D@mn! Need your help....

[Jimi75]

Hey Fretters,

I feel bad these days. I have a problem that some might call a problem of luxury, but I am so indecisive...

In 1999 I bought a Hendrix Voodoo Strat. As I never liked the script nameplate on the Voodoo I had the chance to get the neck of the Hendrix Tribute Strat instead the one with the mirrored script. Next, I sold the 69 special wound PUs and put in a set of TX Special as also in my Jimmie Vaughan. Sometimes it can get a little nervy playing a lefty neck, so I asked my Boss at Fender and he gave me the neck of a 62' custom. I used to change necks for a bit, but left the 62 neck on the Hendrix body in the end.

My conciousness is alarming me these days that I "destroyed" something with my constant drive to modify things.
It made me sad to hear my guitar tech say:"you can not store the Hendrix neck all the time, because it will brake down if you do not install it!".

Now, here's my problem - I am running on a small budget (can not spend all the money for guitars and have to make compromises with my wife and kids...) and I had other plans than buying a guitar just to put the Hendrix neck on it. Saved up a little money for some nice pedals, or maybe later a nice tube Marshall 1987x.

What would you do? I saw the Vintage V6 guitars and they are supposed to be okay for low money, but putting a Hendrix or even 62 neck on it? On the one hand I feel I have to restore the Hendrix Strat, on the other hand I feel that the Frankenstein I have created is a beautiful guitar. Putting the Hendrix neck on a cheap guitar it not worth it maybe...Problem is that I almost only like white Strats and Fender discontinued the Classic 60's and 50's series in white colour! Don't know why they did so.

My thoughts were to buy a black Highway one Strat that features American hardware and some nice PUs and then make the "Isle of White Strat" out of it (although this would bother me too! Knowing it is not the reald thing). Maybe selling the Highway neck and the PUs immediately and buy some 69 custom PUs for the money. Or buying a lake placid blue or fiesta red classic Fender and put the 62 neck on it, but I do not want to diminish the quality (PU change is unevitable).

What do you think and do you have any ideas maybe?
Sorry for posting such a long and nervy thread but I've been thinking about this for days and it gives me headaches and sleepless nights! No kidding.
I can not set priorities in this case and need a compass...

I would appreciate receiving your ideas - I count on you!

Thank you guys

Jimi

[Spudman***]

If you like it and use it then leave it the way it is. What really matters is that you have an instrument that turns you on enough to use it often.

If you do plan on unloading it sometime in the future then by all means restore it.

Don't believe what the tech says. If you store the neck in a proper place it's not going to "break down." It's just wood with some metal strips. Heat, cold and a variety of elemental conditions are the only things that are going to change it and if it isn't getting that exposure nothing is going to happen to it.

Play on bro.

[sunvalleylaw]

I have kids too and know all about compromises. One thing I notice in your statement is that you feel what you created is a beautiful guitar. For me, that's enough said. The fact the factory put out the guitar in a certain way does not mean it was right for you as sold. If you are happy with the mods you have made, I think I would sell the neck you are worrying about and use the money toward some of those pedals or the amp you wish to save for. Just my $.02. Hope it helps you think it through to your conclusion.

[Robert****]

I'm with Spud and Steve. If you like it, you'll play it, which is what guitars were made for!

[Bloozcat]

If I read this correctly, you seem to have access to Fender guitars through your work as most here don't. This may be why you simply direct your modding towards those guitars. Where many of us might not think to mod one of Fender's high end guitars, you do because, well, they're available to you. It's obvious though, that you feel some pangs of guilt after having modded one of these guitars. That's a good thing, because it shows that you don't take your good fortune for granted.

Instead of altering a great Fender guitar that has been designed and built for a specific tone, feel, and aesthetic value, why not try modding a plain Jane Fender guitar instead? The real satisfaction in modding guitars, IMHO, is in taking a guitar that has some decent inherent qualities and transforming it into a work of art that is then unique and bears your "signiture". "Making a silk purse from a sow's ear", so to speak.

I personally derive little satisfaction from swapping top quality components in one guitar for equal quality components from another guitar just for the sake of change. To me that's just lateral movement, a zero sum game. For me, the goal has to be major improvement or it's not worthwhile. Additionally, I want to learn why things work the way they do. I want to experiment with different components to understand what it is that creates great tone, great feel, great playability. I want each lesson learned, to only whet my appetite for more. I can only achieve this goal if I'm challenged to learn, and challenged to achieve something greater than what I began with. I think all modders are inherently curious by nature. Knowing why and knowing how, is what stimulates us. We all have a bit of Dr. Frankenstein in us, no?

