69 Strat Neck

wide slide · Post by **wide slide** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:22 pm

OMG!!! this bitch can play!!!

I just got a 22May69B rosewood strat neck with original tuners and finish. It had a good fret job and is straight as an arrow.
I was going to wait until I got home to switch it out with my 57 black Strat reissue I bought new in '88 since I never liked that small neck and the rest of the guitar has aged nice with the vintage like parts. Also the thin skin paint job is wearing nice on its own.
Well I've got a reissue Oly white 62 strat that plays real nice that travells with me and has a nice C shaped neck. Using the same played strings
I swapped the neck to the '69 and the sound is noticeable more than I thought. Playing a funky C9 chord the notes seem to articulate and sustain clearer. The action is low with no buzzes and I wasn't expecting this cause I was prepareing for the worst case and playing with high action so I'm really thrilled. The thing is my 62 reissue neck is nice so I'll probably find a home for it.

Also just got a full set of '74 grey bottom staggered pup's anybody familiar with these. They have the same output as the 68 pup's.

Mark

Tone Slinger · Post by **Tone Slinger** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:54 pm

Great ! Sounds like you got a sweet neck there. On strats, I like maple, but if it is a rosewood board, I definatley like that 'round lam' construction. It isnt as noticable when your looking down at the neck, like the 'slab' kind is. Hell, I even prefer the round lam maple boards to the one piece construction. Just something cool about that construction technique.

wide slide · Post by **wide slide** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 9:04 pm

I've purchased and swapped decent strat necks before and was sucessful setting them in the pocket. The way the 69 neck sounds I'm convinced its the neck besides the pickups, that determine the sound not so much the body.
The guy that sold it to me kept saying how good it sounds and plays. It has a wide flat C shape with a radius that feels like the CS 60's 9 1/2". The tone this neck gets is complex, rounded, even with the high notes, not so spikey but warm sounding probably from the rosewood neck. The notes have that punchy bounceing, sound like Strats from that vintage.

Did I get lucky??? I don't know. The seller asked a fair amount and offerd the Hendrix sound hype with exceptional feel. He was right... and I would do it again knowing the results.

mrk

worldoftone · Post by **worldoftone** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:38 am

Also just got a full set of '74 grey bottom staggered pup's anybody familiar with these.

Yup. They sound great, but with a bit more of a pronounced midrange honk than the late 60s ones IMO.

- WOT

wide slide · Post by **wide slide** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 11:22 am

Thanks WOT!

I saw your nice collection of Strats on the other post in this index.
Real Nice!

Well, I've played alot of Strats but not too many late 60's and I was taken back by the sound these necks have. ( my Gibsons will wait now )
So! I got a neck for my Black 88 V57.

Yes, GAS! oh well... It could be worse http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0180448657

JimiJames · Post by **JimiJames** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 12:32 pm

My favorite Stratocaster hands down.
(I also like the 62 Slab as a second choice)
Big Beefy Neck. Big Beefy Sound !
My next GAS for Strat's is a '69 RI w/Maple neck.

The early Beck's had big ass necks as well but nothing like a '69 profile...

BTW The '66 profiles are a tad thinner.

Guys with small hands shy away from the '69's.
Like they do with '54 & '57 LP's with the Louisville Sluggers...
Me... I LOVE'em ! Tone City !

worldoftone · Post by **worldoftone** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:09 pm

Yeah, the '69 profile is a bit thicker "more rounded" than the tapered '66. I am working on getting another '69 right now. Had a 'minty 70, but the bridge P/U was microphonic, and it needed frets. Passed on another beat '69, mainly due to the fact of the headstock was repaired real funky. This guitar plays great, and it's coming from a friend, who has had it almost 10-years.I've gigged it before, so I guess we'll see how it goes . . .

- WOT

wide slide · Post by **wide slide** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:13 pm

Yes WOT,

the Strat 69 "B" is wide and not thin like an SG I've got but its not real thick like a Fender Strat MIM CP 69. For some reason I haven't got my hands on the 66 neck yet.

I like the neck wide for chord/note voicing and muteing which works well for hich volume.

I've got to say. my PartsCaster with the 69 neck is #1 overall.
A/B ing it has it over the top of them all. I think its all in the neck#1, pickups/amp#2, body #3. I haven't put those 75 pups in yet, I let you know.

mrk

worldoftone · Post by **worldoftone** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:41 pm

I've got a '66 that used to belong to Brad Gillis. Freaking GREAT guitar. No wonder he liked it so much. One of my "go to" guitars for playing classic rock stuff.

FWIW: All my guitars are original, not RIs. So my comparisons are for the original Fenders that I have owned/played.

