New Neck In the House!

[e-merlin]

Yee-haw!

I posted an ad over on the classifieds a few weeks ago looking for a MIM 69 Thinline neck, and got a response from one of the members here. After a few e-mails a deal was struck.

When we got back home this afternoon, I saw a box stuck in between the door and screen door. Upon examination, it looked like someone (or several someones) at the Post Office couldn't read. It was marked "Fragile, handle with care." Apparently they didn't know what that meant because the box had been folded, spindled, and mutilated. I didn't have much hope that the neck survived, but I opened it up nevertheless.

Much to my surprise, the neck survived! As described, it's one of those MIM Special Edition Thinline necks that had matching body and headstock paint from 06. This particular neck has a somewhat creamy white one. I immediately felt familiar with this one. It is shaped very much like my long since sold 77 Tele Custom's neck. Same back profile, same tuners, and most important, same 7-1/4" fretboard radius. One thing is different, though. It's a four bolter instead of my Custom's three neck bolts.

So, I had to check that everything worked. It's straight, the frets are level, the truss rod and tuners do what they are supposed to do. This was represented to me as an almost new neck, that was swapped for a thicker one, and it was just as represented.

Pics to follow.

[e-merlin]

First, the new neck:

[Cole]

cool! tell us your plans for it!

[e-merlin]

Here's where it's going:





These two colors don't look too bad together:

[e-merlin]

More to come if I can find good enough light.

[e-merlin]

Here we go!

The patient on the operating table:



OOOHHHH! Shiny!



Off with the old.

[e-merlin]

Uh-oh, this could be trouble:



It's fixed but I can't solder and shoot at the same time, so no pic.

More trouble:

[e-merlin]

What you may or may not see in these two pics is that the neck was cut low on the bass side. The neck is straight but the treble side is higher.

I doubt the guy I bought this from even noticed. I doubt the store that sold it noticed. Heck, Fender didn't notice. This is the first time I've ever seen this kind of mistake on a MIM Fender.

But, it's not a deal breaker. I went ahead and got her together. You'll have to wait for tomorrow to see the outcome. It's playable, and once I get the final setup done, It'll probably be pretty darn good!

One thing I notice is the tone is a lot beefier. More growl and bottom and just a bit rolled off in the highs. This could change with pickup adjustment, but it sounds great! Even better than with the other neck. And it's way better on my hand.

I think this one's a keeper!

[JayFreddy]

That white headstock will look nice on the blue body. Love the P90 in the neck too. Is that by chance a Gotoh? Now I've got GAS for a Tele with a P90 neck! Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

[e-merlin]

Originally Posted by JayFreddy

Is that by chance a Gotoh? Now I've got GAS for a Tele with a P90 neck! Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

No, it's just something I found in a pawn shop. Don't know what brand it is.

I was going to put the Gotohs out of my Firenza in this one, but it sounds so good I'm going to just build another one for those.

[e-merlin]

Here's the finished product:



Well, there's still the setup, but I do it just like everyone else, so I won't bore you with the gory details. I may try to fix the neck, but it plays pretty good as is, so I may not.

Well, on to the next build. I may do that Kramer Tele after all. Or an amp. I'm probably getting another Peavey VTM 60 (just for the shipping cost!) that needs some TLC. If I get it up and running, I'll PTP my other one, throw in a bias pot, and maybe a set of EL34s. Or, I have a few things that need doing on the Grand Cherokee before I go back to work. Maybe I'll do a poll...

[Brendan]

I've actually seen a MIM neck like that on another forum. Probably HC or Reranch. If it plays good, I don't think I'd mess with it either. Sure looks nice!

[e-merlin]

I'm really liking this guitar, especially with my 5150. It's got some real growl and it's really powerful

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by e-merlin

More trouble:

I believe this is the third MIM neck like this that is fatter on the high E side than on the low E side that we have seen posted on this forum in the last 15 months or so.

Is it playable; I mean, will it set up at all?

I'm thinking your vendor found this issue and no longer "needed" this cool looking neck. This looks kinda evident to me. Siesta time in Ensenada again.

[e-merlin]

I bought it from a TDPRI member and really don't think he knew. I've been playing it a lot and it's not causing any problems. I have an idea of how to fix it, but it sounds so good and I really am having no playability problems, so I'm going to go ahead and finish it up when the strings wear out in a few weeks. I doubt it's more than 1/16" off, but when I pull the neck again to remove the lables I'll measure it for sure.

[e-merlin]

If I was the original owner I would certainly take it back and have Fender fix it, but I doubt that's an option. I know my Subaru and my Audi, both purchased used, honored the warranty for the full mileage of the car, but I don't know if Fender will do anything about a used neck.

[boris bubbanov]

In all fairness, this is the least off of the three we've seen this way; the other two I don't think were playable in any serious sense.

Stuff like this is why staunch MIA Fender guys still have a leg to stand on when the MIA/MIM comparo gets done. It really isn't in Fender's interest to stop the works and make sure this never happens again. The dealer will just whisper that you really ought to pay the extra for the American. But too many US Fender models are simply too skinny, and while that ain't a 'defect' I'd just as soon a thicker MIM model neck.

The color theme is great; I may have to do one of these clear maple aftermarket necks that scheme.

[e-merlin]

I guess I'd be willing to concede that point, but even Ferrari has a service department. Wonder if they just throw a turd out the door every once in a while to keep the "MIA is better" thing alive? Anyhow, I'll still buy MIM stuff, but I'm going to look a lot closer than I used to.

That color scheme was just a happy accident. I was thinking about buying a matching body, but I like the way it looks. I'm thinking a red tortoise pickguard would look better on there. Or maybe red sparkle?