New neck for partscaster

[Franknfilms]

I don't know anything about neck measurements and specs so I'm hoping that more knowledgeable people can tell me what exactly to shop for when I try to replace this neck.
I have a mighty mite tele neck, rosewood board, that I bought from musicians friend. Apparently, stew mac sells the might mite necks as well and here are the specs that they have on their website.

Mighty mite tele neck:
Scale length 25-1/2" (647.70mm)
Width at nut 1-11/16" (42.86mm)
Width at 21st fret 2-3/16" (55.56mm)
Fretboard radius 9-1/2" (241.30mm)
Fretwire .045" high x .095" wide (1.14mm x 2.41mm)
Fret count 21
Approximate heel length 3-5/8" (92.07mm)

Here is what I hate about it:
-Too thick, I hate the shape of the neck and how thick it is. What is the thinnest feeling shape? Is it C shaped?
-Fret wire is crazy thin, I can't stand the frets, thin and plinky sounding
-Nut width: the strings are too close together, is there any way I can get wider string spacing?
-Rosewood looks nice, but I think it is muddying up the tone, I had a JB i this thing and still crank the treble on the amp.

So what are the specs for the new neck that I will start shopping for? All maple of course. C shaped? Nut width? Fret size?

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

As for shopping options, I don't want to spend more than $100 if possible. I was thinking squire necks might be a good option.

 

[CTN]

Re: New neck for partscaster

You're essentially looking for a very custom neck for the price of a cheap replacement.

I seriously doubt you're gonna find it.

But this is probably what you're looking for:

Scale length 25-1/2" (647.70mm)
Width at nut 1-3/4" (44.45mm)
Width at 21st fret 2-3/16" (55.56mm)
Fretboard radius 9-1/2" (241.30mm)
Fretwire .046" high x .103" wide (6150) or .058" high x .118" wide (6100)
Fret count 21
Approximate heel length 3-5/8" (92.07mm)
Back contour shape: Wizard or similar

You probably aren't gonna find those kind of specs on any neck that costs $100.


I put in the above specs for a tele neck at warmoth, and it comes up to $227 without even a finish.

Squier necks are generally pretty similar to Fender necks, ie they are of vintage specs, so you're unlikely to find the kind of specs you want on a Squier.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

You probably aren't gonna find those kind of specs on any neck that costs $100.


I put in the above specs for a tele neck at warmoth, and it comes up to $227 without even a finish.

Squier necks are generally pretty similar to Fender necks, ie they are of vintage specs, so you're unlikely to find the kind of specs you want on a Squier.

Yeah, I was worried about that, a tele neck in general might not even be what I want. I think I'll play some teles next time im at the guitar shop, I'll see if I can find some that I like and I'll make a note of the model.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

Brace yourselves for a ridiculous question. Is the rosewood board thickening the neck overall? My theory is that the maple equivalent of this neck is just some frets laid into the actual maple neck, but for the rosewood neck they glue a rosewood board on the top, thus making it thicker. If so, an all maple neck might feel a little thinner? I even recall a video about the Seymour telegib where he mentioned that he removed a rosewood board from the original neck.

 

[ErikH]

Re: New neck for partscaster

In short to answer your question...................... No.

Thickness is totally independent on whether the board is glued on or not. Some maple fingerboard necks actually have a glued on fingerboard as well, depends on the construction method. I know that Warmoth does 2-piece maple necks. I like them, no problems. The back curvature of the neck is what determines the thickness mostly. That's where the profile is done and can be as thick as a baseball bat or super thin. All depends on what you want.

For what you want, be ready to spend more than $100 and probably closer to $200. That's just reality unless you come across an insane deal on a used one that meets your spec requirements.

 

[CTN]

Re: New neck for partscaster

Does your neck have a skunk stripe on the back? If it doesn't, then it's probably a two piece neck, where they glued a maple fretboard on. Not much different than gluing on a rosewood board.

Seeing as these mightymite necks are probably CNC cut, I seriously doubt that the type of board makes any difference at all to the overall thickness of the neck.

 

[speed2dirt]

Re: New neck for partscaster

I have a custom Conklin neck that is thin & fast like a Jackson with a Tele heel. However, the headstock is shaped like a Jackson/ESP and has a locking nut for a Floyd Rose. Don't know how that plays into the look, but you can PM me if you're interested.

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: New neck for partscaster

In Warmoths Showcase right now are two maple/maple, standard thin (if you don't like it you can always have it shaved down) necks, 1 3/4" nut, your choice of frets and tuners.
Add a TUSQ or Corian nut and no finish and you're looking at $190ish plus shipping.
You're not going to do much better in a new neck at those specs.

http://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/Sho...ath=Spotlight&nutWidth=6&sort=price&i=SN13764
http://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/Sho...ath=Spotlight&nutWidth=6&sort=price&i=SN12589

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

What about the frets? From what I can tell, most standard teles, even squires, seem to have thicker frets than my mighty mite.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

I tried a bunch of telecasters yesterday and thought I'd report back. My discovery is that the blacktops have thinner necks. They aren't cheap, but I'm keeping my eyes out for a blacktop neck.

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: New neck for partscaster

I tried a bunch of telecasters yesterday and thought I'd report back. My discovery is that the blacktops have thinner necks. They aren't cheap, but I'm keeping my eyes out for a blacktop neck.

A quick check on eBay tells me that Blacktop necks are about $20 more than the Warmoth necks I posted about.
I'm not saying you might not get lucky waiting, but is it really worth the $30 you *might* save?

Have you ever played what you consider the perfect neck?

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

A quick check on eBay tells me that Blacktop necks are about $20 more than the Warmoth necks I posted about.
I'm not saying you might not get lucky waiting, but is it really worth the $30 you *might* save?

Have you ever played what you consider the perfect neck?

