NND (new pics added - finished project)

[MrBump]

Yes, New Neck Day!

The truss rod has buggered up in my Charvel ST, so I wanted a relatively inexpensive way of getting it back into working order (although I've now got a plan for HSS rather than the 2 Nailbombs or 3 Trilogy pups that it's had to date, but that's another story...)

So I took a punt on Vanson guitars - they're selling reasonably cheap replacement necks on Evil Bay.  Got this one for a shade under £100, and it looks pretty good, so far.

It's maple and ebony (thought I'd give it a go despite the shrinkage horror stories on another thread...).  Assembly is really good - no sharp fret ends, the cuts are smooth.  Not sure about the nut - it's bone, but I wouldn't have set it at the angle it's at - maybe that's how you're supposed to do it, but I'd prefer something a little squarer.  Regardless, it's relatively easy for me to correct - in fact, I'm tempted to put a nicer nut on there anyway, given that the guitar has a trem.

So - once I've sorted the tuners and grafted it on the the old Shovel, I'll post again.

[Mr. Air]

Congrats on the new neck. I hope it works out fine.

[Afghan Dave]

I like the look of that alot. Looking forward to seeing the finished article.

[Philly Q]

Did somebody mention necks?

Looks good, are you going to use the tuners etc from the Charvel or get new stuff?

[MrBump]

Did somebody mention necks?

Looks good, are you going to use the tuners etc from the Charvel or get new stuff?

Nah, I'll probably go for some Planet Waves - I kinda like the look of them, although I've never used them.

My Charvel is actually a relatively cheap guitar - with a really skinny neck. I think that this will be a pretty decent upgrade.

[Philly Q]

The Planet Waves tuners are pretty good.  They look a bit "modern", but that will probably suit your Charvel.

[hunter]

I haven't seen a nut set like that either. While somehow it makes sense to set it at an angle, I think what they do there is too much.

[Philly Q]

I suppose there's the traditional idea that the depth of the nut slot only needs to be just over half the thickness of the string to hold it in place, so the nut itself can be taller at the bass side.

Personally I've never seen a problem with a taller nut and deeper slots, so long as they're well cut.  Then there's no danger at all of strings popping out of their slots (like they can do on Vs, for example).  And it's a good enough approach for PRS!

[MrBump]

So, another "work from home" day, and the neck is fitted!

It's interesting - the nut actually seems OK - aesthetically, I don't like the cr@ppy angle, but it does actually work. I might still upgrade it to something nicer, but it'll do for now.  I do need a string tree though - the slot for the high "e" is a little too shallow, and I don't want to cut it deeper.  No dodgy harmonics though, so there's enough of an angle behind the nut I think.

The most interesting thing to me though is how much this changed the acoustic tone of the guitar.  With the Charvel neck, it was always my acoustically loudest and brightest electric.  Way louder than my PRS NF3. With the maple/ebony neck, it's a little quieter, but WAY less bright - I've always been a little skeptical about the effect of wood, but everything here is constant, except the neck.  I even tried tightening or loosening the neck screws...  It sounds genuinely more dark and "middy".  Which is really cool! Bright and dark are both great to me!!!  The new neck is way chunkier than the Charvel, which is 1980's skinny - I'm sure that's probably a factor too.

The Planet Waves tuners are a breeze - easy to fit, and putting the strings back on was a doddle.

Off to Holiday Music in a sec to get string retainers.  Then I'll have a blast on it plugged in, see what that's like.  Although I'll be swapping out the Trilogies at the earliest opportunity - way too modern for me - in favor of a nice, vintage-y HSS set.

[Philly Q]

Looks good!  Very different from the old paisley scratchplate and Nailbombs (come to think of it, there's not much of that guitar actually left, is there?)

Interesting what you said about the effect on the tone, there are those who say that the acoustic tone of a bolt-on is almost entirely down to the neck.  I still think the body must have some effect though, it's everything working together.

[MrBump]

Looks good!  Very different from the old paisley scratchplate and Nailbombs (come to think of it, there's not much of that guitar actually left, is there?)

Interesting what you said about the effect on the tone, there are those who say that the acoustic tone of a bolt-on is almost entirely down to the neck.  I still think the body must have some effect though, it's everything working together.

Wow, you remember the hideous paisley scratchplate!!!  Yeah, not my finest DIY moment...  I'm currently referring to this guitar as "Triggers Broom" - 100 different handles and 100 different brushes, but still the same broom after all these years...  The only original bits on that guitar now are the body, trem and neck plate.

I've just had a run at it through an amp, and it is rather good!  I'm definitely changing the nut though, I'll pick up a Graph Tech one when I get the string trees.

I'm impressed with the neck.  For less than a hundred quid it's really nice.  Feels more expensive.   

[gwEm]

love the black hardware and nologo look. usually i think strats look better with a logo, but i don't think thats the case this time. looks like a real hotrod. what about some black plastic parts?

great job anyway - love the feel of ebony!

[Afghan Dave]

Concur with Gwem 100%.. It looks great.

[Telerocker]

Looks great! Maybe a black perloid pickguard would make it more - like gwEm suggested - a hotrodder.
The neck can affect the tone dramatically. On those CS 52 Relics tele's you can literally hear the chunky vibe unamplified, thanks to those boatnecks. A bit too big me for me, but sure full of tone.

[d1dsj]

+1 on the black guard, but it still looks great!