My Second Musikraft Hendrix Neck in Rosewood - Unboxing and First Look
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- Опубліковано 22 гру 2022
- It took Musikraft a little less than 3 weeks to finish this neck. It is a beautiful neck and I can't wait to install in on my vintage 1964 Strat. I didn't want to have my old neck refretted again with vintage frets, plus I wanted the large CBS reverse headstock, so I figured it would be easier to swap out necks. Here are the specs of what I ordered:
Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy 2023
CBS® Neck Custom Build
Guitar Neck Build:
Qty: 1, Price: $215.00
Construction Type:
2 Piece Constructed
Orientation:
Reverse for Right Handed Players
Scale Length:
25.5" Standard Fender
Number of Frets:
21
Nut Width:
1.650" (41.9mm)
Nut Slot Style:
1/8" Nut Slot (Standard Fender)
Heel Width and Type:
2-3/16" (55.55mm) Rounded Strat
Truss Rod Type:
Single Acting w/ Vintage Nut adjust @ Heel
59 Truss Option:
Standard Positioning
Shaft Wood:
Roasted Rock Maple ($80.00)
Fingerboard Wood:
Indian Rosewood Dark ($30.00)
Fingerboard Style:
Veneer (Vintage Fender) 21 Fret Only ($40.00)
Fingerboard Radius:
Compound 7-1/4" to 9-1/2" ($40.00)
Fingerboard Edge Style:
Semi Rolled Fingerboard Edges
Tuner Hole Size:
11/32" (Standard Kluson)
Top Inlay Type:
1/4 Dots (Imitation Clay)
Side Markers:
Imitation Clay 2mm
Side Dot Location:
50/50 Split (Veneer Style Finger Board Only)
12th Dot Spacing:
Wide (Vintage Style Pre 1964)
Fret Size and Type:
7230 Stainless (Vintage Small) ($60.00)
Skunk Stripe Option 2pc:
None
Back Profile Shape and Size:
AYS 84 97 (SRV)
Binding:
NONE
Tuner Install:
NONE
Nut Installation:
Install Slotted Bone Nut ($75.00)
Finish:
Oil (Same Oil Fender Uses) ($60.00)
Fingerboard Finish:
Oil on Rosewood Boards ($25.00)
Neck Mounting Holes:
Drill Neck Mounting Holes Standard Fender Pattern
Graphite Reinforcing Rods:
None
Administrative Up-Charges:
None
Order Change Acknowledgement:
I have read the order change policy
Delivery Confirmation:
No Signature required upon delivery
Comments:
Please use new extended CBS headstock as per Scott Smith. Thank you.
Total:
$625.00
Merry Christmas Millzee!
👍🇦🇺
Wow .... Lovely looking neck ....
They do fantastic work.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Jeff!
Love your passion and dedication so much :-) I have 3 x 1980's Tokai Goldstar Sound Strats - I really can't believe how much they came to life with the Raw Vintage springs and Highwood Saddles. Many thanks for the advice :-)
If you want to make that new fretboard even darker, a couple applications of Monty's Montypresso will help you get it closer to your '64. Have a good Christmas 🙂
I also appreciate Stan's generosity. Happy holidays to everyone.
That is really interesting that the springs and saddles made such a big difference. I knew they would but it is always great to hear testimonials. Now I'm finding that necks make as pretty big difference too. I guess it should be obvious but I didn't know it would make such a big difference. I'm not sure if it is the vintage frets, roasted maple, type of sawn maple, or all of the above that make the difference. I'm real curious to see how much difference this neck makes to vintage Strat. It will be a real eye opener if it improves the tone. That is what I am betting on. MK puts a really nice oil finish on these and it the drop-down it says "same oil Fender uses." I don't want to mess with that for now. I'm sure the rosewood will darken some with play. They do say that eventually the neck should be refinished with oil. Merry Christmas Tim.
Love the roasted maple. I have an old version of the musikraft lefty. 1.59" nut on mine, unroasted but otherwise just like yours. Play it in good health!! Happy New Year!
