Building a Fender Jaguar Neck

[Claude Diatomae]

i'm looking to have a replacement neck made for a Fender Jaguar. In order to get exactly what I want I'm looking to have the neck partially made and then assemble and finish the neck myself. The neck is to have white binding and block inlays.

I'm thinking of getting the neck shaped without the fingerboard attached then I will put on the fingerboard and do the inlays and binding. Question is, this work is probably normally done in a different order? Like the fingerboard and binding is applied to the neck block before the neck is actually shaped? So if I had the neck already shaped and then apply the fingerboard and binding after I suppose there are some difficulties to consider?

I realize the best thing to do is have the whole thing done at one shop, but I think this may not yield exactly what I want, unless I find a builder I can really talk to directly to make sure all the details are exactly as I want.

Any advice?

[Henrique Schneiter]

"Like the fingerboard and binding is applied to the neck block before the neck is actually shaped?"

Usually yes. There are many ways to skin the cat, though.

"So if I had the neck already shaped and then apply the fingerboard and binding after I suppose there are some difficulties to consider?"

Yes.

"Any advice?"

You seem to want something that is not stock available. Can you build the neck? Because if you can, my advice would be to do it all by yourself. If you have the skills, that's the best way to get exactly what you want. If you can't, my advice is learn it and do it, because that's the best way to get what you want.

[Claude Diatomae]

Thanks Henrique for your reply. Yes ideally I would build it myself, but I'm not setup to do the work and my experience is lacking so if I could have the bulk of the heavy lifting done that would certainly be good. The rest of the work (inlays, binding, finishing) is high precision but I'm actually more confident that I could tackle it. There's a learning curve involved for sure.

Finding a builder that can take precise requests (like choosing the wood pieces before hand, etc) would work too I think.

[Henrique Schneiter]

Neck building scared me for years. Today I wouldn't let anyone do it for me because it's my favorite building step. You can really tweak playability, and perhaps tone, and it's funny. Surely you can get someone to do the gross work for you, but you'll miss it.

[Art Davila]

I have not yet tackled building a neck yet myself but I have removed a damaged fret board an installed a new fret board on the neck.

So yes you definitely can have the neck built and apply a fret board.

Are you doing any particular type of neck shape?
Or is the neck a standard neck and the only thing you desire is to personalize the fret board?

On the neck I did, it was a used ibanez neck which was very cheap, and I bought it only as a learning tool to try doing the fret board. I did not get the quality I was after and re did it 3 times just because I wanted the practice.
If I ruined it there was no loss, but the experience, was very good.
I will try to do a better fret job next time and also try scalloping the fret board as that is some thing I have been asked to do in the past, and I hate to turn down a project, but I never do something I don't know how to do with a customers money and charish instrument.

[Chris Richards]

I think, the order you propose for building the neck would add a lot of difficulty, having a shaped/profiled neck and then fitting the fretboard would add so many complications...

If you could get someone to build a neck install the truss rod etc but leave it square it would make the job ALOT easier for you. The last job that I do on a neck is profiling the back, it's so much easier fitting a fretboard, inlaying, fretting etc with a square neck blank as it's easier to clamp, and is stable when on the bench.

[Claude Diatomae]

Are you doing any particular type of neck shape?

No just a standard C shape neck.

[Claude Diatomae]

I think, the order you propose for building the neck would add a lot of difficulty, having a shaped/profiled neck and then fitting the fretboard would add so many complications...

If you could get someone to build a neck install the truss rod etc but leave it square it would make the job ALOT easier for you. The last job that I do on a neck is profiling the back, it's so much easier fitting a fretboard, inlaying, fretting etc with a square neck blank as it's easier to clamp, and is stable when on the bench.

Indeed, that's what I figured.

[Chris Richards]

Here's a link to my web page, it's a kind of a picture book story of building a vintage neck.... www.3rguitars.co.uk ...and click on the vintage neck build menu option, it may give you some ideas for having a go yourself.

[Claude Diatomae]

Here's a link to my web page, it's a kind of a picture book story of building a vintage neck.... http://www.3rguitars.co.uk ...and click on the vintage neck build menu option, it may give you some ideas for having a go yourself.

Nice neck build reference. Thanks for the link.

[Paul Rhoney]

I would say either build it all yourself, or just have someone else build the whole thing for you. Not to say that what you're proposing isn't possible, but if you're asking a luthier to make you a separate neck and fretboard, each only partially finished, you might be making the job more difficult for that luthier. It might not be their preferred method of building, and I think you'll have a lot harder time finding someone not just willing to do it, but who is also already doing it in that order.

I've made more than a few Jaguar necks, and I know that if someone came to me asking for only partly-finished neck parts, I would say no.

[Art Davila]

just buy a neck off of ebay use an iron and remove the fret board and then make the fretboard and not give up on what you want. Heck i got a nice tele neck made of walnut really cheap last year.

[Mark Wybierala]

While I was buying a new home and my tools were all in big boxes, I ordered a few neck from Warmoth to create a couple of instruments that couldn't wait. I also used Warmoth years ago with great success. They will create anything you want and to any degree of completion. You do need to be very specific and I think you'd need to specify your request in print rather than verbally. Their product is of the best quality -- I personally don't think anyone does consistently better. The last 2 necks I ordered were baritone conversion length without frets, slots, position markers or tuner holes. I made one a fretless and slotted and fretted the other. Both ended up with a custom 31" bass scale and I narrowed the width at the nut by about 3/8" and reprofiled the back. I knew I was cheating but you do what you gotta do. There is no warranty when you do this kind of stuff but that goes without saying. I can not praise Warmoth enough if you want to fast track a guitar neck.