Fat after market neck on ClassicVibe50 or Baja?

[bmorrow]

Hey guys... I'm considering doing something either brilliant - or stupid as hell. Part of my story is that I’m use to owning some pretty nice Tele’s. The other part of my story is that my last beloved Tele hit a wood floor & cracked the neck joint. Since then I’ve been running in circles trying to find another guitar that fits me with no luck. In other words, none of the guitars worked out. By now I would normally just get it over with & go buy the Tele I yearn for - but my finances aren’t good enough anymore. I was fortunate to run across a Squire Classic Vibe 50’s Tele not too long ago. It changed my whole prospective - and proved to me that some great guitars can be had for a very affordable price. I also love the pine body the CV50s are built around. The only issue I have with the CV50s Tele, is that I’d like the neck to be thicker. So then I found the Baja - which has a neck that’s more on par with what I’m after. These are the choices I’ve come down to: I either want to buy the “Classic Vibe 50s PINE” Tele, take off the neck - and bolt a neck such as the TMNF-FAT or TMNF-V from AllParts... OR... I could just forget about my “so called brilliant idea” and just try to find a Baja to purchase - and hope to just be happy enough with it. Can I get some opinions on what you think might be the better end result?

[robt57]

Or just eBay a Baja Neck, 314.00 on sale from reliablefender

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-Class...item2eb87b8c9b

[Zenzeypher]

314 seems alittle high for a neck doesnt it, in the UK its about 600 for the whole thing. Id just buy the Baja.
..make sure you get a nice one tho, my friend got one that looked as tho it had old lady veins in it.

kinda looks like blue cheese.

[Mark Davis]

A Baja neck is almost as much as a whole new CV50's.

Your best bet is the Allparts soft V its almost identical to the Baja and costs $135 unfinished.

[plroad21]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

A Baja neck is almost as much as a whole new CV50's.

Your best bet is the Allparts soft V its almost identical to the Baja and costs $135 unfinished.

Yeah, but then if you're not a handy type of person, you have to pay someone to have it finished and frets leveled...

[tap4154]

Squier '51 neck ending soon on the 'bay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120797496153...84.m1423.l2649

That's what I put on my CV50.

(I'm not associated with this auction, just found it)

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

A Baja neck is almost as much as a whole new CV50's.

Your best bet is the Allparts soft V its almost identical to the Baja and costs $135 unfinished.

Baja has vintage frets ?

[bmorrow]

Originally Posted by Zenzeypher

314 seems alittle high for a neck doesnt it, in the UK its about 600 for the whole thing. Id just buy the Baja.
..make sure you get a nice one tho, my friend got one that looked as tho it had old lady veins in it.

kinda looks like blue cheese.

Thanks for letting me know. I’m pretty sure I know what you're referring to. It’s probably caused from the paint not being thick enough - and something underneath showing thru.

[bmorrow]

Originally Posted by plroad21

Yeah, but then if you're not a handy type of person, you have to pay someone to have it finished and frets leveled...

Do you mean that the AllPart necks aren’t leveled already? With your experience, "is there always work to be further done”?

[plroad21]

Originally Posted by bmorrow

Do you mean that the AllPart necks aren’t leveled already? With your experience, "is there always work to be further done”?

That's just what I've heard.

[bmorrow]

Originally Posted by tap4154

Squier '51 neck ending soon on the 'bay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120797496153...84.m1423.l2649

That's what I put on my CV50.

(I'm not associated with this auction, just found it)

You put this exact type/name-brand of neck on your CV50? Who’s it made by?

[bmorrow]

Originally Posted by plroad21

That's just what I've heard.

Yeah... Your at-least the second person who’s mentioned that to me. I was hoping I was going to be able pass all the hard work over to someone else in trade for my money. I guess it’s not going to be that easy.

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by bmorrow

You put this exact type/name-brand of neck on your CV50? Who’s it made by?

It's an Indonesian Squier neck. Look up Squier '51s and you'll find they are one of the only budget guitars with nice fat necks. I swapped the neck from one of my Squier 51s to my CV50.

Here's a side pic after the swap:



CV50 neck on Sq51 body on the left, and Sq51 neck on CV50 body on the right.

