Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Ian Price on April 25, 2012, 11:50:57 AM
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Hello all,
I may be in a position to buy back my '62 reissue custom telecaster at some point at a pretty cheap price. I shouldn't have sold this guitar although didn't really get on with the neck that well - it was a flattish C shape and I now prefer something a bit more chunky. I love the neck on my Baja and was wondering how easy/possible it would be to retro fit it onto the body of the '62.
I know I could give it a go and see what happens but don't really want to mess around with it if it is not advisable. I'm not sure what the dimensions of neck pockets/necks are on either guitar and am hoping somebody far more informed may have some views!
Cheers
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It should be a straight swap, Ian. I'm pretty sure Mexican and Japanese specs match.
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Cheers Dave - the deal may not happen but would be looking at doing this if it does.
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Yeah, Fender necks, wherever they're made, are interchangeable nowadays unless (possibly) you're looking at really cheap Squiers.
Of course you might find one neck is a bit tighter/looser in the pocket than another - Fender's tolerances aren't as tight as Warmoth's!
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To me that sounds like a lot of hassle. I stopped buying a guitar when the neck is not right for me. I always end up selling it.
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To me that sounds like a lot of hassle. I stopped buying a guitar when the neck is not right for me. I always end up selling it.
Yeah, me too. Although the body of the 62 custom looks great and I don't like the really thick finish on the Baja.
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It's an easy swap, I reckon you'll have a tasty guitar after that Ian...
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I reckon so too - just need to convince my brother in law (technically not my brother in law but might as well be) to sell it back to me!
If not I could go down the Warmoth, All Parts or MJT route.
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Hmmm... interesting. You could get a cracking guitar, but you could easily end up with two guitars that don't seem to have the magic of either. You'll only find out by trying.
You're talking about a CIJ/MIJ custom? I have one hanging right next to my Baja, and I know exactly what you mean about the neck, but I find I can get used to either.
Finish-wise, the Baja is thicker (I think) but, still, I find both of them feel a bit plasticky compared to some others in the arsenal if I start thinking about it. They both get played less because of it.
I've never considered swapping the necks - a maple board on the custom just wouldn't grab me - but I do find myself wondering whether the custom would sound as good as I think it does now if it had the big maple thing attached to its alder body. I might like it, but I do value the smoothness it has now compared to the brash Baja.
Another thing to consider (over fitting), and don't quote me too much, I'm not at home to look and this is only a recollection. I seem to recall reading (probably on tdpri) from some guy that's got loads of them, that the Baja neck sits further out of the body than many teles, and the angles on the bridge are a major factor in giving it the mojo that it's got going... Is this because the heel is deep or because the Baja neck pocket is shallow?
And, er, well... to me the two guitars are what they are - I know they're designed for replacing bits etc - but I probably wouldn't bother spending two sets of strings and the time required (and the possibility of not being able to get back where I started) to find out if I like the swap...
But remember, I'm lucky enough to be able to play any neck length/radius/profile/frets and not feel too much of a shock. The only thing that really affects me adversely is if the action is too low for me (frets do come into play here, I guess) or the strings are too light - those are usually more adjustable, though. So I haven't really got the same reasons as you do for wondering about it....
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Thanks Andy - that's a really helpful and interesting post that has got me thinking about why I would consider doing such a thing.
I really love the look of a '62 custom with an all maple neck. My favourite tele body style is either a single or double bound, my favourite neck is all maple. I just don't seem to be able get on with anything other than a maple fretboard, this is something that took me years to realise.
The other consideration here is that I can't afford to really buy the guitar(s) I really want due to my family and finnce situation so I'm wondering if this urge to do something has come about because I am not able to get out there and buy what I would like i.e. a CS Fender, Bravewood or something custom made by a forum member.
Perhaps it would be best to not d!ck about with swapping necks/bodies if I was to get a good price for the '62 offered to me and just hold on to what cash I have now (although it is not much :() and focus on what should be a better financial outlook once 3 of my kids are out of nursery.
Thanks again Andy - really good post and really helpful in me focussing on why.
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Hmmm... interesting. You could get a cracking guitar, but you could easily end up with two guitars that don't seem to have the magic of either. You'll only find out by trying.
I think Andy has a good point there - much as I enjoy putting guitars together from bits, swapping necks on existing guitars is a different matter.
