Jim Root Jazzmaster neck with Squier 40th Anniversary JM Body - Will it work?

[daysleeperjeff]

So I have a Jim Root Strat and love it. I want to make a “Metal Jazzmaster” but I don’t like the specs/look of the Jim Root Jazzmaster body.

So I want to combine these two parts and do my own spin with the JMaster EMG’s and blacked out hardware. The Jim Root JM neck has a contoured heel and 22 frets. The 40th Jazzmaster has 21 frets stock and a regular heel. Besides drilling a new 4th hole for the contoured heel is there any other issues you think could come of this combo?

[47West63rd]

I don't think you will have any problems. Same scale length. The 22nd fret should be all overhang.... I think.

FWIW, I put a 22 tele Elite neck on a Squier 40th anniversary tele. Zero issues.

As you said you will have to add a hole in the neck that may show if you ever put it back on a contoured heal bodied JM/Strat

[alexpigment]

The heel of the neck is rounded (as expected), and so that eliminates your main concern. Sometimes you can have some minor fit issues with parts, but I suspect that this should be fine. I have a 70s-style Albert Hammond Jr signature neck on a Squier 40th body, for what it's worth, and aside from the fact that Fender's 70s reissue tuners are absolute garbage, it plays great

Now with that being said, the thing that you're going to have to accept is that the Jim Root Strat neck has a 12" radius, and the Squier bridge is fixed at 9.5". At the location that the strings meet to the neck, you'll be somewhere between 9.5" and 12", but it will affect how low and how even you can get the action across all strings.

[MattK]

Only issue I can see is that the body won't have a rounded corner where the contour on the neckplate goes down to the contour on the heel - you would have a curved neckplate sitting on a square body corner, possibly with the screw hole for the original neck visible.

[daysleeperjeff]

The heel of the neck is rounded (as expected), and so that eliminates your main concern. Sometimes you can have some minor fit issues with parts, but I suspect that this should be fine. I have a 70s-style Albert Hammond Jr signature neck on a Squier 40th body, for what it's worth, and aside from the fact that Fender's 70s reissue tuners are absolute garbage, it plays great

Now with that being said, the thing that you're going to have to accept is that the Jim Root Strat neck has a 12" radius, and the Squier bridge is fixed at 9.5". At the location that the strings meet to the neck, you'll be somewhere between 9.5" and 12", but it will affect how low and how even you can get the action across all strings.

Thanks for this feedback! Yes, I’ll be stripping out all of the hardware and electronics from the Squier. I’m only getting that body because I love that satin seafoam green color and think it will look great with black hardware. I’ll get an appropriate bridge for the 12” radius neck.

[daysleeperjeff]

Only issue I can see is that the body won't have a rounded corner where the contour on the neckplate goes down to the contour on the heel - you would have a curved neckplate sitting on a square body corner, possibly with the screw hole for the original neck visible.

I’m trying to visualize this. So the JR neck goes in the Squier body. The squire body would have the square area where the neck plate goes rather than the curved one on the original JR body. My plan was to get a new traditional neck plate and drill one new hole in the neck, the upper left hand one. I think that would cover everything up right?

[MattK]

Yeah for sure - thought you were drilling a new hole in the body! Neck heel contour might disappear into the pocket a little I guess.