Californian replacement neck

[FiguredMaple]

I am considering getting a replacement neck for my Californian with a strat headstock and was remembering hearing that the Hamer neck pockets were not standard for fender replacement. Can you guys confirm this? Does anyone know if a Warmoth or other brand of replacement neck would fit a Californian's body? Would a Daytona's neck fit or are they fender sized?

Thanks

[zenmindbeginner]

Fender scale length with a tele heel. The extra 2 frets on 24 fret Hamer bolt-ons are on the fingerboard overhang. See a Daytona compared to Fender tele and strat necks here.

[cmatthes]

Check w/BadgerDave here - he used a Cali neck on a Warmoth (?) Firebird body a few years back. There were some minor issues at first, but he ended up doing one of his classic builds on that one.

[Bennyboy-UK]

If you sort out you're new neck - I might just be interested on the Cali Neck ;-)

...for money and everything!

Cheers,

B

[FiguredMaple]

If you sort out you're new neck - I might just be interested on the Cali Neck ;-)

...for money and everything!

Cheers,

B

Thanks for the offer, but I wouldn't sell it. It's my favorite neck, other than the headstock shape these days.

Maybe I'd hang it on a wall as art...

[Jem]

Fender scale length with a tele heel. The extra 2 frets on 24 fret Hamer bolt-ons are on the fingerboard overhang. See a Daytona compared to Fender tele and strat necks here.

One hate's to disagree but it's 100% not a Tele heel - they're squared off, a Strat and a Cali are rounded.

Edit to say: i actually didn't notice your link and that Daytona neck is much squarer than the Cali neck i've got in my hand, in fact it looks more like a hotch potch of the two - i'd like to point out in a previous thread i did note that i thought the 'Fender' inspired bolt on's were not to be taken into account when talking about the 'shredders' as a: i had no experience with taking them apart and b: i'm sure Andy Large told me they were different in passing sometime over the last twenty years !

A few personal example's are, in a vague chronological order are:

i)...i got a Cali off the charming Mr Platzer somewhere 2003'ish. This poor example had had it's top three fret's lopped off (rather agriculturaly) because the guy wanted to fit it to a 3 pickup Strat. Now, the neck fitted but the guy hadn't banked on the nut to heel length being longer on the Hamer so after butchering the neck to get it on he couldn't get it anywhere near to where the thing would intonate....a very sad tale that still sit's in it's case.

ii)...when i started building i got a Strat neck template from a guy in the UK and put it up to a Cali heel and it's not identical but it's close - and comparing 3 necks it got to a very very near degree of close.

iii)...ask Bennyboy how well his neck sit's in my body - that was done using said Strat template.

iv)...the caveat to all above - they vary. Anyone who's had more than say 4 Cali's lined up together will tell you that the neck's can vary, and quite dramatically. This is simply the way they were made. I don't know the level, if at all, of cnc use in the 87-92 period but most of the final carving must have been by hand to produce such a variance and to some small extent the heel's do.

All of my Nocturne's are made by hand using the same heel template so should all, in theory, fit eachother but i bet if i recalled them all they would all fit but to a point so this must be taken into account, in fact you'll notice that most big suppliers of Fender 'replacement' necks always note somewhere that some messing about with someone who knows what they're doing may be required, it's wood and not as easy to get micron duplication in the way you can with metals.

Again, as this came up recently, please take the measurement from where the string would break over the locknut to the end of the heel and make sure whoever you approach for a replacement neck can verify what he's going to supply you with meets your necks measurement exactly.

In fact if anyone's listenening and has a genuine US Strat neck laying around i'd be most gratefull for the exact nut to end heel measurement just so i can assure myself i'm not talking bollocks....again

[BadgerDave]

Check w/BadgerDave here - he used a Cali neck on a Warmoth (?) Firebird body a few years back. There were some minor issues at first, but he ended up doing one of his classic builds on that one.

After careful measuring and comparing the Cali neck to a Fender neck and Srat body I realized I would need to custom order a body from Warmoth with the bridge moved forward toward the neck pocket. IIRC, it was necessary to move it 1/2" to ensure that it would intonate properly. The Cali neck fit in the Warmoth body with a little sanding.

Based on my experience the Warmoth or any standard Fender replacement neck will fit in a Cali neck pocket, but it will not intonnate.

[FiguredMaple]

Thanks for the reply guys, I appreciate it.

[FiguredMaple]

Does anyone remember what Hamer used to charge for a replacement bolt on neck, when they used to do them?