Fender replacement necks?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rex Rocker
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Rex Rocker

Rex Rocker

Well-known member
So.... really liking my new Strat's tone and looks, not sure about the neck.

The profile itself is great. The feel of the Road Worn neck is awesome. It's the damned 9.5" fretboard that I don't love. Also, main reason is it's not as stable as I'd like. Fall is starting to turn into winter here, and the heat is working harder at home. I'm sure that has to do with it, but none of my other guitars are having trouble adapting. This one keeps going out of whack daily. Almost hourly.

Figured it might be a good chance to upgrade. I immediately bonded with that guitar as soon as I brought it home, though, so I'm sure I don't want to get rid of it.

I want a baked maple neck. Preferrably quarter-sawn. 12" or flatter fretboard radius. Modern C/Thin U neck profile or thinner. Preferrably thinner. I actually like D-shaped neck profiles too. Maybe a maple board to make the sound even more Fender-y twangy/zingy. Also, I wouldn't mind bigger frets too. Honestly, I want this Strat to play more like a Superstrat while having the Dad-Rock looks.

I found this neck:
https://www.fender.com/en-CY/parts/...umbo-frets-12-flat-oval-shape/0990402920.html

Seems to tick all the boxes.

However, Mighty Mite and Solo Music necks are cheaper. But are they as good? Also, is Warmoth worth it?

I'd like to keep the work I do on the neck to make it playable. I expect to do some nut work since I use 12's (Drop C), but I'd rather not do any fretwork or neck finishing.

So... suggestions?
 
griff10672 said:
Warmoth is very worth it IMO ...............
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I’ve got 3 Warmoth Fatback’s and 1 AllParts FAT that I really like. I like the feel of the unfinished baked maple from Warmoth. Also have a Musikraft that should arrive around TGiving that I have high hopes for. Fender doesn’t make many necks with a lot of substance to them
 
tallcoolone said:
I’ve got 3 Warmoth Fatback’s and 1 AllParts FAT that I really like. I like the feel of the unfinished baked maple from Warmoth. Also have a Musikraft that should arrive around TGiving that I have high hopes for. Fender doesn’t make many necks with a lot of substance to them
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I love their hardwood necks that don't require finish .... including the roasted maple !
 
I've ordered two Musikraft necks and their quality is off the charts. I'll never go anywhere else. Buy once, cry once.
 
My Musikraft didn’t need any fretwork when I got it and that seems to be the general consensus on them all around. I’ve also got an AllParts neck that’s got tiny ass vintage frets in it, they just tap those things in without a crown/level.


IMG_5100.jpeg

AllParts-
 
I’ve bought several MusiKraft and Warmoth necks. I think they are comparable quality but every neck is unique and some turn out better than others. Some might require minor fretwork, usually just using a fret rocker and knocking down a few high spots is all that is needed if anything.

I prefer MusiKraft policies tho. I shouldn’t have to pay extra for a straight 12” radius but Warmoth makes you pay extra for any radius other than their compound radius. Warmoth just seems more like “you’ll get what you get and like it!” which is sort of antithetical to building partscasters.

So imo the necks are comparable but I like the MusiKraft company better.
 
Rex Rocker said:
Thanks, dudes! I'll look into Musikraft, then!
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Highly recommend Parklane too...owner Steve was Musikrafts production head for 12 years or so...this is his new company

Would also highly recommend that if you’re thinking about dark roasted maple get white fret dots....black dots disappear in low light, gone on a dark stage
 
Mighty Mite necks are super inconsistent. I bought three this past year. Two I returned for different reasons and one was surprisingly nice. It looks nice, has a bit of birdseye to it even and an almost black ebony board. Feel is nice too, it’s a modern, smaller feeling neck but not too flat and in a 9.5-12” radius.

I returned one because the fretboard looked like crap and even worse was super dry and rough feeling. The other had a problem where the walnut stripe on the backside had either popped out a bit or the whole thing had not been sanded right. In any case you could feel the bump of it and I did not like that.
 
How about the standard Mexican Fender replacement necks they sell?
 
Rex Rocker said:
How about the standard Mexican Fender replacement necks they sell?
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I’ve never bought one but I have seen from others on boards like TDPRI that they do usually need some fretwork, so they aren’t going to be ready to play out of the box.
 
FWIW I had a Musikraft neck years ago. For super low action (~1mm off the last fret), it needed just a touch of fretwork above the 12th fret to clean it up, but otherwise it was solid.
 
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