Get a Cheap Guitar Neck and Make it Amazing

[@normandb.1704]

Thanks for the video. Being that I did not see that trick anywhere, I would like to share a time saver tip that I discovered working on cheap Chinese necks. Before sanding down all the frets, mark your high spots and use a hammer with a plastic head and just re-seat the high frets. Saves me probably 80 percent of the leveling and crowning steps.

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks, Normand, 🙏 great tip. This will work better with a neck that just had the fret hammered in, with no glue. Should work even better if you have a fret press 🙂

[@stringedaz]

Excellent vid. I recently started buying cheap necks for my partscasters and leveling, crowning, and dressing the frets with great results. Excellent way to save big money

[@generalawareness101]

When I had to do my guitar the rocking came after I marked all the frets and levelled them to the point all the marks were gone. Then I went in with the rocker to tweak. I still had about 3 or four spots I had to rework. Saves a lot of time, and effort. The worst thing I had to do is recrown. I hated that part of the process to the point I really don't wish to do it again. I got it though and all buzzing is gone.

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks for the comment.🙏 I see your point now and I tend to agree. I guess I was trying to really minimize the amount of leveling I would have to do, but in retrospect, I think both methods would get you to the same place, and yours would get there with less effort, 👍 and surely less rocking. I'll do that next time

[@believitornot9775]

Thanks for your indicative instructions.

[@lumberlikwidator8863]

Thank you for your money saving tips. This is a great method.

[@barbarianblood2316]

This was thorough and excellent. Thanks man!

[@jamesgoulet2528]

Excellent tips !

[@kruelt1]

Very informative 👏 I am about to start a 1st time build and your videos have been great. Thank you 😊

[@OtRatsaphong]

Great lesson. I need to fix up the neck of my guitar and this video has given me what I need. Thank you 🙏👍

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks for the kind comment. Glad I could help 😊

[@martinhuertas545]

keep 'em coming man! thanks a lot!!!

[@idokimalov]

Very helpful, Thank you Yoav.

[@matthewward5813]

Very nice and informative video I enjoyed it...subbed, and I cannot believe you don’t have more subscribers than you do!

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks, 🙏, working on it...

[@Zordid0]

Amazing video. I am about to buy a Yinfente neck foe a baritone build.

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks.🙏

[@skutterbuster666]

I bought a baritone neck from china, it was unfinished ie frets needs tidying up and had o finish oil applied.....but it was very well made and has some lovely grain from the rosewood. Very happy for £60

[@yoavbinyamini]

Cheers, Thanks for the comment.🙏

[@jamesrocks300mf]

iron maiden rocks.....especially the killer's album. I will forever watch your channel. not because your wearing a maiden shirt, but because you know your shit better and can teach better then most of the best,

[@theelectricluthier1928]

Thanks for the kind words 🙏. Appreciate it.

[@Vern859]

I bought a cheap Chinese neck off of ebay for 30 bucks. I did all that you said and it came out nice. Only problem is the neck wood itself is very flexable like rubber almost. Just playing the guitar and the weight of my hands freting notes causes it to go out of tune.. 👍

[@guitarshik]

зачётная футболочка Killers

[@adamkempa5157]

Good job Explaining - much appreciated - really

[@theelectricluthier1928]

Thanks @Adam Kempa' Much appreciated 🙏

[@mikeydep89]

nice informative vid, thank you

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks,🙏

[@Furiora]

This, right here, is the difference between budget and expensive. Cost is kept down by automation and bulk, but neither can be applied to fretwork; a good fret job requires time and attention, which eats into profit margins. This is why China gets a bad rep; it's not that their workers are unskilled, it's they're not allowed the time needed to do a good job.

[@theelectricluthier1928]

Thanks for the comment, Couldn't agree more 🙂

[@briw4647]

I make my own bodies but I hate building necks. I buy mine from China now. I can't believe how good quality they are. Well worth it

[@theelectricluthier1928]

Yes they are. Sometimes it feels like cheating. 😉They often need very minimal leveling and crowning, but would still need that final touch to make them smooth and shiny.

