Finding the right Jag neck? (Spring 2017)

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
Post Reply
User avatar
MrShake
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1201
Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 5:51 am
Location: Boston, MA
Contact:

Finding the right Jag neck? (Spring 2017)

Post by MrShake » Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:47 am

Hey everyone,

I've been posting in other subforms about how I'm getting back on the horse after a few years without music in my life, and I've found myself in a reunited band from the mid-'00s. I've been really nervous to pick up the guitar again, and I really want to do it right. Over the past decade I've nailed down an "ideal" pedalboard and a great amp, and a couple solid guitars.

The one most perfect for what we're doing is a Squire VM Jag that I've spent some time tweaking. I've played the hell out of it, and it's got just the right combo of "twang", "sing", and "thunk" for what we do. It's getting to be the exact guitar I want to play to make our sound.

It was still the best "cheap guitar" I've ever played, but I wanted to spiff it up. New AV trem, some updated electronics, a couple pickup swaps only to return to the stock ones, new pickguard, sticker bling.

My goal has been "AVRI or better" replacement parts. It's almost everything I've wanted out of the Jag since the early-to-mid-'90s, but I just can't get on with the neck. It's a GREAT neck (especially for the price), but between playing on a '69 RI Mustang years ago, and my #1 - a '62 AVRI Jazzmaster -- I've found myself really comfortable with 7.25-radius necks.

Now, I *started* this hunt by using the search function up there (I'm no n00b!), but there's an ocean of info out there on replacement neck options, and there's a lot of stuff on this forum that's been outdated by the sands of time. So I guess I don't know where to go, since this is my first replacement neck. And I figured a post like this might offer a "Spring 2017 Update" on stuff like this? Plus, I think I'd rather get one new than used, and since I'm not sure what y'all might recommend, I don't know what to look for in the OSG marketplace.

I want something pretty much "Jaguar correct", to make this my "don't ever need to buy another" Jaguar. But, like everybody else, I'm on a pretty tight budget. (Yeah, yeah, I know. "Waaah...I want it vintage correct and in custom colors and I want it perfect and I want it for cheeeeeap." I'm rolling my eyes at myself, too. But I also don't have the option of finishing it myself, due to my small downtown apartment, or I might be more inclined to go the DIY route.

Most of the parted Jag necks I've seen on auction sites are Classic Player (with a 9.5 radius) or an occasional AV, which is way out of my price range. So I guess I'm going to have to figure out exactly what I want and where I can get it.

What I want:
- Jag neck
- 7.25 radius
- Finished (gloss)
- Vintage-correct frets would be nice, but I'm not too finicky about reasonable fret sizes.


What I would still need done:
- Install tuners
- Install string tree
- Add decal
- Drill holes for body screws


An Allparts neck seems like the obvious choice in my situation. But the fact that they aren't finished and I don't trust my shaky hand for drilling causes a problem. So I need to find a finished one.

The only ones I've seen online are from a seller from TX who finishes them, has pretty good reviews, and could deliver with tuners and decal (as added purchases), for $254. That would only leave me to drill the body-joint screws. Which makes me VERY nervous. Frankly, it might be a little beyond my skill set at the moment. (Give me circuits and PCB's!) I don't want to fuck up the joint holes and have found myself holding a wasted $250 with a big crack in it, or too deep a drill hole, you know? So while that would be a last-ditch money-saving move, I could do it. I'd just rather have someone else do it, if I could.

Anyway, I guess what I need to know is... (and I'm not soliciting for FS/FT stuff, just information. Mods, please let me know if anything needs to be edited)

1) Does that online vendor pricing sound like a reasonable estimate? I can't find the neck I want, so I have no basis for what it might cost these days. I mean, it seems reasonable, but I wouldn't know. I'm taking the quality of the work on the basis of very positive flea-bay feedback, but don't really know how good or bad it is. What's the ballpark for a finished Jag neck these days?

2) Can anyone tip me off to a less expensive place I might be able to get something similar?

3) I'm sure there's a lot of great builders/finishers here on the forum, but I'm not plugged in to the latest info -- it's been a few years away and I'm barely catching up. Are there any forum members out there known for solid work who could come in at a cost like this? I'd rather buy from someone in the community than an unknown quantity online. Let me know if there's anyone I should PM.

4) If there were someone who could do all that other stuff, what kind of work/cost would I be looking at to add a surf green headstock to the total? Now that the fervor over the VM series seems to have died down, is matching headstocks something that people are doing on the reg rather than the occasional custom treat? I just don't want to get ripped off and hand over my money like a dope if there's a great OSG member worth reaching out to.


Look, I realize some of these questions may have been asked previously -- I figure this is the "Mods and Projects" version of "Billy Corgan Big Muff" or "something's wrong with my stock Jag bridge". But I was having a little trouble rounding up the latest developments, so I was hoping this might help other novice modders in my situation these days. It's not my area of expertise, and I'm reaching out to ask those of you who know better!

OSG's never steered me wrong before, so I'm in your offset-playing hands!

User avatar
MrFingers
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1560
Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:50 am
Location: Puss Creek - Brussels - Belgium

Re: Finding the right Jag neck? (Spring 2017)

Post by MrFingers » Sun Mar 26, 2017 11:40 am

With a pre-drilled neck, you have the chance that the holes don't align properly, and your neck goes on skewed, meaning you have to dowel the holes and redrill again at the right location, in a not-homogeneous material. As for finishing: nothing difficult about it to be honest: if you're using a spraycan, a shaky hand is a good thing ;D

Nothing wrong with the allparts neck: played a Japanese one that had that neck as a replacement, and it felt very solid to me, with a very pleasant feel to it (mind you, I have HUGE hands)

254 for a neck incl finish, tuners & decal seems cheap to me.

As for mounting the neck: use a drill with a drillstop (a piece of tape wrapped around the drill at the right height, so your drill won't go any further in the wood than the tape dictates.

User avatar
brucer
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 344
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:18 pm
Location: Just below the middle of BC, Canada

Re: Finding the right Jag neck? (Spring 2017)

Post by brucer » Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:23 pm

I'd suggest taking the money you're planning to spend on the new neck + neck finish and just get the existing neck refreted with vintage wire and recontoured to a 7.25" diameter fretboard. Shop around though to make sure you've got the right luthier doing it. I did that with Squier Jazzmaster neck I picked up from Stratosphere for an MJT body (see here: http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... 6&t=100276). Great result for me anyway.
Blank.

Post Reply