December Birthdays 
Last year I built my first guitar, a Jazzmaster that turned out very nice. I play it almost every day. Jazzmaster build (from templates)
I am starting a new JM build and could use your suggestions for a color (please link a photo in your reply). It's going to have a maple board, matching headstock and a Lava pickguard. Other than that - fire away!
Last year I picked up a one piece Swamp Ash board that had been sitting on a shelve for at least 10 years. The guy was done with luthiery and was selling all his stuff (I paid 80 euros). I have already started on the body. It's light and has a cool looking grain.
I wanted a one piece maple neck. I decided against building a neck because of having to buy tools for the fret slots etc. Yesterday I picked up a second-hand Allparts strat neck - the Lindy Fralin model. It's the Allparts baseball bat big-fat-neck, but somewhat more manageable. It was fitted to a body once but they guy didn't like it and put it away. He accepted my low-ball offer. Looks and feels like a quality product (are they made in Japan?) It's rift sawn and I particularly like the look of the fretboard. I do not like the piss-yellow nitro color 
and will go with a less yellow nitro.
I rounded over the fretboard edges and leveled, crowned and polished the frets. You can tell by the amount of dust there were more than a few high frets.
The neck came with a set of Kluson gold tuners. Don't like those. I took them off and put them up for sale online immediately. Installed a set of nickel vintage style Fender tuners. Luckily they cover the screw holes left behind by the Klusons.
I installed the neck on my Squier 40th Anniv. Fits perfectly - even the 4 screw holes are dead on. Kinda like how the maple board plays with all that gold. I was surprised how light the Squier neck was in comparison. They're both maple but definitely not same kind of maple. The frets are low for my taste but feel nice. I may refret it with a higher Jescar fret. The neck is BIG. But not uncomfortable. I'll play it for while before I decide if I'm going to take a bit off the sides or not.
Last edited: Jun 28, 2024 15:44:01
