Converting a 25.5" scale Tele to 24.75" scale

[postjob62]

It may just be mental (it's certainly unscientific), but as I get older and the arthritis in my hands gets worse it seems to me that the couple of Gibson-scale guitars I have are less painful to play than my Teles.

I can't imagine getting rid of my Teles. If my assumption turns out to be true, can a standard 25.5" scale Tele be converted to 24.75" scale with just a simple neck change and re-intonation? It seems too simple to be true without having to move the bridge or something complicated, but Warmoth implies that it's a simple bolt-on thing with their conversion neck.

Any opinions?

P.S.-I ordered one of those VM Squier Thinlines with the short scale yesterday to investigate further. Plus, it looks like a fun guitar at a crazy price!

[boris bubbanov]

I would only suggest you consider changing your playing style, to get the most out of every note. Maybe your arthritis is way worse than mine, but as I age I crave more resistance from the strings, not less. Everything I play on a 24.75 scale neck sounds superficial and phony; the strings hardly seem worth playing.

[jwells393]

can a standard 25.5" scale Tele be converted to 24.75" scale with just a simple neck change and re-intonation?

That is correct sir. Warmoth makes a 24 3/4 in. conversion neck.

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/..._alternate2475

It has been shown in other threads that a 25.5 scale neck can be put on the Vintage Modified Thinline without moving the bridge. I wonder if the VMT neck can be put on regular scale Teles without moving the bridge ....... Hmmmm.

[postjob62]

Originally Posted by jwells393

That is correct sir. Warmoth makes a 24 3/4 in. conversion neck.

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/..._alternate2475

It has been shown in other threads that a 25.5 scale neck can be put on the Vintage Modified Thinline without moving the bridge. I wonder if the VMT neck can be put on regular scale Teles without moving the bridge ....... Hmmmm.

Well, that's exactly what I'm wondering. If I wind up keeping this Squier Thinline, and unless it's onerously heavy I probably will, maybe we can answer this question at first string change.

[postjob62]

Actually, to further illustrate why I'm asking, here's a pic of my MIM Std. Toploader from the '90's:



Can you make out how far toward the nut the saddles are?

To properly intonate a 24.75" scale neck, shouldn't the saddles theoretically need to go even closer to the nut? Obviously not much left in that direction.

Or, do I have the direction the saddles must go backwards?

[David Barnett]

Tune to Eb and put a capo on the first fret?

[sean79]

Originally Posted by postjob62

To properly intonate a 24.75" scale neck, shouldn't the saddles theoretically need to go even closer to the nut?

Or the nut needs to come closer to the saddles...

[aznrambo481]

Originally Posted by postjob62

To properly intonate a 24.75" scale neck, shouldn't the saddles theoretically need to go even closer to the nut? Obviously not much left in that direction.

not exactly... the 24.75 inch necks are shorter (by .75 inches!) to make up for the short scale length. Depending on the new neck, the saddles may need to be moved either out or in.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by postjob62

I don't think the guys that designed that toploader were on their toes. The intonation points, in relation to the volume dial, look about right on. And yet the plate looks smack hard against the bottom of the pickguard. Stock pickguard?

You might have to find intonation length screws in the neighborhood of 1 + 3/8ths plus or their metric equivalent to make your VM neck fit on that early MIM (for test purposes, no?), plus the VM neck is gonna probably be wide. As long as the MIM neck pocket is sloppy AND the neck bolt holes align, that might make a great test piece before you commit to buying something more. (Your neck pocket looks nice from here.)

[postjob62]

Originally Posted by aznrambo481

not exactly... the 24.75 inch necks are shorter (by .75 inches!) to make up for the short scale length. Depending on the new neck, the saddles may need to be moved either out or in.

So, and forgive my thick-headedness, if I read you right putting on the shorter scale neck would essentially have no more predictable effect on where the saddles wind up than changing to another 25.5" scale neck, huh?

If so, that makes me feel a lot better...

[postjob62]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

I don't think the guys that designed that toploader were on their toes. The intonation points, in relation to the volume dial, look about right on. And yet the plate looks smack hard against the bottom of the pickguard. Stock pickguard?

You might have to find intonation length screws in the neighborhood of 1 + 3/8ths plus or their metric equivalent to make your VM neck fit on that early MIM (for test purposes, no?), plus the VM neck is gonna probably be wide. As long as the MIM neck pocket is sloppy AND the neck bolt holes align, that might make a great test piece before you commit to buying something more. (Your neck pocket looks nice from here.)

Boris,

Yep, it's all stock. The PG gap to the bridge is small, but it's there.

Guess what? The intonation screws are already 1.5"! (They're stock too.) So assuming I could find 'em, I'd have to go longer than that if necessary to intonate. Do you know if these are standard type screws (metric I'm sure) that I could find at a good hardware store as opposed to something proprietary to Fender?

Next thing is if this VM Thinline is as good as I think it will be (not like me to assume that) I may not want to disturb it. Maybe I'll just order a 24.75" scale neck from Warmoth instead. I've got enough projects sitting around that it wouldn't go to waste.

