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Old 05-27-2019, 08:35 AM
eyesore eyesore is online now
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Hi ; I've had my tele for about 10 years . bought it brand new. just started playing it again. I am an acoustic fingerpicker only. I want to set this guitar up similiar to an acoustic.I need a wider neck .Can anyone help me how to do this. I'm not a guitar tech by any means!how do i chose a new neck. Been llooking on Warmoth recently but I got confused . Too many choses . Thanks !
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Old 05-27-2019, 08:47 AM
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bnjp bnjp is offline
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I wouldn't go wider than 1 11/16" on an electric. Warmoth offers that width on a Tele neck. If you want it to play like an acoustic go with a higher # radius too. Your acoustic will have somewhere between a 12" and 16" (16" is the flattest radius Warmoth offers.)
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Old 05-27-2019, 08:56 AM
eyesore eyesore is online now
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Thanks . it seems to me that the stock neck on there now appears to be "1 5/8. Really narrow to me .Does that seem right ?
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Old 05-27-2019, 09:06 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Originally Posted by bnjp View Post
I wouldn't go wider than 1 11/16" on an electric. Warmoth offers that width on a Tele neck. If you want it to play like an acoustic go with a higher # radius too. Your acoustic will have somewhere between a 12" and 16" (16" is the flattest radius Warmoth offers.)
Curious on why you wouldn't go higher than 1 11/16, as it indicates you either have some general trouble with 1 11/16 being too wide, or that you've tried 1.75 width electric necks enough to have some rare experience with them. This is not snark, I'm genuinely curious (even though preference for neck width varies from player to player). I ask because I've considered 1.75 on an electric myself, but haven't done it.

Flatter radius (higher radius number) is something I'd agree with BTW.
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Last edited by FrankHudson; 05-27-2019 at 09:06 AM. Reason: typo
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Old 05-27-2019, 09:16 AM
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Bruce Sexauer Bruce Sexauer is offline
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I have a tele with a 1 3/4 nut. There are 2 problems with it which seem like deal breakers. One is that the neck pocket in the body dictated the width of the neck at that end, and that means that the strings are rather close to the edge of the fingerboard. The other is that the strings do not go over the pole pieces in the PUs optimally, and it is enough to effect the string to string balance. For the same reason that nylon string guitars ideally have wider necks than Steel String guitars, acoustic guitars ideally have wider necks than electrics. I am a 1 3/4 neck guy, but I am thinking of going back to 1 11/16 for my tele.
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Old 05-27-2019, 09:27 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Originally Posted by eyesore View Post
Hi ; I've had my tele for about 10 years . bought it brand new. just started playing it again. I am an acoustic fingerpicker only. I want to set this guitar up similiar to an acoustic.I need a wider neck .Can anyone help me how to do this. I'm not a guitar tech by any means!how do i chose a new neck. Been llooking on Warmoth recently but I got confused . Too many choses . Thanks !
I used to keep one Telecaster of mine setup to be played more like an acoustic. Biggest thing, other than just the conviction to play it like an acoustic was to use a .011 electric string set on it, and I suppose one could (should?) go even a step higher in string gauge and a set with a wound G string.

That guitar has a 90's American Telecaster neck on it, and it felt a bit wider at the nut than other Teles I've played, though I have to say I never measured it. It has a 9.5 radius. As mentioned above a flatter radius (higher radius numerically) would also feel more "acoustic like."

You mentioned Warmoth neck shopping. I have a 59 roundback carve on another Tele now. I choose it as being middle of the roadish without being "thin." I would go with the 16' Radius choice at Warmoth. If I had to do it over again, I'd go with the 1 3/4 (44mm) nut width. I see one answer above has warned you (and I) from that choice, but I'm not sure what difficulties that would bring to someone choosing to play a Telecaster like they play an acoustic. I would assume one objection would be harder thumb-wrap fretting, but it you don't do that on acoustic (or do, and have no trouble with 1.75 nut width) then I wouldn't consider it a factor. There may be something I'm overlooking regarding a wider nut width, so stay tuned to see if something comes up regarding that choice.

Overall, I'd say the strings and the choice to "think acoustic" are the biggest factors. The traditional Tele neck pickup often has an uncanny ability to sound like an acoustic with a magnetic pickup into a nice clean amp, and the lack of a whammy bar and good balance when played while seated has lead many acoustic players to play Telecasters as their electric.
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Old 05-27-2019, 09:41 AM
eyesore eyesore is online now
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Hmmm! wow this more tricky than I thought! would love to hear some more opinions.
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Old 05-27-2019, 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by FrankHudson View Post
Curious on why you wouldn't go higher than 1 11/16, as it indicates you either have some general trouble with 1 11/16 being too wide, or that you've tried 1.75 width electric necks enough to have some rare experience with them. This is not snark, I'm genuinely curious (even though preference for neck width varies from player to player). I ask because I've considered 1.75 on an electric myself, but haven't done it.

