JV Strat + RW Body = Good ?

[porsche993]

I've never really cared for the heavy body on my JV strat. It just doesn't resonate and it's a pain-in-the-back to play 2 full sets with. However, it sounds magical plugged in and I *love* the neck.

I'm thinking about swapping the body with a 50s RoadWorn strat I've got lying around (gift from the wife) that I never really bonded with because of the dreadful reliced neck. The RW is really light, so I'm hoping that the combo will work well.

All of the hardware & electronics will be coming off the JV strat and installed on the RW body.

Has anyone else out there tried this, and if so, what were your results ?

[MichaelSaulnier]

Many of my favorite pro players who have vintage strats look for "light" ones...

There's not much doubt that a change in bodies will have some impact on the tone... but I bet you'll be able to live with it... and be a LOT happier that you have a lighter overall guitar that you can be comfortable with for a lot longer.

Slap that roadworn neck on the JV body... and SELL that baby to someone who is DYING to have a REAL HEAVY strat... I know they're out there!

M

[sabby]

All it costs to try is a set of strings. Go for it!

[VaughnC]

In my neck swapping experiments with Strats, what I perceived as the best tone followed the neck.

However, be aware that the neck heel and body neck pocket may be different sizes and might not be compatible without some shaving of the neck pocket. Do you have the know how & tools tools accomplish that task if need be?

[jkats]

These are both MIM Fender guitars based on vintage specs, so swapping the neck and body should not present dimensional issues; I'd go ahead and try it. If it works out well, though, you might want to hang onto the spare neck and body in case you decide to sell someday - either frankenstrat will be less valuable than either original.

[ReddRanger]

Originally Posted by sabby

All it costs to try is a set of strings. Go for it!

Yeah, the nice thing about Fenders is you can just un-bolt everything if it doesn't work out.

I say go for it!

[buddastrat]

Originally Posted by sabby

All it costs to try is a set of strings. Go for it!

No with the vintage tuners, you can use the same strings, and that way get a better idea on just what the body swap did. Don't put new strings on, keep everything the same! It'll take half hour to swtich it over and do a quick setup. That's the beauty of the strat and kluson tuners. You can take it all apart and stick it in a carry on for an airplane if needed.

[sabby]

One cautionary note about using the same strings: old strings are useful for rough setups, but they can go dead. When dead they won't intonate properly will give a poor impression of the new neck-body match.

[Boris Bubbanov]

Originally Posted by sabby

One cautionary note about using the same strings: old strings are useful for rough setups, but they can go dead. When dead they won't intonate properly will give a poor impression of the new neck-body match.

Doing an A/B comparison, it almost boils down to how the string was loaded into the vintage tuner split shaft - with enough practice I can get the strings on and off without buggering them and there's a lot of insight IF you don't have to start by restringing a brand new set before you make an evaluation.

To the OP, I just recommend installing the JV neck and its AV57/62 bridge (with a set of hardened Callaham mount screws right onto the RW body and see what this sounds like. Both the Jimmie and the RW use closely related versions of the Tex Mex pickup (the JV bridge pup is overwound) so as has already been said, let the sound go with that nice Jimmie neck, bridge, block, saddles and tuners. See how it is like that and leave the rest of the guts of the guitars as they are.

And also as was said, don't sell the unused parts. The Frankenparts never yield enough money to justify the trouble.

[buddastrat]

Originally Posted by sabby

One cautionary note about using the same strings: old strings are useful for rough setups, but they can go dead. When dead they won't intonate properly will give a poor impression of the new neck-body match.

For a true comparison to see tonal difference between necks or bodys, or pickups, I say use the same strings. They ain't going dead in a quick swap. New strings will screw it all up and give false impressions. Anyone doing this, can certainly tune out any sleight intonation changes. And that can all be fixed later, easily, with new strings after you decide on what you like or don't...

[porsche993]

Okay...the results...

I did the experiment - JV Strat Neck on 50s Roadworn body - gave it the full setup, let the strings set-in for a few days...and no matter what I did, it sounded like: POO

Just a tinny, ugly mess.

So, put the JV Strat back together last night, strung it up, and it's good as new. I guess I just have one of those super heavy 9lb strats that sounds great.

My back wishes it weren't so.

That's all. Back to work.

[candid_x]

Thanks for sharing your results. While my JV is light/middle weight, I definitely would have tried the RW body if it were just lying around. I'm surprised at your results, frankly. I wonder if there was any difference between pickup height and strings, as the Tex Mex's can sound pretty ratty when they're too close.

Thanks to Boris for yet another bit of info I didn't know, that the JV bridge pickup version is wound hotter than the Tex Mex's in the RW.