The newest aluminum neck design from Robot Graves Industries. The neck is milled from a solid piece of aluminum for incredible durability, rigidity, and sustain. Designed to work with lower tunings by increasing the scale length of the whole instrument.
It is designed to be an aftermarket fit with most Stratocasters, Telecasters, and Jazzmasters. It comes with everything you need to replace your current neck with one from RGI. It will move the scale from a 25.5" to a 27.75", allowing for lower tuning without increasing string gauge.
Necks are built to order with your specifications, so expect up to a two month wait before receiving your neck.
NECK SPECS:
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Material: 6061 Solid Billet Aluminum
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Scale: 25.5”
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Nut Width: 1 11/16”
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Frets: 24 Stainless Steel Medium/Medium
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Fretboard Radius: 12”
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Tuners: 3+3 Sperzel Locking
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Nut: 6061 Aluminum (cut for heavy gauge strings)(0.013", 0.020", 0.024", 0.035", 0.046", and 0.056") or cut to your specific gauges if specified
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Heel Pocket: Fender Strat Style (5/8” deep, 2.18” heel width, 3” total length, 5” radius heel curve)
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Thickness: .700” at Nut, .725” at 7th fret, .740” at 12th fret .760” at 15th fret
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Neck Shape: Very flat U shape, maximum thinness without structural loss, no tapered heel
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Includes: 4 Stainless Steel 1 1/2 “ 10-24 mounting bolts, backplate, buffing compound, and 2 microfibre cloths
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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WHY ALUMINUM?
When looking for a neck, there are a lot of different variables to look at. Structurally, a solid billet of aluminum will offer the most rigidity of the option possible. There is no truss rod or other materials to stress and strain during temperature or moisture changes. Additionally, that additional strength can help with the wear and tear of tour, stages, and other bumps and bruises any guitar will have to sustain during it’s lifespan.
Sonically, the density of aluminum may give you an advantage with more sustain and over tones, since the neck won’t sympathetically vibrate with the strings. This is, as with anything, certainly up for debate as to what your ears hear and your hands feel.
It’s worth noting that it will feel colder to the touch since aluminum is a better thermal conductor than wood, and it does noticeably weigh more.
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WILL THIS FIT MY GUITAR?
YES: For the most part, if you’re running a Telecaster, Stratocaster, or Jazzmaster, you should be able to bolt this neck directly onto the body.
MAYBE NOT: If you are running a T-60, Jaguar, Mustang, or 72’ Telecaster Deluxe; you cannot run this neck without modifications due to scale and bolt pattern restrictions. If you are confused and unsure, contact a local luthier to help you with your project. It’s a worthy profession to support and you’ll learn new things.
If you are considering a guitar not mentioned here, then I’m not sure.
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CAN I DO THE CHANGE OVER MYSELF?
YES: Most seasoned guitarist can probably do this, yes.
BUT READ THIS: I have pre-drilled the necks and they are tapped with machine bolts. You may have to adjust neck angle, saddle heights, and intonate your guitar afterwords. If your action is still too loose for your preference, a luthier can help you with adjusting the nut string depths to a tighter playing style. The depths are set fairly high to allow for adjustment after installation.
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WHAT IS THE 700 SERIES?
The 700 Series is the first set of necks that I designed, named after the thickness at the nut for the design. I will be continuing this convention for each style going forward, so anything with this thickness will be in the 700 Series, and further designs may be in a new series for their specific design requirements.
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CAN I GET SOMETHING CUSTOM?
SHORT ANSWER, YES: I can make a neck for any project. In the recent past I’ve also made custom guitars, hand-wired tube amps, cabs, a few different pedals and even a pickup.
CUSTOM, MULTIPLE RUNS: If you are a guitar builder and are interested in ordering a batch of necks custom fit and finished for your company or brand, please reach out. I can offer discounts for custom work at scale.
FULLY CUSTOM, ONE-OFF BUILDS: If you have your sights set on something fully custom, I’d be glad to chat with you about your needs. This process is expensive. The new neck would need to be prototyped, engineered, manufactured, and then finished, all with processes and measurements outside of my normal set-up. You’d be looking at at least a handful of months and a starting price around $5,000.
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CAN I GET MINE CHEAPER? FASTER?
no