I bought a guitar neck that shocked me about its quality

[@davejackson8376]

I bought a MIM reverse headstock tele neck a while back and was similarly impressed by the quality and playability. I paid exactly the same from a similar UK retailer.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha Fender prices... will they ever learn... maybe they are 'mates' with the CMA these days... who knows. The 'same price' everywhere ALWAYS makes me think. But great that your experience is also good with this make and MX. Thanks for watching.

[@FingalPersson]

I bought a 2023 Fender Player series Stratocaster which is a MiM... I will say it plays well, feels well, the frets are not sharp and I've enjoyed it quite a lot! But I got addicted to modifying to personalize my Fender, and Started swapping the bridge pickup, then bought Fender Locking tuners, swapped the neck pickup, the mid pickup, the pots and having 2 capacitors instead of one, and swapped the neck to an American Pro II scalloped rosewood. might change the tremolo bridge into an American so I can pop in the tremarm instead of having to turn it in 5-10 turns 🙂 Ordered strap locks too. The neck I'm getting tomorrow and another set of locking tuners later same week since I plan to use the Pau Ferro neck on another guitar I have.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha I guess that is what Leo maybe had in mind... swappable parts... like a kit car or something. Enjoy - and I love to do the same things. It makes a LOT of difference. Tanks for watching.

[@joelsmith4816]

I took a chance and bought a roasted maple 22 stainless steel fret reverse large fender style headstock neck from some dude from china on ebay. Its absolutely perfect. Beautiful fret job and perfectly cut nut. 70 bucks delivered to USA.

[@officialWWM]

Me too! If you buy a roasted maple neck, you won’t get fret spout and the quality is unbelievable! The thing is, a CNC machine works exactly the same in China as it does in America 😂

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@joelsmith4816 Well I get that of course. But what if it had been a bad neck? I have bought them on eBAY myself and were not good in my case. The seller, a Chinese guy in China told me to 'ship it back'.. he was clearly having a laugh as the shipping from here was nightmarish. Great that yours was OK, and very sad that mine was useless. And that's the problem, no guarantee it will be as they say. With this neck, there was none of that. Any issue and it could go back real easy for either another one or refund. But I agree this cost more - but for the UK (with 20% tax) this was priced pretty good. Thanks for the post and for watching.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@officialWWM I don't know what you know about Chinese manufacturing. But in my humble opinion there are three types of sellers from China. Firstly there are the good ones (their parts are far more expensive than some post on here) where you can get a reasonable to good neck but at a price - but the warranty is back to China. Then there are the second type... what do I mean? Let me tell you about those. Those guys buy all the wrongly machined or failed necks (or other parts) from the originators in China and sell them as is with the faults still on them to unsuspecting western customers. Those type know exactly what they are doing and also know that the chances of the neck going back to them in China (you pay the shipping) is likely zero. You get the bad item. And there's a third type... sure they have the CNC machines, just as you said, but they make the necks out of specification because of copyright. I have made on my channel a video showing it - the specs were wildly out. Sure the necks (or other guitar parts) look 'great' on the internet, but when you get it, it simply does not fit right, or this, or that is the problem. These are some of the ways those products are sold and frankly they are not (unless its from a real decent company best of luck with that) worth the firewood that they create. Sorry to say that, but that really is my experience with them. Good that you made the post though, because it shows two sides to one story really... when 'Joel' above said he took a chance - he really meant it. Thanks for that post and of course for watching.

[@robertwilliams1770]

Warmouth necks are far better necks then mexico ive got a mex i have a japan made and a warmouth warmouth is the best over mexico japan is out of the park home run

[@robertwilliams1770]

Beside pau ferro is crap😊

[@rodnyg7952]

it's simply a Mex Strat neck. That's fine, and just as good as any for the price. Not really a big deal. 275quid in, lets say, US is about 350dollars. That's about the right price for a Mex Strat neck

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well, you see, so many people were telling me that the MIM necks bad, I was surprised by how good it was here in the UK for £275.00 but remember that my £275 includes 20% tax - take that away, and take away shipping and I seem to have bought one cheaper than the USA? USA prices are to have tax added generally? right? So I think particularly for the UK this IS a real deal. Thanks for watching.

[@bluwng]

You assume to much. This is roasted, 12 inch radius, it’s not C shaped it’s a flat Oval and it has Jumbo frets, exactly which Mexican Strat uses this neck or anything like it? I don’t where he paid 275 they are $400 in the US. Everything you said is based on your personal bias without doing any research.

[@rodnyg7952]

@@bluwng I assume you're a lonely person who babbles to anyone online, because nobody can really tolerate you in real life

[@rodnyg7952]

@@bluwng I assume you babble, and nobody can really tolerate you much

[@rodnyg7952]

@bluwmg I assume you babble on line a lot, and nobody can really tolerate you much in real life

[@Duct_Tape.]

I have the same neck, but it's the Telecaster version. I used it on a Warmoth offset/tele body with a set of Lollars (soapbar neck/ special tele bridge) wired to a 4way and it's one of my favorite guitars, and cost very little to build. The Mexican stuff is great, very good quality for the money.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Very cool! and thanks for the post and for watching....

[@shartne]

I was able to have success with a real fender mexican neck. Chineese necks didnt work for me. One Mexican I bought was close to three hundred dollar used. I got another one for 250. Mexican necks work great the only difference between them and USA is about 75 miles or something like that. EXACTLY the same specs. Mexican workers are very skilled.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for posting your opinion based on experience - exactly what guys should do... and thanks for watching.

[@GaryArmstrongmacgh]

Right now you can get that same neck on either Stewmac or Sweetwater for $399.00 USD before tax. But with careful shopping, you can find Fender necks for slightly less.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

That's sort of similar to here... but great necks especially for the money I thought. Thanks for watching.

[@beatlesrgear]

Beautiful neck! That thin piece of walnut that goes down the back of the neck is called a "Skunk Stripe."

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Sometimes... I swear theres been a skunk in the studio :) Hey thanks for the post and for watching.

[@MrRollDotHome]

I bought the exact same neck from the same dealer just before Xmas. It was my last throw of the dice for my old 80s partscaster that has been hanging on my wall for years. Not only has it saved my old axe but it is now my favourite guitar. I popped in some Fender Gold locking tuners and it’s amazing. The neck is comparable to the Ultra I briefly owned a while ago. Jumbo frets too. Bonus.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thats great to hear about your experience too. I think for £275 in the UK it IS value for sure. Thanks for watching too

[@digital-guitars-uk]

The neck looks great tony and really surprised at the overall cost. Looking forward to seeing the new guitar in action. Great stuff mate 🎶🎶🎶🎶😎😎😎😎

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha i'm working on that right now... a botched body (yep I CAN do it) but should be interesting - made from parts lying around but I did not have the neck or 1 pickup :) Great to hear you and trust you're doing OK there too... I'll be at that show in Bham Sunday... thanks

[@OldStreetDoc]

My ONLY gripe about MiM Fender necks is the ‘truss rod plug’. They always seem to look a bit cheap and ‘plasticy’ to me and a bit rough. But that’s just ME. They often end up superior in fit & finish, as well as feel & play better. Looks as if you’ve got a really GOOD one, Tony! I can’t find a fault with it no matter how hard I look. 👍🏼

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha some can... but its all relative really, it needs to go on the guitar and I'll be showing that as part of a GK-3 KIT fit to a strat that also gets built. Watch for it... and thanks for watching.

