Buying a Neck For a Tele-Styled Guitar I'm Assembling....

[KmCyPreSs]

I'm putting together my own Tele-styled guitar and I'm looking for a neck. I figured that I'd go to all the Local Guitar Centers and music stores and try out Fender Tele necks. Then I could look up the model of the guitar online and find out the neck specs which I could then match with a Replacement Neck. It sounds like a good idea but I find it to be very limited and rather lame. Is that kind of how you guys did it? I live in the Southern California area, are there any shops I should check out that sell individual necks but have them on guitars so I can try them out? I'm just a little confused on how I should go about doing this since I can't actually try them out...(or can I?)...

[KmCyPreSs]

Forgot to mention:

I want something thin with medium styled frets...something not like the baseball-bat necks that some teles have. I'd also like to get a headstock that is similarly-shaped to that of the standard Fender headstock. More points if has a really dark rosewood fingerboard and a kind of tinted headstock.

[tonedaddy]

I'm putting together my own Tele-styled guitar and I'm looking for a neck. I figured that I'd go to all the Local Guitar Centers and music stores and try out Fender Tele necks. Then I could look up the model of the guitar online and find out the neck specs which I could then match with a Replacement Neck. It sounds like a good idea but I find it to be very limited and rather lame. Is that kind of how you guys did it?
The time I've spent figuring out the exact neck specs that work best for me right now is one of the most productive gear-related things I've done in the past 5 years. Unfortunately, I don't know of any other way to find out what works best for you than playing lots of different necks, and that means spending time in guitar stores or buying lots of guitars and doing it at home.

For reference, here is one of the best resources for showing how different neck contours compare:
http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks.cfm?fuseaction=back_profiles
I want something thin with medium styled frets...something not like the baseball-bat necks that some teles have. I'd also like to get a headstock that is similarly-shaped to that of the standard Fender headstock. More points if has a really dark rosewood fingerboard and a kind of tinted headstock.The one spec you haven't mentioned is fretboard radius.

If you prefer a vintage style 7.25" radius, the neck you're describing is commonly found on MIJ/CIJ 62 Reisssues. IME, they consistently have some of the darkest rosewood fretboards I've seen.

If you need a larger radius (like a newer 9.5" radius), then you may want to look at resources like USACG or Warmoth.


A couple of options to consider is (and you may already be familiar with all of this info, but I'm mentioning it for others that may have the same questions):

- look for a neck with your specs on Ebay. There is a huge market for Tele necks of every kind and spec there, and there are often very good deals. You might find a used genuine Fender neck, or a newer replacement neck that someone has finished out and has decided not to use. The advantage with these necks is they're often already finished, and you'll save money over buying a new replacement neck and having it finished. I don't know what level of quality you're looking for, but you can find nitro finished Allparts necks for $175:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ROSEWOOD-NECK-FENDER-TELE-TELECASTER-NITRO-62-RI-MIJ_W0QQitemZ7422146498

- I'm not sure how committed you are to putting all of your components together (or how many of those components you've already purchased), but for instance, if you need a vintage 7.25" radius you might consider looking for a MIJ/CIJ 62 RI, and using all or any combination of parts from it (and selling what you don't need). I've sold Teles for less than the parts would sell for on Ebay. If you can find deals like that, you can get the parts you need for a good price. If you compare the cost of buying the neck you need and having it finished (which can run $300) and compare it to buying a used CIJ/MIJ 62 RI for , you can often get the body and hardware for a greatly reduced price.

- Check out Warmoth's Showcase, where you have a wide variety of guitar necks available with all kinds of specs and wood types (plain, flame, birdseye), you can see just how dark the rosewood is (some Brazilian), some are finished and some are unfinished, and often your choice of frets:
http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/sc_guitar_necks.cfm?type=guitar&menuItem=4

[Gordon_Gecko]

Doug at Soulmate guitars can make you a killer neck to all your specs for the same or less than a quality Warmoth.

[duckbunny]

Call Tommy Rosamund at USA Custom Guitars (USACG). You WON'T be dissapointed.
USACG makes them the way Warmoth used to, back in the day. ( That's because Tommy was running the shop there!)
I've had 4 necks and 3 bodies made there, and he's spent however much phone time as I want, to make sure he's got the details exactly down. He has stocks of fantatic woods, and is a real straight shooter.

No affiliation, BTW, just a dedicated customer!


-db

[CitizenCain]

Forgot to mention:

I want something thin with medium styled frets...something not like the baseball-bat necks that some teles have. I'd also like to get a headstock that is similarly-shaped to that of the standard Fender headstock. More points if has a really dark rosewood fingerboard and a kind of tinted headstock.

KmCyPreSs, check your email :D

[3Tone]

Try one of the Allparts TRO-W necks. They are made by Fender Japan so it will have the proper Fender head stock shape/dimensions. The ones I have seen have had pretty dark rosewood. They have a 1 11/16" nut width, 22 frets, and are a nice medium "C" shape profile. Full enough to not be "to thin" but full enough to not be "baseball bat" thick. The fretboards are 9.5" radius and they have medium size frets. Taller than vintage, but not as wide as the med jumbo frets on the American Series Fenders. They are drilled for vintage style tuners. The only downside is that they come unfinished.

Frettech has some good prices on the Allparts necks and they can help you out with finishing if you'd like. Rob at Frettech is highly regarded on the "Telecaster Discussion Page and I was very pleased with the service I received from him.

http://www.frettech.com/

The Allparts necks are listed under the "Allparts Fender Japan Strat and Tele Necks" button found on the "Links and stuff" page (link at top of the main page)

[stringer]

Since you're in socal, you could check out B. Hefner (edenhaus guitars) in Whittier. My tele has a neck made by Bernie's shop and it's well done. They're made to order but true to the old school Leo approach and licensed by Fender. They usually have a couple of necks available in a small showroom, maybe a couple of guitars. website: http://edenhaus.com/

[tonedaddy]

Frettech has some good prices on the Allparts necks and they can help you out with finishing if you'd like. Rob at Frettech is highly regarded on the "Telecaster Discussion Page and I was very pleased with the service I received from him.

http://www.frettech.com/

The Allparts necks are listed under the "Allparts Fender Japan Strat and Tele Necks" button found on the "Links and stuff" page (link at top of the main page)
Thanks for that link!
The direct link to that page is:
http://www.frettech.com/all-parts-necks2.htm