Happy new parts day for my Frankenstrat!

dmn23

dmn23

Duller than cardboard
This guitar had a roasted Warmoth neck. The neck was nice but the "standard thin" shape just wasn't my thing, the 1 11/16" nut width didn't feel right, and the 6105 stainless frets were fine but not what I wanted to feel under my fingers.

It also had a set of Klein Epic 58s and they sound spectacular, but in the interest of maintaining "authenticity" the middle pup wasn't RWRP and the hum became more annoying than I wanted to live with.

So I spent a stupid amount of money for a new Fender neck (American Original '60s) and a set of flat pole Lollars (Dirty Blonde).

The Lollars sound glassy and chimey and detailed and the flat pole configuration makes a noticeable difference — it's all just a little more balanced now and they don't hum like crazy.

The neck is superb. It's a nice, chunky mid-60s carve. Not quite as baseball-batty as my '62 Hot Rod Strat but significantly fatter than the Warmoth neck.

Cost notwithstanding, I'm thrilled with both purchases. This guitar is completely transformed.

20210127_101435.jpg
 
dmn23 said:
The neck was nice but the "standard thin" shape just wasn't my thing, the 1 11/16" nut width didn't feel right, and the 6105 stainless frets were fine but not what I wanted to feel under my fingers.
Click to expand...
Exactly my specs...want to sell it?
 
Honkridge said:
Sooooo....whatcha gonna do with that warmoth neck?

Oh, and HNPsD!
Click to expand...
jelloman said:
Exactly my specs...want to sell it?
Click to expand...

The neck is in great shape. It was purchased almost exactly two years ago and never left the house. No tuning keys, no string tree. However, there's a hole drilled for a string tree (I used it for the new Fender neck) and there's a bone nut.

$200 includes shipping. PM me if either of you would like to make this happen.

The Kleins are for sale too if anyone's interested. $200 for the set.

https://www.kleinpickups.com/p-354-1958-epic-series-stratocaster-pickups.aspx



Style: Stratocaster®
Construction: Vintage/Modern Construction
Orientation: Right Handed
Neck Wood: Roasted Maple
Fingerboard Wood: Indian Rosewood
Nut Width: 1-11/16"
Back Shape: Standard thin
Fret Size: SS6105 (Stainless)
Tuner Ream: Vintage Style (11/32")
Radius: 10-16" Compound
Scale: 25-1/2"
Fret #: 22
Mounting Holes: Standard 4 Bolt
Pre-Cut Installed String Nut: No Nut Install
Inlays: Cream Face Dots
Side Dots: White Side Dots
Finish: No Finish

vms14174a.jpg


Here's what it looked like on the same body:

20200919_111435.jpg
 
Last edited:
dmn23 said:
The neck is in great shape. It was purchased almost exactly two years ago and never left the house. No tuning keys, no string tree. However, there's a hole drilled for a string tree (I used it for the new Fender neck) and there's a bone nut.

$200 includes shipping. PM me if either of you would like to make this happen.

The Kleins are for sale too if anyone's interested. $200 for the set.

https://www.kleinpickups.com/p-354-1958-epic-series-stratocaster-pickups.aspx



Style: Stratocaster®
Construction: Vintage/Modern Construction
Orientation: Right Handed
Neck Wood: Roasted Maple
Fingerboard Wood: Indian Rosewood
Nut Width: 1-11/16"
Back Shape: Standard thin
Fret Size: SS6105 (Stainless)
Tuner Ream: Vintage Style (11/32")
Radius: 10-16" Compound
Scale: 25-1/2"
Fret #: 22
Mounting Holes: Standard 4 Bolt
Pre-Cut Installed String Nut: No Nut Install
Inlays: Cream Face Dots
Side Dots: White Side Dots
Finish: No Finish

View attachment 64032

Here's what it looked like on the same body:

View attachment 64033
Click to expand...

definitely interested. Can we move this to PM?
 
That looks gorgeous!

I've been thinking about spending silly amounts of money on the exact same neck as a replacement for my MIM Strat that I'm otherwise happy with.

The MIM neck plays well and intonation is flawless all the way, but it's kind of rough around the edges, and I like rosewood better.