It absolutely improved the sound of my 1964 Strat. I was shocked at how much the roasted maple looks just like my old neck. I did a great job in copying the vintage neck specs. The SRV profile is exactly what is on my vintage neck. Those small frets are key too. I will do some demo videos in the new year. Happy New Year.
She's a beauty brother! Merry CHRISTmas and happy New Year.
Merry CHRISTmas J.W. Jesus died for our sins and we are forever grateful for that. We would be in a world of hopelessness and despair if it wasn't for the love of God. I'm sure some people feel that way this Christmas and that is why they need to ask Him into their lives. They will thank us later.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas Kevin!
Looks really nice Stan! I want to hear how it sounds now!! I look forward for that video!
Merry Christmas Nico! I probably won't be able to put it on until Monday hopefully before we go out of town for a few days.
Merry christmas from sweden
Merry Christmas Jonnie! I can't imagine how beautiful Christmas is in Sweden. I've seen some photos.
Merry Hendrixmas my friend.Hope the best for tour family..💜👔
Merry Christmas Linus! See you in the new year.
It looks great! Hope you had a Merry Christmas.
I got a new ES-335! Should be in my hands on Tuesday!
Wow, that sounds nice. I do wish I had at least one humbucker guitar. I got this neck on yesterday and it by far improved the sound of my vintage Strat. I was shocked at how much it looks like the old neck right down to the roasted maple color. It looks almost identical. I learned a valuable lesson though and I should have realized it. I'm pretty sure Fender used larger neck mounting screws back in 1964. I think I noticed once when I compared them to the screws on my Nash Strat. Mine were longer and bigger OD. Well, they gave me a heart attack and cracked the roasted maple. Not bad enough to destroy the neck but enough to make me almost die. It was panic time but I got it situated and now it is perfect minus a few cosmetic coats of Super Glue here and there and a hole in the rosewood. Yeah, I know, sounds like a disaster and I thought it was but I fixed everything. The good thing is I will never take it off again. What type of ES-335 did you get? I don't know much about what Gibson is offering.
Awesome neck ! I had Musikraft build my 2 years ago. Your maple fretboard Musikraft neck and mine are almost identical lol except for I went for the 9.5 radius fretboard and EC v shape neck. And of course I also went with the reverse headstock. And I also went with the vintage small frets.
Yeah, the profiles are so personal and they are what always stopped me from ordering one because I just couldn't decide. Ideally, I would love to have real examples of all of the profiles to put in my hand and feel. I'm real curious about the V's too. I basically tried to copy my 1964 neck since it is the most comfortable I have. I can't wait to see if this new MK neck improves the sound of a vintage Strat. Just having the big reverse headstock will improve it some by having those long wound strings that ring so well.
Awesome neck! I just ordered a neck from Musikraft to SRV specs with the EVO Gold frets. I hope it comes in as nice as yours did
I'm sure it will. Their quality is super impressive and I told them so. They should be proud of their craftsmanship. Merry Christmas.
sweet you reversed it this time - love it. Not gonna lie kind of jonesing to build one now. Can't wait to hear it and a comparison of the maple one after you get her broke in.
It’s amazing. The vintage neck will never go back on. Video soon in new year.
Very nice! Hope it sounds as nice as it looks! Happy holidays!
That will be the coolest experiment. I have a feeling it will improve the tone of a vintage 1964 Strat. That just goes to show (if it turns out that way) that the vintage market is a lot of hype and new guitars can be better than a lot of vintage guitars. Like Jimi would do, he would go through 10-20 Strats and maybe settle on 2 good ones, so they weren't all great guitars back in the day.