Great necks, but I can't vouch for the one in the auction. May need leveling etc, or maybe not. Has a plastic nut, if it's stock, but I still have my stock nut. Looks like he took off the black ink Squier "decal" (stamp).

[bmorrow]

To try and be more clear. I was either debating purchasing the Classic Vibe 50’s & putting a fatter neck on it. OR... I was going to just scratch the whole idea of taking on any kind of a project - and instead just buy the BAJA. I wouldn’t care to alter the Baja’s neck. The neck that comes with the Baja seems to be at-least close to what I’m after. My idea behind investing in the "Classic Vibe" - and then slapping a thick high quality neck on it - was because #ONE, “I like the idea of having a pine body tele” - and #TWO, “I thought it might be a great guitar to build upon", and #THREE, I thought it might be a decent way of getting around spending an arm & a leg for the exact features I’m after, (which is a pine body with very thick vintage neck)... Thanks for your help guys. I really do appreciate it. Maybe I just need to compromise.

[bmorrow]

Originally Posted by tap4154

It's an Indonesian Squier neck. Look up Squier '51s and you'll find they are one of the only budget guitars with nice fat necks. I swapped the neck from one of my Squier 51s to my CV50.

Here's a side pic after the swap:



CV50 neck on Sq51 body on the left, and Sq51 neck on CV50 body on the right.

Great necks, but I can't vouch for the one in the auction. May need leveling etc, or maybe not. Has a plastic nut, if it's stock, but I still have my stock nut. Looks like he took off the black ink Squier "decal" (stamp).

Wow!. This is great news... Very interesting. How did the neck end up working out on your CV50? Did it seem to fit correctly? Does the guitar resonate fine? I couldn’t find any modern affordable Fender/Squires with super fat necks. This is a first for me. Is the quality of the neck good? Thx!... I’m going to keep thinking about this one.

[tap4154]

Ah... I thought you already had the CV50.

The Sq51 neck is decent quality IMO. They have a very thin satin finish that shines up with playing. Mine is now very glossy from several years of playing. Tuners are average imports, and the medium jumbo frets on my Sq51 necks haven't needed leveling or dressing. Edges were fine, and though the tops could have used a polish, just from playing this one is fine now. The neck screw holes were a bit higher on the Sq51 neck, but still worked on the CV50. VERY snug fit, and IMO the neck/body connection is much better now. Also is 5 oz heavier than the CV neck.

I put a Fender decal on it several years ago. Only time I've done that to a Squier neck.

[Mark Davis]

Originally Posted by plroad21

Yeah, but then if you're not a handy type of person, you have to pay someone to have it finished and frets leveled...

The finished ones are $190-210

[Mark Davis]

Originally Posted by robt57

Baja has vintage frets ?

No medium jumbos.

I was talking about the neck profile.

The Baja is 9.5 and the Allparts is 7.25 but the way they feel in your hand is the same.

[bmorrow]

I’m looking at “what I think is a Squire 51”. Do you know if this is a discontinued model? Is the Squire 51’ a hybrid between a Strat & a Tele? It looks like a Strat with a Tele bridge right?

Originally Posted by tap4154

Ah... I thought you already had the CV50.

The Sq-51 neck is decent quality IMO. They have a very thin satin finish that shines up with playing. Mine is now very glossy from several years of playing. Tuners are average imports, and medium jumbo frets on my necks haven't needed leveling or dressing. Edges were fine, and though the tops could have used a polish, just from playing this one is fine now. The neck screw holes were a bit higher on the Sq51 neck, but still worked on the CV50. VERY snug fit, and IMO the neck/body connection is much better now. Also is 5 oz heavier than the CV neck.

I put a Fender decal on it several years ago. Only time I've done that to a Squier neck.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

No medium jumbos.

I was talking about the neck profile.

The Baja is 9.5 and the Allparts is 7.25 but the way they feel in your hand is the same.

That is what I thought, [radius and fret size] so I am a bit confused how the AParts Vee is a solution in the context here. But I am easily confused. ;)



And FWIW, I am in agreement the SQ51 neck is worth the price of admission, or was especially when these where near and under 100.00.