[@OldStreetDoc]

@@tonymckenzieofficial You got it, Tony! Always enjoy your content. Keep rockin’! 👍🏼

[@RUBBERTANK_3]

And they will all fret sprout

[@bluwng]

Did you actually look at the truss rod plug on this one….its wood.

[@stevekirkby6570]

Yep, I've ordered the AM Perf. RW .... I'm building a partscaster but with Fender neck and body.... I like to put my money to the company that developed it. I've also got a lot of Fender hardware, but have upgraded the bridge with a Vega Trem. Unfortunately the neck is on a 12 week back order.I cant wait to get started. Fender, yup. I am hoping mine is as good as yours :) Brilliant review!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Vega trem... is brilliant and I did review it. It has to be one of the best out there (it feels like a super vee to use). 12 week backlog... they are lucky! Thanks for watching.

[@MrSongwriter2]

The new necks mim roasted maple are great,2 things that make them even better is the pau fero can feel rough so I ran ultra fine scotchbrite over mine to smooth the fingerboard, gave it a good oiling, 2nd thin is the fret edges, addressed that and rounded the sharp edges with a fret edges dressing file then polished the frets. I don't like the nuts they are corian and very brittle so knocked it out and put a graphtec nut in as I prefer them and the tuning is better then adjusted the nut slots as appropriate with the 10-46 files. It's really really nice now. I prefer rosewood but the Pau Fero has some nice snap in the tone to it. I got the 9.5" radius version as I prefer that over 12 on a strat

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for the info and your experience. I'll be bearing that in mind on this one. Thanks fior watching.

[@MrSDFD18]

The nut should arrive high and the frets should need leveling and crowning. Each guitar is different and they leave you room to adjust.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

On this one it was fine... and thanks for watching.

[@whichgodofthousandsmeansno5306]

The Mexi is a "Standard" Strat neck and are fantastic.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Agreed. Thanks for watching.

[@jeffmancuso2715]

I’ve had great luck with these necks also you do need a good set of nut files though. Music nomad has a great set for a good price.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for the post and experience of these. I agree the nut has to be cut a little... and thanks for watching.

[@FingalPersson]

A Pau Ferro fretboard, That's not bad even though I prefer rosewood. I bought a neck that comes tomorrow, 810 dollars worth of money and is of scalloped rosewood fretboard 🙂 Totally awesome to buy necks 🙂

[@Andreas_Straub]

The fret ends look really sharp to me ..... also the fretboard edges haven't been rounded. So this neck still needs quite a bit of processing ...

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

In reality its not that bad. It IS playable, but of course rolling the finger board and adding a bit more to the fret ends by way of work always will improve the feel. But it was not really that bad especially for the money and that it was Mexican - which some dislike. Overall probably worth the money. And thanks for watching.

[@timhallas4275]

I get good Strat and tele necks for under $100 all the time. Great ones for $125. Seems to me that you just threw away $150.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well for the $US pretty clear you live in the USA maybe. Here in the UK things are different. A genuine neck also of course holds money if you're going to sell it at some stage, the cheap things... well those are 10 a penny. And as a 'bonus' on the Fender neck I get a decent warranty - on the cheap ones I get firewood or a neck that is often out of specification compared to the Fender one. We all pay the money and take our choice really. Thanks for the post though as it does show an alternative way of getting a guitar neck. And thanks for watching.

[@jimvandemoter6961]

I have an American Fender 1961 re-issue Strat that I bought new in 2004. I didn't like the neck adjustment at the heel because I had to take off the neck to adjust the truss rod. In 2006 I bought a Warmoth neck with a compound radius and I love it. The guitar was about $1000.00 and the neck was just over $300.00. Sweet playing guitar. Just recently I bought a Squire Classic Vibe '50's Tele. I'm really pleased with the quality of the tele. It plays and sounds great. I bought it from Sweetwater.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Oh yes I love Warmoth necks too. But here in the UK I have to pay about $90+ for shipping and then 20% tax when it gets here - makes them expensive, but I'll always look and buy from Warmoth. Compound radius are great 10-16 inch. Thanks for the post and for watching.

[@itsonlyme9938]

My player MX strat has a plastic nut thinking of swapping out for a bone nut because people say it will sound better.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

People talk all the time about tone and how minimalist stuff (sometimes) will make a massive difference... me? I hardly hear it myself, but maybe my ears are shot these days. :) I guess its worth a try :) and hey thanks for watching.

[@jimsuber6784]

Pao Ferro , ok it's Mexican. I've built 3 guitars of Mexican necks. They're great.

[@garywagstaff7142]

Great video. I’ve never had a bad experience with genuine Fender parts coming out of Mexico. Same machines, different factory. Their quality control seems to be top notch these days. Warmoth does make some great products, but I was able to get a genuine Fender neck, complete with tuners, for even less. Including shipping here in the US. It pays to look at the options. I’ll probably replace the nut, but I’m comfortable doing that myself. Looking forward to the finished build. Cheers

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Warmoth can be expensive... and you're right some Fender necks are brilliant... e.g. Jeff Beck neck from the Stratosphere parts (seems he's on ebay these days). Those do cost, but one of the best 'ready' necks I have bought. Warmoth you have to just tidy fret side a little. Thanks for the info and for watching.

[@johnkoehler7955]

Tony! I learned so much from your vids, got some vicarious courage to start, with some pawn shop electrics, now I have 16 in various stages! Thanks man!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha ha see, once you start on that road, I have to say its hard to stop. Eventually I was 'stopped' by the other half... she told me that 22 guitars (some bought) is too many... of course I combated what we would all say... what about those handbags... and lets not start counting the shoes... how many legs do you have I said... but of course, the net result was no more guitars... well I do 'sneak' the odd one in here and there :) Thanks for the kind words and for making me laugh and remember how my wife goes on... thank god that she does not make videos :) and thanks for watching.

[@christopherguzzi1316]

Fairly expensive but that's the cost of entry for a Fender labeled neck. And the quality and level of finish will be consistent.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

In the UK its fairly inexpensive... the TAX alone is 20%! Thanks for the info.... and for watching.

