Chris Leger
Banned
...and I don't even have my neck yet.
Decided to try a Gibson-style 24.75" conversion neck on a Telecaster. Did my usual obsessing for far too long in terms of minutes/hours spent going over the options available from the major neck/body guys - Warmoth, USACG, Guitar Mill and even Musikraft.
Musikraft got eliminated quite early as bad reviews on their necks are way too easy to find.
Would have given Guitar Mill a shot, but they never responded to my inquiry. Maybe they don't make 24.75" necks.
In the end, it came down to Warmoth and USACG. I've played Warmoth necks before and liked them. I don't know that I've ever seen or played a USACG neck, but they get glowing reviews here and everywhere else, so...
Factors in Warmoth's favor were that their "'59 roundback" profile looked attractive. And their advertised/stated price was lower.
But, they've over-engineered (charitably speaking) their fragile truss-rod arrangement. (Seriously. Come on.) They don't do 6150 SS frets, they charge $35 (?!?) extra for a straight 12" radius, won't do a one-piece maple in 24.75, and in the end, it turned out that the "'59 Roundback" profile isn't available on conversion necks either.
Took one more shot at it, figuring that I'd take a 1" "Fatback" and shave it down myself. I was informed that doing do would "void any warranty."
Fair enough.
Was holding off on calling USACG, mainly because of price. The neck I wanted wasn't that much more, but I'm always happy to save a buck. Even then, it became clear over the course of my countless hours of analysis that much of the reason for this is that USACG front-loads the cost of custom work into the price of a neck, where Warmoth nickels-and-dimes you to death with charges for anything out of the ordinary.
So I called USACG. An hour ago. Tommy just called me back 10 minutes ago... wanted to suggest a change - they're already working on my neck. Wood is picked, holes are drilled, etc. It will be here soon.
As I sit here typing this, they're making my neck. Exactly as I wanted. For less than I thought. And for quite a bit less than Warmoth would have (theoretically) charged me for the neck they refused to make.
If you're on the fence regarding USACG vs. Warmoth, I can't tell you what to do, but I wasted far too much time this time - I won't give it a second's thought next time.
USACG it is for me, for everything, from now on.
Decided to try a Gibson-style 24.75" conversion neck on a Telecaster. Did my usual obsessing for far too long in terms of minutes/hours spent going over the options available from the major neck/body guys - Warmoth, USACG, Guitar Mill and even Musikraft.
Musikraft got eliminated quite early as bad reviews on their necks are way too easy to find.
Would have given Guitar Mill a shot, but they never responded to my inquiry. Maybe they don't make 24.75" necks.
In the end, it came down to Warmoth and USACG. I've played Warmoth necks before and liked them. I don't know that I've ever seen or played a USACG neck, but they get glowing reviews here and everywhere else, so...
Factors in Warmoth's favor were that their "'59 roundback" profile looked attractive. And their advertised/stated price was lower.
But, they've over-engineered (charitably speaking) their fragile truss-rod arrangement. (Seriously. Come on.) They don't do 6150 SS frets, they charge $35 (?!?) extra for a straight 12" radius, won't do a one-piece maple in 24.75, and in the end, it turned out that the "'59 Roundback" profile isn't available on conversion necks either.
Took one more shot at it, figuring that I'd take a 1" "Fatback" and shave it down myself. I was informed that doing do would "void any warranty."
Fair enough.
Was holding off on calling USACG, mainly because of price. The neck I wanted wasn't that much more, but I'm always happy to save a buck. Even then, it became clear over the course of my countless hours of analysis that much of the reason for this is that USACG front-loads the cost of custom work into the price of a neck, where Warmoth nickels-and-dimes you to death with charges for anything out of the ordinary.
So I called USACG. An hour ago. Tommy just called me back 10 minutes ago... wanted to suggest a change - they're already working on my neck. Wood is picked, holes are drilled, etc. It will be here soon.
As I sit here typing this, they're making my neck. Exactly as I wanted. For less than I thought. And for quite a bit less than Warmoth would have (theoretically) charged me for the neck they refused to make.
If you're on the fence regarding USACG vs. Warmoth, I can't tell you what to do, but I wasted far too much time this time - I won't give it a second's thought next time.
USACG it is for me, for everything, from now on.
