A lefty neck on a righty guitar?

[Queens_Brian_May]

Hey guys, maybe one of you can help...

Working on a strat project, got the body done.... pickups installed..etc..etc..

Thinking about buying a lefty Fender strat neck to put on this righty Fender strat body.

Why?
I like the reverse headstock look (I wouldn't want it on everything, but one 1 thing is cool) and I have realized that I can buy a heck of alot more neck in a lefty, than I can a righty.

On a Fender, is there any problem that I am not recognizing?? ie: The string tree's that would normally have high E and B strings on them, would now have the Low E and A....is this a problem? can they accomidate the fatter strings??

I know Fender has a custom shop guitar that comes with a lefty neck, on a righty body...so I know this can be done, but can I do it right, and very easy?

Thanks!

[Koss]

Fender necks aren't a problem. Because the neck joint is square. The string trees are not a problem either. The nut however should be changed.

[Sabre]

Beleive it or not, apparently string trees aren't even necassary, as seen on the EJ Sig Strat.

[Queens_Brian_May]

Great point Koss... thats why I love Jemsite. I forgot about the nut.
Not to sound dumb.... but how hard is it to change the nut?

Thanks

[bluealien]

Originally Posted by Queens_Brian_May

Great point Koss... thats why I love Jemsite. I forgot about the nut.
Not to sound dumb.... but how hard is it to change the nut?

Thanks

On a strat , its usally glue in place, so you will have to break the hold.

Take a flat block and lay it alongside the nut (fretboard side) and give the block a sharp "tap" with a hammer. The nut should just pop out. Clean up the area of any glue residue. Your best bet is to take the old nut along with you when you buy the replacement. Try to match it up as perfect as you can, keeping in mind length, height and string spacing. You might need to modify the new one slightly. If its too high I would suggest sanding the bottom down with sandpaper on a flat surface. Make sure its sanded evenly and the end result is flat. A couple drops of superglue should be sufficient to hold it in place.

Hope this helps...

[sixtywattman]

When I changed the nut out on my Telecaster the fit was so snug I just set it in there and didn't even glue it. That was after a few minutes of sanding to get it to fit.

[Demiurge]

Keep in mind that a left neck's side dots are going to be on the high-e side when mounted on a righty body, so you'll probably have to sort out a solution for that.

[bluealien]

Originally Posted by Demiurge

Keep in mind that a left neck's side dots are going to be on the high-e side when mounted on a righty body, so you'll probably have to sort out a solution for that.

Sharpie?

[fettouhi]

Originally Posted by Koss

Fender necks aren't a problem. Because the neck joint is square. The string trees are not a problem either. The nut however should be changed.

+1

Regards

André

[Demiurge]

Originally Posted by bluealien

Sharpie?

Sure... or I think www. fretwear .com makes abalone decal side-dots ... or the LED side dots that are sold on the 'bay

[Lefty Robb]

its really easy to not have side dots, just look at the board inlays....I thought I would have trouble without them but I got used to it really easy.

[nickcoumbe]

Ok I have done this with two guitars and it works fine.

1st was a usa strat neck onto a custom strat body. Everything worked fine.

2nd was an aanj lefty neck onto an rg body. A bit of profiling was required but again it worked absolutely fine.

Yes the lack of side dots does take some getting used to.

Yes it does look cool

Look here for pics:

http://moreguitarpics.fotopic.net/p28599890.html

http://steve-wright.fotopic.net/p1194238.html