What really drives the cost of a neck?

[RoadShow]

Just to put my original query back on track, I was only commenting on Fender necks, Tele in particular. Not differences between companies although I'm sure it's similar. I'm researching to finish assembling a Partscaster because I have about half of one now from swap outs over the years. A neck just happens to be needed.

Attached is a pdf version of my research that day. Most of the Tele necks at Sweetwater fall between $300-$400, then a couple rocket up to $700. MIM or CA guitar, small difference in price for the neck. There's nothing wrong with a $300 neck or a $400 neck if you look at the models the necks are assigned to. Both are a safe bet

This is a more intensive version of manufacturing at Fender than the previous posts, jump to minute 17:00 where they discuss necks for a few minutes:


There ya go, whatever template they are targeting at the time.

Also, there was a comment about Japan and the quality being part of their culture. Deming had a lot to do with their post WWII manufacturing as part of the post WWII rebuild. If you are not familiar with him, try and get/read his book "Out of the Crisis." I'm not going to start summing up his work, being brief would never convey his work.

 

[Sax-son]

Early Fender necks were all hand cut using a band saw by one guy standing around it. Today's necks are cut using a CNC machine were all you have to do is program it once to your specs and you can build hundreds. From that point forward its fretting and quality control. CNC machines are wonderful for guitar builders.

 

[Mur]

I wood guess (I mean, would guess) that its the choice of wood, and cut of that wood.

 

[RomanS]

I wood guess (I mean, would guess) that its the choice of wood, and cut of that wood.

i highly doubt that the wood has a big influence on the final price, at least for regular woods like maple, rosewood, mahogany - in relation to labor costs, and markup by the producer, distributor, seller, the cost of raw materials is pretty much nothing.

A maple neck blank from StewMac (=very pricey store) costs me as a private buyer a mere 25 bucks - for a huge corporation buying large quantities of wood, the wood costs for a single neck selling for hundreds of dollars is probably less than 5 bucks...

 

[maxvintage]

I've made a lot of necks, and as people have said it's not hard but very labor intensive. It's where you'll see different labor costs most clearly, if you are doing it by hand.

I don't know anything about CNC, but I assume most of the production of necks--the cutout, the carve, the radiusing, the frets slots is automated now. I'm not sure about frets. They probably still have a person pressing those in, and leveling and crowning and polishing. The nut-cutting is not rocket science but it's fussy and takes care

 

[Festofish]

I'm sure bodies can be cranked out by CNC operators and all be about the same, but I don't think it's true of necks.
I guarantee you can teach a guy to hand carve a perfect neck cheaper than you can hire me to cut them with a CNC machine. A neck is going to require 3D profiling, and that means long slow toolpaths. I bet they're all hand finished. And there has to be some wood selection process because you want a long skinny piece of tree to hold a couple hundred lbs of pull and not twist.
CNC is not a magic replicator button.

Isn’t that exactly what a CNC is? Punch in a program and go? I’m talking factory cnc minus the hand finishing. Program already set. If we’re talking from scratch then yeah.

 

[fenderchamp]

So, what really drives the cost of a Telecaster neck? For comparison sake I wound up on Sweetwater looking at replacement Fender Telecaster necks and just couldn’t find specific reasons for the cost of a neck ranging from $300 to $700.

Roasted maple? One at $350 and one at $700. Both C profile, satin polyurethane, etc. The $700 had a bone nut vs. synthetic and 22 frets vs. 21, but there are $300 22 fret necks.

I see no reason for the difference unless the wood is so much better that it justifies more than double the price.

So, what is it?

This is just trolling, rather tastelessly, but trolling right?

 

[RoadShow]

Not at all. I have yet to see some real justification for the price delta. Discussion and such, but nothing that explains double the cost.

Can you explain it? Seems to me any standard neck for any version Telecaster is basically the same quality and just as good, minor cost differences depending on nut, extra fret, etc.

 

[RoadShow]

This is just trolling, rather tastelessly, but trolling right?

Not at all. I have yet to see some real justification for the price delta. Discussion and such, but nothing that explains double the cost.

Can you explain it? Seems to me any standard neck for any version Telecaster is basically the same quality and just as good, minor cost differences depending on nut, extra fret, etc.

 

[fenderchamp]

Not at all. I have yet to see some real justification for the price delta. Discussion and such, but nothing that explains double the cost.

Can you explain it? Seems to me any standard neck for any version Telecaster is basically the same quality and just as good, minor cost differences depending on nut, extra fret, etc.

the cost of the salaries of the people making the necks, that's the difference. When you purchase a guitar neck, you are not simply buying an object, as I find it hard to believe you don't understand, which is why I think you are trolling.