[@nicholasguitars5527]

A good guitar (or guitar part) doesn't care where it's made, they leave that to the social media experts. If you want to pay more for a guy in the US to push the CNC button, good for you :-)

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

It DOES matter simply because often you cannot tell 'how good it is' until its in your hands... and frankly that is why I made the review. I have seen some real rubbish over the years for example from China bottom end and they always claim great but in reality even for £70 its a rip off. And therein lies the problem from what I see. Thanks for watching and for the post..

[@teriakamoto]

Anyone can get it. American, Mexican, Puerto Rican,Englishman, , Irishman, can. I was thinking about getting a Baritone Neck for my Fender Player Strat (Mexican) of course. Is that a simple swap job ?a screwdriver 🪛 job ?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Probably, but you still should check fret ends and the leveling of the neck/frets. However I have bought Warmoth necks and just fitted them... I have considered a baritone neck a few times but never did get one... maybe next time and then I can show what I do... hmm maybe. Thanks for watching.

[@bettertvreceptionwithfoilf7100]

The factories are 3 1/2 hours from each other, and i was told some of the folks work in both plants. I have a "91 Mexican standard, and i'm not going to part with it.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well thanks for the info and your experience with the gear - it matters a lot to many people about other experiences with it all I believe. And thanks for watching.

[@joeking433]

Fender necks are overpriced. The American Fender necks are the best but they're really high priced. I don't see how Fender is going to compete with the necks coming out of China for $50. Wood is wood and frets are frets and CNC machines are CNC machines. You usually have to level Fender necks (except American made ones) just like you do Chinese necks to get a perfect neck.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Hmm not in my experience some Chinese ones are terrible! Thanks for watching though.

[@bobbwest]

I believe Fender sends American neck blanks to their Mexican facility, which is outfitted with American machines and manned by skilled craftsmen and women trained by Fender. It’s only a 3.5 hour drive from Fender Corona, California to Ensenada, Baja California Norte. Naturally Mexico’s labor costs are much less than Southern California.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

But it shows that quality can be achieved at a great end user price too... thanks for watching...

[@mikey117us]

The necks assembled in Mexico are all US made on the original equipment. They ship necks and bodies bulk for finish and assembly in Mexico. They all use the same specs.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes - this one was a pretty great deal for the money too. It really did surprise me. Thanks for watching.

[@mikeshanermusic]

I'm left-handed and just spent over $700 to get a ss refret on my 1990 American Standard Strat. 🤦‍♂

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ouch! I do have some SS frets on a couple of guitars and man those are not too easy to get right - very hard. But they will last a very long time. These on this neck won't. Thanks for watching.

[@laurencehastings7473]

A good neck is a good neck. Doesn't matter where it was made or by who. If all the parameters are within the expected tolerances and the bang for the buck is acceptable why complain?. It certainly looks great and we'll finally see how good it is when you get the fret rocker out.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha good point... I do think though from experience that some of the far east low cost stuff as a ratio of good to bad really is higher on the bad side of things compared to say a Fender series of necks. Just a personal view remember and others might argue the far east stuff is 'better'. Thanks for watching.

[@peterhedrich7653]

In general when ya buy a neck from Fender they are good doesn`t matter if they are Mim or Us ok you will hardly find a neck birdseye Marple compound radius,or a Riftsawn ,Quatersawn in the replacement necks but in General the Necks are super and even a palisander fretboard ya find on some necks but they are above 600 euros😀all cnc cutted so the Quality is ok ya have a garantie and nothing very special with the Parts

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes... that guarantee is not worthless either. If I buy a USA neck from USA its nightmare to send back, but the Fender one just goes back to distro... and that does matter. Thanks for watching.

[@green461]

I have a roasted maple soft v strat neck i bought for a project and also a roasted P bass neck for another project, they are awesome necks.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for the info on how you found them - I think they are great also. Thanks for watching.

[@sihall1975]

I have no problem with Mexican made stuff. I totally agree that they can make necks as well as the US fender factory. I don't think there's much difference between a neck made, probably using the exact same CNC, by a Mexican in Mexico and a neck made by a Mexican in Corona. That said, I'm confused as to why you think this neck is so incredible? It looks like a perfectly functional neck but you can see scratches on the frets and they look like they need a bit of work. The plastic fillet around the truss rod access hole appears to be chipped and there are a few mineral streaks and marks that would suggest it's not the best quality piece of maple. Every Warmoth neck I've ever seen looks to be of far higher quality. Looking at their showcase necks right now you can find several with much nicer looking roasted maple and a genuine rosewood board for $242. And it's made in the US (if that's important to you). I appreciate you have to add on shipping and taxes, and it isn't Fender branded, but you can also choose the exact fret wire you want and the type of tuner holes. IMHO, I think this is a far worse deal, and I'd choose to pay the extra for the Warmoth neck. They make great quality necks and their attention to detail is always exceptional.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Truth is, this neck here in the UK is relatively low cost. If I bought a Warmoth (my first choice if cost does not matter) then the cost increases in some cases dramatically, but those are better woods etc. They still have the work to do on the fret ends I guess as this one does, but it's workable and playable as is. I have bought some of the best Warmoth necks they have made (honestly) and I don't need any conversion to Warmoth - check my guitar builds here: kzbin.info/aero/PLD38427759E821683 you will see Warmoth (and some premium Fender necks) feature throughout. This neck is specifically for a 'bitsa' guitar that is being assembled out of bits I have and its real purpose is to for a GK-3 kit in the strat. As part of the GK-3 video you will see the guitar get built out of parts that are in one way or another 'over' from other builds so it simply does not justify a Warmoth neck for this guitar especially at the price landed in the UK plus 20% tax. Might be different where you are. So for this use this neck is fine and nothing wrong with it for my purpose. Wait for the video and watch it to see what I'm saying... all interesting stuff of course - and thanks for the post and for watching.

[@SirLoinMagroin]

Tony. Great job as always. Necks are like fingerprints, they are all unique. No matter where they are made or what brand, some are better than others. You stumbled upon one heck of a deal my friend.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes I think it was great value for the money too. Thanks for watching.

[@beandog100]

Glad you're happy with it. But...there are nicer roasted maple necks available in the UK for less than a third of the price. Sorry, you are paying a whole lot of cash for a sticker there.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well it all depends... the (often) low cost necks are origin China. It's not that I particularly dislike China, however, from very lengthy experience I find that they are either out of specifications compared to the real deal, or the quality is let down by bad manufacture. I typically buy Warmoth - so certainly I was not 'buying the label' so to speak. I know a number of companies - including some UK ones, but often those particular necks have to have headstocks completed (because of copyright) and that sort of thing. And lastly, whether me and you like it or not, the one made by Fender will ALWAYS fetch more money if it was to be sold later down the road. It's a fair comment though and I of all people do get the point. Good necks? Very hard to find in the UK - if you are used to the level of quality that I bougt from Warmoth, but then of course that costs money - far moe than this one... Thanks for watching... appreciated.

