Fender Strat Neck Swap

I've been working on several Fender Stratocaster projects over the past few years. Last year (2007) I picked up a Fender Squier Strat for $60 off of good old Austin Craigslist! It is a vintage-looking guitar, solidly made and very well played. The frets are very worn, but the guitar plays like butter. I can see why it had the crap played out of it. Classic Strat look, feel, and tones.

Another project has been to create a strat from "scratch." Find and finish a body, locate and acquire the electronics, define the final look and make it happen. What I came up with was a one-piece solid Brazilian mahogany body and a real nice Fender MIM maple neck. The pickguard and electronics are USA made. The bridge is MIM to fit the neck/nut string spacing, and the best part of the whole setup is the tremolo block. I purchased a solid steel full-size block that fit the bridge plate assembly perfectly.

The pictures below represent the entire multi-part project. The pictures above (to the left & right) are the finished products. These are exactly the way I imagined them, because I always ...try... to begin a project with a vision of the result. "Begin with the end in mind!"

Fender Strat Neck Swap Project

Well, several months ago I got a wild hair up my ... and swapped out the neck and bridge between the mahogany strat and the Fender Squier. I liked the results, except...

The Squier has a 22-fret neck with the fretboard extension. That fretboard end provides a lip that lays over the pickguard. The result of that overlay causes a difference in coloration on the pickguard. So, where the lip was over the pickguard, the color is significantly lighter because it hasn't been exposed directly to the elements as the exposed part of the pickguard. I didn't like that result a bit.

Also, on the mahogany strat, the fretboard overlapped the pickguard, and that is a slight problem because I have a full copper sheet shielding the entire pickguard. The thickness of the pickguard, coupled with the thickness of the copper shield created a sort-of binding that made the fretboard lip lift up toward the strings very slightly. Not good if you like to play on the 20th and 21st frets, huh?

Then... I found a cheap USA made Fender white pearloid pickguard for the mahogany strat. I also scored some cream knobs for the Squier Strat in the same deal. Woo Hoo! New projects! I got the parts in, planned the desired results, scheduled a few hours, and when the time arrived, I tore into both guitars!

First order of business was to loosen the strings on both guitars and lay them to the side. Both Strats had very little play time, so I salvaged the strings on both guitars. I removed the necks using my electric drill and a #2 Phillips bit. Zoop! Then, I removed both bridge assemblies by loosening the spring claw in the back and popped out the springs. Then I removed the 6 bridge plate screws from both bridge assemblies. I literally swapped them right there and then. When the bridge parts were all secured, I installed the necks back where I originally had them, thus restoring the Squier to its original state.

Fender Stratocaster Pickguard Swap

The new white pearloid pickguard was already shielded with a very thin sheet of aluminum tape. I made the decision to go ahead and include the copper sheet just to insure I have the best insulation possible.

Because the only thing I had to do was swap out the electronics, I didn't have to un-solder anything, and I worked slowly by first removing all the mounting hardware that hold the partsx to the pickguard. Then I simply placed all the components in place on the new pickguard and tightened them part-way.

After everything was mounted back to the pickguard, I slipped the pickguard in place on the body, gently routed the wiring into the routes and secured it to the body with the 11 screws I had removed and set aside.

Fender Stratocaster Bridge Adjustment

As you already read, I swapped the bridges back, and because the spring claw and the bridge plate screws were all loosened, adjustments needed to be made. I installed the strings that I had set aside, and tuned to a standard tuning. Then, I adjusted the bridge plate screws so the bridge could move through the correct vibrato path. After I had the six screws settled in place, I re-tuned and tightened the spring claw screws nice and tight. I prefer to accentuate my playing with my fingers, so I usually all but disable the stratocaster tremolo. I prefer NOT to jam a block up in there, and use the physics of the components to provide the proper amount of resistant force!

I had to reset the height of each bridge saddle, and also reset the intonation using the generally accepted method discussed on another page.

I did notice one thing that was slightly troubling. The string height seemed quite low compared to what I remember it being when I originally did the neck and bridge swap. I had to work on it for a while to get it right. It seems like the neck is now seated slightly different. It is difficult to explain, but it seems like the neck is angled toward the back of the body, making the strings lower in relation to the fingerboard.

It appears to be settling back in pretty well, and the action is low - just the way I like it. I may fiddle around with it again, but since it plays nicely and has the action I prefer, it won't happen anytime soon.

Fender Squier and Strat Neck Swap Project Summary

The Squier just bolted back together, and with minor adjustments to the bridge and saddles, it was playing like butter again.

It was a fun project in the beginning, and was rewarding when the white pearloid pickguard was in place. I personally prefer white pearloid on my stratocaster and on my telecaster.

More projects are on the way. I've been acquiring some Epiphone Valve Juniors to modify (with an interesting story about getting 2 of them for a mere $60.). Also, I found a Fernandes Revolver Pro with sustainer pickup that is extremely interesting to play. I had to repair the electronics.

Quest on... And as a friend of mine says, "Enjoy whatever happens!"