Replacing MIM Stratocaster Neck

[geo]

I've got a MIM Stratocaster, and I love it to death, but I've played some high-end Strats with necks that I'd kill for. (Specifically, I'm thinking of the Eric Johnson strat's neck, though I'd like it in maple.)

My question is this:
If I find a Strat with a neck that I really like, will transplanting that neck onto my strat give me the same action and everything? Or is there a little bit of magic in the way that a neck fits onto a body, so a great neck might only be good on a certain body?

[Deleted]

sound depends on both body and neck.

What is it on higher end strats neck that you liked? Shape/construction/attention to detail or tone?

Many times it happens, apart from standardizing materials and methods, and while someone could assume that a more expensive guitar has to sound better than a less expensive, it ends up that a cheap instrument sounds better than an expensive one.

Some ppl say neck joint is crucial to the guitars tone. I wish i could agree, but with my kramer bolt on, i could get crazy amounts of sustain even with on the four bolts not tightened!

[geo]

I'm mostly concerned with how nice it is to play. I figure switching maple neck for maple neck shouldn't change much tone-wise.

[Deleted]

You mean the lacquer/finish ? fretwork?

[ux4484]

Debated here before:
Maybe it's imagination, but for me at least, there is a "snappiness" to a Maple fretboard that I like. It is the one thing I miss from the '51. It's more noticeable (to me) on a bass, but there is IMO something to it. I don't know if I'd want to change out to another to get that snappiness in my two electrics.
Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) brings out his original blond Tele w/maple neck to play the songs from their first few albums (the dirt/wear marks on the fretboard are freaky), having often said he can only reproduce that sound on that maple fretboard/neck.
On a bass, this is furthered by an ebonol fretboard (usually on fretless, but making it on fretted more all the time). For snapping and slapping, you can't do better than a Cort Curbow bass (it even has a "slap" switch), though I don't know if a bass that is easier to slap on is really a good thing (because if you find yourself with a regular bass, you will have to work harder to get the same result).

Back OT: Some players just like the looks of a maple neck. They do look less crowded IMO (some rosewood boards look very busy from color variations and texture). It is fairly hard to find in-store much of a selection of Fenders with maple fretboards, especially on high end models (excluding Tele blondes and thinlines). When they do have them, they are usually more than I would be willng to pay.

[geo]

I'm concerned primarily with the action; I imagine the rest will be the same guitar-to-guitar. If you can set the action up beautifully with a neck on one body (Eric Johnson strat), are you guaranteed to be able to do so on a similar body (MiM Strat)?


Also, just a quick chemistry question: The Eric Johnson strat neck uses a nitrocellulose finish, but my body has the typical polyurethane: will this cause any kind of mess at the junction, or should that be fine?

[ux4484]

As the pocket is unfinished, it shouldn't matter. On the setup... It think it might depend if you have one of those hangover the pickguard necks on your Strat now (common for MIM's). I've only swapped one or two necks, and they were both "in the pocket" necks with no hangover frets. There are more qualified folks here than me to help with that question.
I've only in the last few years started tweaking and shimming necks, some may be required to get the right fit/action. That is one thing Fender is pretty good with out of the box, whether that's due to uniformity of parts, or good assemblers/quality control testing, I couldn't say. YMMV.