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

..and you get 10 out of 10 for an un-biased review, let's judge things on thier merits and not from "Where" they are made.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Oh no, sometimes you HAVE TO judge by where they are made especially if you have had bad experience after another. A really good example are the Chinese necks, bodies and guitars I have bought that were 'cheap'. They really were cheap... the simulated a Strat (and one Les Paul) but to be honest those were all completely out of spec, all actually different and would not fit the real deal gear, and of course try getting your money back from those. Not a chance. However, while this neck is MIM that does not bother me, if it was a poor neck I can get a refund from the authorised reseller of Fender. Surely you must accept that? I can give you the links to my reviews that highlight the rubbish if you want, then you can 'see for yourself' just how bad some equipment can be. Hope it helps a little. But I recommended the MIM neck simply because it in a completely different league than that Chinese stuff in my experience and in fact its a really good neck for the £275.00 I paid that INCLUDED 20% TAX! So thanks for the post - and we're on the 'same side' I think on this point overall... And thanks for watching.

[@danletter9357]

I’ve got a partscaster, with a mm neck. Literally the best neck I’ve ever had on a strat period.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for the opinion and for watching too.

[@maryannmoran-smyth3453]

When you want a real neck for the pros, you go to Warmouth and speck out a neck to perfection, yeah it cost more but you get what you pay for and I haven’t found anyone to match their quality anyway keep on rocking

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I totally agree... but in the UK trust me they become expensive... this was an alternative as I did not want to spend too much on this particular project... (Its mainly a bitsa :) . Thanks for watching

[@robertaustin1945]

Stevie Ray VAUGHAN NECK ? .sounds like similar specs

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

SRV neck very 'boatneck' I believe. This one is really not as Fender described... feels like Jeff Beck neck back profile. Thanks for watching.

[@chrishyde1216]

I have a Squire Telecaster Thinline. My go to guitar but would prefer a rosewood or pao ferro neck, and something a little thicker. I might buy this. Two points: 1) as I understand it, the nut is not ready for play and would need some work - is that right? I assume it needs to be filed down; is that easy or needs experience and judgement? 2) It's a 12 inch radius. Is that typical and would that be okay on my Squire?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Nut needs to be addressed a bit but not too hard to do. 12 inch is far from the (I think it was) 7.25 inch radius of the original. But I find 12 OK. I also have Warmoth 10-16 radius necks that work ok. Look at the bridge to see the adjustment on the saddles... and you would need a file set really to do the nut properly - although I have used other files on occasion. You could also change the nut out... but I'll make this one work on camera later in a video about the GK-3 KIT that this neck is going on to. Hope it helps a bit and thanks for watching.

[@chrishyde1216]

@@tonymckenzieofficial Thanks Tony. That's helpful. I'll keep a watch out for your other videos. Cheers

[@chrishyde1216]

@@tonymckenzieofficial Incidentally, the Player Series neck "PF" also with pao ferro, which I assume is the standard version, has a 9.5 inch radius neck (if a different radius is wanted) and sells for £222. I'm guessing the quality is just as good.

[@bryantcochran5065]

To my eye the fret ends will need some proper shaping and the nut needs to be filed for the string set you choose to play. Both pretty normal for replacement necks. I would be very happy with that neck.

[@garywagstaff7142]

@chrishyde1216 You are correct, they’re not ready to play out of the box. That is by design. Seeing as Fender has no idea what string gauges anyone will use, they simply score the nuts on replacement necks. The files needed can be had for very little, or one can spend hundreds on a full set of truly great quality tools. Depends on how many times you expect to do this. Or you can take it to a pro. For a pre-shaped nut, expect to pay $40-60…or it might be included in a full setup. A bone nut is going to be more like $100…more or less depending on one’s location. Same goes for the fret ends, but those are a lot less critical…and pretty easy to do. So don’t expect to pay a fortune if you have someone else do that. A 12” radius is relatively flat for Fender. Their vintage necks generally have a 7.25” radius, while most of their modern necks are 9.5” radius. Depending on your exact model, and when it was made, it could be either…or neither. But that’s the “norm.” Fender does use compound radius necks on a few models, but most modern necks are now 9.5” with some notable exceptions. The Player Plus series have 12” radius necks, as do “some” of the artist, U.S., and MIJ models. With a bridge adjustment, almost any radius of choice can be used. For the most part, neck radius is matter of one’s preference and playing style. Same with the back shape.

[@jamesmcdowell8441]

That strip of wood going up the back of the neck looks to be mahogany ….from where I’m sitting .

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

It could be... or walnut maybe... it looks cool though :) Thanks for watching.

[@HopeIanHope]

I have guitars I've bought from £5 to £4000 not that much difference in any.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha £3995 difference :-) and indeed I have done the same near enough, but along the way I HAVE seen some not so great guitars. Some VERY expensive guitars with issues, but far more 'cheap' guitars with issues. They all can suffer just like you said really... and thanks for watching.

[@Patriot1777]

The Mexican plant and American plant are only miles away from each other and swap parts with each other daily.😊

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well it has been said by a few guys now... but thanks for the post - always useful info and thanks for watching.

[@aipsong]

Your guitar gently seeks a nice neck, and, voila Mexico responds!!!!!!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Hopefully... we'll see when its all finished... the guitar is a 'bitsa' as you will see when the video comes, but the guitar is really just a vehicle to install the GK-3 Roland Boss MIDI pickup kit. Body looks 'bad' ha... but should be even worse by the time I have finished. Thanks as always for watching.

[@peterstephen1562]

I would guess that this neck would have been a reject because the dark grain lines are too dominant cosmetically.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

No it's a retail spare part and not a reject. The fret board of course Pau Ferro is always going to have figuring like that I believe.... Thanks for watching.

[@dykeneuk]

My Mexican strat plays and sounds better than my USA strat. I do have a bit of negativity about the truss rod entrance hole being black though. Interesting video again Tony

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes many comment on the truss rod wood (plastic on this one). Does not really bother me as its a spare parts caster :) real aim is fitting a GK-3 kit to a Strat... I decided to put all the bits together but did not have a neck. Warmoth too expensive for this guitar so I bought this one. I'm not sorry about it, I think very good for what the cost is and genuine too. Thanks for watching.

[@sadie376]

"...Depends what you like...", pretty much says it all, Tony.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for watching....

