Quote Originally Posted by Dedman View Post
OK, some unforeseen and some unfortunate and fortunate things happened today.
On looking at that head stock again I asked what the hell they put in my coffee that day. So I decided to use the neck off the community prototype strat instead. ( I was planning on giving the strat to a mate for his first guitar after switching out the pick ups and he said he would have preferred a rosewood neck anyway). So I unbolted the Strat neck and laid it on the bench next to the kit neck.....wtf? its an inch longer. Yup the JM actually had the shorter scale neck. Hmmm me thinks and quickly dummies the guitar up and measures bridge position, perfect with the strat neck not so good with the supplied shorter neck. At this point I also noticed that you could drive a truck under the strings no matter which neck was in place. Because they use a Gibson style bridge it sits a lot higher but there is no change in break angle (just like no change in position with the shorter neck). I delaminated some ply and used one layer for a about a 3mm shim and glued it into the neck pocket which lifted the neck and gave a much better string clearance. I also made a handy testing tool for Gibson type bridges and tail pieces, I took a set of spare bushings and filed all the striations/grooves off the sides so they slip into the holes but don't grip so you can pull them out easy with pliers.
That was today's adventures, remember kids always bring a towel!
Hi Dedman, thanks for the timely advice, i was wondering what to use as a shim for the neck that Adam sent me to replace the factory warped one and now know to use delaminated ply. Many thanks. While im at it what timber would you use to fill a guitar cavity with? Its basswood. Cheers again, youve made my day.