When you’re looking to upgrade or replace your guitar neck, especially for a Fender Stratocaster, you might consider aftermarket options like Warmoth necks. A common question arises: what if the replacement neck comes pre-drilled? Is that a problem? The short answer is no, not really. Here’s why, and what you need to consider.
One guitarist shared their experience swapping necks on a vintage ’69 Stratocaster using Warmoth necks, and it highlights a common issue and a simple fix. Often, when you get a pre-drilled Replacement Guitar Neck, the mounting holes might not align perfectly with your guitar body. This isn’t unusual because different manufacturers, and even different eras of the same manufacturer, can have slight variations in neck and body specifications.
Guitar neck replacement showing hole alignment issue and potential doweling fix
The good news is that this slight misalignment is easily manageable. In many cases, like the experience shared, you might find that three out of four holes line up correctly. The one hole that’s off? That’s where a technique called “doweling” comes in. Doweling involves filling the misaligned hole with a small wooden dowel and wood glue. Once the glue is dry (usually after 24 hours), you can drill a new hole in the correct position. This effectively gives you a fresh, properly aligned mounting point for your replacement guitar neck.
This process isn’t complicated and is well within the capabilities of any experienced guitar technician or luthier. In fact, if you’re comfortable with basic woodworking, it’s a DIY-friendly task. It’s certainly not “brain surgery” as some might say in the guitar community.
Interestingly, some neck manufacturers, like Warmoth, have a peculiar pricing policy. They often drill the neck mounting holes as a standard service, but might charge extra if you specifically request them not to drill the holes. While it might seem counterintuitive to pay more for less work, it’s just something to be aware of. The key takeaway is that whether your replacement guitar neck is pre-drilled or not, minor hole alignment issues are easily overcome with a simple doweling procedure, making a pre-drilled neck a perfectly viable option for your guitar upgrade.
