Custom replacement necks?

[Soilent1]

Hey I'm a newbie here but have been hangin on Sevenstring.org for quite a while.
Does anyone on here have any experience with companies like Chris Woods or EK customs that make replacement necks? I really want a guitar with a Friggin reverse headstock and bound Ebony board!!!!!!! AAARGGGHHHH
Looks like being an endorsee is the only way these days.

So, I was thinking about having one of these necks made for my S7420...Then I would have a custom with a sick fretboard and reverse ****ing headstock! Guess if it was that easy then everyone would do it huh? Do these necks actually fit and play well?

Any input would be appreciated!

[djpharoah]

A Christopher Woods neck would be perfect in terms of replacement from what many people have said about his quality and workmanship. EK Guitars is out of business for the time being. Shoot Chris an email and you will know how long it will take.

[jim777]

Originally Posted by djpharoah

A Christopher Woods neck would be perfect in terms of replacement from what many people have said about his quality and workmanship. EK Guitars is out of business for the time being. Shoot Chris an email and you will know how long it will take.

That's it in a nutshell

[shreddersymphony]

Custom projects are the way to go

[elcid]

Originally Posted by shreddersymphony

Custom projects are the way to go

As long as you dont mind taking a big hit on the resale.

[shreddersymphony]

Originally Posted by elcid

As long as you dont mind taking a big hit on the resale.

The entire point of building a custom guitar is to have something UNIQUE that's better than anything else out there at that price point or even more in my case. The guitars I have (soon to be 2) I will take over any guitar from any company ever. And they only cost me $1500 a piece. My first custom guitar, I've been offered double what I paid and I've turned it down. It's a masterpiece, and a guitar that will get passed down to my children and on to theirs.

[elcid]

Maybe you lucked out, but nine time out of ten a partsocaster costs way more to build than you will ever make should you decide to sell it.

[TMatt142]

Elcid..i tend to agree with you on this one. Just in tallying up the parts cost for my project minus a few things....Would you pay 700.00 for a RG7420?? Didn't think so....I'm sure there are certain models of guitar that will withstand the customizing (to a degree) and hold their resale (my old KnightSwan was customized) and it held it's resale quite well. The good thing about getting a C.W neck is that you can get what you want...In my case a maple fretboard with John P type inlays....which btw I need to get ordered up!!!

[Soilent1]

Thanks for the response guys! I meant to say www.etguitars.com. They are in Australia and the guy responded promptly and intelligently. Basically it would cost me around $500 for LACS clone neck w/ reverse, bound heastock painted black and a bound Ebony fretboard. I think I'm gonna go for it!

I am keeping the stock Ibanez neck for sure! I just want a 7 string Ibby with bound Ebony board and they still refuse to make a production with those specs, so I'm taking matters into my own hands!!!! Mu ha ha ha!!!!!

[shreddersymphony]

Originally Posted by elcid

Maybe you lucked out, but nine time out of ten a partsocaster costs way more to build than you will ever make should you decide to sell it.

Yeah I guess it really depends. My custom guy hooked me up bigtime...most companies I asked for quotes from said 400-450 for just the fretboard with the inlay (no purfling). But that's besides the point, I think you missed my point entirely. What I was saying is most people, to my knowledge, dont go about a custom project to then after its all done turn around and sell it. Most people engage in these custom projects to build themselves an instrument they will love head to toe, that has no quirks or downsides from their point of view over any other instrument available, and is unique. No one in the world will have the same guitar if it's a true custom project, because every builder is unique and even if you get the same exact woods together theres very little chance of being able to build an identical one...for example the triple color stain on the back of the neck of my first custom seems like it just happened to come out that way, and wouldnt come out looking the same if it were repeated.

Thus, it doesnt matter what the resale value is, because the guitar in many cases will not be resold.

[jim777]

In my experience they almost never come out the way you'd hope, either. For those that do, fantastic, but they are more gamble than 'slam dunk made in heaven match' in my experience. The only thing I'd order custom now are pickups

[shreddersymphony]

Originally Posted by jim777

In my experience they almost never come out the way you'd hope, either. For those that do, fantastic, but they are more gamble than 'slam dunk made in heaven match' in my experience. The only thing I'd order custom now are pickups

True man. It's all about finding a builder who REALLY cares about how the project comes out and shares your vision for the guitar. I thankfully have found that, and as long as he's buildin' I'll be getting guitars made by him.

[elcid]

Originally Posted by shreddersymphony

I think you missed my point entirely. What I was saying is most people, to my knowledge, dont go about a custom project to then after its all done turn around and sell it.

I understand that but the resale value is something to consider. Especially because you dont know what you are getting when yuo custom make a guitar. You can spend $1500 on parts only to get something taht you cant stand to play, but it looks great. I've done 2 custom project strats and a tele that I never intended to sell, but either because I needed money or they didnt end up working for me they were sold. All three of them were at a pretty sizeable loss. Im putting the finshing touches on another Tele. I went into it knowing that if it doesnt work out I will have wasted alot more money than if I just bought a production model for the same price and ended up selling it. Im just warning the guy to think about what he wants before he does it and pointing out a very real downside to going the custom route.

[shreddersymphony]

Originally Posted by elcid

I understand that but the resale value is something to consider. Especially because you dont know what you are getting when yuo custom make a guitar. You can spend $1500 on parts only to get something taht you cant stand to play, but it looks great. I've done 2 custom project strats and a tele that I never intended to sell, but either because I needed money or they didnt end up working for me they were sold. All three of them were at a pretty sizeable loss. Im putting the finshing touches on another Tele. I went into it knowing that if it doesnt work out I will have wasted alot more money than if I just bought a production model for the same price and ended up selling it. Im just warning the guy to think about what he wants before he does it and pointing out a very real downside to going the custom route.

I guess I see your point. That's definitely the case in a situation where the person building your guitar is a thousand miles away and youre communicating by email or something. My builder is an hour's drive from where I live, so I coordinate everything with him and he cues me in on every single centimeter of the guitar to ensure I'm completely happy with it. For others ordering from companies online and such I imagine its a much more stressful / risky situation.