You will notice a difference in the sound, maybe "better", maybe "worse", but it won't be same guitar any more. And - if you're like me - you may feel a sense of loss. :lol:
I once put an all-maple neck instead of the maple/rosewood one on my '90s Tele Thinline; it sounded fine and I probably would've left it there if I'd built it from scratch. But it didn't sound anything like it had before.... so the old neck went back on, and there it stays. :)
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Well, you guys are tallking me into it AND out of it! The joys of being into guitars. :lol:
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I meant to end my previous post by saying:
At the end of the day, it's easily done and easily reversed. Much easier than changing pickups. Give it a go and see how you like it! :D
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Ah, if I liked the look of maple board on a custom... it is quite possible I might have tried it by now! :lol: (Maybe with neck off another tele I have, rather than the Baja, though).
And like Philly says (assuming you can get enough "ownership" of the 62 to try it), it wouldn't take too much effort to give it a go and keep it reversable.
It's interesting what you say about only being able to get on with maple boards. Are we talking feel and/or sound here?
I'm finding, much to my surprise actually, that I probably prefer the feel of maple boards. But I much prefer the look of rosewood, and I believe I prefer the sound as well. I know there are folks swear blind that there's no great difference in sound between maple/rw than there is between two different rw boards, say... but I'm afraid I don't believe them based on my experiences so far! :lol:
Anyway, based on your preference for looks and your preference for fingerboard, AND your preference for this specific neck... it's almost a no-brainer if you owned the 62. But re-acquiring the 62 to perform the experiment, knowing what you really want is something else.... I dunno
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I'm finding, much to my surprise actually, that I probably prefer the feel of maple boards. But I much prefer the look of rosewood, and I believe I prefer the sound as well. I know there are folks swear blind that there's no great difference in sound between maple/rw than there is between two different rw boards, say... but I'm afraid I don't believe them based on my experiences so far! :lol:
I haven't got your ears (obviously) but if I was asked to blindfold test a random Strat or Tele I don't think I'd have any idea if it was a maple or rosewood board.
But changing the necks on that Thinline made a big difference. With the rosewood board, it sounds bright, snappy, almost harsh if you pick hard, but can sound warm if you pick more gently. With the maple board, it suddenly seemed to be impossible to get a warmer tone.
I don't know if that's the "real" difference between maple and rosewood, though, or just the difference between those two particular necks.
I think I am coming to believe the theory that - at least with bolt-on guitars - the neck material/construction affects the tone more than the body does.
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It's interesting what you say about only being able to get on with maple boards. Are we talking feel and/or sound here?
I'm finding, much to my surprise actually, that I probably prefer the feel of maple boards. But I much prefer the look of rosewood, and I believe I prefer the sound as well.
Definitely a feel thing for the maple neck rather than tone. I do slightly prefer the look of it although I did love the LPB Strat that I had - that had a rosewood board and sounded great, just something about the rosewood didn't feel quite right to me. I don't think it was just that particular guitar, the '75 tele I had also had a rosewood (veneer) board and although I liked the look of it the board didn't feel quite right.
The first guitar I really owned and loved with a maple board was the Esquire. This also happened to be the first Fender I owned with a 9.5 radius and bigger than vintage frets. Since then that is the set up I like although the Baja doesn't have 6105s (at least I don't think it has anyway). The LPB Strat I mentioned was also 9.5 with 6105s so it probably has more to do with the feel of the wood than the radius and fret size.
Strange.
Will see how I get on with maybe possibly reacquiring the '62. It may not happen but there is a chance.
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The first guitar I really owned and loved with a maple board was the Esquire. This also happened to be the first Fender I owned with a 9.5 radius and bigger than vintage frets. Since then that is the set up I like although the Baja doesn't have 6105s (at least I don't think it has anyway). The LPB Strat I mentioned was also 9.5 with 6105s so it probably has more to do with the feel of the wood than the radius and fret size.
The Baja has Fender's standard "medium jumbo" frets, which are a bit wider than 6105s (and maybe not quite as tall, though I'm not sure about that).
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Cheers Philly - was being a little lazy there!
I knew the frets were bigger than those I had on the '57 reissue strat but were not as high as the 6105s on the CS modeals I've owned.
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I really wouldn't say my ears were that good Philly! :lol:
On a blind-test of maple versus rosewood, if I was listening rather than playing, I reckon I'd probably get as many wrong as right. But if you let me set my amp up with one of my guitars, and then gave me a selection of maples/rosewoods to blind test myself, I think I'd get a majority right. I think it's a combination of what I put in with the fingers to get what I want out of the speakers. Just listening, not playing, I'm not convinced I could tell, there's too many other variables - the amp and what the player is trying to achieve, for starters.
