Change body in WRMG / intonation help

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Hi guys, it's been a while. Anyway, i have a japanese WRMG (the old model) - basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 24 frets, fr lic. It originally had emg hz's but changed them to 81/85. Still wasn't exactly what i wanted so i put the 85 in the bridge, 81 neck. Better but not perfect. Did the 18v mod - much better but there is still something missing. Forgot to mention, it had the afterburner from the factory so i wired it to work with the 81/85 as well. I never found much use for that.

Anyway, i don't like the low end of the guitar. It's kinda empty. With the 18v it is very good for rock, hard rock but for metal it's not what i want. (And the body shape screams metal). So i decided to change the body. I never really liked the cobalt blue anyway. I like the transparent black of the new series which is alder (my dk2s is alder and i like it). So
1) If i get another wrmg body there won't be any problems with the neck and the intonation right? (That is the easy question).
2)Now, that's where i really need help. I have no problem getting another body shape. Dinky, soloist, kv, kelly - i like em all. Which ones can i get and not have any intonation problems? Is there a general rule like "if the guitar from which you take the body has 24 frets then you ll be all right". And what about the holes of the bolt-on neck? Are they in the same position for all jackson 24 fret guitars?

Thanks a lot guys.

[RobRR]

Any Jackson 24 fret body will work. However, the JS Series and some of the older made in india X series will not work because they hoth use a 2-3/16" heel. All other Jackson bodys use a 2.25" heel which your warrior also uses. So any body that was originally equipped with a 24 fret neck will work for you, except those listed above.

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Nice! Thanks a lot RobRR. I have been reading some spec sheets on the jackson web site and i see a lot of differences in the "Neck Dimensions: 1st Fret: .xxx", 12th Fret: .xxx"" department. What is that? Does this create any problems?

[RobRR]

No problem!

Thats just telling you how thick the neck is at the 1st and 12th fret. Strictly person prefrence really, obviously the lower the number, the thinner the neck. Has no effect on how it mates with a body.

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Thanks again RobRR. To be honest i can't feel any difference between the warrior neck and the dk2s neck that i have. And they are supposed to be different in the spec sheets. So any idea where i can find a used DKMG, DK2M or WRMG body (i prefer the dual humbucker configuration as opposed to the dk2 or soloist) at a reasonable price?

[Wylde06]

have you thought putting some different pickups, other than EMG's, in it?

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Not really. Every thread i have found about basswood says the same things i have experienced. For example the emptiness of the low end. Surely it wasn't the amp - the results on a powerball and a 6505 were the same. Also, the emgs are not to blame (i put the actives in place of the passive it originally had). So it seems to me that i have a problem with the wood itself.

[MartinBarre]

Wait. You're going to buy a new body and keep the neck?
I don't understand this. Why?

Why not just sell the guitar and buy a new one?

As for basswood - a lot of Ibanez's use that, Joe Satriani's guitars are basswood. Maybe you should look into some pickups known to work in that wood, like the DiMarzio FRED?

I'd suggest you try either a Duncan Distortion set, or a set of Blackouts. Blackouts will fit straight in in place of the EMGs I believe, with the quick connector so it'd be worth a shot.

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Unfortunately here in Greece there is no ebay. It is also quite difficult to sell a guitar because the market is small. So in order to get the buyer's attention you have to really lower the selling price. So, just economically speaking, it is preferable to change the body in the cost of 100-150 euros instead of selling the guitar and buying another (most probably i will have to import a used guitar from the EU which means a lot of shipping money anyway). And i like all the other features of the guitar (pickups,neck,tremolo) - i only have problem with the body - i don't care for basswood (i am no shredder after all - i like heavy rhythm sounds), i don't like the cobalt blue any more and got a little weary of the warrior shape (though a trans black warrior body would be fine by me). So the reasons are mostly economical. The trade market is also small here - i have already searched in all forums and there is nothing that interests me really.