# Best Guitar Neck Manufacturer



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Lets get some reviews and info in here gentlemen. Experiences?


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

I have yet to receive my Musikraft neck and have never owned the other brands listed in the poll, but based on customization and reputation, my vote would be either USACG or Musikraft. When I was shopping for a neck, only those two companies were able to give me the level of customization that I wanted.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

OK....here we go....My own personnal experience..

AllParts: Very Limited Options..Asian Made. Needs a lot of work when received, lots of warping. Fret leveling is always required. OverPriced.

USACG: Next on list to give a try..

Mighty Mite. Would not buy another of those necks even if life depended on it.

Warmoth.: Great Build quality, wood choices but limited options. Their "Already in stock" section can be a great option when you don't wanna wait for 4 to 6 weeks for a custom neck.

Musikraft: Great Build Quality, Best wood choices and unlimited options basically. Neck build can be long, but usually between 3 to 5 weeks.


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Now that's a nice summary. Thanks for that Alain.


al3d said:


> OK....here we go....My own personnal experience..
> 
> AllParts: Very Limited Options..Asian Made. Needs a lot of work when received, lots of warping. Fret leveling is always required. OverPriced.
> 
> ...


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

Alain, it makes me feel pretty good about my decision to go with Musikraft knowing that you're quite fond of their workmanship.



al3d said:


> OK....here we go....My own personnal experience..
> 
> AllParts: Very Limited Options..Asian Made. Needs a lot of work when received, lots of warping. Fret leveling is always required. OverPriced.
> 
> ...


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Other: John Cruz at Fender.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Sneaky said:


> Other: John Cruz at Fender.


I doubt he makes necks for partcasters..


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

The only one I ever bought was an Allparts SMO-FAT. The biggest neck available I think. It came really nice, bought it from MJM Customs (I think that was the name, no longer in business, did gunstocks and such too). The fret work was really nice and the neck was straight.

For reputation, I think Warmoth is right up there. Big price too.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

They don't come cheap, that's for sure....


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

I've wanted to try SoulMates for a while. They certainly seem to be making very good necks, with a ton of options.


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

Shark said:


> I've wanted to try SoulMates for a while. They certainly seem to be making very good necks, with a ton of options.


Hey Shark, your post count is sitting at 666. Feeling devilish at all?


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

Intrepid said:


> Hey Shark, your post count is sitting at 666. Feeling devilish at all?


Nah. The opposite, actually.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I voted other since my favourite necks are made by independent luthiers, and the poll wouldn't let me choose more than one. Given the choices I like Warmoth a lot.

Peace, Mooh.


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

I've used a few Allparts necks and always felt they were a good product and a good value- typical of Japanese made guitars. They do tend to need a fret level for optimum playability. Warmoth is a bit hit and miss for me (though I'm using one on my current build)- some of their necks just feel dead to me, no resonance at all. They do offer lots of options and one of these days I really want to give one of their conversion necks a whirl. Mighty Might- not my cup of tea. Not a good value in my opinion and I even had one in the mid 90's that came with the nut slut in the wrong place by about 4mm!


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

Shark said:


> I've wanted to try SoulMates for a while. They certainly seem to be making very good necks, with a ton of options.


Those guys are cracking me up - "*NOT produced in mass by CNC*_*" , *_that's comical, they have no equipment so instead of saying nothing they turn around and try to use the lack of equipment as some kind of advertising tool, which I know works on some people but to those in the know, it's funny as hell. Rest assured that every manufacturer listed above is using cnc.


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

4 time Musikraft user here and still a fan. However, I did just purchase a very nice partscaster with Allparts body and neck and based on this, I would have no hestitation to use them in the future as well. A note about Musikraft necks; I've never had to dress the frets upon initial installation and I've always made my own nuts.


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

What's up with the last two?



YJMUJRSRV said:


> I don't use third party necks for anything I do But I have seen a fair bit of them and as far as quality goes this is the order I put them in, from better to worse
> 
> Warmoth, USACG, Allparts, Mighty Mite, Musikraft
> 
> All the above use CNC. No one use doing it all by hand then selling for a few hundred bucks. They'd be bankrupt any other way. The first 3 in my list above are doing a great job per dollar IMO making parts anyone can afford that are reasonably good per dollar spent. The last two I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Just my opinion.


