Telecaster Squire neck recontour... tips, tools, thoughts?

[Jason_The_Angry]

Here's one for the woodworkers....

I've had a knock-around tele that I've come to love. There is more money in the pickups and the tuners than the guitar itself. However, I've become a little more accustomed to flatter profile necks. I was wondering what tools and techniques might be appropriate for shaving the neck a little. I'm not trying to achieve Ibanez flatness here, just take away a little of the cylindrical profile.

After I've change the profile, I planned to oil finish the neck, or respray the matte clear. If any of you have advice, I'm all ears. By the way, replacing the neck with a strat neck is not part of the plan.... unless I destroy this one in the process. Thanks in advance!

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Telecaster Squire neck recontour... tips, tools, thoughts?

Does the neck have an applied rosewood fingerboard or is it a single piece of maple with a strip on the back to plug the truss rod insertion channel? There is a limit to how much wood it is possible to remove before you risk having the truss rod escaping.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Telecaster Squire neck recontour... tips, tools, thoughts?

I would just buy another neck with the profile you want.

 

[Jason_The_Angry]

Re: Telecaster Squire neck recontour... tips, tools, thoughts?

Does the neck have an applied rosewood fingerboard or is it a single piece of maple with a strip on the back to plug the truss rod insertion channel? There is a limit to how much wood it is possible to remove before you risk having the truss rod escaping.

Rosewood fingerboard with what I believe is a rosewood skunk stripe over the trussrod

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Telecaster Squire neck recontour... tips, tools, thoughts?

I've had a knock-around tele that I've come to love.

Normally one comes to love a guitar because they just keep playing it, regardless of what it might be. Playability is probably 90% of that equation, and the neck is a huge part of that.

So if you love it because you love playing it, don't mess with it.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Telecaster Squire neck recontour... tips, tools, thoughts?

Yeah a replacement neck with a 12 inch radius is only $30 on Amazon

 

[Jason_The_Angry]

Re: Telecaster Squire neck recontour... tips, tools, thoughts?

Normally one comes to love a guitar because they just keep playing it, regardless of what it might be. Playability is probably 90% of that equation, and the neck is a huge part of that.

So if you love it because you love playing it, don't mess with it.

I agree with your statement about loving what you have with time. My experience is that you can adapt to the guitar, or just develop a preference for certain characteristics, and choose to either buy or mod guitars with that preference in mind. I'm lucky enough to have a few other guitars at the moment, almost all of them with flatter profiles. I only paid $150 for the whole guitar, so we're not hacking on a classic.

Also, I'm a person that can't leave anything alone..... it's a sickness