I'm thinking of putting together a Strat. Sometimes bodies and necks come up for sale on Ebay separately. What are the problems of buying them and putting them together? Would they fit together properly? What about a Fender with a Squier, or an American with a Japanese? Thanks.
Usually the neck and bodies will go together. Where yo run into problems is with hardware. Bushing size, which bridge, etc...
What is it you are trying to accomplish by building one from parts? Generally, it costs more than buying a complete guitar and the results are not guaranteed to produce a decent guitar.
And now, thanks to the modding and parts-o-caster craze, we are up to our necks is some really ugly guitars lately. Guys build some really fugly stuff and then post it on the 'net for all to see. I don't get it.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
I don't know what Tony's reasons may be, but I like to assemble guitars for these reasons:
1) I can get a combination of features that's not available off the shelf.
2) It's fun and satisfying to build and then play an instrument you "built".
s'all goof.
I build my dream guitar, an early 60ies Strat in Daphne Blue, a lott of fun doing so with great results. I used a Highway 1 body and a late 80ies neck from a standard Japanese (great necks btw. and not so expensive) It is a perfect fitt!! and sounds and plays very good!
sometimes... you will have micro adjustment issues with the neck/body - the strings can fall off the high side or if a real funky body, the neck angle can be bad... if the neck pocket is a real tight fit, you may to have sand before shimming... other than that it's pretty easy...
for me, the beauty of a parts caster is i am less tempted to sell a good one since their resale value is nill... :)
ps - my # 1 Strat & Tele are both parts casters!
Dan Erlwine's book, "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" covers all this stuff. A worthwhile investment. Available at Amazon and other on-line outlets.
Every production Strat and Tele is a parts caster. They're assembled from parts at factory. With a little practice you can do a fine job too.
Ugly guitars have character.
Good luck.
TT
On SmartPhones:
"Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But That only permitted other men with machines to enslave them." Frank Herbert.
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