Musikraft/Warmoth Replacement Necks

piofusco

Inspired
Looking to get a replacement neck from either Musikraft/Warmoth for my 1989 Fender Stratocaster Plus. Some things I would enjoy having on a guitar neck:

  1. Roasted/Caramelized wood - I know Warmoth does not offer this feature, while Musikraft does for $100. I haven't seen as many Musikraft parts as I would like - buying a neck without seeing/playing it makes me a bit nervous. Can anyone on the forum vouch for them, specifically, a roasted neck?
  2. 1 Piece Maple - I am curious to see a 2 piece maple neck though. Doesn't multiple pieces of wood complicate things? I'd love to understand why you would want a neck in multiple pieces.
  3. Compound radius (12"-16" or 10"-16") - What kinds of guitars have a 12-16 vs. a 10-16 radius on them? My strat has a 9.5", but I've played classical for years and find it more comfortable.
  4. Stainless Steel Jumbo Frets - because they won't wear down (as fast).
  5. Sperzel Tuners - because I like locking and quick string changes.
  6. Wilkinson Roller NOS or Bone Nut - because I like locking and tradition, but hate Floyd Rose.
  7. 24 frets - because rock. Will I have any issues with the location of my neck pickup?
  8. Dual Trust Rod - because stability. And Alabama humidity.

If you have any experience with these qualities in a neck build and have advice/criticisms, please share below.
 
I have three Warmoth necks and really like them. (Had another but sold the guitar.) Don't know much about Musikraft but have heard they make some good stuff too. Another popular one is USA Custom Guitars, but again, never tried them.

Of my Warmoth, one is their standard thin from unfinished Goncalo Alves, and two have the '59 Round Back, one also Goncalo and one maple that I finished with tung oil. (I went with slightly larger because I've been playing classical and I'm starting to like a bigger neck. If you really want something similar to classical they have an even bigger neck profile, but '59 Round back is just great for me.)

I can't remember if it's a 10-16 or 12-16, but it's their standard compound radius. I really like the way it feels. It's fairly subtle but I like it. I'd say if you are a classical player as well you'd probably be fine with the radius, but you can get one with a straight radius as well. Not sure of any specific stock models with compound radius, but I believe it's a popular option in custom builds.

I believe I saw something in one of my recent Warmoth emails saying that they are now offering roasted maple necks. Didn't look at it closely enough to know what the price is though.

Don't know about the multiple pieces of wood vs one piece, so I won't comment on that part.

I've got stainless frets, although not the biggest jumbo... I think one step down from that. Love 'em and my guitar guys said he's never replaced stainless frets because they do last a long, long time. (I just had jumbo stainless put on an old Ibanez V and like the way the feel a lot.)

Dual truss rod. I've read on the gear page that some people prefer their vintage truss rods over the more modern for sound, but I went with the most stable one (Warmoth Pro, I think is what it's called). Not sure what the perceived difference in sound really is, but all of the guitars I have sound and play great to me.

As for 24 frets... I'd try to measure it to see. The neck is basically the same and the fingerboard just extends over the body of the guitar. I have a friend who ordered one of their 24 fret necks for another guitar and it wouldn't fit the neck pocket, so he ended up having a local luthier cut off the additional frets to put on one of his Strats, so I have a hunch it might be in the way of neck pickup. It may have been that he just didn't want 24 frets on his Strat. (This same friend ended up getting several Warmoth necks for various guitars after playing my first Warmoth build because he liked the neck so much.)

Good luck!
 
1 Piece Maple - I am curious to see a 2 piece maple neck though. Doesn't multiple pieces of wood complicate things? I'd love to understand why you would want a neck in multiple pieces.
Multi-piece construction help prevent warping. But then, so does roasting. So does a poly finish, for that matter. Stable necks have been made each way. Sometimes it just comes down to the look you prefer.


Compound radius (12"-16" or 10"-16") - What kinds of guitars have a 12-16 vs. a 10-16 radius on them? My strat has a 9.5", but I've played classical for years and find it more comfortable.
Play some guitars to make sure you know what kind of radius you're comfortable with. If you're used to classical, then you're used to no radius at all. That's pretty rare on an electric neck, and I don't think you'd like it—especially on the upper frets.


Stainless Steel Jumbo Frets - because they won't wear down (as fast).
I love stainless frets.


24 frets - because rock. Will I have any issues with the location of my neck pickup?
Sorry, brother, you don't get a choice here, unless you're willing to do some major guitar surgery. There's only one place your 22nd fret can be on a Strat, and that's very near the end of the neck pocket. If you cram 24 frets onto that neck, you shift all your frets into the wrong positions, and intonation will be so far off that the guitar will be unplayable.
 
I had one on order from Warmoth a couple years ago for a catstrat project and all I can say is that I love it. I was going for roasted maple but they didn't have it on offer when I ordered it so I went for clear satin nitro finish (closest to no finish on the neck).

But you have to consider a couple of things:

24 frets is not an option unless you want to alter the look of the instrument. It would require you moving the neck pickup closer to the center pickup (special pickguard, wood work on the body...).

In my experience with Warmoth (and I guess it's also valid for Musikraft), you have to do the final tuning of the neck when you install it on your guitar. This doesn't only involve truss rod adjustment work. You will eventually have to remove the neck finishing from the frets (in my case the finishing was satin nitro), minor recrown and levelling and possible final retouching of the nut (to fit your string gauge in case it's anything bigger that 10-46). IF you opt for SS frets (as I did) the job is not as easy as on normal frets. Unless you are familiar with SS fretwork I would recommend to have a luthier do the final adjustment.

Just my 2c.
 