My fav neck in my collection is the schecter, very thin neck, fat frets, perfect width and string spacing. The problem with warmoth is that the finish puts it in the 250 price range, I need it finished.

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: New neck for partscaster

My fav neck in my collection is the schecter, very thin neck, fat frets, perfect width and string spacing. The problem with warmoth is that the finish puts it in the 250 price range, I need it finished.

Ok.
But that pretty much just leaves you with eBay fishing.
Nothing wrong with that, if you're not in a hurry.
If it were me, I'd just get a Warmoth and put an Truoil finish on it.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

Ok.
But that pretty much just leaves you with eBay fishing.
Nothing wrong with that, if you're not in a hurry.
If it were me, I'd just get a Warmoth and put an Truoil finish on it.

Good call, maybe I'll just read up on the truoil and see if I'm up to the task

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: New neck for partscaster

Good call, maybe I'll just read up on the truoil and see if I'm up to the task

Oh, it's easy peasy.
It's sold as a gunstock finish. Check your local Wal Mart.
Just wipe on and let dry. Repeat as many times as you like.
Buff if you want.
Done.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

Oh, it's easy peasy.
It's sold as a gunstock finish. Check your local Wal Mart.
Just wipe on and let dry. Repeat as many times as you like.
Buff if you want.
Done.

The only thing I have found that seems to compete with the warmoth neck option is a squire classic vibe tele neck. They are known to be a little thinner than normal tele necks and have medium jumbo frets. I can get one with vintage tint and tuners for $169, or one with out a tint and without tuners for $109. The squire option would save me a lot of work.

The warmoth option is pretty great though, to custom build a neck to my specs. I just have to figure out what those specs would be. Here are the specs I'm considering:

Wood: Maple/Maple (one piece)
Contour: standard thin
Nut width: options are 1-11/16,1-3/4,1-5/8. I will probably want the widest right? 1-11/16? This is like a les paul. Is this even possible with a tele neck? It must be since I can choose it.
Radius: 10-16 compound
Length: 21 frets. My current neck is 21, any issues upgrading to 22? I don't want to have to mess with cutting the pickguard so I'll probably stay with 21
Fret Size: I need suggestions here, I like fat sounding frets and low action.
Tuner hole size: I currently have gfs locking tuners (sperzel sized) but I'm open to getting new tuners if they will work better. My tuning stability is currently terrible.
String Nut: I'll go with White Corian

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: New neck for partscaster

The only thing I have found that seems to compete with the warmoth neck option is a squire classic vibe tele neck. They are known to be a little thinner than normal tele necks and have medium jumbo frets. The squire option would save me a lot of work.

There's nothing wrong with going Squier, but IMO, that's only worth doing if you can get exactly what you want.

The warmoth option is pretty great though, to custom build a neck to my specs. I just have to figure out what those specs would be.

And it's going to be better quality all the way around. Hands down.

Nut width: options are 1-11/16,1-3/4,1-5/8. I will probably want the widest right? 1-11/16? This is like a les paul. Is this even possible with a tele neck? It must be since I can choose it.

1 3/4" is wider than 1 11/16", so you'd want that.
I've heard of some guys going to 1 7/8". But I'm pretty sure that was a personal custom build.

Fret Size: I need suggestions here, I like fat sounding frets and low action.

Um, neither of those things have much to do with frets.
Low action has to do with setting up the neck and while some folks claim that stainless steel frets sound brighter to them, I don't hear it.
I'm partial to jumbo/x-jumbo frets because it allows me to really dig in on the strings. I'm not one for a super low string setup, though.
X-jumbo, 1605, nickel frets will be what you want to get, I think.

Tuner hole size: I currently have gfs locking tuners (sperzel sized) but I'm open to getting new tuners if they will work better. My tuning stability is currently terrible.
If your tuners suck get new ones.
IMO, it's more important to get quality tuners than whether or not they are locking.
That said, for tremolos and non-tilt headstocks I'm partial to staggered locking tuners.

String Nut: I'll go with White Corian

IMO, this is a personal thing. You just want to stay away from cheap plastic and make sure you get it dressed and setup properly.

Most importantly, and I can't stress this enough, the one thing you will need once you get this neck is a professional setup.

What kind of amp/speaker are you running through?

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: New neck for partscaster

What kind of amp/speaker are you running through?

All of my gear is in my signature. Thanks for all the tips! I'll save up for that neck, I think I understand all the specs that I would want to choose now.

 

[Bludave]

Re: New neck for partscaster

I have ordered three necks as replacements for three different Strats. The first one was a replacement for a 87 57 RI Strat. It had initially had a maple board and I elected to switch it to R/W. This neck was a Birdseye maple neck with a Brazilian R/W board. It has a compound radius so it flattens out in the upper register. The neck itself was huge and its been reshaped twice to get it to play better(and it does now. I also had it fretted(from Warmoth) with 6105 frets. Its a really good neck but the problem with the size was not Warmoths fault but mine. I ordered it base on information that I didnt research properly NOW it plays great!

My second neck was a Might mite neck and its a flame maple neck with Brazilian R/W board. This neck plays much better but the truss rod rattles on sympathetic notes. Its not a big deal but from what my Luthier told me is they build the necks without enough tension on the rod so that causes it to rattle in certain instances when there is not enough tension on the rod.

Now my third one was when I figured it out. The neck is quartersawn maple with a brazilian R/W board. It has the right shape and the right playablilty that I wanted. The necks at all of these levels are not cheap but my opinion is you get what you pay for, I believe I paid about $350 for this neck, the second one was about $200. and the first one was about $275 maybe more. All of these necks have the 6105 fretwire. The 6105 is very similar to the "vintage" Fender frets, but they are a bit wider and taller. They are what I have on most of my Fenders.