Flatter radius (higher radius number) is something I'd agree with BTW.
Try whatever size neck you want, Frank. If you have very large hands, then maybe a super wide neck is for you. Warmoth will make a 1 7/8 strat neck. To me 1.75 is too big of a jump with electric strings and leaves more space than I like between the strings. It's like if you've ever played a high-strung acoustic...tiny strings on a wide neck. All I feel is wood. If I went with an acoustic sized neck on my telecaster, I'd probably use bigger jazz strings as well (like 12's with a wound 3rd)...but then I'd rather just play a different kind of a guitar.
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Old 05-27-2019, 07:59 PM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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The last dozen years that I played Tele I used standard necks and custom thinline bodies to drop some of the weight. I gave away my last one a couple years ago and recently was gifted an unused Seymour Duncan 59 and a few other items.

I used the stuff to put together a 1-3/4" nut width 12" radius 24-3/4" scale length semi-acoustic that I'm very happy with. I'm used to 1-3/4" acoustics so this one feels very similar, but even easier to play.

I'm having so much fun with it I haven't taken the time to break it down for final finish application for the body.

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Old 05-28-2019, 03:36 AM
mirwa mirwa is offline
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Warmoth are IMO awesome for after market parts for peoples instruments and the ability to choose materials/woods/design has revolutionised the industry, the fact they can also do it so cheaply is mind blowing.

I hand make necks for local customers, typically 350-650 is the cost for a custom made neck.

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Old 05-28-2019, 07:22 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer View Post
I have a tele with a 1 3/4 nut. There are 2 problems with it which seem like deal breakers. One is that the neck pocket in the body dictated the width of the neck at that end, and that means that the strings are rather close to the edge of the fingerboard. The other is that the strings do not go over the pole pieces in the PUs optimally, and it is enough to effect the string to string balance. For the same reason that nylon string guitars ideally have wider necks than Steel String guitars, acoustic guitars ideally have wider necks than electrics. I am a 1 3/4 neck guy, but I am thinking of going back to 1 11/16 for my tele.
That does sound concerning! I'll have to say that I'm spacially-challenged when it comes to visualizing things sometimes, but on the conventional neck Tele hanging next to me as type this, the 12th fret neck width is a tick over 2 inches and the at the bridge string width would be a bit wider than that. You're seeing what you're seeing in something I don't have before me, but how does the extra 2/16" at the nut affect the width down nearer the bridge that much? In my mind (not necessarily an accurate place mind you!) I'd assume that there's just be less outward "splay" of the strings on their line from the nut to the bridge with a slightly wider nut to the conventional neck pocket end of fretboard and then to the bridge, making the spacing change at say the bridge pickup unremarkable--and I'd assume string to edge of neck at the upper frets to be undetectable too, but in yours, in your report, it's not.
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Old 05-28-2019, 08:12 AM
pf400 pf400 is offline
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I had an Eastman semi-hollowbody with 1.75 width and it was one of the best feeling necks I've ever played...but did not feel like an acoustic. Same thing with my current Gretsch with 1.75. If you can get to a shop and play an electric with this type of neck, you'll see what I mean. I picked up a strat with a Warmoth super-wide neck and it just feels weird, haven't gotten used to it but haven't been motivated to play it much. You're taking a risk if you install a wider neck on your tele...might be a waste of money. All this said, I do get used to playing fingerstyle on my tele and strat, just make very slightly more mistakes. BTW I keep my fingernails rather long and I doubt I'd be able to play fingerstyle well on any electric with short/no nails.

Those strings (even 12s) on electrics are a big factor in making any electric guitar hard to fingerpick on.
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Old 05-30-2019, 07:21 AM
Bill Pillmore Bill Pillmore is offline
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Default 1 3/4" tele neck

USA Custom guitars made me a 1 3/4" tele replacement neck I put on a no name tele made from parts. Works out fine for me.
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Old 05-30-2019, 07:29 AM
Brent Hahn Brent Hahn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy4 View Post
I used the stuff to put together a 1-3/4" nut width 12" radius 24-3/4" scale length semi-acoustic that I'm very happy with...
Oh, man, that thing looks fantastic. Totally floats my boat. Better get it at least sealed pretty soon, though, or it'll suck in dirt you'll never get out.

Do you have a block inside, or is it completely hollow?
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Old 05-30-2019, 11:55 AM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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Rudy4,
I normally don't get excited over electric guitars (at least not since high school), but that is a happenin' machine you have created.
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