[@TheUlesifah82]

Thanks for letting me know Tony! I just got the all maple one and you’re right !!! It’s so so sooo good!! Smooth as silk and plays amazing!! It’s replacing a WD licensed neck I had on a surf green partscaster. The roasted maple doesn’t look too shabby with the green …. Not as cool as the vintage yellow of course but for how comfy this roasted maple neck is to play ….. I’m totally content!!! Take care and thanks again buddy !! 😊

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Exactly... no matter what many guys say, these are really very good guitar necks :) and thanks for the post with your experience and for watching too.

[@TheUlesifah82]

@@tonymckenzieofficial one thing is I did have to use a shim, but that’s not the fault of the replacement neck, that was because of the neck pocket of my Strat body , so for anyone maybe reading this having trouble with lower or higher action after replacing a guitar neck , maybe look into trying a .5 degree shim , thanks Tony !

[@petersouthwell5971]

Stew Mac sells the MIM certified fender parts. Have to say man.. Same reaction. The neck was so good it was ridiculous. $380 US. Not cheap... But Ive seen worse. Honestly only time Ive seen a neck this good was from Warmoth.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for that info... guys are asking me where to get them in the USA so useful info. Well I guess I could pick fault at something if I really wanted to, but all in all for what I paid here (£275) it was far better than I imagined. I buy Warmoth too and they are excellent necks... but a bit pricey when you count shipping and tax to UK. I also have bought some Jeff Beck necks from ebay - brilliant but expensive. Thanks for watching.

[@petersouthwell5971]

@@tonymckenzieofficial I love warmoth too man. One day Ive gotta get all the parts body included from them. Make a pure Warmoth build. Im a strat freak so It'd be a strat.

[@deanallen927]

$313.76 in U.S. dollars. With those features, TOTALLY worth it. BTW Pau Ferro is just as good as rosewood.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Agreed.. and thanks for watching.

[@deanallen927]

@@tonymckenzieofficial To me, anyway. I've owned and gigged on both.

[@realbluemeanie]

My ONLY gripe about Mexican Fender necks is the softness of the fret wire. Other than that, the necks feel great.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Good to know! Great point... and thanks for watching...

[@GaryArmstrongmacgh]

Warmoth is excellent product. But way too pricey! So the genuine Fender product is the way to go.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I won't argue with that. Warmoth ARE generally higher cost and can be crazy cost. These Fender necks are a good buy. Thanks...

[@ChrisRWoods-px9hy]

$470 (CDN) for a friggin' neck. Buy, a whole guitar for that price. That's why Fender and Gibson will be bankrupt dinosaur in a few years with companies like Harley Benton, and several others coming up. People are tired of getting hosed by companies who charge rediculous prices so the CEO can get paid tens of millions of dollars.

[@Les537]

I'd trade a train car full of harley bentons for another gibson.

[@ChrisRWoods-px9hy]

@@Les537 Too each their own. I know fools who used to buy $600 Parassuco jeans because they thought they were from Europe, but were made on Chabanel St. right in their hometown in Montreal. Meanwhile I was looking just fine in my $30 red tab Levi's. If a $3+k, guitar, that needs mods makes you feel better then go buy one and be happy. I can buy several but a logo just doesn't mean anything much to me, when there are so many products out there of equal or even better quality, and modern designs at less price. 🤷‍♂️

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@Les537 TWO train loads... :)

[@MickCorgi]

Tony is my English teacher, as well as the guitar teacher. Thank you for the upload. 😊

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha I'm not the real English language, but rather a distorted twisted dialect of where I live... midlands. :) Thanks for watching.

[@julianandrews6025]

Luking good! Lovely touch the roasted maple, I m sure that Ive heard somewhere that the some "roasted maple necks" are just stained. Obviously it is a meant to be a heat treatment which dries and cures the wood which has other benefits aswell as looks , structural and tonal. Enjoying your channel so far. I bought 2nd hand Mint Mexican deluxe its fantastic got the bare maple neck, so Im quite envious 😊

[@k0smos798]

I checked the site. This 22 fret neck appears to be 315 quid

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

£275 from DV247 and I did show the invoice on the video. Thanks for watching.

[@Barbarapape]

Fernder must be improving their quality control and not before time. As for the fret ends, they still look unfinished to me, i would be rounding them off and remove the unsightly file marks.🤔 At least it's a 12" radius, why has it taken them so long to offer them in this size? Good luck with this new guitar project Tony, i am sure it will be a good one when finished.🙂👍

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I agree the frets look 'unfinished' - well they are, but rather like Warmoth really. Also the nut will have to be worked and maybe even leveling etc. but until the guitar is ready... it will just sit there. For the £275 I thought (comparing with others I have bought) it was good value. Some might disagree, but until I see some issue its pretty good. Thanks for watching....

[@derekclacton]

Very nice looking neck! 22 frets and the tuner holes are great features. Really like the spaghetti Fender logo. They do say that some finishing of the frets might be required. I picked up a used Player series (Mexican) neck and am very pleased with it. I’d been tempted to maybe go for an American neck, thinking it would be better but a mate had a bad experience with buying (a new) one …

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

There will probably be something to do on near enough ANY neck. Rather like honing it (not literally) to the guitar its going on... and generally its not that hard. Frets are similar to Warmoth frets and they usually have a bit of work to do, but it could be played as is also from what I feel when looking at the neck. I have bought a couple of Jeff Beck necks from Fender ( www.ebay.com/str/thestratosphere ) and those were brilliant, but had been fitted to Fender guitars... expensive (about three times the price by the time those get to the UK... thanks for watching.

[@gigabloke]

I've built six Strats, four with Warmoth necks which are very good indeed; recently I purchased a MIM Fender Player series neck and have zero complaints. It feels, plays and looks great. It has set up perfectly. I don't care where Fender necks are made, or by whom, if they are built under Fender license, as far as I am concerned, they are Fender necks. No problem!

[@antondillet466]

Please tell me, what 'Warmoth' means. I'm from Germany and don't know this word and can't find it in any of my dictionaries. Thank you very much!

[@Twobarpsi]

​@@antondillet466it is the name of a company that makes guitar parts.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@zigabloke thats a fair enough reason IMO. I have bought a number of Warmoth licensed necks which are probably some of the best necks - expensive for UK with shipping & tax (20%) but wonderful necks. This neck however, was a great price for a roasted maple neck from Fender. Thanks for watching.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@antondillet466 Warmoth - is a brand of guitar parts from near Seattle in the USA. I have bought them many times and some really beautiful guitar parts (that are exact matches in specs) are available. Check here: www.warmoth.com and thanks for watching.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@Twobarpsi well done for posting that... T

[@natron1908]

Just did a price check on a Warmoth neck; roasted, cut graphtech nut, stainless frets, satin nitro. $432 USD. The neck in this video is $400 USD for comparison.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

However, you don't take in to account the shipping to the UK, the extra costs by carrier, or the 20% TAX I have to pay. Sadly that makes approx $626.00 (and even more when calculating in the exchange rates rip off. Great there in the USA, but man, come and have a go here... very different. I also think maybe the price of this neck in the USA you have wrong... heres why. It is equivalent to $341 in USA currency... but then take off the 20% tax makes this neck $272.80 and then take off the shipping... lets say $10 which makes this neck a grand $US of $262.80. Of course that's just s direct conversion. In the UK our stuff is generally far higher han in the USA and rarely would it be less cost unless made in the UK. Good point and remember I like Warmoth (check my builds on my channel). Thanks for the post and for watching.

