Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

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Astrovanallen
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Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Astrovanallen » Fri Jul 03, 2020 9:35 am

This might be a silly question with an obvious answer, but basically I’ve been through a lot of jazzmasters in my life and I’ve found that the Mascis is actually the right one for me so I’ve ceased saving up for an American original because I don’t think that the selling points would be worth the cost. I’d rather just make upgrades to my existing guitar because I don’t really care about the finish type or body wood. If I bought an American original neck or another type of JM neck with binding that’s rosewood, should it fit the neck pocket or does that vary depending on the model of jazzmaster?

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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by adamrobertt » Fri Jul 03, 2020 9:39 am

Astrovanallen wrote:
Fri Jul 03, 2020 9:35 am
This might be a silly question with an obvious answer, but basically I’ve been through a lot of jazzmasters in my life and I’ve found that the Mascis is actually the right one for me so I’ve ceased saving up for an American original because I don’t think that the selling points would be worth the cost. I’d rather just make upgrades to my existing guitar because I don’t really care about the finish type or body wood. If I bought an American original neck or another type of JM neck with binding that’s rosewood, should it fit the neck pocket or does that vary depending on the model of jazzmaster?
It should fit. All Fenders use the same neck heel dimensions, although there are two types (square and rounded). Teles use the squared off version. Almost all other Fender guitars (Strat, Jag, Jazzmaster, Mustang, etc) use the rounded type.

The only scenario I could see causing a neck not to fit is if you bought a cheap or dodgy aftermarket neck. But a Fender brand neck or one from a reputable seller (Allparts, Warmoth, Musikraft, etc) should be just fine.

Edit: Also you have to make sure you buy the right scale length. Most Fenders are 25.5'', but a few are different. Jags and Mustangs for example use a 24'' scale, and those won't work with your Jazzmaster.

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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Astrovanallen » Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:10 am

adamrobertt wrote:
Fri Jul 03, 2020 9:39 am
Astrovanallen wrote:
Fri Jul 03, 2020 9:35 am
This might be a silly question with an obvious answer, but basically I’ve been through a lot of jazzmasters in my life and I’ve found that the Mascis is actually the right one for me so I’ve ceased saving up for an American original because I don’t think that the selling points would be worth the cost. I’d rather just make upgrades to my existing guitar because I don’t really care about the finish type or body wood. If I bought an American original neck or another type of JM neck with binding that’s rosewood, should it fit the neck pocket or does that vary depending on the model of jazzmaster?
It should fit. All Fenders use the same neck heel dimensions, although there are two types (square and rounded). Teles use the squared off version. Almost all other Fender guitars (Strat, Jag, Jazzmaster, Mustang, etc) use the rounded type.

The only scenario I could see causing a neck not to fit is if you bought a cheap or dodgy aftermarket neck. But a Fender brand neck or one from a reputable seller (Allparts, Warmoth, Musikraft, etc) should be just fine.

Edit: Also you have to make sure you buy the right scale length. Most Fenders are 25.5'', but a few are different. Jags and Mustangs for example use a 24'' scale, and those won't work with your Jazzmaster.
Awesome, thank you! I’d definitely be buying a fender jazzmaster neck, so it seems like I would not have an issue than.

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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Embenny » Fri Jul 03, 2020 4:41 pm

Japanese Fender neck heels and body neck pockets are very slightly wider than standard, but Mexican/American/Squier are a standard size. Any given body and neck can need a little adjustment (slight sanding/shims etc) to fit together but they're all compatible.

Out of curiosity, what is it about the Mascis neck that you're hoping to "upgrade" through a switch? Most people seem to feel that the neck is the single strongest thing that guitar has going for it.
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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Astrovanallen » Fri Jul 03, 2020 5:42 pm

mbene085 wrote:
Fri Jul 03, 2020 4:41 pm
Japanese Fender neck heels and body neck pockets are very slightly wider than standard, but Mexican/American/Squier are a standard size. Any given body and neck can need a little adjustment (slight sanding/shims etc) to fit together but they're all compatible.

Out of curiosity, what is it about the Mascis neck that you're hoping to "upgrade" through a switch? Most people seem to feel that the neck is the single strongest thing that guitar has going for it.
I’d of thought if anything, the cheaper Chinese and Indonesian guitars would use different specs rather than the more expensive Japanese. I can deal with a bit of sanding or a shim, I just don’t want to buy a neck that won’t work period.


The Mascis Jazzmaster neck is fantastic, so it probably is pretty silly and unheard of to change it - but essentially what I want is a jazzmaster with a bound rosewood neck 9.5 radius that has p90’s that’s white with a goldguard. It’s really just an aesthetic issue to be honest. I thought about buying a vintera jazzmaster in white and swapping in my gold pickguard and pickups, but I think that I actually like the Mascis neck more than the Mexican necks and it would be cheaper to just buy an American Original neck because I do prefer those to the Mascis. It really is down to the smallest details at this point that I am fussing over to get my dream Jazzmaster. I’d never buy something so nice as an American fender and customize it, so I figure while this is still way too expensive for such little difference. I really do have high regard for the Mascis neck regardless and agree that’s the last thing most people would swap out. I may eventually change the hardware and wiring too, essentially building my own ship of theseus- minus the body and pickups. I actually really do like the odd shade of white the Mascis body is.