[@briw4647]

@@theelectricluthier1928 its definitely cheating but I don't mind. You are correct about the minimal work, sometimes just a fret polish after a tweek of the truss rod. I like to veneer the headstock, usually with a piece of quilted or sometimes flamed maple.

[@theelectricluthier1928]

@@briw4647 Of course, I meant 'cheating', in regards to the price. Getting a pre-fretted neck and making it your own, is fine in my book. It's even better if you customize it with a veneer or by changing the shape.

[@rokinrandy]

I usually pull the frets out of them and put better ones that's not cut too short or have been over filed . Got a few jersey stars where the frets were aweful but for 35 bucks so.

[@theelectricluthier1928]

@@rokinrandy I am guessing you ran into some pretty bad examples of fret jobs. But re-fretting one of those, kind of defeats the purpose of buying a pre-fretted neck, doesn't it? 🙂

[@Samuli501]

Good channel mate!

[@capnjames]

thank you for this excellent video! any tips on rounding out a tele neck heel to fit a strat neck pocket? what tools and set up would you use? would it be smarter to modify the neck pocket instead, if so how and with what tools?

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks 🙏. Since the Strat has a rounded end for the heel and the Tele heel is straight with sharper rounded corners you will have to adjust, one of them. The more common fix would be to create a negative template from the neck and route the Strat body. The middle of the flat heel must touch the rounded pocket's center. You will also need to adjust the scratch plate. You will need a router with a template coping bit and maybe some small chisels for cleanup. Another option is to file the heel of the Tele neck and leave the fretboard with a bit of overhang. I think this is actually easier as the filed area and the connection will not be visible. All you need for this are some files and sandpaper. Take into account that if you modify the body, it will not fit the original Strat neck if you want to switch back. The same goes for the neck' if you try and put it back on a Tele.

[@victortrujillo4753]

thank you very much, very helpfull

[@theelectricluthier1928]

Thanks for the comment Victor, 🙏, Appreciate it.

[@victortrujillo4753]

@@theelectricluthier1928 also, are you planing on building a bass any time soon?

[@theelectricluthier1928]

@@victortrujillo4753 Can't say how soon, but there are plans..

[@victortrujillo4753]

@@theelectricluthier1928 awesome

[@glp046]

What has been your experience with the wood quality from China? For the neck as well as the body

[@theelectricluthier1928]

I have bought a couple of pre-fretted necks in the past, Maple, and they were surprisingly good. Both the fretwork (which I then improved) and the wood itself. I have heard some people who were not so happy, so there is a bit of gamble there...

[@BurninSven1]

A cheap neck probably come with lowquality frets on it so it gives you plenty of oportunitys for learning fretwork lol.

[@yoavbinyamini]

🤣🤣 That's the spirit..

[@rotem2898]

היי בזכותך בידיוק סיימתי את העבודה על הצוואר עשיתי פוליש והכל אבל כשאני עושה בנדים וויבראטו אני מרגיש חספוס מה אפשר לעשות כדי להוריד את זה? אולי זה טבעי וצריך פשוט לנגן עוד טיפה?

[@urkosh]

All is cool, several new tips. Just one request, you are shouting, get a better mikes or smth. Sorry, don't mean to offend. Your content is of good quality. Thank you.

[@WesAikin]

In the back grouny your tools are on boards ? how did you make this ?

[@theelectricluthier1928]

I Think yuou are refering to the ' French Cleats'. it's a mounting system you can build yourself.

[@Jenisonc]

Subbed. Awesome stuff. Any thoughts on using an electric guitar neck to make an acoustic guitar?

[@theelectricluthier1928]

Thanks 🙏. There shouldn't really be a problem with an electric guitar neck on an acoustic guitar if you are building it yourself and making it fit. The main differences are the width of the neck and the fretboard radius, which tends to be on the flatter side. Other than that it is really a matter of personal preference and comfort. Some people do apply more pressure when playing acoustic and that my mute other strings.

