Jester700

Many necks will fit - basically. If it's a 25.5" scale, has 21 or 22 frets, and does NOT have a special "all access" heel design, it's LIKELY a standard strat size. Check with the maker before buying, though. Carvins, for example, are a little big and need slight modding.

Well *I* would use MY name, not "John Smith... ;-) Actually, yeah - technically, you own copyright when you create it, and the notice just says that. The problem happens if you ever need to legally defend your copyright. At THAT point, it had better be registered. But I think "form SR" (for "sound recording"), registering a whole CDs worth of tunes for one $30 fee, is acceptable.

I didn't realize you were going after the BACK of the neck (when I read RADIUS I think FRETBOARD; when I read PROFILE I think of the BACK). Well, yeah, you should know where the truss rod is, especially WRT the nut area - THAT's where trouble is likely to start. Having said that, I sanded down a Carvin neck, but I knew from a cross section pic where the rod was and I took more off the "D" shape shoulders than the actual back.

IIRC this was recently discussed. Basically, it's a lot of work and expensive if you pay someone to do it. Better to get another neck if it's a bolt on. If not, it MIGHT be worth it, but only on GOOD guitars. IMO not many Samicks would fit that bill, as good as they may be on value.

See, Ed plays up that "Roman" thing, with the helmet logo and all. That's not an "11", it's a Roman numeral "2". ...hehehehe...

I'm confused; I thought the wide-range buckers had CuNiFe magnetic poles, not a magnet underneath.

Save the guitar; douse the MPA member instead... ;-)

Neck position pups are usually a little weaker & brighter compared to their bridge "sibling". But many guitars come with the same pickup in both positions, and there's no reason you can't use any pickup in any position, IF it's the sound you want. I dunno how Fender's bucker fits into this, but that first came out in the early 70's, and I'd guess it was the same pickup for both positions,at least back then.

These tricks work, but will wear if you hit them with your pick. No effect on tone; they're totally non-magnetic.

Radius is, within limits. IIRC, 10", 12", 14", or 20". Only MOP or abalone dots or blocks for inlay (black on maple). If you're building a guitar, profile should't be an issue, should it (unless you want it thicker, of course).

That looks nice, too. The GA5 has a flat fretboard, IIRC (like a classical). The AEF20 has a radius to it.

I do that too, at times. But the surface area exposed to "stuff falling on it" increases exponentially... ;-)

I love wall hangers. I have 6, and they are full. I also use cheap rubber coated U-shaped hangers from the hardware store, but they're light duty; I only use them for my mandolin and project necks.

You gave us a frame page. Was this what you meant? http://www.ibanez.com/guitars/guitar.asp?model=AEF20CSNERLG I like this thing; kinda cheap-ish and quiet, but very comfortable.

I don't think it's a universal problem. Some Pauls are awesome (well, if you LIKE that sort of thing). Others make you wonder "how the heck did THAT get through QA?" If you like pauls, you can surely get a great guitar - I'd play several and pick the best one. Actually, that's good advice on ANY guitar, but especially so on Gibsons, given the (IMO) poor QA/price ratio. Having said all that, I haven't looked at them much in the last few years, so maybe they've improved the issues since then.

Actually, there were also american made Fenders in the 70's that were terrible for the price. CBS started really cheaping out at one point. A pal once had an official strat that only had 2 knobs. He said he got it because he heard they were soon going to move production offshore. IMO he should have waited for the first Japanese run... And there are definitely Gibson clunkers, even at their price point.

Tone is taste. Some love Gibson "thickness", others hate it's "muddiness" That history thing is baloney. They were the MAJOR good guitars until the 80's, so anything before then doesn't count. Since then, yeah, many people still love them, but many guitarists are also "vintage buffs" for no good reason; there's nothing about a Fender or Gibson that a Yamaha, Heritage, Hamer, or other make couldn't dupe at the same price point (well, except psychologically). And since the 80's PLENTY of great rock has been done on non-fender, non-gibson guitars. As for value, well, OK if you're into collecting. But percentage is kind of misleading. You'll lose every bit as many dollars on reselling your overpriced gibson as any other brand, and lose more right off the bat when you "drive it off the lot". As you say, buy what you want & love it. I never understood the gibson "thing", but obviously many people do.

There are SO many choices. I'd say get something cheap that is usually accepted as decent quality and "looks" good to you. Everything else is a taste call, and you haven't developed a taste yet. This is why I say go cheap. IF you stick with guitar, in a year or two you'll have a better idea of what you like & what's available, and can spend more money on one that fits YOU. Really, I'd find a friend who's familiar with guitars to pick a good first axe. Plus, he may be able to adjust whatever you get to make it better than it is at first - this happens a LOT with cheap guitars.

Plus, if you think more tension helps your action, go a gauge higher.

No, I guess it didn't! It just came off that way to me, because it sounded like it implied even the lightest ash, basswood, whatever is still "wood" whereas balsa isn't, and usually "different from the accepted" = "bad" in guitar wood.

Well, maple bodied guitars are among the brightest I've played, so I imagine an alder neck would sound less bright, if anything.

I don't understand why people dismiss balsa out of hand. I mean, OK, it's very light and very soft. Some people dismiss basswood for the same reasons, though balsa goes even further in those respects. But since many of the most prized woods are fairly light, and many prized pieces are among the lightest cuts (I'm thinking light swamp ash strats & teles here), why the comments about "wood & air"? I'd rather have the "wood & air" light ash tele than the solid maple one. Anyway, why CAN'T balsa be used as a core, or other use in which its weight is an advantage and its weakness and porosity are non-issues? What do the studio light Pauls sound like?

If there's not that much difference, yes - use sandpaper. But if you have a lot of meat to cut off, a blade like a spokeshave will do it much faster, but you gotta know what you're doing - you can gouge the neck. Maybe files, if you're good with them.

I sold my Nomad (deluxe, with the built in FX, which was a Zoom 505 at the time) to get the Steiny. The Spirit is a much better guitar and more fun to play, even in a travel situation. The only thing the nomad had going was, no 3' cord to a 9V amp - it was all there.

All of the old Kramer, Jackson, and Charvel guitars with Floyds had that angle. Before trem routs were common, you had to set the bridge higher to get any pull-up on it, which meant shimming the pocket to get a neck angle. Never bothered me.