Strat & Tele Necks quality

Chalky

Really pleased with my Allparts Strat one, but i notice other ones like WD Music and Musickraft are far more expensive. Why is that?  Is there a quality improvement that I'm obviously missing?  Also, can't seem to find a 22 fret version. Are my google skills failing me?  Any views on roasted maple? 

(Anyone got a nice Fat Strat or Tele neck to sell, even with a dodgy insignia on the headstock? PM me if easier, thanks).

GoldenEraGuitars

It can all come down to where wood is sourced, overheads, company wage bill... same as a lot of things. Why does tetley cost more than Pg tips (no idea if that’s the right way around )

If you want a 22 fret neck feel free to shoot me a message. 

Chalky

lonestar said:

It can all come down to where wood is sourced, overheads, company wage bill... same as a lot of things. Why does tetley cost more than Pg tips (no idea if that’s the right way around )

If you want a 22 fret neck feel free to shoot me a message. 

Having been self-employed for 3 decades, I know that I was looking for guitar-related criteria rather than economics...

Chalky

No views on why its worth paying £200+ for a neck instead of, say, £109 from Northwest Guitars?

stimpsonslostson

Chalky said:

No views on why its worth paying £200+ for a neck instead of, say, £109 from Northwest Guitars?

I think Lonestar summed it up quite nicely to be honest. 

I've just fitted a neck from Northwest Guitars to my partscaster- its great but needed a little fettling to get it perfect (polishing frets, smoothing ends etc). I suspect that a neck from Warmoth or Fender might not have needed tweaking- but I can't say for sure. 

Chalky

stimpsonslostson said:

Chalky said:

No views on why its worth paying £200+ for a neck instead of, say, £109 from Northwest Guitars?

I think Lonestar summed it up quite nicely to be honest. 

I've just fitted a neck from Northwest Guitars to my partscaster- its great but needed a little fettling to get it perfect (polishing frets, smoothing ends etc). I suspect that a neck from Warmoth or Fender might not have needed tweaking- but I can't say for sure. 

Thanks, I thought all such necks needed their frets tidying?

gavin_axecaster

Pricing is dependent on your location - WD necks can be bought from a certain reseller in the USA for far less than from the UK site or even direct from WD USA.
Never had one so can't comment on the quality (although I hope to rectify that soon).
Again I can't comment on the quality of the NW necks as I've never had one in my hands.
Musikraft price themselves more to the boutique end. You can buy a bog standard no-frills model for $195 or their Blackguard necks for $295+ - you are paying more for the vintage reproduction angle rather than any extra actual production costs imo.
Allparts, WD and Musikraft are all Fender licensed, which will add a little to the cost as they pay a license fee per neck,
Pretty much every aftermarket neck (and most factory guitars) will benefit from a level/crown. Depending on how low you like your action/how you play you may get away without it.

menamestom

Allparts are on a par with Warmoth but you get a lot more options with the latter,  so could be worth spending the extra if there’s a specific spec you want.   Both will need fret dressing when installed, although you can get away with not doing it sometimes.

poopot

Chalky said:

Really pleased with my Allparts Strat one, but i notice other ones like WD Music and Musickraft are far more expensive. Why is that?  Is there a quality improvement that I'm obviously missing?  Also, can't seem to find a 22 fret version. Are my google skills failing me?  Any views on roasted maple? 

(Anyone got a nice Fat Strat or Tele neck to sell, even with a dodgy insignia on the headstock? PM me if easier, thanks).

Contact @GSPBASSES ask him to make you a neck!... just got an all rosewood strat neck with a very very chunky profile from him... it’s like a cricket bat

WezV

menamestom said:

Allparts are on a par with Warmoth but you get a lot more options with the latter,  so could be worth spending the extra if there’s a specific spec you want.   Both will need fret dressing when installed, although you can get away with not doing it sometimes.

Allparts have no fretdressing done at all.  Warmoth are a bit more finished and less factory fresh. Warmoth will often give you out the box playability, Allparts won’t

Although I have only ever worked on one warmoth neck that wasn’t improved by more fretwork.  It’s not that they don’t do a good job, but I think things can often move in transit.


either way, I expect to do a fretdress on any new neck and really like the Allparts stuff

Chalky

Thanks all. I'm happy doing my own fret dressing and I expected to on these necks. Just wondered what you get for the extra money.