[micpoc]

Not really an answer to your question, but USA Custom guitars also makes a 24 3/4 scale conversion neck, as well as a 25":

http://www.usacustomguitars.com/neckfeatures.html

[jwells393]

This is a little rough but I laid a Vintage Modified Thinline neck on top of a regular scale Telecaster neck on a body............ lined up the heels of each neck. Measuring from the nut of the VMT neck, the middle saddle (3-saddle bridge) was right on 25 in. It appeared there was plenty of intonation screw left to properly intonate if the necks were switched.

[postjob62]

Originally Posted by jwells393

This is a little rough but I laid a Vintage Modified Thinline neck on top of a regular scale Telecaster neck on a body............ lined up the heels of each neck. Measuring from the nut of the VMT neck, the middle saddle (3-saddle bridge) was right on 25 in. It appeared there was plenty of intonation screw left to properly intonate if the necks were switched.

Thanks Jack, that's encouraging.

This may not be as difficult as I had thought.

If/when I get this done I'll post results and pics. There are several threads going to a 25.5" scale from a 24.75" scale, but I haven't seen any going the other way like I'm talking about here.

[Brendan]

I put the 24.75" scale neck on a tele partscaster. With that shorter scale, the 22nd fret was on the rosewood overhang, so I just cut it off so that it looked like a vintage style neck. That was years ago and I only had one other tele to compare with. While the difference in feel was significant, it still had that nice tele twang to my ears. With the compound radius, bends were painless.
I sold it on ebay with a really good BIN price and I don't think the buyer took much time to read the details. He loved the guitar and called me to talk about it. We've stayed in touch over the years and after he had it about two years, he commented on how much he loved to play it. He had been playing for 20 years and usually played strats or Gibson scale guitars. He said something to the effect of "I don't know what it is about this tele..I really love the neck" and I suggested that perhaps it was the shorter scale length. "What!!!!" He laughed so hard. He couldn't believe he never noticed.
Yeah, I'd build one again.

[jwells393]

Camera battery is charged up again so here are pictures of what I did above.

......
......

[postjob62]

[quote=jwells393;1374455]Camera battery is charged up again so here are pictures of what I did above.QUOTE]


That makes it pretty clear, Jack, and thanks again.

It occurs to me that the 24.75" scale necks are 22 frets. If you put that neck on a body that came with a 21 fret neck, won't the 22nd fret just hang over the pickguard? Or will the PG have to be trimmed?

[Nick JD]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

Tune to Eb and put a capo on the first fret?

+1 This will give you a 24" scale. Actually, 24.07", but it'll still sound like a Telecaster.

It's fun to do just as an experiment in tone and string tension.

[Deaf Eddie]

I have a Tele with a Warmoth 24.75 neck on it, and I love it...
Of course, it's a thinline mahogany body, with their mahogany neck:



But, as "Gibson-ish" as you think that setup is, the tone is STILL ALL TELE!

[jwells393]

If you put that neck on a body that came with a 21 fret neck, won't the 22nd fret just hang over the pickguard? Or will the PG have to be trimmed?

I think that would all depend on body, neck and pickguard. The Vintage Modified Thinline has a 5/8 in. deep neck pocket and the neck overhangs the three ply pickguard.

The Lite Ash Telecaster has a single ply pickguard that is cut to go around the 22 fret neck overhang.

[Deaf Eddie]

I always file the BOTTOM of the "hangover" edge off, down (up?) to about an 1/8" thick on 22-fret parts-o Strats and Teles - no problem! Hey, I'm never gonna put enough pressure on that last fret to bust it off...

[Robin Nahum]

The blond Thinline in the avatar is fitted with the USACG 24.75" neck as is the orange Thinline that I helped a friend put together.



It is simply a matter of bolting it on and intonating. The saddles end up a bit further from the neck than with a 25.5" neck.

USACG insist that their short-scale neck come with 22 frets (and ugly overhang) but there is no need for this and we persuaded them to do a 21 fret no-overhang job in the case of the orange Thinline.

[jwells393]

It is simply a matter of bolting it on and intonating. The saddles end up a bit further from the neck than with a 25.5" neck.

Hmmm............ that not what my little exercise above seemed to show when using the Vintage Modified Thinline neck.

[postjob62]

Originally Posted by jwells393

Hmmm............ that not what my little exercise above seemed to show when using the Vintage Modified Thinline neck.

Yeah, I'm having a cognitive disconnect here.

That does seem to be counter-intuitive.

Hope more examples will show up here...

[Robin Nahum]

Originally Posted by postjob62

Yeah, I'm having a cognitive disconnect here.

That does seem to be counter-intuitive.

Hope more examples will show up here...

It was certainly the case with the Charliecaster, which started life with a 25.5" neck and I recall my conversation with Colin the tech about how compressed the springs had become. But, I must say that looking at the orange Thinline, the saddles don't seem all that far back.

I think the point is that you will need to move your saddles but you won't need to move your bridge.

[davis502]

Musikraft makes a 24 3/4" 21fret conversion neck for Teles. No fretboard overhang. I might try one for the same reason. - Jim