Mexican Fenders make great platforms for modding. They usually have decent necks & bodies, but the hardware and electronics are less than top quality... a modders delight. Low initial cost to get into one (especially used), and there's the added benefit that you can change components as you're able to afford them. The Highway 1 Strat is a great guitar too, if you can pick one up at a good price. All American made components, assembled and painted in Mexico to keep the cost down. The Squire 51 is the one that has to get my highest rating as a low cost basic guitar with a nearly unlimited upside for modding. They're just plain fun to mod, and whatever you do, you're doing to a $100-$130 (USD) guitar. There's a lot of basic value in these little guitars.

I don't know if this helps you at all, Jimi, but maybe at least it'll give you a different direction for your thinking.

ETA: I was just re-reading my post when I realized that I had made a boo-boo. It's the California Strat, and not the Highway 1 Strat that's all American parts assembled and finished in Mexico. The Highway 1, of course, is USA made...

[sunvalleylaw]

P.S.: Jimi, can you post a pic of the guitar as modded? And direct us to a clip with you playing it? It sounds like a great guitar.

[333maxwell]

Hey Fretters,

I feel bad these days. I have a problem that some might call a problem of luxury, but I am so indecisive...

In 1999 I bought a Hendrix Voodoo Strat. As I never liked the script nameplate on the Voodoo I had the chance to get the neck of the Hendrix Tribute Strat instead the one with the mirrored script. Next, I sold the 69 special wound PUs and put in a set of TX Special as also in my Jimmie Vaughan. Sometimes it can get a little nervy playing a lefty neck, so I asked my Boss at Fender and he gave me the neck of a 62' custom. I used to change necks for a bit, but left the 62 neck on the Hendrix body in the end.

My conciousness is alarming me these days that I "destroyed" something with my constant drive to modify things.
It made me sad to hear my guitar tech say:"you can not store the Hendrix neck all the time, because it will brake down if you do not install it!".

Now, here's my problem - I am running on a small budget (can not spend all the money for guitars and have to make compromises with my wife and kids...) and I had other plans than buying a guitar just to put the Hendrix neck on it. Saved up a little money for some nice pedals, or maybe later a nice tube Marshall 1987x.

What would you do? I saw the Vintage V6 guitars and they are supposed to be okay for low money, but putting a Hendrix or even 62 neck on it? On the one hand I feel I have to restore the Hendrix Strat, on the other hand I feel that the Frankenstein I have created is a beautiful guitar. Putting the Hendrix neck on a cheap guitar it not worth it maybe...Problem is that I almost only like white Strats and Fender discontinued the Classic 60's and 50's series in white colour! Don't know why they did so.

My thoughts were to buy a black Highway one Strat that features American hardware and some nice PUs and then make the "Isle of White Strat" out of it (although this would bother me too! Knowing it is not the reald thing). Maybe selling the Highway neck and the PUs immediately and buy some 69 custom PUs for the money. Or buying a lake placid blue or fiesta red classic Fender and put the 62 neck on it, but I do not want to diminish the quality (PU change is unevitable).

What do you think and do you have any ideas maybe?
Sorry for posting such a long and nervy thread but I've been thinking about this for days and it gives me headaches and sleepless nights! No kidding.
I can not set priorities in this case and need a compass...

I would appreciate receiving your ideas - I count on you!

Thank you guys

Jimi

I would tend to think the fellow who told you that if you don't use your neck it will break down.. is full of beans.. or more politely just mistaken..

I have had necks I have stored for 20 years before.. no problem..

I can't imagine why he told you such a thing about a neck that is just a few years old.. expecialy an adjustable truss rod Strat neck..

That neck is FINE or I will eat my guitar!

YOu could take it outside and use the farn thing for a bat, and then a hammer and it would probably be ok still..

Leave it out in the rain for a season of winter, it would most likely still be fine..

Extreme examples, but that neck is fine..

[Jimi75]

THANK YOU GUYS!

Your posts did help me very much! I had a little talk with my wife yesterday and I made up some long term plans. I am happy to hear that the neck will not go down, so I will store it for some more months. The Frankenstein fits my playing perfectly so I will leave it as it is - the best of both worlds - some Jimi some Stevie.

You are right that there has to be a result when modding something and that you have to see the potential of a body/piece of wood and then do your own thing. I will do so and build a guitar from the start, but I won't stress myself. First of all I have to shape my personal tone a little more, which is very important to me.

@Steve:
Post a clip? I did so just some day ago - it was the roger Mayer Fuzz Wah clip that I played with the Frankenstein.

@Robert and Spud:
You are right! Guitars are made to be played and I love that Strat :-)

[warren0728]

sounds like a good plan jimi! play what works for you and one day you will come across a body that just screams to have that extra neck bolted to it!

ww

[sunvalleylaw]

Oh THAT clip. I really like that clip! Glad you worked out a good plan that works for you. Post a pic someday if you get the chance. You know we love looking at beautiful guitars!