Was it an easy fit?
 
@Monson If you have a Fender, the tolerances are close enough that most Warmoth, Allparts, and other major neck vendors are drop in replacements, thanks to CNC specs.

They're close enough that I've made a wiggly neck pocket tight with a little satin paint on the edges (not the flat neck pocket bottom) or if it needed some angle, I cut a shim for half of the neck pocket out of the metal "for sale" signs... so we are talking .00x" tolerances.

If you get a Roasted Maple neck with a rosewood board, you can save $$ and buy unfinished. I've always recommended Tru-Oil which is a varnish/lacquer, but I've recently found a wax that is Grain Accent wax which is AMAZING!! It makes the wood pop... but the neck is slick like a Charvel or Ernie Ball satin neck! If the neck has any flame, the figure POPS! I got WHITE because that's what I was going for, but it comes in various tints as well.

610VO6LWF-L._AC_SY355_.jpg
 
Monson said:
That looks gorgeous!

I've been thinking about spending silly amounts of money on the exact same neck as a replacement for my MIM Strat that I'm otherwise happy with.

The MIM neck plays well and intonation is flawless all the way, but it's kind of rough around the edges, and I like rosewood better.

Was it an easy fit?
Click to expand...
This is my first parts guitar and I sort of suspected that I would end up making the wrong choices. Trial and error, right? You figure out what you like and what works for you. So there was nothing wrong at all with the Warmoth neck, it just wasn't the right spec for me. But I only learned that after the guitar was assembled and I'd lived with it for a couple of years.

The Fender neck was stupidly expensive but I figure I paid for the convenience of not having to try another 3rd party neck, pay to have my guy set it up and dial it in, possibly repeat the process, etc. Plus it just looks better and if I ever decide to unload it it will probably hold its value reasonably well. Happily though, I love the neck. It's got a nice chunky vintage feel but with taller frets and a modern radius.

So there's Highwood saddles, the rest of the hardware is Gotoh, plus there's the Warmoth body and the Lollars. I figure I've got about $1400 in this including labor. That's not really a bargain — I could have easily found an American Professional Strat or a USA Legacy for about the same price. And of course there are tons of other nicer options if I'd looked at used gear. But this check all the right boxes now — I love the color, the neck, the pickups, all of it.

So was it a screaming deal? No. Is it a keeper? Absolutely.
 
baimun said:
Very sweet. Looks great.


I've got one more invisible, yet super functional, mod for you......


https://www.stewmac.com/electronics...free-way-5-way-10-position-pickup-switch.html


Traditional 5 way parallel switching but then click the blade sideways and you can get series and neck+bridge options.... without any toggles or push pull pots. :helper:
Click to expand...

I had a Fat-O-Caster switch installed in an old American Standard Strat that I used to own but I found that I never really used any of the extra settings:

http://deaf-eddie.net/tonecharts.html

The Strat in this thread is wired so that the middle knob is a neck pickup blend control and that can help to fatten the bridge pickup, but I almost never play on the bridge anyway. Most of the time I'm in Quackville using position 2, or occasionally I'll use the neck position.
 
dmn23 said:
I had a Fat-O-Caster switch installed in an old American Standard Strat that I used to own but I found that I never really used any of the extra settings...
Click to expand...

I hear ya. Thats why one of the superstrats that Im building right now has a pickguard that can slide out sideways under the strings, a terminal block for swapping pickups, and then a bunch of mini toggles to try an assortment of pickup combinations. When I find the combos I like best, they’ll be wired to a five way blade of “these are a few of my favorite things”. Kinda like my Landshark guitar that had one volume... pull up for neck plus split bridge... down for bridge humbucker. That was it. No toggles or BC Rich Bich airplane cockpit controls. :helper:
 
Of course when I wet sanded last night, it filled in the grain... :annoyed:

So now I have to choose between thin satin or the Wolfhair finish.... unless I do the accent wax and then clear... clear... clear... and then wetsand the clear. Hmm... I wanted a super thin rattle can finish on this (because of the EVH influence). I might just leave it as is after wet sand and be done with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top