Cabronita neck joint

John_P

I suspect this is an obvious question but just in case there is an easy solution I’m missing....

I quite fancy a single pickup cabronita style but until a regular Tele body that can take a Strat neck with the curved end, the lack of a pick guard means you can only use a Tele neck with the flat end?    Any way around this or should I stick to an esquire with guard or just use a Tele neck? 

stimpsonslostson

My (limited) understanding is that a Strat neck CAN be fitted to a Tele body. It's not perfect & there's a gap in the corners (which can be covered with a plate), but it will intonate etc. A Tele neck won't work with a Strat body as it won't intonate.

Using the custom option at Guitarbuild would allow you to select a Strat pocket on a Cabronita Tele body of that's what you're after. 

WezV

stimpsonslostson said:

My (limited) understanding is that a Strat neck CAN be fitted to a Tele body. It's not perfect & there's a gap in the corners (which can be covered with a plate), but it will intonate etc. A Tele neck won't work with a Strat body as it won't intonate.

That's correct.  the problem with a cabronita is there is not normally a plate to cover the corners of the neck pocket.

Things you can do:

• Fit a strat neck in a tele pocket - leaves gaps at corners, intonates correctly .
• Reshape a tele heel to fit a strat pocket -   fits correctly without gaps and intonates correctly

Things you cannot do:

1. Fit a tele neck to a strat pocket - it will sit too far out the body, may not intonate correctly, leaves a gap at the end of the neck pocket.
2. Reshape a strat heel to fit a tele neck pocket - it sits too far into the body and may not intonate correctly

depending on finish choice you can always rework the neck pocket or heel to make either option work - fine on a solid finish, not so good on a natural one

John_P

Thanks chaps.    I’m partly thinking out loud and working through possible options.,  occurred to me that if the beck had an overhang at the end then it would probably cover the gap.  

I haven’t seen any bodies for sale with only one pickup so that might mean it would need to be made in which case I could have a Strat style anyway.  

Would anyone care to suggest a source for a singlie pickup body?

Funkfingers

If you order a guitar body, it ought to be possible to specify a neck pocket that accepts a Stratocaster-type rounded end neck.

stimpsonslostson

This is what I've got (plus a Baja neck)
https://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/collections/guitar-bodies/products/tc-body-814591

custom builds here:
https://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/collections/all-custom-1/products/custom-order

John_P

Guitarbuild looks great.  I can’t believe I’ve not come across them before.   Thanks

WezV

John_P said:

Thanks chaps.    I’m partly thinking out loud and working through possible options.,  occurred to me that if the beck had an overhang at the end then it would probably cover the gap.  

actually, with a strat neck in a tele body route, the overhang on a 22 fret strat neck would hide most of the gap in the neck pocket.    although without a guard you would still see it when looking really closely from the side

It would be visible from this view - not a biggie

WezV

here is the handy guide from warmoth which mainly says what I did, but with handy diagrams

A Strat®-shape heel fits best in a Strat®-shaped pocket. It will also fit and intonate in a Tele®-shaped pocket, but will leave small gaps in the corners of the neck pocket. A 22 fret neck's fretboard overhang would cover the gap:

A Tele®-shape heel only fits in a Tele®-shaped pocket. It will not fit or intonate in a Strat® pocket without neck pocket modification:

PhilKing

I have fitted a Tele neck into a strat body, with reshaping the heel.  However I used a Wilkinson VS100 bridge which gave me more room for intonation.

stimpsonslostson

@John_P guitarbuild are having a flash sale 2000-2100 tonight. Worth a look-see I got my Tele Deluxe body for £60!

John_P

stimpsonslostson said:

@John_P guitarbuild are having a flash sale 2000-2100 tonight. Worth a look-see I got my Tele Deluxe body for £60!

Thanks for that - single pickup Cabronita body on its way.     Now to move on to watching for a pickup and work out which way to sort the neck. 

paulnb57

 I've done it both ways by buying an unfinished Allparts neck and reshaping the heel to suit, it's not difficult and I have never had an issue with intonation....all my Strats and Teles have the "wrong" neck