Just received a roasted maple Warmoth neck with Stainless Steel frets for a tele I'm building. Ordered the standard thin and it feels just like my Music Man Silouette Special necks. - Sweet!.
 
I have 4 necks from Musikraft:

1) BE Maple, 10"-16" compound radius, 22 frets for my EVH Frankenstein knock off
2) BE Maple, Charvel spec necks, 12"-16" radius, 24 frets, reverse head stock for my Phil Collen PC1 knock off.
3) BE Mable, Ebony fret board, Charvel spec necks, 12"-16" radius, 24 frets, reverse head stock for my Nuno N4 knock off.
4) Quartersawn Maple with Rosewood fret board, Thin C profile 12" radius, 22 Jumbo 6100 Nickel Silver frets for my SRV knock off.

All necks are unfinished.

I love all those necks and they have proven to be very stable to date. No issues encountered dealing with Musikcraft.

Good luck and I agree with the others above, I would stay away from the 24 frets...it won't be a Strat anymore if you do this.
 
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Alabama humidity? Don't go one piece! A laminated fretboard (especially of different density and grain, but any laminated board) will most definitely make your neck more stable, and is MUCH nicer to play than a poly-sealed neck.

Oh, and I just bought a Warmoth. Haven't finished the build yet, but the neck is VERY well crafted.
 
I haven't purchased any Warmoth yet, so I can't comment on those....but I have had 2 Musikraft necks recently.
My experience with Musikraft was 'eh'.

I ordered the neck though Mark/Matt Jenny (MJT Guitars), because I wanted it relic'd by them.
I filled out the order form, etc. and ordered the neck.

It was sent to MJT and they relic'd it to my specs. It looked amazing. Those guys do just outstanding work.
BUT....when I got the neck, I noticed it was VERY twisted.
I sent it back and Musikraft said they would 'fix' it.
So they 'fixed' it and sent it back to me.....it was still twisted.
I'm guessing they heated it and tried to bend it back into shape.

I said - no way, I'm not paying this much for a neck that is twisted.

So Musikraft cut me a new neck, and MJT relic'd it (for free).....and this one is straight and awesome.

So I have mixed opinion....I was pissed they sent me a twisted neck (twice). These guys are pros....they knew it was a crap neck.
But they did do the right thing and made me a great neck with no extra cost to me.
The process took a lot longer than expected....but I now have one of the best Tele's I've ever played.

**oh, one other note....I ordered it with Stainless Frets, but they did it with Nickel. In retrospect, I am happier that I have Nickel....but it wasn't what i ordered.
 
I own 5 Warmoth necks and 3 guitars that I built and I love them all. My favorite one is the one with quarter sawn maple neck ok both neck and fretboard with 6110 Dunlop Stainless Steel frets, wizard thin, 1 & 5/8, compound radius.scalloped and it plays and feel great. I also have rosewood necks with the same specs without scallop on my 57 Reissue Strat. The original neck was horrible and very hard to play!


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Alabama humidity? Don't go one piece! A laminated fretboard (especially of different density and grain, but any laminated board) will most definitely make your neck more stable, and is MUCH nicer to play than a poly-sealed neck.

Multi-piece construction help prevent warping. But then, so does roasting. So does a poly finish, for that matter. Stable necks have been made each way. Sometimes it just comes down to the look you prefer.

Sorry, brother, you don't get a choice here, unless you're willing to do some major guitar surgery. There's only one place your 22nd fret can be on a Strat, and that's very near the end of the neck pocket. If you cram 24 frets onto that neck, you shift all your frets into the wrong positions, and intonation will be so far off that the guitar will be unplayable.

Today I learned something. I had no idea 24 frets wasn't an option - glad I asked before I made the purchase. These are exactly the kinds of things I need to hear. Perhaps, I'll do a laminated fretboard AND dual trust-rods AND roasted. Christmas is around the corner.

Thanks everyone!
 
24 can be possible but you have to rout the body or change the scale length.(example Jackson charvels 22 fret 25.5 scale Charvel fusion 24 fret 24.75 scale)
 
24 can be possible but you have to rout the body or change the scale length.(example Jackson charvels 22 fret 25.5 scale Charvel fusion 24 fret 24.75 scale)
That's the short answer. :) The long answer: if you rout the body for 24 frets, you'll end up pushing the end of the neck pocket into the middle of the cavity for the neck pickup, which means routing the for new pickup locations (there goes most of your center wood) and—the worst part—building a new neck pocket to end in the center of the old neck pickup cavity. Way yucky job. I've never seen anyone attempt it. If you opt for a different scale length that allows you to have 24 frets using the original neck pocket, you'll wind up with a scale length of somewhere around 30 inches. Not fun to play. :(
 
24 can be possible but you have to rout the body or change the scale length.(example Jackson charvels 22 fret 25.5 scale Charvel fusion 24 fret 24.75 scale)


That's the short answer. :) The long answer: if you rout the body for 24 frets, you'll end up pushing the end of the neck pocket into the middle of the cavity for the neck pickup, which means routing the for new pickup locations (there goes most of your center wood) and—the worst part—building a new neck pocket to end in the center of the old neck pickup cavity. Way yucky job. I've never seen anyone attempt it. If you opt for a different scale length that allows you to have 24 frets using the original neck pocket, you'll wind up with a scale length of somewhere around 30 inches. Not fun to play. :(

I figured it required body work - no way am I gonna do that to this guitar. I was trying to hit two birds with one stone. I wanted to use this neck on my strat until I had the body built for my next guitar.

Ipso facto - I don't want to do any of that hassle.
 
Good choice, I think. I've had guitars with 24 frets and, while I'd like to have another, I find that I rarely miss those last two frets. May your next guitar turn out to be a 24-fret wonder. :)
 
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