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

YJMUJRSRV said:


> Mighty Mite are the cheapest and the QC is in line with the price. They fill that market. They are very cheaply made and normally sell for a very cheap price. Nothing wrong with that but most people would probably be disappointed as if you are going to use your time, I figure you likely want something that plays well. As for Musikraft I have seen some horrendously bad necks coming out made with green wood. Seen some decent ones too but the bad ones were so bad I couldn't not even believe it. Really bad quality maple. Their "vintage" specs are nowhere close to vintage either. Again - nothing wrong with providing "vintage-ish" at a cheap price point but they advertised vintage spec and none of it was even close. I personally find it offensive that everyone calls their stuff vintage spec now and 99.9% of it is not even close.


If you want to split hairs.... there is no such thing as "vintage spec" for necks and bodies because there were a lot of inconsistencies in the early days and a lot of the final shaping was done by hand and each worker had their own style. Looking for "vintage spec" just for the sake of "vintage spec" is kinda stupid IMO. Look for something YOU like and when you find it, that's all that matters, vintage spec or not.

"vintage spec" is marketing, nothing else.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Next guitar I put together I will try a Warmoth neck. The two I have now are both Musikraft, seem to be really nice to me. I have not has to do anything to them anyway. Put them on and that was it. However, I am in no way a neck expert. I am more of an end user and that is the opinion that I offer, They certainly were not the cheapest offering.


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

YJMUJRSRV said:


> Sorry but that is absolutely false. There are tons of constants that are "vintage spec". For instance related to this conversion the Fender slab board neck. It is 100% constant how the truss was installed and where the truss nut is located (musikraft for example gets this wrong, even the size of the truss nut is smaller) The scoop at the headstock as well as its shape is 95% done on the pin router and very consistent. The pin router scars will always be in the exact same spot since this is what the piece was mounted to and these guide holes obviously cannot change since all cuts are relative to them. In other vintage models such as Les Pauls there is a ton of precision involved such as the fixtures which held the body's for neck pocket routing etc. The neck routed is a different angle and bit than the PU routes. That angle is constant and one can tell a fake from real usually easily since most people don't know what angle the pickups were routed out at. It wasn't straight in. None of the routes were straight in on those actually. Each route has its own bit size too which leaves a telltale scar. The angle headstocks were cut - again a fixture held the wood for cutting and that did not change since the cut is relative to the fixture presenting it to the blade. Even the tops which were finished on a slack belt are still very consistent in shape as that was cut by a specifically made machine.
> 
> While a neck shaper can sand the backs differently etc it is very rare they change the headstock much and in older pre rosewood strats each headstock face was finished uniform on a drum sander that dictated what the "scoop" is. There is actually a ton of telltale "spec" when you study each make and model. You can see massive change as fixtures and tooling changes over in each era. Even the scale. Gibson for instance was not using modern stewmac template to slot boards. Most "vintage accurate" LP bursts I have seen people make, do not even use the correct scale. Again - once you study things there are tons of 100% manufacturing constants. Materials for instance. Clay dots ... fishscale celluloid markers ... lots of vintage "spec".
> 
> ...


Seems reasonable to me


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

YJMUJRSRV said:


> Sorry but that is absolutely false. [blah blah blah edit] The pin router scars will always be in the exact same spot since this is what the piece was mounted to and these guide holes obviously cannot change since all cuts are relative to them.


Oh, I didn't realize that router scars were that important. I thought important things were how good the neck carve feels in your hands, how well the neck plays, how the strings ring without buzz or fretting out, how the neck stays stable over time and doesn't warp... 
I still think that vintage spec is marketing hype. There's no mojo or voodoo about nitro, clay dots, 7.5" radius, thin frets or slab necks.



YJMUJRSRV said:


> While a neck shaper can sand the backs differently etc


My point exactly! You nailed it. And to me, this is one of the most important parts of the neck. 




YJMUJRSRV said:


> The old "it was all done by hand" argument shows a complete lack of knowledge regarding how these things were really made


I never wrote that, you did.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I've tried some of the chinese necks, most of them are "fixable". Really good neck setup/repair practice actually. It really helps to let them sit at our humidity level for a few months before using them. Only had one I couldn't make work. They are not something you just bolt on & play, that's for sure. One thing I see with them that bothers me......tuning is all over the map. Tune your string, set your intonation at the 12th fret or where ever you like to do it, and then go back and play each fret while watching your tuner. each fret will be out a little - either flat or sharp.......so the guitar will never sound right.


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