|
|
Post by stratznhatz on Jan 12, 2011 14:41:01 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by stratznhatz on Jan 18, 2011 15:12:18 GMT -5
Wow, neck made $99 and the body sold for $50. A bargain for somebody IMHO!  |
|
|
|
Post by heem6 on Jan 18, 2011 23:19:31 GMT -5
I wonder if our forum brother that was looking for a neck got that?
|
|
|
|
Post by tommyh on Jan 19, 2011 18:29:36 GMT -5
stratznhatz & heem6 - Thanks for flagging these - I was watching but it was not me this time - however, I agree, great price - now a maple neck in the UK for the same price....bingo! Here's hoping, because after a few weeks research, I am coming to the conclusion that there are no other 24 fret, 25" scale, 79mm wide necks. Cheers, T.
|
|
|
|
Post by tommyh on Jan 19, 2011 18:52:59 GMT -5
....actually 59mm wide (79mm would be a real plank!). T.
|
|
|
|
Post by heem6 on Jan 20, 2011 0:03:46 GMT -5
The only other option is get another neck 59mm wide and strip the frets out, sand down to the level of the fretboard, glue on a new 25" fretboard (1/2" closer to the bridge). Install new frets and a locking nut, and you're good to go! Shouldn't take you more than an afternoon, tops! ;D ;D ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by stratznhatz on Jan 21, 2011 12:45:30 GMT -5
however, I agree, great price - now a maple neck in the UK for the same price....bingo! Yes, I know what you mean Tommy, I messaged the guy when he was selling the parts together (he split and relisted these when they didn't sell) and to post to uk was £50. That plus any customs charges/hassles etc just puts you off- I've been stung before by customs! |
|
|
|
Post by tommyh on Jan 26, 2011 18:57:53 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by tommyh on Feb 1, 2011 18:22:27 GMT -5
Folks,
Hi, I thought I would carry on with this thread rather than the other one I started on the HM Strat board as a) it is 'live' and b) I get the 'attachment' option on this one but not on the other (!?) - but it's no longer really 'Deals on the net' so if an administrator wants to move it - fine.
So, on the neck issue, I was surfing around looking for ideas. Somehow I got from Fender HM Strats to Fender Showmasters (a 'cousin' of the HM Strat) to Squier Showmasters - a cousin once removed - but with a strong genetic resemblance.
Now there are numerous different Squier Showmasters but there is a variety with a 24 fret neck and a floyd-rose-like generic locking trem. Some even have a cut-away heel and asymetric neck bolts...hmmm....a bit of a long shot but.....
I found a likely suspect on Ebay and as Christmas drew to a close I put in a (successful) bid. When it arrived it actually wan't at all bad. Crafted in Indonesia, a nice metalic black, bit heavy for a strat, smooth matt neck, slightly chunky 'C' profile, rosewood board (bit dry), reverse headstock (cool? but annoying). Rather weak pickups (SC ~3.6 Kohms, HB ~7.6 Kohms), quite good acoustic resonance, pretty nice bright sound amplified. In fact, generally sufficiently nice to wait a few week before dismantling it!
The neck is 25.5" scale, 56mm wide (unfortunately this one didn't have a cut-away heel and had a 4 square neckplate) so I loosened off the strings (and then tightened up the nut again) and lifted the neck, strings & bridge off all in one go (I'm lazy).
Actually the body profle is almost identical to the HM Strat, just a little longer. And the neck.....it fits!! There was a slight gap along the lower part of the pocket but the (3) screws lined up OK (maybe 0.5mm out so they are a tiny bit tight) but screw it down tightly and it's solid enough.
The bridge fits perfectly - the floyd-rose-like has a post spacing of 73mm but one side has an flat 'blade' pivot and so it doesn't have to be that accurate. The posts, however, do not fit as the threat is very different but my HM body still has the Kahler posts so I used those (not really suitable as they are not 'cupped') but put the trem springs in the back, adjust the height, string it up and...it works! What's interesting is that measuring from 12th fret to bridge the saddles were out but there looks like enough adjustment in the floyd-rose-like to compensate for this (although I didn't actually do this or check intonation).
So with neck & bridge in place, and a load of crocodile clips in the back (yeah, some of the wiring is missing too), I was able to actually play it!! And it sounded great!! Quite bright (that may be the neck + bridge combination) SCs were mellow but not too thin, the Super 3 sounded really great in both HB & SC mode.
Given the potential instability of the neck + bridge + wiring I wasn't going to keep it like this so I have now restored the Squire Showmaster to it's 'whole' state.
So the purpose of this - the HM Strat body works and is potentially a great guitar, so I really do now want an authentic maple neck & spyder - worth waiting a while for. But if anyone else is faced with the same problem and is desperate, a Squire Showmaster is a compatible donor if you get the right match with no real carpentry required.
BTW, I took a picture....(but after all that I think it's too big to post $*&%!).
Cheers, T.
|
|
|
|
Post by tommyh on Feb 1, 2011 18:26:33 GMT -5
Ha - cropped the photo to reduce size. T. Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by stratznhatz on Feb 2, 2011 14:13:44 GMT -5
That's really cool Tommy, good to know there's an alternative- even if only as a stop gap til an HM neck eventually turns up at a price that doesn't involve having to sell your car to fund!  Thanks for sharing that with us all.  |
|