The best comparison I have at the moment is my two Roadworn strats. Both 7.25 with (I believe) them medium jumbo things. Playing acoustically, the maple board one seems to encourage playing with more bounce and snap, and it benefits from a lighter touch from the picking hand -all sorts of interesting things come out when I hit it lighter (which don't with rosewood). The rosewood board one encourages a flatter, woodier type of playing, I imagine it as an "older" sound if that make sense. It also requires a little more work and imagination to get expression out of it - and it seems to benefit from hard playing rather than light.
I have heard it said, though, that we bring preconceptions to the maple/rosewood thing, and that's what we hear. I could easily buy into that idea... but then I'm left thinking "where on earth did these preconceptions come from then?" :lol:
One thing I have just noticed though (I'm noodling on the Baja and the Custom tele), I have to hold the pick slightly differently when switching from rosewood to maple. Never realised this before. I grew up on rosewood, and I tend to hold the pick close to the tip and dig in - there's a fair bit of forefinger in my digging in picking style for single notes and suchlike. This got learnt from hundreds of strat-playing gigs trying to sound like Rory Gallagher, I guess. I've just noticed, on picking up the Baja after 20 minutes on the Custom, that I automatically adjust to having more pick sticking out clear of the fingers, otherwise the notes squeal more than I'm after. So I checked it out on the Roadworn strats... seems to be true (for me, anyway), I get more squeal out of maple boards than I do rosewood...
And, I've just remembered, I have two Variax guitars, one with maple, one with rosewood, but both with the same software and models on board... Now, the host guitar's not meant to make a difference, but it does in my hands. The rosewood one sounded mellower than the same model on the maple one (which sounded harsher).
Anyway, this evening I've discovered that I would not like to have to decide between rosewood or maple - I want at least one of each :lol: Whether they sound different or not doesn't matter - they encourage me to play slightly differently. If I prefered one style to the other, I'd probably want to stick to that wood. But, as it is, I want both!
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:D
I would like both but am not sure I could make both work for me (either financially or playing wise)! It's a bit like I've always wanted a LP that I have a connection with - I think it is the flatter radius and rosewood or ebony neck that I don't get on with. Perhaps if someone came up with something like, for instance, baked maple then maybe I could find one that worked for me (although I'd want a 9.5 radius).
If this didn't work out then I have to put it down to aesthetics as surely baked maple should feel and sound very similar to unbaked maple?
On the subject of playing style adjustment switching between guitars I can say that when I was in my band I used to play with pick and fingers on my maple boarded strat and a heavier pick on the rosewood board tele. I may have made some adjustment in the way I held the pick although wouldn't have been aware of this.
Interesting stuff (to me anyway, Janes eyes glaze over when I talk to her about my preference for maple over rosewood)
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I do think there's a difference between rosewood and maple boards but I think some of it comes from the different feel of each that encourages, me at least, to play a bit differently on one than the other. I'm obviuosly wandering off into psychoacoustics territory here as the sound, feel and way you play is a circular feedback loop but I do reckon there's something in it.
What I wasn't prepared for, until I did it, was how different two maple necks can sound on the same guitar. I put a Roadworn neck on a Highway One body and the difference in tone was astonishing to me. The Roadworn was much snappier and harsher, but was much more responsive than the smoother Highway One neck that preceded it. Some of that will be the difference in neck fit I guess but it was a big change.
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What I wasn't prepared for, until I did it, was how different two maple necks can sound on the same guitar. I put a Roadworn neck on a Highway One body and the difference in tone was astonishing to me. The Roadworn was much snappier and harsher, but was much more responsive than the smoother Highway One neck that preceded it. Some of that will be the difference in neck fit I guess but it was a big change.
When I had the Road Worn Tele Deluxe (with a Strat-style maple neck) I always found it a very "dead" sounding guitar acoustically, with little resonance or sustain.
I was never sure if it was down to the heavy-ish alder body or the neck; because the neck had very little finish, it always felt a bit "soft" and I imagined this translating into a dull tone. I have no idea whether there's any truth in that, or if it's entirely in my head! :roll: :lol:
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I was never sure if it was down to the heavy-ish alder body or the neck; because the neck had very little finish, it always felt a bit "soft" and I imagined this translating into a dull tone. I have no idea whether there's any truth in that, or if it's entirely in my head! :roll: :lol:
My initial thought was that surely it is in your head! Got me thinking though. My '75 tele had what I would consider quite a hard finish on the neck - the tone on that was pretty trebly and had lots of bite. The Baja has almost no finish on the back of the neck and whilst I love paying it the tone is a bit "duller" than I would like.
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I'm a rosewood-addict. To me it feels and plays better then maple. Not saying maple sounds worse.