Swapping necks!?!?

[paddy109]

I have a Retrovibe t rod Tele and a Squire 51 Tele. 

I prefer the sound of the Retrovibe but the neck of the squire. 

Should I be able to swap the necks without issue and what could be the possible pitfalls of this. The measurements appear the same. 

Technically it doesn't bother me but I don't want to waste my time.

Paddy.

[paddy109]

BTW the T Rod is p bass compared to single of the 51 - so swapping pickups isn't feasible.

I'm confident in doing my own set up post neck swap as well.

Edited February 27 by paddy109

[NancyJohnson]

So just to get this straight, the two basses(?) you're talking about are the ones pictured below?

 

I haven't gone as far as to check scale lengths, the depth of the neck pocket or how far the neck pocket sits towards the bridge, so there may (obviously) be an issue with intonation and action height (which one would hope could be resolved by adjusting the bridge or by utilising a shim of some sort in the neck pocket).  The other thing is the holes in the neck and the ones running through the body sufficiently line up and whether they'll need dowelling and redrilling; given the propensity of neck plates being more or less identical, the neck holes will likely align with the body holes, it's just questionable whether they're in the right place.  These are the most obvious things.  If you're confident of setting the instrument up after, then go for it, I say! 

 

I've not seen much in the way of neck swap posts, so would be interested in seeing how this pans out.  I do wonder whether manufacturers just carry out wholesale copies of instruments allowing for easy swappage between manufacturers instruments.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28 by NancyJohnson

[paddy109]

Yep, same models as the pictures.

Well I might just give it a go and if the holes line up then hopefully just a set up required. 

I don't think I will venture down the route of drilling and doweling but who knows. 

Thanks for the reply.

[snorkie635]

As long as it all measures up, you should be fine. Back in the early 80s, I had three Wals and eventually did a three-way swap with no problems. There must be three current owners wondering why their necks don't seem to be the correct ones for their basses (if they ever noticed).

[NancyJohnson]

34 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

As long as it all measures up, you should be fine. Back in the early 80s, I had three Wals and eventually did a three-way swap with no problems. There must be three current owners wondering why their necks don't seem to be the correct ones for their basses (if they ever noticed).

 

Decades ago, I remember a mate going into a shop on Denmark Street to buy a Precision, he liked the black body but not the maple board, so the store just swapped over necks from another Precision with a rosewood board.

[Lozz196]

I did similar but with two white/maple Precisions. One had some wear to the body but a pristine neck, the other was the opposite with wear to the neck and pristine body so I swapped necks to have one bass with wear on body & neck, the other to be in pristine condition all over.

[snorkie635]

4 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Decades ago, I remember a mate going into a shop on Denmark Street to buy a Precision, he liked the black body but not the maple board, so the store just swapped over necks from another Precision with a rosewood board.

Music Ground in Doncaster would do that if you fancied a particular combination back in the '70s.

[prowla]

(Squier.)

 

You can check the necks are the same scale length by putting them face to face and confirming that the frets and end of fingerboard align precisely.

 

As to fitting, it just depends whether the screw holes line up.

 

A word of advice (as much to myself as you!) always make sure you have the exact right size screwdriver for the neck screws or you will mash the screw heads.