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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Embenny » Fri Jul 03, 2020 6:47 pm

Ah, well if you have your heart set on having binding for aesthetic reasons, a Mascis neck is never going to be that for you, of course.

An AO JM neck is definitely compatible with that body.
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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by ChrisDesign » Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:36 pm

Yep, find an aftermarket neck that you like and screw it on.

Side comment: Lemmy (Motörhead) played a Jazzmaster with a Tele neck back in his first band: The Rocking Vicars. You can overcome the square/ rounded difference if you try.
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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Futuron » Sat Jul 04, 2020 11:32 pm

Hi, Fender Japan uses the metric system. That is why their parts are often a tricky fit with other countries' models.

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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Embenny » Sun Jul 05, 2020 1:56 am

Futuron wrote:
Sat Jul 04, 2020 11:32 pm
Hi, Fender Japan uses the metric system. That is why their parts are often a tricky fit with other countries' models.
I don't think that's the reason. Japan, Mexico, Indonesia, and China are the non-US countries that have made Fenders, and all of them officially use the metric system.

Unless Jazzmasters ever get made in Liberia or Myanmar, the US is the only country in the world they will ever be made in that doesn't use the metric system.
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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by timtam » Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:42 am

It's an interesting suggestion though. Warmoth for example shows Fender's original Imperial dimensions rounded to the nearest metric mm, 76mm and 56mm. The actual conversions are 76.20mm and 55.56mm. Not a huge difference (and incidentally a not-unusual error for people who don't understand the metric system !), but big enough to matter in some cases, especially given likely manufacturing tolerances. Fender Japan presumably didn't make that same error, but maybe they historically choose to use whole mm anyway (thinking the difference would never matter, because no one would ever swap MIA and MIJ necks), eg rounding pocket width down to 55mm or up to 56mm (I can't recall which way Japanese pocket dimensions typically go); with neck heel width also adjusted accordingly. Fender USA probably noticed at some point that MIA/MIJ neck swaps didn't always fit. And so for later imports made sure that the exact MIA dimensions were used (whether specified Imperially or metrically). All speculation of course. But as NASA lost a $125million Mars Orbiter for failing to understand metric conversions, not beyond the bounds of possibility. ;)
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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Futuron » Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:31 am

Official government standards for metric/imperial measurement systems have little bearing on what private (overseas owned) manufacturing companies want to do with decades-old product designs. Fender USA would probably keep making their guitar dimensions based on inches even if USA finally adopts the metric system (BAHAHAHAHAHA unlikely). I suspect that they have decided to make sure that everyone else is making things at the same measurements, but the Fender Japan horse had already bolted in mm. Their pots, hex/allen screws are metric. (Ever tried to put American knobs on a MIJ?) I just cannot consider the reason that Japanese parts don't fit every other Fender/Squier is because of poor quality, it has to be due to using mm approximations for dimensions. The new MIJ Strat I recently bought even has a deliberate radius of exactly 250mm (@9.8425 inches)!

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Re: Can I purchase a jazzmaster neck from a different model and drop it in?

Post by Embenny » Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:47 am

Futuron wrote:
Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:31 am
I just cannot consider the reason that Japanese parts don't fit every other Fender/Squier is because of poor quality, it has to be due to using mm approximations for dimensions. The new MIJ Strat I recently bought even has a deliberate radius of exactly 250mm (@9.8425 inches)!
I still don't think it has to do with metric rounding error (the heel width is more like 1-2mm off, not 0.5), and it's certainly not because of "poor quality".

Fender Japan was a totally independent entity that was created at a time (the early-mid 80's) that the US brand was busy dying and being resurrected. I think they made their own templates, dies, etc, approximating the models as best they could. There weren't current models or tools to base a lot of things on. The body shapes on MIJ guitars are slightly different from vintage/American spec in ways other than just the neck pocket. The JM pickguard shape is different. The Jag pickguard is a slightly different shape too, and the control plates are slightly different as well. That's why those parts aren't compatible with US-spec bodies. It looks more like they eyeballed things to make them look similar, rather than measuring vintage examples. Japanese manufacturing was precise enough to use a couple of decimal places in the 1980's. 76.20mm is something they could handle if they were actually taking calipers to vintage bodies, but i don't think there was that much value placed on that degree of vintage accuracy at the time.

The AVRIs were developed a decade and a half later with a focus on vintage accuracy, though. The MIM and then the Indonesian and Chinese Squier and Fender models came even later than that, well into the modern era where sharing CAD files and reproducing CNC'd bodies in different factories across the world was a lot easier, so it makes sense that they stick to the specs of the AVRI guitars, which us vintage-correct, so all those necks/bodies/pickguards are compatible.
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