neck right now. I think I've got a pretty good idea what I want, except for the nut, but I want Warmoth to install, so its either a graph tech or the corian. Opinions/differences? Thanks, and party on, dudes! (and H.)

 

[bagman67]

I have never had a corian nut, but I have had a number of graphtech nuts and had no issues.

 

[Cagey]

The Graphtech nut's claim to fame is its slipperiness, which is a Good Thing. Keeps the strings from hanging up and causing tuning problems. They've always performed well for me, so that's what I use unless I do an LSR nut. I haven't used a Corian nut, so I can't give any pros/cons about them. As far as tone goes, it's almost a non-issue, since the only time the nut has any effect is on open strings.

 

[B3Guy]

how about the LSR? Warmoth won't install those, will they? Is install hard, and wouldn't there be some trouble with the nut not being adjustable at each individual string?

 

[Cagey]

Warmoth will cut the neck for an LSR install, but they won't install the nut. You have to buy it separately and install it yourself. It's not difficult; I've done it a number of times.

You use shims to adjust the height if necessary. A variety of different thickness shims come with the nut.

They're nice because they're always perfect. No need for string trees, you don't have string hangups, you don't have strings popping out their slots, and they're not gaudy. But, they're sorta pricey. Warmoth wants $40 to cut the neck for one, then the nut itself is another $40 or so.

 

[drewfx]

how about the LSR? Warmoth won't install those, will they? Is install hard, and wouldn't there be some trouble with the nut not being adjustable at each individual string?

If Warmoth does the prep, it's just 2 little screws with a selection of little shims under each side to adjust the height. And as I recall, W even drills the screw holes for you.

It does require a 1 11/16" nut width. Otherwise, unless you're trying to use super heavy strings, there should be no issues.

 

[Cagey]

No, they don't drill the holes. But, they're tiny and easy enough to do. The only tricky part at all is having a good #00 phillips screwdriver. Anything else and you'll wreck the screws.

 

[B3Guy]

Ok, so here's another question: what Fender Strat style guitar is going to be my best bet? If I get the Warmoth neck, I need to either find a pretty cheap ($200 or less) loaded body, or find a full guitar that has a neck I can hock off instantly for a decent return (to bring the price down) . . . what would you suggest? After springing for this neck, I'm not gonna want to put more than a couple hundred into the rest. There seems to be a whole ton of stuff on the 'bay, and parted out stuff seems to sell pretty well. What about, say, an American-made start at GC for $400, sell the neck (a couple hundred?) does this sound realistic?

any ideas or input welcome, I'm pretty open at this point.

 

[bagman67]

Ok, so here's another question: what Fender Strat style guitar is going to be my best bet? If I get the Warmoth neck, I need to either find a pretty cheap ($200 or less) loaded body, or find a full guitar that has a neck I can hock off instantly for a decent return (to bring the price down) . . . what would you suggest? After springing for this neck, I'm not gonna want to put more than a couple hundred into the rest. There seems to be a whole ton of stuff on the 'bay, and parted out stuff seems to sell pretty well. What about, say, an American-made start at GC for $400, sell the neck (a couple hundred?) does this sound realistic?

any ideas or input welcome, I'm pretty open at this point.

You could get a Peavey Predator, or a made-in-wherever Squier, or whatever else you might want on Craigslist, at 100 bucks; drop another 2 benjamins on a preloaded pickguard; and you're ready to attach the neck that will really make the difference.

 

[B3Guy]

Squier is my best bey you think? There's one I've been playing at GC that actually has some pretty massive sustain and resonance. I should be able to get it for $100, as they're required to match price with any registered dealer, and I can find 'em at $100 from registered sellers elsewhere.


Are Squier bodies compatible with other fender stuff? their pick guards look a bit off, and of course the electronics are crap.

 

[Cagey]

Ok, so here's another question: what Fender Strat style guitar is going to be my best bet? If I get the Warmoth neck, I need to either find a pretty cheap ($200 or less) loaded body, or find a full guitar that has a neck I can hock off instantly for a decent return (to bring the price down) . . . what would you suggest? After springing for this neck, I'm not gonna want to put more than a couple hundred into the rest. There seems to be a whole ton of stuff on the 'bay, and parted out stuff seems to sell pretty well. What about, say, an American-made start at GC for $400, sell the neck (a couple hundred?) does this sound realistic?

any ideas or input welcome, I'm pretty open at this point.

Why limit yourself to Fender parts? There are a million sources of identical parts, many of them superior. And what sort of American guitar of any stripe do you suppose you're going to get for $400? Finally, OEM necks aren't worth much. You can certainly sell them, but you're not going to get anywhere near $200 for one.

If price is an issue, I'd strongly suggest you go shopping at Rondo. You'd be surprised at what you can get. Stay away from the super-cheap stuff, but if you've got $300 or so to spend, you can get one helluva nice guitar. Bear in mind that any guitar that costs less than grand here is probably made there anyway, so don't start with the patriotic bullshit.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

I say get that pink Squire you liked and put the rest of the money into a nice neck.  This isn't your forever guitar, just something to bash around on for awhile.

 

[B3Guy]

I'm actually eyeing a loaded body on ebay right now that the seller thinks is an Agile. he's not sure, but it looks very clean, so that's a definite possibility, as is Pinky. darn, I've named it already, this is getting ahead of itself!

 

[B3Guy]

Ok, the neck is ordered, along with a set of the basic Gotoh $30 tuners (sorry, but I really AM cutting this one close on the $$$, and every bit I can save without hurting myself is being saved. I'll get the Gotoh Vintage Locking tuners later.) Went with the Graphtech white nut, so there's a second mystery solved for ya, and a Chrome Warmoth decal. No neck plate yet. If I get a loaded body, I'll obviously need one, and Dangerous will get my business, but if I get a full guitar and hock off the neck, I'll use the one it comes with. Sorry, I didn't pull off pics before I bought it, so it'll have to be a surprise. I guess the tracks aren't too revealing either, so I'll let on that I got SS6230s, stainless vintage frets. I hate big and clunky, so there. Even mediums/medjumbos just bug the heck out of me. Perhaps it brings back bad memories of driving down my dirt road that is a perpetual washboard.

Final clue time, and then let the guessing begin: it was a showcase neck, and it was listed (AFAIK) yesterday afternoon/evening. Also, if you've paid attention to my droolings and rantings on the forum as of late, you should be able to spec it out exactly.  :icon_thumright: (anyone know how to get at pics of purchased necks?)

 

[drewfx]

(anyone know how to get at pics of purchased necks?)

Just take any existing pic on the site and substitute the number of the the neck (+ the "a" or "b" on the end for the front and back views) you purchased in the URL.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I'd go with Graph-Tech or LSR.

I also would not limit myself to a body made of plywood.

 

[B3Guy]

but plywood has such a great vintage tone!  :icon_jokercolor:

The squier is alder, and it sounds better than the more expensive mexis (barring of course its pickups, which I can tell are messing it up somewhat, but easily remedied down the road.)

 

[thebutcher85]

I've gotten 3 necks from Warmoth all with the Graptech nuts installed by them, and have loved all 3 of them, no issues whatsoever, they're still rockin' and kicking @$$!

 

[B3Guy]

here's the neck, ordered!  :blob7: :blob7: :blob7:

 

[Cagey]

This is like Déjà vu all over again. Seems like I just saw that neck within the last few days.

No matter. I probably dreamed it. Nice catch. It's gorgeous, and I'm envious.