[@natron1908]

@@tonymckenzieofficial I should have said for price comparison in this country, I am right about that Fender neck, I would pay $400 plus tax here in California. For another price comparison I need your help: Marshall JCM800 100 watt is $3850 after taxes in California, and a round trip flight from California to England is about $800. Should I fly there and smuggle the head back in my luggage? Thanks for your channel, we watch you frequently.

[@Stratamania]

The headstock face is gloss finished, but the rest of the neck apart from the face of the fingerboard, has a satin finish.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Seemed like not finished to me as its roasted maple... I could be wrong of course. Thanks for watching.

[@Stratamania]

@@tonymckenzieofficial The satin finishes on the back of Fender necks can seem like that.

[@martintremblay4248]

Beautiful wood pattern on the back of the neck.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for watching...

[@jeffrowlette]

The neck on an electric guitar is EVERYTHING! That's a beauty 😍

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Not as beauty as some I have, but IMO very good value here in the UK for the price I paid. Thanks for watching.

[@jeffrowlette]

I freaking LOVE listening to you talk!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha... some dislike talking reviews :) So I guess they use sign language... :) Me... I always like to try and get across what I can to viewers - I'm not always right (some say I'm never right :) but there you go. Thanks for watching.

[@martinclayton7260]

The USA Fender's have wooden truss rod lining, where as all the others have that black plastic that you've got there. I own 6 Fender's, 5 of them are USA, and the other is Mexican, and I also own a Charvel that's made made in the same Mexican Fender factory.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

So how did you find the MX stuff? and thanks for watching.

[@geezberry8889]

not a fan of the truss rod plug, screams cheap!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well it would have been nicer in walnut I agree... and hey thanks for watching.

[@JgHaverty]

Torrified woods (pending done properly; but being "Fender" its done properly lol) functionally remove any moisture issues [movement wont happen]. Its pretty cool tech that should be much much more standard on guitar necks lol. Being a cheap mexican neck, probably worth the price of entry here with a good setup. If youre able to do the work yourself, its quite a steal usually. If you cant do it yourself, by the time you do the fretwork, the nut adjustments and finishing, and full setup... might be better off spending the marginal amount more for an american neck. Good bones here, but obviously usually these need some TLC. Sometimes the tuner holes are undersized and need to be reamed out. Pau Ferro is what SRV had on his strats ;). The skunk stripe on the back will be walnut. There will always be cork sniffers, but they can pack sand lol.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha maybe or not honestly I can't tell either way. The roasted maple as you say JG is prety awesome and needs no finish either makes the neck feel like silk. I guess it needs work to fit to the guitar but IMO that applies generally from what I have seen over the years. Tuners have (I think) some finish in them but I have a reamer. I did not know that about SRV neck. So, was he Fender SRV reissue with Pau Ferro too? That's a question I don't know about but you might... and thanks for this info... regards.

[@blkjckgtr3075]

Hey,Tony hope all is well accross the pond,sounds like a good deal to me,the price and finish as long as you like it is all that matters,Cheers!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Its for really a project made of bits. The real project is fitting a GK-3 kit pickup to a stratocaster. No strat I wanted to hack... so I had most parts but not a neck. Because it will be a 'knock around' this neck suits it fine. That will will come out in March - takes a bit to create the whole thing. Will it be good? Who knows - some bits were a bit weird and I had to work around for some of them... Thanks for watching.

[@Thirdgen83]

You should finish the back with Tru-Oil, and gunstock wax.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

As roasted it needs nothing :) Thanks for watching.

[@Runinthenight]

? It is a finished neck from Fender, there is Satin laquer on the back, it doesn‘t need any Tru Oil 🙂 I have also purchased one, so i know.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Hmm it did not look finished on this one to me? That might be the case of course, but roasted maple does not need a finish... I wonder why they would do that... The front head stock certainly IS finished though. Thanks for the info... and for watching.

[@lukesteverything627]

That looks very tidy Tony. Thanks for an interesting insight. Stay well and happy.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks, you too! and thanks for watching.

[@user-UncleDickey]

IVE SEEN USA NECKS OVER 400 DOLLARS

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Indeed... some are. Thanks for watching.

[@pyyktodd]

Awesome neck... I once bought a cheap indiana strat copy, simply because the neck had the best looking flame maple I have ever seen. Not bad for what i pad for the Guitar. All of $40 USD,

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

On the cheap necks I always seem to get the bad ones! So I'm careful these days.... thanks for watching.

[@RickMcCargar]

I own a Fender American Professional with roasted maple neck and jumbo frets. It was part of a Sweetwater Fender Select Run. The fret ends are rounded. The fretboard edges are rounded. It's a superior neck. AND, the money paid U.S. workers who have full insurance, safety and environmental standards. I think it's important to pay for those...as well as keeping the money in our nation. But it's a big world and everyone can do as they please. edit; I say this because you seemed to imply that anyone who doesn't like your Mexican neck, is biased, or I guess, a bigot. I think it's important to see that there are rational reasons for making the choice that have nothing to do with bias, brand or otherwise.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I never said the reasons about not liking the neck except maybe some bias against where it might be made by some people. The rest is NOT my words or my opinion. Thanks.

[@idealmethod]

Tony my man, loving the videos. Please go and buy yourself a Jackson js22 or a js32. Both guitars are LESS MONEY than your neck. Both have superior necks to yours, both in SPEC & QUALITY.. . £170 - much love Scotland. Buy one, I promise you it will become you favorite guitar within 48 hours. And you will see what a good neck & a well crafted neck is all about.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha well... those won't fit that Strat body I showed... (most likely) and if you do check the links in the text then you can see some of the necks I have bought before... all generally exceptional. This one is in fact a pretty good neck. I have looked at low end guitars for many years... and the best one I own is a Japanese Ibanez I bought for $500 and that included the shipping from USA! ... for me, generally the lower cost guitars are (or could be) great for starters (and I have reviewed them as such) but the Ibanez RG550LTD shown on my channel is probably the best playing guitar I have ever owned. But thanks for the post and I will look around at those... and thanks for watching.

