Mighty Mite neck... maybe this will help someone out

So, I had originally bought American Standard staggered tuners, but it kind of ticked me off that the low E and A tuners were not the same- finish wise and looks wise. I ordered some Gotoh vintage tuners with my order from StewMac instead. I don't think the vintage tuners will sit right together, about .6mm gap, as the holes on the neck are about 24.3 to 24.4 mm apart and the tuner drawing shows 23.8mm. The neck holes are evenly spaced as far as I can tell.

The look of the vintage tuners is growing on me, so I can live with the gap in between.

I mocked it up to make sure the last one wouldn't hang off the end, looks like it will just fit... maybe a tiny touch with a file.

Oh, and I got the 10.5 mm conversion bushings, but they will still be a tiny bit loose, so I'll build up the holes with CA or epoxy, I guess.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/1jeff1/IMG_0412.jpg

Yes, several people on here have had this problem with MM necks. I'm still going to get another for my next build, though. Good necks to play.

I'm happy with it, other than a bit of messing around with the tuners... :) I'll try my luck at fret leveling using Ron Kirn's post/instructions and I think it will be good. Glad to hear you like them.

Here's one with Wilkinson Deluxe tuners. There's a bit of a fisheye effect with the camera - they are straighter than they look in this picture.
Looking at your mock-up if you have any gap at all between them the last one will stick out past the edge - the Wilkinsons are slightly shorter than most other brands.

this is the kinda stuff that makes me crazy, people that make stuff and never check to see if they are what they are supposed to be…

It's pretty obvious this is supposed to be a tele replacement neck… and probably came with a notice inferring it was supposed to only be used on a Squire or Fender guitar… yeah, right….

But that screw-up with the tuning key placement says to me, that whoever is in a decision making position at Mighty-Might… either has no idea how to assemble a guitar, or if they DO, they never did so with their own parts. Further, no one that is working there has done so either, and if they did, and reported such a foible, then whomever they reported it to could care less.. Bottom line…. there is a problem… a big problem…. and no one there is guitar building literate enough to be aware of it… There simply is absolutely no gawwddammm excuse for that kinda screw-up.

Hopefully it's as simple as it's not a MM neck, but some made in some God knows where sweat shop by 8 year-olds… I think MM has a logo on the heel? Is this the case?? I don't use 'em so I don't know.

This is a genuine OEM '67, in the photo below, (transition year, so pretty high chance it was actually made at pre-CBS Fender)… but it shows where the key should be located…. yood think if someone was selling replacement necks, they would check on this kinda detail.

And while, yeah, this neck has seen a change of keys a time or two over it's 45+ year life, this is still where the vintage variety should land…. note, about 1/4" (5-6 mm) between the key and the end of the neck.

This is Nacho's neck, so it's the real deal…. it's this kinda stuff thet really makes the difference between a bargain basement neck, and a masterpiece from USACG, WARMOTH, or several of the other better suppliers….

I really wish there was an "Angie's List" for the guitar part buying public… i'd sure have some suppliers squirming…. and squirming hard….

Ron Kirn

Hi Ron,
I built a partscaster,and used the MM2904 neck. Finish was good,neck was straight,but the
freakin' toner post holes were way,way oversized(Should have been 10.5 mm,actually were
11.5 mm).I emailed them twice,and really reamed them for their laxness,and shoddy work-
manship. I told them that they were appallingly non-customer friendly,and that they should
have checked the sweatshop where the necks were made.As expected,I received no reply.
Their customer service sux,and they could care less. I will use again because they fit my
budget(can't afford higher-priced necks).
Hope you are not having trouble with the weather.
Best wishes,
Lou

Here's one with Wilkinson Deluxe tuners. There's a bit of a fisheye effect with the camera - they are straighter than they look in this picture.
Looking at your mock-up if you have any gap at all between them the last one will stick out past the edge - the Wilkinsons are slightly shorter than most other brands.

On my mock up the last one (high e) is centered in the mounting hole, so I'm hopeful it won't hang over the edge...

The holes on mine are 10.8 mm or so.

Thanks for chiming in, Ron, it is a mighty mite neck. Well, it has the branded-in logo, anyway. :) You'd think they would fix this, because from what I can see many people go with vintage tuners.

Thanks, Guys

I've only use one Mighty Mite neck recently, and it was a mixed bag. It feels good, had atrocious fret sprout, huge tuner holes... They are cheap, but since you can pick up used Squiers for about $100.00 there's little reason to buy them just to have to do a lot of work to make them useable.

thanks for the heads up... I've used a few MM necks .. no problems...

though I've never fitted vintage type tuners to them.... or measured them against a Fender headstock..

I've got a new Mighty Mite neck for my build, the tuner holes are somewhere between 10 & 10.5mm. A 10mm drill bit is loose in the hole, a 10.5mm drill bit won't go through it.
I have Gotoh conversion bushes to adapt to Kluson style tuners & the bushes are a nice fit.

Once again, my favorite quote:
"The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price is forgotten."

I, for one, would never buy a mighty mite neck. I would just wait longer until I could afford a decent neck, if that were the case.

I'm surprised to hear of the huge variation in hole sizes - anywhere from just over 10mm to 11.5mm. I wonder where they get their drill bits? :) You'd think if it was going to be wrong, it might be, at least, consistently wrong.

Like I said, other than this tuner stuff, it looks like a good neck. It will be good for me to experiment with. Leveling frets? Replacing a nut? Sort of scary at this point... :) But it won't hurt (my wallet) so much if I happen to mess something up.

Just got mine in the mail today. Gorgeous birdseye neck, holes are fine, everything's great. It's NOS, so I don't know if that makes a difference or not.