Knock off Telecaster

[TinPan]

Knock off say's New York Pro on the head stock, would it be worth my while to replace the neck with a long scale telecaster neck from Wormoth? Would it even fit? The neck on it now s just (how can I put this?) not right.... Frets are too big, all of them need to be sanded down, edges are sharp, Im just trying to get it to sound and look better, I have a set of Lace noiseless pups from a previous project, but again... Em I just wasting my time? Any Thoughts?

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

What'd you pay for the guitar
A warmoth neck will probably cost more than the body is worth

You can get a nice used squire for about the same as a warmoth neck

But if you just like tinkering

Is the neck scale less than 25.5 inches?

The frets can be leveled down

 

[Mincer]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

Well, it would be a gamble if it would fit or not. It might require more work and then, more money. I might put the pickups you already have in it, and deal with it as it is, and work towards something else. Even a Squier Tele would be worth investing in.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

If it's just the frets that bother you, you can have a fret job done (lowering, leveling, trimming, smoothing, polishing) for less than a new neck and if done right it will feel and play excellently.

You're talking about a "long scale Telecaster neck". Are you referring to the 25.5" scale? What scale length does your guitar currently have?

Keep in mind that (as others have said) you can get a very decent Squire Tele for about $150-200.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

A decent Squier Tele for $150-200 is a good idea. A killer Classic Vibe Tele for $300 is a better idea.

 

[chadd]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

I have a NY Pro strat neck that I got somewhere along the way. It fits both of my strat bodies and my squier tele body.

 

[TinPan]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

The NY pro I have was a gift so it has some sentimental value to it, so Im not looking to replace it, just improve it to make it playable. My issues with the neck is first it is a maple neck, In 56 years of playing I never got along with a maple neck, again the frets are murder, I would much rather put on a neck that is ready to go and needing no sanding shaving painting lacquering and so on... I have all the electronics pot's/caps/switches I need. Lastly Im not in favor of fender type guitars to begin with, but like I said it was a gift. Im looking to slap on a neck and play with little to no fuss.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

Slapping a random neck on any guitar is about as far from 'little to no fuss' as I can possibly imagine.

There are neck pocket dimension issues as well as neck screw alignment compatibility.
Then you have the precise shape of the heel, whether it sits with a huge gap to the body and/or pickguard, and how the overall relates to scale length and how the saddles have to be adjusted.

Then you have to do the fretwork (levelling, crowning, polishing) and set the whole thing up from scratch.

I've gone down that road myself and will never do it again.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

Slapping a random neck on any guitar is about as far from 'little to no fuss' as I can possibly imagine.

There are neck pocket dimension issues as well as neck screw alignment compatibility.
Then you have the precise shape of the heel, whether it sits with a huge gap to the body and/or pickguard, and how the overall relates to scale length and how the saddles have to be adjusted.

Then you have to do the fretwork (levelling, crowning, polishing) and set the whole thing up from scratch.

I've gone down that road myself and will never do it again.

Depends on the neck. Done it to two strats (Peavey, Squier and some chinese parts) and both were relatively easy: Neck pocket was exactly same on both, only the Affinity body had too shallow pocket so I had to sand down the heel.

I think in general Fender parts usually have dimensions pretty close.

Rolling the edges is easy, and something I'd promote to any budget guitar neck. But better to get neck with good fretwork otherwise, that's the hard part.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

The NY pro I have was a gift so it has some sentimental value to it, so Im not looking to replace it, just improve it to make it playable. My issues with the neck is first it is a maple neck, In 56 years of playing I never got along with a maple neck, again the frets are murder, I would much rather put on a neck that is ready to go and needing no sanding shaving painting lacquering and so on... I have all the electronics pot's/caps/switches I need. Lastly Im not in favor of fender type guitars to begin with, but like I said it was a gift. Im looking to slap on a neck and play with little to no fuss.

OK, so it's a gift and has sentimental value. And you don't want to get rid of it. I totally get that.

But you want to totally gut it and replace the neck with something not original and make it playable although a mongrel, and you don't even like Fender type guitars to begin with. Do you really think you're going to enjoy playing it? You think you're going to even play it at all? And as for sentimental value...well, you've ended up just about destroying that anyway.

I'd say that you need to enjoy that guitar, relish it, even if you never play it. Put it in a display case and hang it on your wall so you can see it everyday and appreciate its sentiment without changing it a bit. Then get yourself a guitar that you will love to play, that inspires you, that you get satisfaction and fulfillment from playing.

What type of guitar is it that rocks your boat? LP? SG? Jackson? "V"? Firebird?

Man, there are hundreds of great looking, great playing, great sounding, and inspiring guitars on the market for less than $500!!!

Believe me, you'll be way happier in the long run if you keep your sentimental guitar untouched and buy yourself a guitar that you can be happy just playing.

 

[TinPan]

Re: Knock off Telecaster

OK, so it's a gift and has sentimental value. And you don't want to get rid of it. I totally get that.

But you want to totally gut it and replace the neck with something not original and make it playable although a mongrel, and you don't even like Fender type guitars to begin with. Do you really think you're going to enjoy playing it? You think you're going to even play it at all? And as for sentimental value...well, you've ended up just about destroying that anyway.

I'd say that you need to enjoy that guitar, relish it, even if you never play it. Put it in a display case and hang it on your wall so you can see it everyday and appreciate its sentiment without changing it a bit. Then get yourself a guitar that you will love to play, that inspires you, that you get satisfaction and fulfillment from playing.

What type of guitar is it that rocks your boat? LP? SG? Jackson? "V"? Firebird?

Man, there are hundreds of great looking, great playing, great sounding, and inspiring guitars on the market for less than $500!!!

Believe me, you'll be way happier in the long run if you keep your sentimental guitar untouched and buy yourself a guitar that you can be happy just playing.

Thank's thats great advice, I just needed a push!