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I'd like to have an electric more suited to me and my needy needs but I don't know what to do.

I have three electrics that I use. A Fender Strat which is my main guitar, a Squier Cabronita, and an ugly First Act Tele (ME-302) copy.

1. I've had the Strat for about 14 years and it's well broken in and the humbuckers in it sound great. It's a quality guitar. I used to love the neck but I've changed as a player over time and for a couple years now I've found it to be too thin and shallow. The width is fine but there just isn't enough neck to wrap my meatpalms around.

2. The First Act has a neck that fits me perfectly. It has a satin finish and is chunky enough to fill my hand without being too much. I think it's U-shaped? I don't actually know but I love it. Everything else about this guitar is a toilet; it's a hideous troll monster with terrible hardware and an ugly body. I can't emphasize enough how much I like the neck though; it feels more right than either of the other two guitars.

3. The Cabronita is kind of a goldilocks in that the neck has steeper (re: better for me) shoulders but is still just as thin as the Strat. It sounds good. I mostly got it as a cheap stopgap for my Filtertron sexual desires.

I can adapt to most decent guitars pretty easily, but honestly I've been playing a while now and it would be really nice to have one guitar with an ideal neck that is quality-built with good pickups and a fly look and a dope mouthfeel.

What do I do? Get a new neck for the Strat? I'm not sure I want to remove it's nicely broken-in neck even though it doesn't feel right to me. Get a new guitar? How would I begin finding something that fits what I want? Every time I visit the Guitar Center, all they seem to have is more-of-the-same Fenders, terrible shredder guitars, and Gibsons I can't afford.

Can you swap the necks on the strat at first act? That way you could keep the original and have yer preferred neck. Dunno if they'd be compatible sizes for the neck pocket though...

I cannot suggest much, but if you like the Strats neck I wouldn't swap it. From my experience if you dig the feel at one point you'll probably come back to loving it later on.

kbithecrowing wrote:Can you swap the necks on the strat at first act? That way you could keep the original and have yer preferred neck. Dunno if they'd be compatible sizes for the neck pocket though...

it's probably worth a shot. i wouldn't be surprised if at least the screw holes align so with maybe some sanding/shimming it could work. would probably make the guitar look like butt overall though

playing guitars at chain stores isn't fun at all. if you go the new guitar route i would do a bit of research on the exact specs it is you find yourself drawn to and look for something that ticks all the boxes, then you could either look for a used model and ask the seller if you can demo it first or buy a new one from somewhere with a good return policy.
some old japanese strats can be found with thicker necks so maybe look out for greco and tokai sorta stuff, which is probably gonna be way better value than anything you can get at GC.

also if you can find a j mascis jazzmaster neck that might do really well on the strat. they don't have that plastic-y new feel and have a nice roundness to them.

kbithecrowing wrote:Can you swap the necks on the strat at first act? That way you could keep the original and have yer preferred neck. Dunno if they'd be compatible sizes for the neck pocket though...

Sadly no, the pocket size and heel shape are different.

PumpkinPieces wrote:I cannot suggest much, but if you like the Strats neck I wouldn't swap it. From my experience if you dig the feel at one point you'll probably come back to loving it later on.

Yeah that's a good point. Who knows, maybe I'll come back around to smaller necks in the future.

backwardsvoyager wrote:playing guitars at chain stores isn't fun at all. if you go the new guitar route i would do a bit of research on the exact specs it is you find yourself drawn to and look for something that ticks all the boxes, then you could either look for a used model and ask the seller if you can demo it first or buy a new one from somewhere with a good return policy.
some old japanese strats can be found with thicker necks so maybe look out for greco and tokai sorta stuff, which is probably gonna be way better value than anything you can get at GC.

also if you can find a j mascis jazzmaster neck that might do really well on the strat. they don't have that plastic-y new feel and have a nice roundness to them.

Thanks for the tips! Is that the Squier version you're talking about?

I guess ultimately I'm looking for a thicker U-shape-necked guitar with P-90s under a grand.

yeah the squier one. the neck is basically a fuller/heftier C shape that feels more substantial than the standard Fender C. if you get a chance to play one i'd recommend it as the neck is one of the nicest i've played on any guitar.
the pickups are also similar to p90s so you might even wanna just buy the whole guitar. they're really awesome and really cheap.
the newer sub-$1k fenders i've played have never felt particularly inspiring, but higher-end squier stuff is killing it these days and for the price you can afford to chuck some fancy pickups or hardware on it too.

backwardsvoyager wrote:yeah the squier one. the neck is basically a fuller/heftier C shape that feels more substantial than the standard Fender C. if you get a chance to play one i'd recommend it as the neck is one of the nicest i've played on any guitar.
the pickups are also similar to p90s so you might even wanna just buy the whole guitar. they're really awesome and really cheap.
the newer sub-$1k fenders i've played have never felt particularly inspiring, but higher-end squier stuff is killing it these days and for the price you can afford to chuck some fancy pickups or hardware on it too.

Nice, I'll try to check it out this weekend. Yeah Squier is doing outstanding work. While not completely ideal to my needs, the Cabronita is a spectacular guitar. Shoot, maybe I should just buy a Warmoth 59 roundback neck, throw it on there, and call it a day.

friendship wrote:I guess ultimately I'm looking for a thicker U-shape-necked guitar with P-90s under a grand.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Gibson-USA- ... 6016.l4276

It's time you tried a short-scale Fender with single coils.
-Jaguar
-Mustang
-Duo-Sonic

See if you can't find a place where you can play a vintage version of one of these, see how you like it. The vintage models are great, but of course, unaffordable. But see how it feels and plays. Then check out what you can get new MIJ, which is every bit as good or better than MIA Fender's.

I played one of the 60s tributes in walnut at a store and it was surprisingly solid feeling. I imagine the 50s would be right up your ally if you dig SGs.

I do dig SGs. Man I had this gorgeous white Greco SG Standard that I sold, I remember its neck being a ittle chunky. What an idiot.

I know I'll be driven from the village with torch and with pitchfork but I was never able to get comfortable playing Jaguars. Mustangs/Duosonics are a lot of fun, I've played a handful of vintage ones. But their necks are pretty small from what I remember.

I'm seeing decent prices on dual P-90 Les Paul Specials. Anyone know what the necks on those are like?

Depends which ones you're looking at. The specs change back and forth. Sounds like you'd be after the Gibson 50's rounded neck profile.

Sg suggestions are on point.