Help with this 72 Reissue Deluxe Neck Pocket

[dualband]

I just received an actual 72 Reissue Tele body. As far as I know the Deluxe used a strat neck. I'm getting ready to order a neck for this body but I couldn't figure out what to make of this neck pocket. It looks rounded to me which makes it a strat pocket but if you look at the bottom part of the pocket itself there's some sort of a hump in the middle. This has the micro-tilt and the neck is only a 3 bolt. I'd like to order a 4 bolt that would fit in this body and just re-drill. I don't care about the micro-tilt. Could be taken off as far as I'm concerned.
Does anybody know if this pocket is a typical strat pocket or if a strat neck would actually fit this? I can snap a closer picture of the pocket tomorrow and post it again. I appreciate any help as I'm just dumbfounded.

[braderrick]

I just looked at a bunch on ebay and yes it appears the Deluxe RIs not only have a strat headstock but neck heel as well. Makes sense though since it's probably much cheaper and easier for Fender just using Strat necks rather than having to use a customized Strat headstock/Tele heel combination. Anyway not sure on the originals but this is true for the RIs. Just look for some pics to compare and it is easily seen.

[dualband]

Did you notice the neck pocket on them though? There seems to be a hump on the bottom of the pocket. That's the thing puzzling me because I don't remember strat necks to have that hump. They're rounded but not indented if you will.

[braderrick]

I think this is just something that is done on the MIM fenders. Just their way of getting a neck to fit in the pocket with minimal fitment problems which reduces adjustments, scraping, time, labor, and cost. Not as precise as MIA or MIJ fenders maybe but the pickguard will cover it so it should be fine.

[dualband]

I hope so. I'm just queezy about this build because the 72 Deluxe is a strange one to begin with. The wide range humbuckers are physically bigger than the normal hb so I had a custom pickguard made to accomodate regular hb's. I have the original one which is cut for the big ones in case I come across a set down the road.

[dualband]

Another thing I want to do is to get a neck drilled for 4 bolts. The body is drilled for only 3 so I'll have to drill new holes. Hope that works.

[braderrick]

I just checked one of my 3 bolt neck plates with a 4 bolt and sure enough even the two top screws don't match up. It seems the 3 bolt design has the top two screws spaced quite a bit closer together. I thought you could get away with drilling two additional holes but it looks like you'd actually have to plug these two holes and drill all 4 new holes. Not sure what kind of necks you are looking at but Warmoth offers a 3 bolt neck option on some of their necks. You could also alway order a neck with no mounting holes and use an allparts or MIJ 3 bolt neck plate with 3 wood screws rather than two wood screws and the machine bolt. Better yet maybe get an MIM neck from the stratosphere.

[Telenator]

I have a Thineline re-issue body and had to do ALOT of scraping on the neck pocket to get the neck to sit properly on the base. Lots of finish goop around the edge there. A utility knife blabe works real well for scraping and the end result is that the neck fits much better. Have fun! Love a good project!

[dualband]

I thought about getting one of the stratosphere necks but I'd rather get a Warmoth. You're right about plugging the holes and drilling new ones. I'll find out more later. Here's a better shot of the neck pocket. You'll see the hump in the bottom that I'm talking about. I'm just wondering how the neck will sit.

[MulliganChebichev]

Its normal, when they CNC the bodies they use a larger bit to carve out the neck pocket, instead of switching to a smaller bit (which takes time) so they can make a square-er neck pocket they just use the larger one. And as a result it makes the two humps on the pocket.

Don't worry about it, the neck will sit fine.

[dualband]

Thanks so much. That's comforting. Now I can start thinking about which neck to order. My friends say to just order the 3 bolt neck from Warmoth but I'm thinking about getting the 4 bolt neck and just plugging the old hole and re-drill for new ones. Do you have any experience with the 3 bolt necks? I'm just worried that they're not going to be as stable.

[jwells393]

I'd put a Telecaster neck on it and do whatever needed to be done to make it work. I have no love for that big goofy looking headstock found on the Deluxe.

If you're wondering about 3-bolt vs. 4-bolt necks........ both Fender and G&L went back to 4-bolt necks and using 3-bolt necks ............ that should tell you something.

[dualband]

I'll probably justplug the holes and redrill new ones. I think I'd feel better with 4 bolts. I'll probably get just a regular strat headstock instead of the big one. I don't like it too. Then again the tele headstock would be better. I just hate waiting for it. I normally see what Warmoth has in their showcase and order from there. It's normally faster than having them make one from scratch. We'll see how much patience I have during the course of this build.