[@idealmethod]

I hear you and agree with you, I played a japaneese ibenez prestige and was blown away as it has the exact same neck as the JS22.but the made in China js22 had better build quality than the prestige. I sold my fender deluxe and bought a 170 pound js22 a way better guitar better specs and build quality. You need to try a js22. Your spending all this money on over priced parts with fender logos on when a 170 pound js22 blowes it all out the water.... I too used to build over priced fender guitars, treat yourself its only 170 you will marvel at the neck quality. I ve spent thousands on guitars in the past but none compare to a js22 or 32. The last guitar I bought was a dinky pro plus £1200, because the js22 was so good I got a js32, coss the js32 was so good I bought its brother the dinky pro plus. I say this because you mention the js22 being a beginner guitar due to the price, well you are right but that beginner guitar is better than any fender or gibson I've ever played in my 23 yrs of playing. When I dream of playing guitar I an playing my js32 £250. when I see you all excited about a old over priced neck, welll you can buy a superior neck that comes with an amazing body and kick ass pick ups for less than the price of your mediocre neck I am left frustrated. Please go and buy a js22 for £170 new or 70 bucks off gumtree. It will be the best guitar buy of your life I promise you, on the down side tho....you probably wont build another strat after playing a js22 as the strat lacks modern complications such as a carbon reinforced neck,binding,jumbo frets etc. You will also find the bui.d quality of the chineese 170 js22 far superior to and american fenders or gibsons.....its a whole new world out there. Jackson js22 £170 treat your self the the best guitar neck you will ever play (for less than 2 grand) go for it

[@Seth-b6i]

I've always loved Tony's stuff! ...I'm a right-handed player, but I think I'll put a left-hand neck on the next build, just to get the tuners down where I think it'll be more comfortable. We'll see whether or not that proves to be the case. ...Ignore the haters, they're all self-appointed experts, but ... well, y'know.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I never have done that, but ha don't be surprised if I do... will be your fault :) Ha yes the haters... well we know what they can be like... on this neck there seems to be a very good consensus that it was a good deal and that most liked it. Thanks for watching.

[@SpiritOfOrange]

Amazing! I recently bought a Squier Contemporary Telecaster with a fabulous, roasted flame maple neck (yes, flame maple - a really nice flame on the back of the neck). Quality of fit and finish all round is first rate, even the SQR factory pickups are really articulate. Made in China.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

They have improved no doubt and for the price Fender should be congratulated IMO. Thanks for watching

[@ronniemullins1939]

I bought that exact neck but maple fretboard. Just a touch of filing on the nut-slots and shaping the Nut. I put it on a fender player plus body added American bridge and it plays absolutely awesome better than my $2000 guitars. Love the 12 in radius. I’d post a picture if I could I don’t comment too much so if there’s a way to post the picture I can’t find it.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Great comment and I appreciate you sharing your experience with others... always great to hear. Yes the 12" radius is better IMO than the old original 7 something. Thanks for watching.

[@Mega_trav]

Hey Tony, I know that you are always on the look out for quality gear. You should look up Kingsley Amplifiers. More specifically his pedals. They are tube based and run at high voltages (250v, not quite the 400v in Marshall amps) and they are made very well. He does have a waiting list but it’s not too long for most pedals nowadays.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I did go to their website... nearly... no and that stuff and was stopped by all the software I have... if you know them tell them because google will NOT promote that site without https on it... I'll look further... and thanks for the tip...

[@deandee8082]

can't do pau farro myself, feels funky to me, almost synthetic.. nice neck tho price is right... you can heat that pau farro fingerbard off there, get a Brazilian slab and glue it on, fret up some stainless jumbos and have one el of a neck so it has potential, I don't care for headstock adjust messes with the electronic pitch tuners ... lol

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha great post... I guess I could do that... but getting the Brazillian in the UK is hard and very costly. And hard work I guess to do it... but it is still a fair point and I'm sure could be done... thanks for the post and for watching....

[@redkurn]

paid $50 usd for a canadian maple neck off amazon... finish was thin, but holy crap was it ever nice, doubt they are still that cheap since it took a hour scrolling to find one that cheap and it's the same neck others wanted $100 for.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

But maybe made in China? Don't believe everything they might tell you. Certainly over here, most of the 'bottom end' necks are really not even similar to the real deals... great if it was Canadian of course and thanks for watching.

[@danO___0]

I was able to find a great deal on a Fender Player Series Precision Bass Neck, Modern C, 20 Medium Jumbo Frets, Pau Ferro Fingerboard MiM off of Amazon for $220 US. I too was amazed at the quality. My purchase was an open box item but after seeing the quality i would definitely pay $345 which was the price of a brand new one.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for posting what you found - the more the better as it shows more than just me and offers overall a better overview of the quality. And thanks for watching.

[@davespin9034]

My MIM 75th Anniversary Fender Stratocaster is absolutely awesome 😎 and plays like a dream. The roasted maple neck feels like nothing else including my Charvel San Dimas.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes the roasted maple I have been a fan of for some time also.. like butter to play. Thanks for watching.

[@benallmark9671]

It looks great but with those great close ups you showed us you can see that the edges are definitely not rolled. More squared off completely. Could feel great but I’m sceptical.

[@joehart7573]

I build guitars and to me, those fret ends do not look very nice. Sorry to say. That's a factory made quicky neck.

[@Les537]

I have the exact same neck. The fret ends required no work and usually I touch them up on new guitars.The frets were also level and allow low action. The only thing I had to do was cut the nut slots.

[@fkitch]

Great review! but 10/10 for Pau ferro , ugly wood in the headstock (IMO) , fret ends not rounded, unpolished frets (tooling marks can clearly be seen in the close up), nut needing to be filed , and possibly the need of a fret level and recrown (you scored it before installing it) it’s a too high score for the so many GBPs you paid…

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@benallmark9671 Agreed they are not rolled. But they are not square either... they are like Warmoth necks from what I see. It DOES feel fine or I would have said so, I'm not selling anything remember so it is as I generally say... watch for it later in the GK-3 kit install and guitar build next month. And thanks for watching.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

@joehart7573 They need some work but most do - even Warmoth that I have used for years. Lets see how it all comes out in the video later... and hey thanks for watching.

[@say_when5988]

I guess I got really lucky with my Chinese made “Fender” neck that cost $40 with shipping . Only drawback was having to wait nearly a month for it to arrive .

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

That's 'better than lucky'! My own experience with them remained bad from the start... but I guess some could be OK... thanks for the post and for watching too.

