How much is a custom neck? Or Gibson GForce compatible neck

thecolourbox

Hi guys

Out of hypothetical interest really, were I thinking of ultimately doing up an existing guitar to have a new bolt on neck, I think either 24" or 24.75" scale, with a headstock that would fit the set of G Force that I have in my parts box, possibly with an interesting headstock shape, what night the options be?

How much would a custom neck cost if made to this spec? Either from scratch or altering a standard one? I suspect out of my price range but worth an ask

Or are there decent necks available that would fit the tuners? I guess unlikely given the set neck design of Gibsons

More likely would it be a paddle headstock job that I'd have to get drilled and cut to shape?

For context I'm thinking of saving up over time to sort out a fibreglass guitar to get it done properly with a nice neck and pickup so it's as nice as my WezV made one but with less sentiment attached to it, when I have amassed sufficient funds in the Music Gear Pot. It's still fairly hypothetical as I'll probably lose patience with it but worth researching I think.

Cheers all

guitargeek62

Paddle headstocks are easy enough to find and sort out, but the real question is... why do you want the g-force system? I had one on a Junior for a while and couldn't stand it, it was unreliable and needed frequent manual tweaking.

thecolourbox

Mainly because I've got them going spare really I suppose but they do seem to get mixed reviews so probably not the best idea, the perceived convenience perhaps isn't accurate. I tune by ear currently though so I'd assume it's probably at least as accurate as that?

 I guess with or without them though I'd still like a funky headstock (which frustratingly i can't buy off the online shelf) so I guess the question would still be the same, as I couldn't do the shaping or drilling by myself

Wazmeister

I had a G Force system, and it was impeccable! Go figure... never had an issue and was actually quite useful in my exotic tuning period !

thecolourbox

Yes I do like the idea of suddenly skipping to dadgad and blasting out Kashmir or open A for Robert Johnson blues

thecolourbox

Could I do it easily enough if I bought a decent enough paddle headstock neck? I guess I'd draw on the holes for the tuners and drill them, then draw the outline and use a rasp to chisel it down? I just don't know of I have the confidence to do it

underdog

Wazmeister said:

I had a G Force system, and it was impeccable! Go figure... never had an issue and was actually quite useful in my exotic tuning period !

Have to side with you, I bought a junior with them on, very cheap as they were very unpopular, and I love it, the tuners the neck etc all of it.

The tuners are conveniently, accurate and quick.

thecolourbox

I'd like to try them certainly, I bought them to go on my ill fated DIY SG kit guitar but they didn't fit so never used them.

Does anybody have any idea as to a good paddle neck I could try? Are the sub £100 ones off ebay/Amazon etc ok? Or do I need to buy a kit then chuck out the rest? or do I need to go more money for a good one?

Or a bespoke made/adjusted one?

Ravenous

I always fancied the WD music paddle heads, but they're a bit pricy. CH Guitars do MUCH cheaper ones but I have no idea if they're any good:

http://www.chguitars.co.uk/necks/full-paddle.html

(Maybe someone here has tried their stuff?)

To answer your earlier question, it should be OK to DIY the outline. The shape could just be rough cut with a coping saw and sanded down to final size with a curved block to get a nice shape. (I did this with a cheapo 6-a-side neck to make it a 4+2 type.)

olafgarten

I think Tropicana has Paper templates on their website which you can print to measure spacing etc...

The most important thing is that you have a well cut nut. 

WezV

olafgarten said:

I think Tropicana has Paper templates on their website which you can print to measure spacing etc...

The most important thing is that you have a well cut nut. 

bloody auto correct

https://www.tronicaltune.com/how-to-check-your-guitar?navi

olafgarten

WezV said:

olafgarten said:

I think Tropicana has Paper templates on their website which you can print to measure spacing etc...

The most important thing is that you have a well cut nut. 

bloody auto correct

https://www.tronicaltune.com/how-to-check-your-guitar?navi

Yeah, I'm not sure why a Juice company makes templates for tuners, but according to me, they do.