Putting a neck on a nameless guitar...

noiseportrait

New member
Okay, so my girlfriend gave me this guitar. Well, it's not really a whole guitar, just everything below the missing bolt on neck. It was so dirty and ugly that I was going to toss it in my junk pile for spare parts, but then I cleaned it up and started to change my mind. It apears to be made of mahogany and has some decent quality gold plated hardware on it. The biggest surprise was when I took off the pickgaurd to look at the electronics and found it had seymour duncan humbuckers installed, so I figure it must have been an at least halfway decent guitar at one point in time. There is no brand name to be found on the body, but I figure it must be some generic, but decent quality fender copy from the 80s except it has 2 humbuckers and a coil splitter. I'd like put a neck on it and give it back to my girlfriend for her birthday, but I have no idea what I'm doing, and I have very little to spend. I've seen some cheap generic necks on ebay with frets and the nut already installed, so all I would have to buy are some tuners and I'd have a complete guitar. I'm just not sure about what I'm getting into. My first question is, is it easy to install a new neck on a guitar? I'm assuming that it's a standard fender design, but I have no way of knowing for sure. How much of a headache am I getting myself into? I was also wondering if these cheap necks and tuners you can buy off of ebay are even worth it. I don't need anything fancy, but I do want it to be playable. Can anyone give me some advice? I definitely do not have the cash to take this thing to a professional at this point in time.
 
Get the Stewart MacDonald catalog (or go to their website), and find a book in there on building electric guitars, or get Dan Erlewines video. That will give you lots of information, and you will likely be able to put it together yourself. It will take you a fair bit of time to get it right, and I am not convinced that you will save money over getting done by a professional, but if you at least get it setup by a pro, you could end up with a fine guitar. Do get it setup by someone who knows what they are doing, as it makes all the difference between a great playable guitar, and a guitar which makes your fingers bleed.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
So I can't just slap a neck on the thing? I know how to intonate and setup a guitar okay. I'm just wondering if I'm going to have to shave some wood off the neck to get it to fit right or anything along those lines.
 
This neck is good. Assuming that your body is machined to the Fender Strat pocket, it should fit. You would probably have to drill the screw holes because the maple is very hard.

http://www.carvin.com/products/part.php?ItemNumber=BN

The webpage says, "Fits 21 or 22 fret Strats and many other guitars with neck pocket dimensions of 2 3/16" x 5/8" x 3". Ready to be tung oiled or sprayed..."

So you can measure the socket.

They have tuners that you can get in gold for $35.

http://www.carvin.com/products/part.php?ItemNumber=C6C

Good Luck! Sounds like fun.
 
noiseportrait said:
So I can't just slap a neck on the thing? I know how to intonate and setup a guitar okay. I'm just wondering if I'm going to have to shave some wood off the neck to get it to fit right or anything along those lines.

It is more complicated than just "slapping" it in. You have to make sure the neck angle is right, and that everything is centered properly. This does not just happen automatically. Buy a book, or a video, and you will make your life much easier.

THIS VIDEO is only $20, so what do you really have to lose. Not much. THIS BOOK is a little more, but is still pretty damn cheap, and both have good information.

You came here to ask, so you have already acknowledged that you are not an expert on the subject. I am, but I am not really all that interested in spending my free time telling you how to do my job. I hope you understand.

So go out and buy some advice from some one who is and expert, and is willing to sell you the information you need. That is always the best way to start a project.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Thanks light. I was worried about getting the neck angle right. I was hoping that it would already be cut to precision, but I'm probably dreaming. I think I'm going to go ahead and buy that video. The visual aid would probably help me a lot more than a book for this sort of thing. That Carvin neck looks like the way to go. I wasn't planning on spending that much on a neck, but for that kind of quality at such a low price I would probably regret doing anything else. Thanks for the help.
 
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