Tele neck with ebony board?

Jimbro66

I'm starting a new T-style project and would like it to have a mahogany neck with ebony fretboard but, apart from importing a Warmoth, I've not been able to find a neck of that spec in the UK. Has anyone got any ideas who I might try? Thanks.

axisus

SIMS will make you one, but it won't be cheap. Many years ago they made me a tele neck, maple with an ebony fretboard, short scale and custom 12th fret inlay. It's very nice but ironically I don't use it any more.

Thought of making one yourself? I made a neck a year ago for the first time. Mahogany with rosewood fretboard. I can't believe how well it came out at first attempt.

paulnb57

Grahame at GSP Basses might be able to help, he's on here

@GSPBASSES

Jimbro66

axisus said:

SIMS will make you one, but it won't be cheap. Many years ago they made me a tele neck, maple with an ebony fretboard, short scale and custom 12th fret inlay. It's very nice but ironically I don't use it any more.

Thought of making one yourself? I made a neck a year ago for the first time. Mahogany with rosewood fretboard. I can't believe how well it came out at first attempt.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm only about 50 mins drive from Sims Customs. If I'm correctly understanding their web site the neck I'd like will be somewhere around £350 but it's not clear whether that includes fretting. As you say, not cheap.

I did actually make a complete solid body electric guitar from a 1 1/2" thick plank of old mahogany when I was about 15. All made with hand tools in my parents' kitchen  -  no power tools at all   I did everything except the spraying, which was done by a local vehicle repair shop. It was surprisingly playable and I bought a little 5 watt valve amp chassis from a surplus electronics shop in Acton, made a wooden cab for it and got a cheap speaker. I then used that guitar and amp for a year or two at youth club dances and eventually actually managed to sell them through Exchange & Mart to get something better. That's the last guitar neck I ever made and it wouldn't occur to me to make one now. I don't know why. Perhaps I'm not confident of meeting the necessary high standard. I also wouldn't fancy the hand tools method again (oh no) and I'm not sure I'm adequately equipped to make a neck. My facilities really limit me to modifying guitars rather than building them.

paulnb57 said:

Grahame at GSP Basses might be able to help, he's on here

@GSPBASSES

Yes, Graham's work is terrific but I had the impression he was probably very busy working for regular customers rather than making one-offs? I don't know if that's right.

SteveRobinson

Jimbro66 said:

Exchange & Mart

Blast from the past!

paulnb57

@Jimbro66 costs nowt to ask

Jimbro66

paulnb57 said:

@Jimbro66 costs nowt to ask

Oops, lol'd instead of quoting - but you are right. I should.

axisus

Jimbro66 said:

My facilities really limit me to modifying guitars rather than building them.

That's fair enough if you don't want to, but my facilities were on the whole terrible, lots of micky mouse DIY stuff in a freezing leaky garage! I'm so happy with mine that I've ignored all my other guitars for the past 11 months. There's something special about making your own, I would never pay someone else to make me any guitar bits now.

Sporky

There are probably a fair few builders here who'll do as much or as little of it as you want.

Making a neck isn't tricky, it just requires some planning and patience.

Jimbro66

axisus said:

...my facilities were on the whole terrible, lots of micky mouse DIY stuff in a freezing leaky garage!

Do we live at the same address??

I admire you for tackling that and very successfully. I'm not sure why I don't have the confidence now to do something I managed when 15 years old.

GSPBASSES

 I do make mahogany / ebony tele necks, and you won't have to take out a second mortgage to pay for it. PM with the specifications and give you a price quote. My workshop closes tomorrow and will not open again until early January, so delivery of this would be until the end of January.

Jimbro66

GSPBASSES said:

 I do make mahogany / ebony tele necks, and you won't have to take out a second mortgage to pay for it. PM with the specifications and give you a price quote. My workshop closes tomorrow and will not open again until early January, so delivery of this would be until the end of January.

Thanks for that Grahame. Much appreciated. At lunch time today I'll check my present necks just to remind myself what specs I prefer then I'll PM you. End of Jan would be fine.

Thanks
Jim

Jimbro66

GSPBASSES said:

.........PM with the specifications and give you a price quote.

PM now sent Grahame.