[@Jenisonc]

@@theelectricluthier1928 Great. Thanks for the response. I have built before but never tried this combo I wanted to tinker a new project and thought I'd ask a pro first. Much appreciated!

[@joshuamartell9747]

So I've gotten that down good, but now what I'm struggling with is getting the neck itself to a smooth, useable finish.

[@theelectricluthier1928]

There are a few ways to approach this. Personally' I like to rout the sides with 1" round-over bit. This gets me 90% a way there. and is already fairly smooth and consistent. Otherwise, planes, shavers and scrapers, will give cleaner results, after or instead of rasps and files. You can see it in both my Dragon Tele build and the 2020 GGBO. And like everything else, 'practice makes perfect'. Cheers

[@joshuamartell9747]

@@theelectricluthier1928 Thanks! I'll be sure to try that out

[@BurninSven1]

I use superglue for finnish on my necks it works really good

[@jdl2180]

Doesn't the neck have to be made from a quarter-sawn piece of wood?

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks for the comment.🙏 Quarter-sawn would be ideal as it will tend to deform less than any other. Many production guitars are not made from actual quarter-sawn wood but are well dried and stable.

[@lines374]

Does that also work for compound radius freds?

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks for the question,🙏. The short answer is yes, although you will need to be more careful to accommodate for the diferences. You can see how iI did it in more detail in my 'Orengina' build - kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2KZgZ-GbrKdpsk just skip the fretting itself (around the 9:00 minute mark)

[@r.llynch4124]

Cool information but I try not to feed the Chinese my money. I buy Warmoth necks then have them PLEKed locally. It's worth the extra cost and customers will gladly pay the extra for perfect intonation/playability. Not the cheapest way to do it but worth every penny imo.

[@yoavbinyamini]

Thanks for the comment, @R.L Lynch. You make a valid point and I can't argue with the notion of buying locally made products. The point here, however, is to DIY, and on the cheap, that's part of the fun of building your own guitar.

[@frederickcee2901]

Serious question ? After sanding a china crafted neck I was left w something best described as scales rather that saw dust. What is that material ? Everyone pretends that what I've described isn't important or maybe something that no one is supposed to to discuss. Really ?

[@theelectricluthier1928]

I am not sure what you are implying. All the necks I have seen from China are made of wood. There may be some lower quality woods, although I have a coouple of very nice maple necks from China. Wood is not that expensive when buying in bulk, and I havn't seen cheap substitutes, but I would have no problem exposing or showing anything fishy. I did get a plastic fretboard (plastic frets included) on a Ukulele kit, But it was a 16$ kit, so no real surprise there.

[@rotem2898]

ידעתי ששמעתי מבטא ישראלי שם ואז אמרת שקוראים לך יואב חחחחחח ימלך תודה על הסרטון עזר לי

[@theelectricluthier1928]

בכייף, תודה 🙏

[@onlyusernameleft2]

I don't know if this was true when the video was uploaded but what I've noticed recently is kit necks trying to pass off engineered wood fingerboards as something else. It's most likely due to the increasing scarcity of rosewood and the cost of its alternatives. I have no problem with playing on a man-made blended material made to look like a dark grain. Just don't tell me it's ebony and expect me to be gullible enough to believe it.

[@DougHinVA]

The volume is too loud and he is shouting the entire time... I turned it off.

[@yoavbinyamini]

Sorry about that 🙏. It's back when I had a crappy Mic and tried to make up for it with volume. I think it's not too bad with the volume low. Thank god for close captioning 😆

[@johndeaux3703]

Your audio is horrendous. Did you ever look into a better mic, so you're not yelling all the time, or deadening all the sound reflections/echo that makes this channel unlistenable.

[@theelectricluthier1928]

Thanks for the comment John. Sadly you are correct, but I think you will see s great improvement in more recent videos. This is a pretty old one.