Replacement Necks

nortone81

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San Jose, California
I have an American Fender Deluxe Stratocaster which is a great guitar, but the frets on the neck are getting very worn. I have been looking at replacement necks and am thinking about getting a Warmoth Pro 24 3/4 conversion neck.

Have any of you all ever put a Warmoth Pro 24 3/4 conversion neck on a Fender Strat? How did you like it? Did you find any drawbacks (other than the truss rod adjustment being in the heel) or advantages to the shorter length?

What do you all recommend in regard to a replacement neck for Fender Strat?
Thanks for any feedback.
 
I built a partscaster Tele and used a warmoth neck, though at 25.5 scale. Their necks are very well made, but I do wish they had rolled edges. The 10-16” compound radius is excellent, as is the 59 roundback profile.

At 24.5 it won’t sound as stratty - it’ll definitely be looser and warmer if that’s what you’re after.
 
The one Strat I built, I had a good experience with a Warmoth neck. But I sold that guitar and should I ever want a guitar like that again, I'm pretty sure I'd buy a PRS Silver Sky.
 
Ive had success putting a 25 inch neck on an strat, loved it, 24 and 3/4 will make it a 24 fretter and I like 22 frets...I wound up selling it to a local tech here in NY because the truss rod was at the heel and I couldnt deal with removing the neck for truss eod adjustments ....still sounfed like a strat btw///
 
I'd call Warmoth to get their advice or go to their forum. Their necks are great! I've used and played them many times. I like the 59 round back too in roasted maple. Awesome flame.

Have you thought about just refretting the guitar? That's what I'd do. Unless you are set on a conversion.. I've never tried a conversion but honestly I've never wanted one. I like my strats at 25.5
 
Indeed head to http://unofficialwarmoth.com and ask questions.

I've lost track of how many necks/bodies I got from them over the past 15 years, great all the time.

I've had a few 24-3/4" necks including on Strats, no issues but nothing special that made me want to order more of them.
While they intonate fine they can really stress the range available to adjust saddles. I'll have to see if I still have close up pics of some of them.
If you want one for the feel, honestly stainless steel frets on a 25.5" scale will feel just as easy to bend if not more than nickel frets on a conversion neck, as long as the frets are highly polished (they aren't straight from Warmoth).

The Warmoth modern construction neck's main drawback for me isn't so much the adjustment on the side of the heel (I don't mind at all), it's that they are quite a bit heavier.
As long as you are aware of it you should be fine but plan accordingly if you're going to also be using heavy locking tuners.
Acoustically they sound different than their vintage/modern construction, I wouldn't say worse, just different.

Musikraft is a great alternative with a lot more (too many) neck profiles options, and their up-charge for high grade curly maple necks is a lot more reasonable. I like their necks because their truss rods are dual acting without the added weight of Warmoth Modern necks.

Understand that neither company does any fretwork, just very basic installation and bevel.
Thus if you order a maple neck with finish from Warmoth the finish will still be on the frets.

Ultimately the necks are only as good feeling as the amount of extra work you'll put into them.
If you roll the fingerboard edges, smooth those fret ends, and level + polish frets you'll end up with something that rivals Fender Masterbuilt Custom Shop instruments. If you use it out of the box you'll be a lot closer to a Squier/MIM in terms of feel.
In that context a pro refret, provided you like your neck, could be a wise option too as suggested.
 
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