Ibanez neck on a Strat body

[slugman]

Anyone tried putting an Ibanez pre-AANJ neck on a Strat body? I took a look and it seems like it will work-- the screw holes might not line up and the pickguard would definitely need some cutting to accomodate 2 extra frets. The route for the neck pickup in my body is for a humbucker so I can shift the single coil back a little. But the real test is to actually try it.

(in regards to why--> i really like the sound of my Alder strat, but don't like the neck, so I don't play it much).

[gunkungfu]

it will work if it's a 22 fret neck

[frankfalbo]

It will work for both 22 and 24 fret necks that aren't AANJ. But if it's the 24 fretter, then remember it doesn't just have the fretboard extending. There's also a little bit of neck under there to reinforce the board. That's why an RG body has a slight recess cut in it from the neck pocket to the pickup cavity. So you may find (depending on the height of the neck pocket) that the fretboard extension hits the body before the neck sits flush in the pocket. In that case, you'd also have to route the "RG" style channel. If you need more room in the neck pickup cavity, flip the pickup around so the triangular tab is facing the neck. Then you can get the pickup even farther away from the neck pocket to accomodate the fretboard extension.

[David McCarroll]

sort of, um, like, why would you bother?

Why not just put the strat pickups on a 3 SC scratchplate and put that on your JEM/RG?

[Cozi101]

Probably because there's more to the sound than the pickups.

[Flobanez]

How about an Ibanez EX 22 fret neck?

[slugman]

I've got 24 fret necks only, so those have got to fit. Though I suppose I could sell one and get a 22 fret neck, except then they'd be the wrong profile, so I'd be back to where I started. But uh, that's too much work. Cutting a channel for the extension is not a problem. Thanks Frank!

And yes, there is more to the sound than the pickups Also a cheap used alder Strat (whole) costs less than even the slab of wood I'd need to make a body out of alder, and you've got a handful of parts left over for another project.

[stratoskier]

If you don't care about the extra two frets, another option is to trim your 24-fret neck down to 22. I used an Ibanez RT650 neck (24-frets with the traditional neck joint) on a strat body. I simply used a coping saw to carefully cut off the extended fretboard at the 22 fret. With that easy mod, the neck fit just fine and there was no routing required.

[spacenuke]

Originally Posted by stratoskier

If you don't care about the extra two frets, another option is to trim your 24-fret neck down to 22. I used an Ibanez RT650 neck (24-frets with the traditional neck joint) on a strat body. I simply used a coping saw to carefully cut off the extended fretboard at the 22 fret. With that easy mod, the neck fit just fine and there was no routing required.

Doesn't the RT650 neck have binding around it? You have a picture of the guitar?

[stratoskier]

Yes, it does have binding. That's part of why I like those necks. There is an old thread about this guitar called "My JS700 with JS6 envy" that you can pull up. (Sorry, I don't know how to link directly to other threads). Or here are some links to the pics:


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