@millstap I'm preaching to the choir here but jimi probably never cared about what guitar they gave him as long as it worked and played well lol I've read that he basically played off the shelf guitars and went through 'em like crazy. Gotta keep in mind though the strats back then, when Leo was still running things, were probably still produced to a higher standard than today's. Don't quote me on that though
@@N0thingIsTrue You need to watch this recent interview with Roger Mayer. He said that Jimi was super picky about his Strats and that he would go through 10 or 20 in the store and only pick 2 out of that bunch. He said they had to feel right to Jimi. I'm not sure what Jimi was looking for and we submitted a lot of questions for part 3 to Roger that hopefully will answer a lot of Jimi's Strat setup questions. Guitar Village is hoping to get Roger in to answer our questions in January. Guitar Village contacted me to get the questions. A lot of them are subscriber questions too. You commented on my video but I don't think you added any questions for Roger. ua-cam.com/video/_Yy-IYE-YsY/v-deo.html, ua-cam.com/video/XrGCYNCAY5A/v-deo.html, ua-cam.com/video/G8umuJzhYcc/v-deo.html
@millstap I'm ashamed to admit I forgot about the interview. Was wrestling with some real-life issues. I'm going to submit a question here in the hope that Roger might be able to shed some light on them. I've gotten into building pedals lately and would love to know if hfe values for fuzz transistors matter that much or is biasing them correctly the actual key to a good sounding fuzz pedal. Also this is a long shot but if Roger was ever involved with the actual set-up of Jimi's strats, did he prefer floating or decked bridges and if floating how much gap between the bridge and body did they allow.
Thanks for doing this Stan and thanks to Roger as well, he's a living legend.
Btw in case you miss this I'll submit the questions under your other video too.
@@N0thingIsTrue Great question about the floating vs. decked. I can't believe I forgot that one. I did several videos about it. I'm going to send your questions right now to Guitar Village.
I'm going to order one with your specs: I'll tell them "please give me Millstap specs"! It will go on my 1997 Hendrix Tribute, which has the original neck that I had to get regretted with medium-jumbos since original owner filed the vintage frets flat for some reason, but got a good deal on it. I have other strats to use it on, but the Jimi strat could use a chunkier neck, although it feels wonderful with the original 1968 profile.
WOW, looks great !! Congrats !!
Merry Christmas Terry.
@@millstap same to you too sir !! :)
That neck is a beauty, congrats! According to several sources I've found in a Strat talk forum thread the dot spacing changed some time in mid 1963 from wide to narrow, so the information on the Musikraft website isn't entirely accurate and the wording they have used is a bit confusing. It should be "Pre Mid 1963 - wide spacing" and "Post Mid 1963 - narrow spacing". Maybe I should contact them and ask for a more accurate description so future customers can avoid any confusion. Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!
Good idea. I think Musikraft is open to suggestions. They did modify the CBS headstock a while back after a vintage collector told them it wasn't accurate. My dot are definitely a little narrower on my 1964. I picked Pre-1964 dot spacing options on both necks and they are wider than a real 1964 neck. It's kind of interesting how people really focus in on the spacing.
Beautiful craftsmanship and some tasteful choices there, merry x-mas Stan!
Was just wondering if you ever gave TUSQ nuts a try. I see that you went for an old-school bone nut on this one. One of my strats 'pings' at the nut during whammy action so I thought it must be a nut issue.
Interesting TUSQ story. My Nash left handed Strat came with a TUSQ nut. It was the worse tremolo I had for staying in tune. I even mentioned it to Nash. I had the TUSQ replaced with a bone nut and still had tuning problems. That is when I FINALLY realized that 99% of tremolo problems are at the saddles. I'm sure the TUSQ nut would have worked fine but when I took it off, I noticed a feature that I didn't like. In the center of the nut was a little raised area like a support for the nut to raise it a tad in the center. That caused two air gaps on each side of the support. I like the nut to fit flush across the whole nut slot. I'm not sure why they would do that. If I used another TUSQ nut, I would level the bottom but then I don't know if there is enough material there and if the pre-cut slots would be correct. Maybe cutting the slots yourself on a TUSQ black would be best. I still like the sound of bone though. Try a little of my miracle Super Lube in your slots to stop the pinging. It's clear and non-staining so it won't discolor the nut. Otherwise the slots are nut cut correctly for the gauge strings you are using. I still pot the Super Lube on my bone nut slots occasionally just for insurance. But, you could have a saddle issue too but the pinging usually comes from the nut. Tuning issues are easy to troubleshoot. If a string goes sharp after a deep dive bomb, lift the out of tune string slightly in the nut slot to see if it goes back in tune. If not, it's the saddle causing the problem. Then the Highwood Contour saddles with Super Lube in the groove fixes that.
