Cheapest Neck For MIM 2011 Tele

[craigfishburn]

Hey folks Im a newbie to the site and also a newbie to project guitars, and a 1st time Tele owner. I just bought a loaded 2011 MIM body. What is my cheapest option for a neck, I want one with tuners and nut ect. Im also wondering if I got a deal or at least a fair price for a 2011 MIM loaded body that I payed 200.00/USD for.

[chipbutty24]

Whole MIMs can be had for about 3-400.

I wouldn't recommend cheaping out on a neck but Mighty Mites are about 100 without tuners. Guitar Fetish also sells cheap necks and parts.

[Racer5]

eBay... find a matching MIM neck. Makes it into something of at least a little value should you want to sell it again.

[craigfishburn]

Originally Posted by chipbutty24

Whole MIMs can be had for about 3-400.

I wouldn't recommend cheaping out on a neck but Mighty Mites are about 100 without tuners. Guitar Fetish also sells cheap necks and parts.

I am on fixed SSDI income, just want a nice playing guitar but $ is def a factor.

[msfenderarg]

Check ebay or the TDPRI classifieds...

.

[Teleglide]

FWIW, I found an MIM Strat neck on ebay for $49. You may be able to find a Tele neck for about the same price.

[KevinB]

Originally Posted by craigfishburn

I am on fixed SSDI income, just want a nice playing guitar but $ is def a factor.

If you want a "nice playing" guitar, then figure in the cost of a level, crown and polish to that "cheap" $100 neck, unless you know how to do that yourself.

[nadzab]

Originally Posted by KevinB

If you want a "nice playing" guitar, then figure in the cost of a level, crown and polish to that "cheap" $100 neck, unless you know how to do that yourself.

+1. I'd recommend Mighty Mite, but you will want a level & crown (as you will with almost any neck you slap on there).

[bullfrogblues]

Just a quote that I've remembered through the years, and it usually applies.

"The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price is forgotten."

[Jack FFR1846]

To keep your guitar affordable, you probably want to keep your eyes open for a Squier neck. I do know that there are a few craigslisters on the north shore of Massachusetts who seem to disassemble MIMs and Squiers and sell off the parts one at a time locally. You should be able to find a complete Squier Tele for under $100 or a neck for under $50. $200 for a loaded tele body is a bit much unless it has some very upgraded pickups. $300 will buy a complete, nice mim tele all day long.

[losergeek]

Everyone's going to tell you (and already has) not to cheap out on a neck, but I'm here to disagree (slightly) - I've just finished my first full build (bass) and have swapped a couple necks before and completely understand the fear of spending a lot of money on something when you have no idea if you can pull it off. My approach was to cheap out in case I completely messed up the neck (which I did once) and learn on ****ty necks so that once I'm confident I can upgrade. In 2/3 cases I'm actually really happy with the necks I ended up with anyway.

One of the necks I got for my tele deluxe was an old squier neck which I bought for 10$ because the owner said it was twisted (turns out it just had 2 bad frets) and I think I'd suggest the same - either keeping an eye out for a squier neck or a whole squier that you can part out. In a lot of cases you can turn around and sell the pickups and hardware for enough to cover the cost. Other options are GFS necks although I can't testify to their fit on MIM bodies (http://www.guitarfetish.com/Tele-Style-Necks_c_199.html) and you'd either need to cut your own headstock (which I did for my bass build, and although it was intimidating, it just took a lot of patience) or be happy with their weirdo precut ones.

I've also bought a bunch of 'cheapie' parts from ebayer bezdez recently and was really surprised how good the quality was....not great by any stretch, but completly useable and really cheap (really cheap)....still can't testify to the fit of their necks, but they look nice: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ELECTRIC-GUI...item2ebeac205f

[losergeek]

Also a quick tip - don't think that a neck installation is gonna be a quick job and done. I messed up my first neck thinking I could pick it up after work, drill some holes and be ready for practice that night. I got impatient and messed it up. If you get a MIM or Squier neck then it might go really smoothly, however if you're dealing with an aftermarket neck be ready to take your time. It might need the frets levelled, you might need to shim the neck, you might need to sand the sides to get it to fit. As an impatient person, I've started approaching my mods as a relaxation exercise where I force myself to take a lot of time to do small things and try to appreciate the little things involved in getting everything working perfectly.

[craigfishburn]

Thanks for all the good input! I actually thought I was bidding on a complete guitar, the pictures all included the neck. The desc. described "body project" implied that it ment the body had a ding and that the project was cosmetic in nature. Being slightly ADHD I skimd the rest of the listing and bid. After reading more carefully I realized the neck in the picture was not included. The seller will not cancell transaction or refund payment. Live and learn I guess, my dad really got on me (im 35) for not paying attention to details, and hes rite! I will keep you folks posted and try to get some photos up. To make matters worse I have no idea what a crown, level, or polish means in this scenario.

[craigfishburn]

I found an affinity complete for $80 , should I go for it?

[notdave]

Originally Posted by craigfishburn

I found an affinity complete for $80 , should I go for it?

Only if you can sell your MiM body on, and are prepared to take a loss on it. Otherwise you have two guitars that need time and money spending on them.

Listen to your dad.

[czook]

If I were you... I would sell the 2011 MIM body and buy a complete guitar.

The SX line costs less than $150 for a nice new Tele style guitar. There are lots of complete guitars out there for sale. A used MIM tele should only cost $300 shipped.

If you want to look at inexpensive and quality alternatives check out the Squier forum, it is a sister site to this one. http://www.squier-talk.com/forum/index.php

I would not put an affinity neck on a MIM. Right away you have devalued the guitar. An Affinity neck is a good neck, but the MIM is a higher price point guitar.

[craigfishburn]

To be more specific its a 2011 Telecaster MIM Standard

[losergeek]

Originally Posted by craigfishburn

I found an affinity complete for $80 , should I go for it?

I got my affinity for 70$, so that's not a bad price, and I was going to suggest an affinity, but I'm not 100% sure how the neck will work on a MIM since the neck and body are slightly smaller on an affinity. I would say that if they will take 60$ go for it - if the neck works then great, otherwise you might also decide to keep the affinity (which is a really nice guitar for that price) and resell the MIM body. At the very least, you'd be able to flip the affinity back to someone for 10$ or 20$ profit.

[Fresh]

Originally Posted by bullfrogblues

Just a quote that I've remembered through the years, and it usually applies.

"The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price is forgotten."

that is one of the best quotes I have ever seen

[Fresh]

My suggestion is Buy the Affinity, keep it as is - its a fine guitar and sell the MIM body - $60.00 for the Affinity is a fair price, but they can be found for less.

"To make matters worse I have no idea what a crown, level, or polish means in this scenario."
That is setting the neck correctly, leveling the frets so they are all seating properly, level then polishing the frets so there are no ruff ends, and again so, they are all level.

It is generally a necessary thing to do on most guitars (at some point anyway)

But you could find a good neck to fit the MIM, people all the time separate them to sell as parts in an attempt to make more $