jeremyo83
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Post by jeremyo83 on Sept 27, 2006 10:45:11 GMT -5
I'm putting together a modded strat from parts, ebay and such.. the neck is a strat copy (maple w/ rosewood fretboard) from ebay and arrived yesterday. It looks and feels like it will probably play nicely, but I was curious about what other do with their necks..
What sort of ways do you trick out your necks? Tuners, nuts, scalloping, reshaping.. etc. what have you found to really work for you, in both appearance and function?
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Post by ranchtooth on Oct 1, 2006 11:29:59 GMT -5
I put in a hemi!
My favourite is a good set of locking tuners, a new nut made of corian or brass or any high end material, and then a good levelling and fret dressing. I've also recently joined the club of rubbing lemon oil into the fingerboard... cleans it up, keeps the board hydrated, feels nice!
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Post by Happyguy on Oct 2, 2006 20:10:48 GMT -5
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jeremyo83
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Post by jeremyo83 on Oct 2, 2006 22:25:32 GMT -5
hmm.. i never thought about upgrading the truss rod.. interesting thought.
we may try some scalloping on the higher frets too..
thanks
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Post by vonFrenchie on Oct 4, 2006 18:49:34 GMT -5
The "Wizard"/Speed back, nice ebony fretboard, 5 stripe back, sharktooth inlays and warmoth style radius 10 or so inches by the nut and 16 by the pickups.
i have to try that lemon oil thing. can i pick some up at my local grocery store or where?
thats all i have to say...
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Post by ChrisK on Oct 4, 2006 19:33:35 GMT -5
Limit this to rosewood, maple boards don't need this (why maple needs a HARD finish).
Unfortunately this is in the same class as spine replacement surgery. It is MOST non-trivial.
Yep!
Aside from locking tuners, I let others modify my necks while they're making them. I order custom ones made the way that I want them.
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Post by Runewalker on Oct 5, 2006 12:26:33 GMT -5
Tuners, nuts etc, all good suggestions. Along with CK, the trussrod replacement is major surgery.
Some of the high end mfg will send a neck that is fully leveled, frets recrowned and then highly polished. Since I look for bargains I have never recieved a neck that did not need the treatment, and it is the single most dramatic change to playability to whatever neck is installed. Beyond that the different shapes, widths and fret heights available allow you to 'custom' fit the neck to your style and feel. The compound radius necks are also nice in helping to prevent nubbing out on the higher fret bends.
Manytimes a fatter neck (measured from the fretboard to the back of the neck) is counterintuitively more comfortable to play than the thin necks.
Scalloping does demand a different fretting touch. Since you get no fretboard when you fret the string it takes a lighter touch. You can get partially there with large and high frets and if you like that feel it is an intermediate way to trial the scalloped approach, albeit a scalloped neck still feels way different than a big fret conventional fretboard.
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Post by ChrisK on Oct 5, 2006 13:43:35 GMT -5
I buy the high-end stuff and have never needed a fret level. When you add the cost of a fret leveling job, you're essentially at the cost of a good neck.
If you look at a Musikraft Pao Ferro neck, compared to a maple one that needs a hard finish, the cost is lower for the exotic woods, and the feel is fantastic.
Scalloped fretboards feel like......well, a sitar.
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Post by bam on Oct 6, 2006 1:37:23 GMT -5
For me, near-flat (400mm ~ 16") radius, rosewood board, locking tuners, graphite nut, and large frets. Higher frets scalloping might do, but I think those are enough for now.
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Post by ChrisK on Oct 6, 2006 10:34:58 GMT -5
Yeah, chording on a sitar (or scalloped neck) is no easy thing. Everything changes always (no "board" for force absorption).
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jeremyo83
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Post by jeremyo83 on Oct 6, 2006 11:09:43 GMT -5
i knew someone who had their neck scalloped from nut to bridge... i think he regretted it once he tried to play them power chords.  |
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Post by UnklMickey on Oct 6, 2006 12:03:53 GMT -5
the last time i was asked to trick-out a neck, she was hoping for pearls.
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Post by Happyguy on Oct 6, 2006 17:00:45 GMT -5
I love scalloped fretboards... I have it from highest fret to the third. Once you are used to it it's great. No problem for power cords... Its realy the same just lighter pressing. It actually helped me increase my speed. Something about pressing lightly. thats what i say.
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Post by GuyaGuy on Oct 11, 2006 4:53:35 GMT -5
The "Wizard"/Speed back, nice ebony fretboard, 5 stripe back, sharktooth inlays and warmoth style radius 10 or so inches by the nut and 16 by the pickups. i have to try that lemon oil thing. can i pick some up at my local grocery store or where? thats all i have to say... well, yes actually. BUT that's a different kind of lemon oil that you can get in the supermarket. the lemon oil used for woods isn't made of lemons at all. it has a tart smell and is yellow; thus the name. it's actually a light mineral oil. you can get it at hardware stores, diy shops, some instrument shops, etc. |
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