@millstap Apparently they do that on TUSQ nuts to make it easier to fit on both curved and flat nut slots. If yours is flat, just drop it in there and you're good. If not, just file down those stubs and you get a curved nut bottom. I wondered aboht that too though. Ideally one would want as much contact area as possible between the nut and the slot for maximum resonance, right? Those stubs get in the way of that if you got a flat slot.
Some great info here, much appreciated, thanks! I'll do some experimenting and report back.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I do have a question about the necks you ordered. I have a Fender Custom Shop 1969 Stratocaster and I would love to order a neck like the one you just bought. Would the measurements you have work on the body of my guitar or do I need the exact specifications for my guitar? Thanks so much for everything you do here!
Hey Jamal, yes it should work beautifully. The only thing you should double check is the width of the heel of your existing neck. It should be a standard 2-3/16" rounded Strat in the drop-down but they do have a 2-1/4" option which must be for some of the foreign made Strats. When you go on their website, click on "Learn More" and then "heel width and they explain where to measure the old neck. Other than that, everything is the same. I put the neck on my vintage 1964 Strat yesterday and I was shocked at how much it looked like my old neck but it plays beautifully and sounds much better than the original neck. I had some trouble with the four mounting screws though. On my vintage guitar, the screws are bigger than I think what is being used now by Fender. Just be sure they are not too big for the holes and too long. I should have bought some new mounting screws but it didn't dawn on me that my vintage screws were bigger. The roasted wood cracked a little so be careful. Don't put too much force on them when you are screwing them in. The roasted maple is prone to cracking more than standard maple.
@@millstap Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge!!!
Congrats! looks amazing! Do you recommend using oil on Rosewood Fingerboard? im about to order a Strat Style Neck from Musikraft
Yes, that oil they say that is the same that Fender uses is good stuff. A very smooth, slick finish which allows the wood to breath. I love it. The third neck we got was with the tinted oil but just stay with the standard. It didn't darken the wood very much. We were trying to make it look a little more vintage.
@@millstap Thanks for the info! Enjoy it looks amazing!
I also purchased a Strat neck from Musikraft and i'm very happy with it. The one you're showing here shows a flat sawn pattern in the headstock area. This is something i don't like, but you have specified it like that, so it was built accordingly. In this case, i would prefer the original neck due to it's appearance. Better for coparison would have been to take them both off the guitar and show the backside and heel view of either one. Roasted is definitely a good thing for tone and stability. I also like that natural tan of roasted maple as long as it is not overdone. Tonally it would need direct comparison. I think the original 64 necks have been veneered with brazilian rosewood. Brazilian is ofcourse unbeatable for both it's beauty and it's tonal properties. However a 3mm thin veneer may have taken away from the tone compared to a good quality solid rosewood fingerboard, even Indian. Other than that i think there is no reason for complaints on the Musikraft neck. They are building necks that are even better than the Fender custom shop necks, if you are willing to pay the price.
I don't know much about different cuts so I went with what Fender usually used. I had read there were twisting problems with some of the more exotic cuts. This neck is the best. I love everything about it. It's interesting that both new Musikraft necks are the same flat sewn maple but look totally different. You never know what you're going to get with a tree unless you personally pick out each piece of wood. On neck #3, my friend wasn't happy with the cut of the maple veneer because of some discolored strips on the fingerboard but every piece is unique and that is what I like about it; no two pieces are alike. I may replace all of my vintage necks with Musikraft necks. They are that good. The roasted maple is wonderful and does feel and sound great.
Looks awesome!. Can't wait to hear it. The 64 was 7.25" radius also? Merry Christmas 🎄
Yes, 7-1/4" radius. This one is compound 7-1/4" to 9-1/2". I was going to go straight 7-1/4 this time but then I read on a forum where a guy was having some "choking" problems on bends which I call "fret out." That convince me to stick with what was working on that first neck. I did not want to deal with any 'fret outs" even though I don't have problems on my vintage Strats. Just being cautious. You can hardy tell, if at all, where it transitions to 9-1/2".