Let's try this one

I pay the kid across the street $25 to mow my lawn, it takes him about an hour and he uses his grandpa's, or my mower. What would you do it for? you could use my mower. What if it was your only job? What do you think a "professional" lawn service would charge me? Do you think the grass would notice any difference?

Or

Granted the necks were all usable and warrantied, (which I think they kind of are), what factors might cause you to buy the cheaper one? What factors might cause you to buy the more costly one?

 

[RoadShow]

the cost of the salaries of the people making the necks, that's the difference. When you purchase a guitar neck, you are not simply buying an object, as I find it hard to believe you don't understand, which is why I think you are trolling.

No, I get all that. BUT, in those $300-$400 necks some are for USA guitars, some are MIM guitars.

Or, maybe the answer is all the replacement necks are MIM except the $700 one. I'll just stop with that.

 

[teletail]

Until you can play them and see them IN PERSON, you’ll never know. I’ve been underwhelmed by many different products I’ve purchased on the internet, from clothes to guitars. You don’t even know if the picture they show is of their actual product.

And you’re getting very little useful information from this thread. People who have no idea what two specific products you are talking about are telling you that there is no difference. How unrealistic is that?

 

[RoadShow]

Until you can play them and see them IN PERSON, you’ll never know. I’ve been underwhelmed by many different products I’ve purchased on the internet, from clothes to guitars. You don’t even know if the picture they show is of their actual product.

And you’re getting very little useful information from this thread. People who have no idea what two specific products you are talking about are telling you that there is no difference. How stupid is that?

Up above in my post with the manufacturing video I included a pdf that's a list of the necks. Maybe they didn't look at it.

Anyway, see the post two up from this one. I'm going with that conclusion for now.

And, FWIW, I will always but from a legit distributor or mfg, third party like the big A as a last resort. Too much counterfeit stuff out there.

 

[fenderchamp]

Until you can play them and see them ON PERSON, you’ll never know. I’ve been underwhelmed by many different products I’ve purchased on the internet, from clothes to guitars. You don’t even know if the picture they show is of their actual product.

And you’re getting very little useful information from this thread. People who have no idea what two specific products you are talking about are telling you that there is no difference. How stupid is that?

Enlighten us, we are obviously just a cast of shambling morons, what are the models/features differences?

...your world wonders me
With your majestic and superior cackling hen

 

[teletail]

Up above in my post with the manufacturing video I included a pdf that's a list of the necks. Maybe they didn't look at it.

Anyway, see the post two up from this one. I'm going with that conclusion for now.

I’m replying to the ORIGINAL post, not addressing every post thereafter. And in the original post, the OP doesn’t specify which necks he’s talking about.

 

[fenderchamp]

No, I get all that. BUT, in those $300-$400 necks some are for USA guitars, some are MIM guitars.

Or, maybe the answer is all the replacement necks are MIM except the $700 one. I'll just stop with that.

what about my lawn? No quote? I guess it's true what the say, nobody wants to work anymore. You ever drive up to a Burger King drive through in the middle of the day, and see they are closed "labor shortage?"

 

[RoadShow]

I’m replying to the ORIGINAL post, not addressing every post thereafter. And in the original post, the OP doesn’t specify which necks he’s talking about.

Actually, I did:
"For comparison sake I wound up on Sweetwater looking at replacement Fender Telecaster necks and just couldn’t find specific reasons for the cost of a neck ranging from $300 to $700."

I didn't mean for this to turn into such controversy or anger.

 

[RoadShow]

what about my lawn? No quote?

For free, if I happen to be in your neighborhood

 

[fenderchamp]

Actually, I did:
"For comparison sake I wound up on Sweetwater looking at replacement Fender Telecaster necks and just couldn’t find specific reasons for the cost of a neck ranging from $300 to $700."

I didn't mean for this to turn into such controversy or anger.

lolz, I wouldn't sweat it too hard, we're on the internets here after all

Are you actually in the market for a neck?

Tell us about your project!

 

[teletail]

Actually, I did:
"For comparison sake I wound up on Sweetwater looking at replacement Fender Telecaster necks and just couldn’t find specific reasons for the cost of a neck ranging from $300 to $700."

I didn't mean for this to turn into such controversy or anger.

Well, saying I saw a bunch of necks and some were twice as much as the others is not comparing two specific necks. I can’t state it any more clearly than that. Frankly I’m only seeing one member with anger issues, I think you and I are just disagreeing. Nothing wrong with that; if we agree on everything then the world only needs one of us.