The neck is from USACG, with the following specs: - Dark rosewood fretboard - 10" radius - 6105 frets - Soft V neck profile
I temporarily installed the neck from my Squier CV60 to get the pickguard lined up and installed. Finished soldering all the connections and tested the pups and wiring with a tuning fork. There was more hum than I expected -- not any worse than most other strats, but I was hoping for less with all the shielding and grounding I did.
Neck The neck I ordered more than 4 months ago finally arrived. It's a USACG neck with the following specs: Quartersawn maple Soft V profile Extra dark rosewood 10" radius fretboard 6105 frets MJT did the finish on the neck. I wanted the amount of aging to match the body. I asked for the back of the neck to look somewhat worn, but not down to bare wood. I think it came out pretty nice. I still need to install the nut and string tree.
It bothers me a little that the headstock is not shaped exactly like a Fender strat's. I knew they couldn't put a Fender decal on it, but I didn't expect the headstock shape to be different. I'm considering doing a little reshaping, but then I'd have to touch up the finish. That might be okay since it's a relic. What do y'all think?
Finished Okay, it's pretty much done. I just got a pro setup done on it. It plays and sounds great. I'm getting a little fret buzz, so I need to raise the action a bit, and it's got 10's on it and I usually use 11's, so I might put some heavier strings on it too. It weighs 7.6 lbs, which is about what I was expecting. When I had it set up, I asked to have the string tree installed, and the tech installed 2 string trees. I can get by with just one, right?
I love the neck. The soft V contour is very comfortable, and it feels substantial enough without being clubby. The 10" fretboard radius and 6105 frets also feel just right. And the fretwork is very good. I also like the 57/62 pickups a lot. It's easy to get great tone from them without having to tweak tone knobs and amp knobs much. I still think my EJ strat is my #1, but this one is darn close. Once I tweak the setup and get rid of the fret buzz it might be a toss-up.
You missed the memo? It's not a licensed Fender neck so they are not allowed to duplicate the headstock shape. Can't be too hard to sand off since that's what everyone does that I've come across. BTW, that is some nice quarter sawn.
It's not just the little point on the scroll that's different -- the edge below that is straight where it's a little curved on the Fender, and the lower left shape is also a little different. But the point is the most obvious difference. It is a very nice neck, though. The tech that did the setup even commented on how nice it felt and how good the fretwork was.
Funny you mentioned that little curve. I just noticed it last night on my KWS strat and didn't remember it on any of my licensed necks or even my AVRI's. Or I never paid attention all these years.
I initially put a Fender decal on the headstock. It got a bit messed up, but since this is a relic project it looked fine. However, since this isn't a real Fender, and since the headstock shape is a bit different I decided to go with a custom logo. You'll notice the hole in the headstock where a second string tree was installed, which I didn't want. Again, since this is a relic it's not a big deal. Otherwise I would have been upset about it.
Looks good! I'm on a very similar build myself. Found this thread after I'd started but I'm going to mark you down as inspiration regardless. I'm aging parts currently but using etching fluid instead of HCL (muriatic acid) as it's a bit slower and more controllable. You can also do it with direct application for wear patterns and what not.