@millstap compound 7.25"/9.5" is really the best of both worlds imo so great choice there. I have to keep the high E on my 7.25" radius strat at 5/64", otherwise it chokes when I bend above 1.5 tones. All the other strings are choke-free though, maybe some minor fret-level issue. I like high-ish action anyway so no problem for me lol
@@N0thingIsTrue That's the same with me. I've kept my strings at 5/64" for a long time now. There were times where I had to go to 6/64" on the E and B to keep from choking. Some of it was uneven frets and I figured out how to level a few frets using my crowning file although that is not an ideal situation. You end up having to work up the neck because once you lower one, the next one is too high, but I pulled it off. The 9-1/2" radius solves that problem and might be why Fender settled on it for most of their guitars.
How do you find the stainless steel frets? Thinking about a partscaster build at the moment, kind of vintage strat with a few modern appointments and tempted to go stainless. Just wandered if it affects the strat vintage vibe?
The SS frets might sound a tad brighter but when you are playing, no one would ever notice it. The only thing is they might feel hard because you are not wearing off some nickel every time you play the softer nickel frets. They are indispensable for me. I play a lot and there is no way I would have ever gone to the small vintage sized fret without them being SS. I know for a fact after 2 months I would already be seeking to have a refret with nickel frets. The small frets have no meat left for any leveling so SS is almost mandatory. I love them. The best thing I ever did and I used EVO Gold frets for many years but I like the SS frets better. Even now with the SS frets, I look at the neck every day to see if I am wearing them down. I play hard, hours every day so I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't wear out the SS frets. I did slowly wear out the EVO Gold frets. SS is super popular for a reason. I put this neck on my vintage 1964 Strat and it sounded better than the vintage neck with EVO Gold frets on it. I will eventually put small SS frets on the 1964 neck. I had narrow and tall on it .055 x .090" and the intonation with the small frets has improved 100%.
@@millstap Thanks for the reply. I think I’ll go stainless then. I tend to like medium jumbo myself but they should intonate fine if they are well crowned out the box.
Main thing is they will play well for a long time, I’m fed up of frets not playing well after a matter of months like yourself.
I end up getting fret dresses by local luthiers who never do great jobs, so was looking at getting the tools myself, but may as well just slowly move all guitars over to SS.
Beautiful , I remember hitting Like when you got it but didn't comment , what nut material did you choose ?
It is a bone nut. Both nuts were set up perfectly so I just had to string it up and start playing.
@@millstap Wow thanks ! I think I'll ask them to install it instead of bringing it the my luthier. Really appreciate !
@@lousekoya1803 Yes, good choice. They are perfect. Much better than any my luthiers have made.
@@millstap Oh now you got me drooling ! haha!
Are you going to replace a vintage strat neck with the musikraft?
Is your guitar a real 60’s strat?
Thanks
Yes, the Musikraft neck is actually better than my vintage 1964 neck. Also, I wanted to try the vintage size Fender frets and didn’t want to get the 1964 neck refretted. And I wanted a reverser, large CBS headstock. I’m getting my 5th Musikraft neck for a new Strat build soon.
Millstap, firstly thanks for your dedication to Hendrix's playing and gear. I have been a Hendrix 'disciple' since I was 13 (and I'm still under his spell over 30 years later) so I really appreciate people like you who actually know what you're talking about when it comes to Jimi. Anyway... I have a question about strat necks I wondered if you could answer: Are those large c-shaped 1955 necks better for playing open chords do you think? I have an Eric Johnson strat, which is great but sometimes the open chording can be a bit fragile to keep everything from modulating out of tune... (I'm always looking for the strat that can do what my Martin acoustic does with open chords, plus all the great moveable chords, solos, etc of an electric). Thanks so much. All the best...