Chalky

Surprised more folks haven't recommended a their favourite neck supplier...

VimFuego

Chalky said:

Surprised more folks haven't recommended a their favourite neck supplier...

honestly, I don't have much choice here, I just go with whoever's freshest. 
A dedicated artisan can make even substandard parts work for him.

impmann

Any new replacement neck will need a fret dress, irrespective of origin or cost.

DrBob

poopot said:

Chalky said:

Really pleased with my Allparts Strat one, but i notice other ones like WD Music and Musickraft are far more expensive. Why is that?  Is there a quality improvement that I'm obviously missing?  Also, can't seem to find a 22 fret version. Are my google skills failing me?  Any views on roasted maple? 

(Anyone got a nice Fat Strat or Tele neck to sell, even with a dodgy insignia on the headstock? PM me if easier, thanks).

Contact @GSPBASSES ask him to make you a neck!... just got an all rosewood strat neck with a very very chunky profile from him... it’s like a cricket bat

My number 1 guitar is a Strat with a body & a chunky neck by @GSPBASSES . It’s flipping amazing. I need to get the cash together to get him to do me a Jazzmaster before he retires ! 

WezV

impmann said:

Any new replacement neck will need a fret dress, irrespective of origin or cost.

Try telling the people on the warmoth forum that.  Last time I was there they all claimed  out the box perfection.  I have only had one warmoth neck that managed that, but they didn’t like me pointing it out.

they do dress them more than Allparts, which I think are usually just bevelled and that’s it

Danielsguitars

WezV said:

Try telling the people on the warmoth forum that.  Last time I was there they all claimed  out the box perfection.  I have only had one warmoth neck that managed that, but they didn’t like me pointing it out.

They hate critisism from this side of the pond, i had a similar experience on another forum 

WezV

I didn’t even intend it as criticism.  I like warmoth necks.  I don’t expect out the box playability on anything.

Lebarque

USA Custom Guitars are the best quality F-style necks I've tried. A cut above Allparts etc.

GSPBASSES

When people order my necks they always asked will it be fret dressed, plus will the nut be fitted and cut to the correct depth. You can't really compare my necks with neck from Allparts WD  Warmoth etc as they are all mass produced CNC necks. Where as all the necks are handmade by me, as such, every neck is custom-made and I would not expect any of my necks to need any more work doing to them. Every neck I make will have a complete fret dress, frets will be re-crowned and polished the ends of the frets will also be worked on, so there's no sharp edges. However, there is always a possibility that once the neck is fitted to the body and strung up, there might be some fret buzz. This is more likely on skinny necks that are 21mm or less at the first fret, the chunky necks should always be okay. Unfortunately, you can't legislate for this, as when a neck comes under tension, it might move slightly differently to when it's on the neck jig being fret dressed.  However, I'm very confident that most of my necks will work straight out of the box, it always surprises me when people talk about a build and they do a fret dress on my neck before they've even built the guitar. To fret dress a new neck that has already been fret dressed by me or any manufacturer will shorten the life of the frets.

I would advise any partcaster builder, to assemble the neck and body string it up and play it for at least a week before you do anything to the neck or the body. Never ever send necks or bodies off to the spray shop or put a finish on anything until you are sure everything is okay. You'd be amazed how much a neck will change from the day you string it up to how it plays a week later. You must be patient, rushing it will ruin it, you may end up spending money on things that need not have been done. You must been patient.

Nearly every custom builder I know will do a dry build, then play the guitar for at least a week before they consider doing anything to the frets or sending the guitar off to paint shop. There are exceptions, of course, if you start to play the guitar and the nut needs re-cutting or there is obvious fret buzz somewhere that needs dealing with. 

 I'm not touting for business as I have a huge backlog of work that would take me several months to clear.

longjaw

Just bought a secondhand WD neck off eBay, I'll be interested to see how it is - I'm bit concerned that the disclaimer label on the heel of the neck  has 'Squire' instead of 'Squier' mind.