Replacement fretted neck for Squier Vintage Modified Jazz

friskinator · #1 02-21-2008, 09:03 AM

I'm interested in getting the Squier Vintage Modified Jazz fretless and replacing the neck with a fretted one. Will any standard Jazz neck fit nicely, or are some a better fit than others? Any help is appreciated - thanks!

Darkstrike · #2 02-21-2008, 09:09 AM

Why not get the fretted one? Is it the finish?

friskinator · #3 02-21-2008, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Why not get the fretted one? Is it the finish?

Yeah, I just like the look of the fretless version's body better.

Darkstrike · #4 02-21-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by friskinator

Yeah, I just like the look of the fretless version's body better.

Cool, I like it too, I once swapped the neck with a MIM Fender, just to see how close they are, and only for the screw holes they swapped perfect.
I woul assume that a aftermarket Fender neck, mabye a Warmoth or MightyMite would be fine.

friskinator · #5 02-21-2008, 10:35 AM

So the MIM neck won't fit? There's one I'm looking at that I could get for cheap w/tuners and all, but I won't buy it if it isn't a perfect fit.

dbcandle · #6 02-21-2008, 10:40 AM

In general the Fender (and presumably Squier) neck-pockets tend to be "oversized". At least with mine, and any I've seen recently...

...whether intentional or not, this allows you to change the neck angle a bit, to ensure that the the low or high string isn't too close to the edge of the fretboard.

Since I don't have a drill-press, I'd prefer a pre-drilled neck, but the best approach is to get a neck that does not have the holes pre-drilled so you can properly line-up your neck (as implied above). If you hand-drill, it would be hard to drill the holes precisely perpendicular to the neck.

At best, you'd be lucky if your neck was properly aligned by swapping necks (but it could happen!).

friskinator · #7 02-21-2008, 11:45 AM

Thanks for the input! I wish Squier would have released a fretted version of this bass. From what I'm hearing, fitting a fretted neck on this bass may be harder than I imagined.

Darkstrike · #8 02-21-2008, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by friskinator

So the MIM neck won't fit? There's one I'm looking at that I could get for cheap w/tuners and all, but I won't buy it if it isn't a perfect fit.

Nope, the neck was a perfect fit, the problem was that the screw holes weren't, so to permantly do it, the holes need to be filled and redrilled to suit.
No biggie really.