Mac, I looked up the EJ neck specs. '57 style soft V profile, medium jumbo frets, 12 degree neck radius. I think what you are missing in your EJ neck vs. the Martin is the smaller frets. I will never use anything but the vintage size frets again. They make a big difference in open chord intonation. I've never played a soft V neck but I can tell you I can't stand anything over a 9-1/2" radius with 7-1/4" being the most comfortable for chording. I have the compound radius from 7-1/4" to 9-1/2" and love it. The SRV profile (AYS 84 97) is almost exactly like my vintage 1964 neck. I would check the size of the frets on your Martin. I'm thinking the Martin has a pretty flat radius but they just feel like planks to me when compared to the comfortable 7-1/4" radius. I'm waiting for another neck with a full 7-1/4" radius and I will do a video and compare it with the others. If you are thinking of getting a replacement neck for you EJ Strat, you can't go wrong with the Musikraft neck as long as you order the correct specs. AYS stands for asymmetrical which is what a lot of vintage '60's Fender necks were. SRV preferred it apparently. I've heard the V shape is nice but looking at the photo, I'm not sure it would fit my hand very well. A comfortable neck profile and the right sized frets (get the SS frets because they will last) will make a big difference. There are so many profiles to choose from but from experience now, I can say the AYS 84 97 feels great and plays great all over the neck. I got the 9-1/2" radius to keep notes from choking out on big bends toward the body but 7-1/4" the whole way would be even more comfortable. Hope this helps.
@@millstap Thanks very much for your time. That is wonderful information! I never thought of downsizing the frets but I did watch all your previous videos where you discovered how great they are. Yeah, I have large hands so always enjoyed a larger neck radius which grips well. I tried out a Hendrix Izabella custom shop strat at the music store and LOVED the feel of it (but it was $ 9000 CAN), which is why I was thinking of just getting the neck replaced. I will probably copy the specs that you posted here but with maple fingerboard (and normal headstock). Thanks again!
@@millstap Hi Again, so I just got the specs on the limited edition Hendrix Woodstock strat and it sounds just like the specs you were citing: This model is period-correct, from the stripeless “‘60s Oval C”-shaped maple neck with a 7.25”-radius round-lam maple fingerboard, bearing 21 vintage-style frets. So that is double-encouraging. Cheers.
@@macarius8802 yes, I didn't know what a round-lam fingerboard is but as far as I can tell it is the same or very similar to what I call a maple cap like the first neck I bought. They were very sought after after Jimi used them in the late '60's. I love it. I'm sure Musikraft has the oval C profile. They have a .pdf either on their website or you can contact them and they will email it to you with all of the profiles available so you can see their cross-sectional dimensions.
@@macarius8802 I did find out that round-lam stands for round-laminated so a maple cap is probably the same thing. It could be a difference in carving the wood to a 7-1/4" radius versus bending a veneer piece of wood to the radius. I'm not sure exactly how Musikraft does it but they will certainly tell you if you ask.
Just get a fret dressing. A refret is almost never necessary unless you have hands of steel.
Actually, I do have hands of steel and can wear out a nickel fret in less than six months. The vintage neck has FW55090 EVO Gold wire which never wears out even though I did recrown them recently. The whole goal is to get away from the larger frets and go back to the vintage size Fender frets, .043" tall and .078" wide, and also to get the reverse CBS headstock for the better sound and playability.
@@millstap Ahh, grip of death, I get it. My tele neck has stainless vintage frets. Harder than EVO and a bitch to dress- if it would ever need it, but really, they last a lifetime.
@@guitartec yeah, I play 2-3 hours per day. With my death grip, it doesn't take long. That is why I got SS on these two MK necks especially with the small vintage frets. I would have worn them out in a month in nickel. These are the first SS frets I've had and I'm loving them although I'm already looking at them for wear (none so far). I need to come up with a good diamond dressing file or something, because like you said, they are hard to dress. I have a few sharp ends and I tried to smooth them out with a sanding stick and it didn't touch them at all. All I have are diamond crowning files. This second neck must have been fretted by someone else because the end angle is a little more like 35 degrees vs. about 20 degrees on the first one which made for the sharper feeling ends.
@@millstap I see a Stew🪛🔨🔩🎸Mac purchase in your future