[@michaelheller8841]

I'm not surprised that you got a good genuine Fender neck. I couldn't care less if it was made in Mexico or the USA. If it's good it's good. No one is looking at the label on the back of the headstock when you're playing. Sometimes when you get genuine parts and do it yourself, it's better than picking up one all put together. A couple years ago I wanted to try out a Fender American Ultra Luxe and I didn't like it. I didn't like the PUPS or the neck even if it is SS frets. I think it was $2399 or so at the time they have gone up a few hundred since. So for a guitar over $2k for sure, If I don't like it I'm not buying it. I decided at the time to go a different route. I had purchased just the husk body with nothing in it, purchased a Musikkraft maple neck Fender licensed, Genuine Fender machine locking tuners, and so on. My friend hardwires his own PUPS he did the electronics. The guitar is amazing and it has that Gilmour/Beck/Hendrix/Blackmore sound you want from a Strat. He put in a boost in the volume to make it sound like a Tele also. Nice and fat. Yes, I did end up spending more money to do it all from scratch, but the guitar was made for me and I can't put it down lol. So, If you have the time I will always recommend either doing it yourself or having a really good pro do it. You also get a good feeling about building something great. Good luck with building your own.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

All great and relevant comments IMO. I created this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fn28ip93fNulitEsi=WIPfqQWu9SWVn9QS (it's a Tele style) but you will probably see that I could not buy one like that for the cost from basically anywhere. The video shows it being made. I have made a few strat types too and still own those - check my channel for those - equally intriguing for most of them. Thanks again doe this post and for watching.

[@gwbenites]

Tony, I'm interested in seeing if the neck pocket fit is good. because I believe there's a difference between the MIM and USA pockets if I'm not mistaken.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

That will be in the guitar build (which is actually a vehicle for GK-3 MIDI KIT fitting to Strat. Will be coming up but still waiting for some parts... thanks..

[@ChrisHope-s8l]

a 12" radius neck made in Mexico, probably means it came from a "Deluxe Player" Strat. traditionally a strat has a 9" radius fretboard. you will need to adjust the bridge for that 12" radius assuming the bridge pieces have that much play.?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

The bridge will work on this one as its not a Fender bridge in any case. The neck was not described as being off a particular model though and was sold as a spare part... which IMO reminds me of what Leo had in mind all those years back. Very clever. Thanks for the info and I'll bear it in mind about the settings, you can watch the whole thing when the GK-3 kit fitting is part of the overall build of the guitar... few weeks away I think... thanks for watching.

[@whssy]

My Fender Mexico 70s Classic is awesome. I have a couple of Fender Japan offsets too. Never felt the need to pay Fender USA prices TBH (though very tempted by the late 60s Jazzmaster reissue). I do like the way Tony keeps saying "yeah" between sentences. Very relaxing.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yeah :) Ha probably something to do with edits... or finally I have gone mad creating YT videos :)... in any case thanks for the post... and for watching.

[@Fotosaurus56]

Fender used to make the bodies and necks in USA, then ship them across the border to be finished, painted and hardware installed in Mexico. I have a 1995 black logo Fender Squier Series Jazz Bass that fits that description. I've since upgraded it and it's not going anywhere.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

:) Thanks for the info. I knew there was something in the back of my mind re the hopping from one place to another... and thanks for watching.

[@JRMoonTube]

So, let me get this straight…. Is the nut width equivalent (no), are the frets sharp, will the neck fit to the body??? You say it will, but… didn’t see it.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well be reasonable... you WILL see that and any other work I do to the neck as the video moves forward... its really a video about a GK-3 KIT being fitted to a 'bitsa' guitar being made of spare bits I have, but the neck I KNOW will fit. The body is Warmoth and is exactly the spec of the real deal Fender bodies... I have never had one not fit yet. When the video is finished you can watch the whole thing, and trust me, fitting the GK-3 kit is not that easy. The guitar build will be fine I'm pretty sure. All will be revealed on this in any case, it will probably take me another few weeks to get it all together though. Actually enjoying it so far but who knows what problems I'll encounter. I will get past every one... so thanks for watching this 'side issue' video but the 'daddy' will be in the frm of the GK-3 kit install while creating the guitar at the same time and showing what I did along the way. Thanks.

[@Les537]

I bought the exact same neck about 6 months ago cause I hated 9 inch maple my strat came with. I can say i LOVE the neck, but it doesn't sit centre. The top E string is danger close to the ends of the frets. Most of the time I don't notice, but now and then I run out of fret and curse.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thats an interesting one, can you align the neck better or not? That's hat I would be looking at, but obviously if its a weird problem maybe not... thanks for watching.

[@lentrout9858]

That neck is flat sawn which is the least desirable cut in terms of long term stability. 10/10 is a bit too much for a neck like that.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Well it is subjective and bear in mind the (UK) friendly price inc 20% TAX and delivery. I have bought 'cheaper' and found those to be way out of specs. so here it's a decent price for a decent neck in the UK... might be different in some places... I have also bought expensive necks generally very good too but the prices can be prohibitive. This neck for a 'knock around' guitar so a fair deal IMO. Thanks for watching.

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

Yeah, my squire classic vibe had the worst fret job. One was cut off short to where you push down on the fourth fret and the string was pretty much not on the fret I had to do a fret job and I broke the nut now I’m waiting for the new bone nut

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Hope it gets sorted OK... thanks for watching.

[@jamesrushton2333]

Serious question Tony. Have you run a fret rocker over it at all? Great work and content as per. 💯 Regards James

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I'll look at the leveling process when near to the fitting or maybe after fitting it to the body... my guess is that all replacement necks have to be checked and adjusted if there are any things to fix. Thanks for watching.

[@greentomato9957]

Get to it

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Slow down you'll have a heart attack! :) Thanks for watching.

[@thomaswagner6495]

Very pretty neck. I can't recommend a flat sawn maple neck like this one. I've found them to be unstable and require constant fiddling with the truss rod. The fretboard appears to be quarter or riff sawn so maybe that will help the stability. It does look pretty though. Honestly though, the custom Warmoth necks I have have been around $600.00 US. They have much more affordable necks but the custom bits add up very quickly. Do they make me play better? Well....no.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Tell me... I love the Warmoth necks and have bought quite a few over the years - some very expensive ones. More expensive here UK as add shipping (about $90) and tax (20%) and its very expensive. I bought this one firstly because roasted maple... that tends to have a strong effect of hardening off the wood - you have to get the holes the right size or they crack (for example). But also because the guitar it will go on is really not worthy of a Warmoth neck and I wanted to keep the price reasonable.. (its in a review later). Also this would have been very easy to return had it not been good. Thanks for the post... and for watching.

[@thomaswagner6495]

@@tonymckenzieofficial Perfectly reasonable. And it really is a pretty neck. I enjoy your channel, please keep it up.

[@tomjanssen1912]

I’ve been playing on this neck for 3 years now on a super strat I built and it is by far my favorite. Shape is super comfortable. Had a fret level a year ago and it is an even a more incredible playing neck. Highly recommend for a replacement.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks. Its good to hear what others post and certainly helps many. And thanks for watching.

[@cunjoz]

istschewsdayinni'

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

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