Help with new neck

J

Jim Zucco

New member
Hey. I haven't been on these boards for a long time but I remember how helpful everyone is. I'm hoping that you guys could help me out yet another time. My problem is this: I just purchased a Warmoth scalloped replacement neck for my Kramer guitar and I'm having horrendous troubles getting the intonation right. First off, I can't tell whether the problem lies in the bridge or the neck or both. The bridge is a Floyd Rose and was originally on a 24 fret guitar and now that it's on a 22 fret one, I'm not so sure the intonation is good. Secondly, I have no clue how to adjust a neck's truss rod although I am aware that a messed up neck tension can result in bad intonation. I just need a step by step to get me going on the right track. Thanks a bunch.

~Jim Zucco
 
Re: Help with new neck

This neck is for 22 frets. I'm not sure of the model or year. I'll have to check. I'm not sure of the scale if you mean something other than 22 or 24 frets. The body originally had a 24 fret neck, the bridge was originally on a 22 fret neck and the current neck is 22 frets. The neck doesnt take up the whole neck pocket (there's about a 1/8 inch gap) Not sure what that means.

~Jim
 
Re: Help with new neck

Jim Zucco said:
This neck is for 22 frets. I'm not sure of the model or year. I'll have to check. I'm not sure of the scale if you mean something other than 22 or 24 frets. The body originally had a 24 fret neck, the bridge was originally on a 22 fret neck and the current neck is 22 frets. The neck doesnt take up the whole neck pocket (there's about a 1/8 inch gap) Not sure what that means.

~Jim
Click to expand...

It probably means you'll have to plug the screw holes in the neck with 1/8" dowels glued in and then filed flat. Then put the neck back on but positioned as tightly as possible so there's no gap. Then, using the screw holes in the body as a guide, carefully redrill the screw holes in the neck in the correct positions. Be careful not to drill through the fingerboard of the neck! (like I've done! :smack: ) Lew
 
Re: Help with new neck

Hey thanks, I actually never thought about repositioning the neck. Thanks. I've drilled holes in an unfinished neck before, so I'm aware of the risk of drilling all the way through. Thanks.

~Jim
 
Re: Help with new neck

Jim Zucco said:
.....The body originally had a 24 fret neck, the bridge was originally on a 22 fret neck and the current neck is 22 frets. The neck doesnt take up the whole neck pocket (there's about a 1/8 inch gap) Not sure what that means.

~Jim
Click to expand...

If I´m understanding this right (22 fret neck, body originally designed for a 24 fret one, floyd doesn´t matter btw): without repositioning either the bridge or the neck it will NOT work correctly. You´re missing almost an inch of the scale length, and this is far more than the travel on any guitar Bridge I know. Scale length is the "playing length" of the guitar strings, typically 25.5" on strats, 25" on a PRS and 24.75" on a Gibson. Knowing this is essential to replacing a neck, because the scale length dictates fret positioning

I recommend that you do what Lew suggested, but not to the point of NO gap, but in fact you´ll actually want to increase that gap (assuming its between neck end and the end of the neck pocket) by about 1/4 to 1/2" to restore the scale length. Problem with this solution is that you may have an unstable neck afterwards that shifts in the pocket, or you may even have to redrill the holes in the body to accomodate for the neck falling even shorter.

The other route is to fill the Floyd rout and pickup routs, and rerout tthe entire body. It´s a hell of a lot more work, will probably require a refinish, but it will also look more professional and be more stable when done.

I personally would grab a standard strat body off eBay and work with that, and try to find a 24 Fret Kramer neck in the meantime ;)
 
Re: Help with new neck

Ahh, this is unfortunate, but I didn't expect an easy solution. Thanks for giving me an idea of what I need to do. The good news for me is that I have many bodies lying around the house (about 5 or so) that need necks and at least two of them are made for 22 fret necks (strat bodies, both.) Bad news is that my Kramer body is really nice and has an amazing finish (black with a gold colored crackle :) ) Thanks for the help.

~Jim
 
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