Strat neck needs slimming and body needs greater soul

[herbychimp]

Hi

Following on from a previous post (I was seaching for a hardtail strat and managed to buy a 2nd hand Billy Corgan model) I now have my hardtail strat. Despite really liking the guitar I do find that the neck is a little full (althouhg it is supposed to be a modern C profile) I have read posts on this and other forums suggesting that it is possible to reduce the 'chunkiness' of a neck through carefull sanding. I wouldn't consider doing this myself but I wondered if anyone might be able to suggest a luthier / guitar shop who might do such a thing. I would also like an oil finish (rather than the current satin effect) I am based in Norht London, so anywhere in greater London would be reasonable.

Secondly, I am not over fond of the BC1 & BC2 pickups in the BC strat. I quite like the 'Chopper' but generally find that the Dimarzios lack character. I am not sure what the rout is the BC strat and I dont necessarily want to re-rout but I think that I would like a Holy Diver + at least one s/c in the neck. Does this sound like a good match for alder and maple?

cheers

Stef

[Ian Price]

Regarding the neck - if it was me and I was that unhappy with it I would sell it on and buy a replacement from Warmoth to the specs I wanted. This may work out cheaper for you but would of course ruin the sell on value of the guitar (as would changing the neck that is already on there).

[Philly Q]

Regarding the neck - if it was me and I was that unhappy with it I would sell it on and buy a replacement from Warmoth to the specs I wanted. This may work out cheaper for you but would of course ruin the sell on value of the guitar (as would changing the neck that is already on there).

I agree - Fender parts get good prices on eBay.  You might well make enough money to buy a new neck with change left over, especially if you're getting an unfinished one with a view to an oil finish.  Of course, you lose the Fender logo, although there are places to buy replacements.

If you do want to shave the existing neck, try our very own Feline Guitars in Croydon!

http://www.felineguitars.com/

I'm pretty sure the Corgan body will have an HSH rout, so you can probably fit a humbucker without making any major modifications.

(Surprised you find the modern C neck too chunky though!)

[herbychimp]

thanks for the help here. I am indeed going to take up the offer of neck alteration and upgrades from Feline Guitars. I did consider a parts o'caster for a long time but this Fender came up at a very reasonable price - before that trying to find a hardtail strat was nigh on impossible. I had thought about whether or not one of those new Charvel pro-mod, compound radius necks might fit the guitar, but despite the fact that this is now the same company, I bet that they aren't compatible.