Is buying a authentic Tele neck on eBay from that parts store a ripoff?

[RockStarNick]

Here's the deal:

I have a American Fender Telecaster, the deluxe Model, with a maple/maple neck. And I'm considering getting a maple/rosewood neck for it. I'd like to keep it "authentic" by getting a real Fender replacement neck, but the prices seem really high. $450 or so, for a plain old, american standard neck.

I've made 4-5 warmoths before, and love their necks. Never tried a USAGC or an Allparts or Musikraft. And I'm sure there's others out there too. Are the Mighty Mite necks garbage? Stew Mac ones good or bad?

Am I just being dumb and stubborn, wanting to get a "real" fender neck?

:confused:

[Boris Bubbanov]

Short answer: Yes, of course it is a ripoff.

But I don't think $ 450 is a representative number, they can be half that.

I'm to the point where, except for maybe my No-caster neck, the USACG necks I have nutted, tunered and finished are so much better than the typical Fender neck - notwithstanding the thickness of those necks being more to my liking. The USACG necks are just flat out better, any which way to the weekend. Heck, even the Warmoth necks (so long as they are Vintage or Vintage Modern, not "Pro") are better than the Fender ones.

I just spent a ton of labor on an early-mid 2005 Highway One "mule" (small frets, silver script, cooler pups but has the GreaseBucket and Nitro finish) only to realize. This neck just doesn't do anything for me. Even with a Fralin in the bridge, the guitar is "fine" but there's no passion in it.

[bluegrif]

$450 is a whole lot of money for a plain maple/rosewood neck. Essentially, you're paying what the market will bear for "genuine Fender". I always love it when I have any Fender parts to sell because any run-of-the-mill Fender part will bring way more money than even a much superior aftermarket part. I'm not saying the Fender stuff isn't good quality. But it's market value is way higher than it's intrinsic worth, IMO.
In many cases, you could buy 2 or 3 great quality, US made aftermarket necks for the price of one plain jane Fender neck.

IMO, Warmoth and USAGC are the frontrunners. Many have been happy with Allparts necks but I've been less than impressed. Same with Stew Mac. As for Mighty Mite, I'd avoid them because I've seen more than one with serious problems. Again, you'll hear from some that have been very happy with them. And good ones probably outnumber bad. But it's a bit of a crap shoot so be prepared to have it inspected by a good tech and factor return shipping into the price if you decide to go that route.
Consider that a regular, unfinished Warmoth neck in maple with a rosewood board is only $157 and it doesn't really make sense to go with one of the bargain brands.

[RockStarNick]

Yeah, more and more, I'm starting to think that the Warmoth will be the way to go. As long as I can find a nice F*nder decal to make it look authentic.

Get a nice quartersawn maple/rosewood neck, nut, $222, finish it for $60... I'm still only at $280, for a neck that I know I'm going to love, since I already have 4 or them. hahha.

[ScioBro]

yeah,
$280 to control every last little detail
it'll feel great!
and you can add the decal
I've got three guits that get used a lot with Warmoth necks
I didn't feel right adding decals, but the lack of decal always catches my eye

[Polynitro]

https://www.musikraft.com/store.php?pg1-cid73.html

[RichieD]

any run-of-the-mill Fender part will bring way more money than even a much superior aftermarket part.

As long as I can find a nice F*nder decal to make it look authentic.

Hence the reason genuine Fender products usually sell for so much. People want authentic, despite the possible differnces in quality.