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I never played an MIM tele. The last one I bought was a 1999 Am Deluxe Tele.
The way circumstances went with the partscaster I'm currently building... the allparts neck I thought I wanted wasn't available, at least according to one seller after a two week wait. With the refund, I wound up with a MIM Tele neck off Ebay.
I'm seriously amazed at the quality of the neck. It has the low vintage style narrow frets, on a 9 1/2" radius neck. It has to be the straightest neck I have ever seen - both sides are identical, no curvature what so ever... and the plane of the frets is as flat as they come. The neck profile... while not ever to be considered a "fat" neck is proportioned to a better curve than the Am Deluxe.
I did have to size it to a standard 2 3/16" (exactly) body. The neck looks like it has no finish on it... but the thickness of the finish was the only thing preventing the neck from fitting the body. I removed the finish from the sides of the neck where it would fit with the neck pocket... and I still have to sand that area and refinish it... but it now fits into the body like a straight and narrow glove. I was slightly concerned with the predrilled holes in the neck, but they matched up perfectly with the mounting holes in the body and the neck plate.
Maybe I should have started with an MIM Tele? Nah... I wanted a much better body... but the neck is definitely a keeper.
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Joe
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