- WOT

Tone Slinger · Post by **Tone Slinger** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:50 am

I wouldnt say '69 necks on average were fat. I never played one that was. All the ones I've tried have been very medium/thin in feel. A medium 'c'. I guess some were a bit fatter than others. I agree that rarely is a reissue accurate, but depending on the 'custom shop' dude who is making it, it can be. Fender probably had the same people employed in those years (mid-late 60's) so the necks were made of a consistant style. However, individual preference, made these employee's take 'liberty's" with what they did. That is why you will find fatter or thinner necks to the predominant output at any given time. I find that alot of '74 strat necks to be bulkier than post or previous bulet rod models.

I would advise to anyone to get a company like USA custom guitars or Musikraft (they do the era correct 'vaneered' fretboards) to build a neck for you with a slightly bigger back profile, so that you, yourselves can file and sand it to your preferred 'feel'.

JimiJames · Post by **JimiJames** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 11:35 am

Tone Slinger wrote:I wouldnt say '69 necks on average were fat. I never played one that was. All the ones I've tried have been very medium/thin in feel. A medium 'c'. I guess some were a bit fatter than others. I agree that rarely is a reissue accurate, but depending on the 'custom shop' dude who is making it, it can be. Fender probably had the same people employed in those years (mid-late 60's) so the necks were made of a consistant style. However, individual preference, made these employee's take 'liberty's" with what they did. That is why you will find fatter or thinner necks to the predominant output at any given time. I find that alot of '74 strat necks to be bulkier than post or previous bulet rod models.

I would advise to anyone to get a company like USA custom guitars or Musikraft (they do the era correct 'vaneered' fretboards) to build a neck for you with a slightly bigger back profile, so that you, yourselves can file and sand it to your preferred 'feel'.

I recall something about where the "V" necks were considered a "shop" mistake but that marketing genius Leo let them circulate which is how they came to be.

worldoftone wrote:I've got a '66 that used to belong to Brad Gillis. Freaking GREAT guitar. No wonder he liked it so much. One of my "go to" guitars for playing classic rock stuff.

FWIW: All my guitars are original, not RIs. So my comparisons are for the original Fenders that I have owned/played.

- WOT

+1
Have you tried the RI's? (personally I dislike the Super Relic's - whatta waste.)
I found the '69 RI to be consistent in the Rosewoods and slight differences in the Maples.
Compared to the originals they're pretty good.

In a way it's hard to compare the RI's to the originals because I don't know what a "new" '69 feels like. I was too young to have walked through the stores and compared them to each other.

worldoftone · Post by **worldoftone** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:42 pm

Yeah, I have tried the RI guitars. All types of them. Most don't have the "magic" of the old ones. I went through 40+ of them to find one that approximated my vintage Fenders. I would up getting a Custom Shop '60 Relic - one of those light relics with barely anything done to it. This guitar is great. Lightweight, resonates well, neck feels right etc. I did wind up putting a '64 PU in the bridge though. It is my main axe these days. I can finally start leaving the old ones at home.

Fender still makes a great guitar, but you have to play a lot of them to find "the one".

- WOT

wide slide · Post by **wide slide** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:00 pm

Good point WOT!

my RI 62 Strat went from a real nice playing , sounding , feeling into one of those Magic guitars for me, with just the change of the neck. I really had to push the neck into the pocket and the screws felt like they were going in for the first time. With that I was checking my alignment while I was tightening the neck down, but it was really set from the pocket...
from the get go.
Also I felt right away the sonic sound difference with this particular neck.
I can fell more of the string vibration distinctly which I wonder if its due to that type of construction. It is interesting.

BTW, I'm not sure. but alot of older veterns who used Strats on the road in the day's gone, did swap pups, tunners necks etc. as they used them.

Wasn't this part of the attraction for Fenders?

bluze81 · Post by **bluze81** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 7:20 pm

You guys have some great strats! its been a long time since I had any vintage strats,but have had several when they were not so expensive, I have a 1986/87 USA standard strat, thats an ugly ass graffitti yellow wth a rosewood board, this guitar has the tone, it kills any of the newer usa stuff I have tried, also bought an Eric Johnson model when they first came out thats not bad but the ugly duckling yellow strat kills it, all the electronics are real heavy duty looking in comparisom, great parts fender used.

wide slide · Post by **wide slide** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:21 pm

nothing for nothing but my 69 neck, I'll let anybody play it ,its the best neck I've ever played. It made my real nice strat into a one of.

I think the way they made these necks has something to do with it.

I bought a 66 neck which is made similar to the 69 but its MIA in the USPS
system now. The seller hasn't gotten it . i'M NOT A BEGINNER but how do I find this %^$#%^ thing?

Anyway NP It'll work out...