Are all Charvel Model series necks made equal?

[Jackson-Charvel]

I was wondering if some of the bolt on necks varied as far as dimensions in the neck pocket and bolt hole pattern.

I have a model 1 body and a model 2 neck and while it fits in the pocket nice and snug, once I tighten the screws down the neck is pulled where the screws are gripping it towards the high E side. When the strings are on you can see the strings don't run exactly parallel to the dot inlays. Usually the dot inlays run equi-distant between the D and G strings, correct? Now I notice the D string is over the left part of the dot inlay noticeably at the 5th,7th and 9th frets. The G string is completely to the right of the same inlay with a gap between the string and the inlay that is noticeable.

I also noticed when I unsrewed the neck bolts completely out of the neck with the strings still on, I could shift the neck towards the bass side, and hold it like that and try to tighten the screws, thats when I notice it pull it toward the treble side, which says to me the screws are not aligned.

All along I just assumed everything was plug and play so to speak not factoring in variables that measurements could be off, but I figured most of the Model series being made in Japan was CNC'ed so not much variance between models, so it would be as simple as unbolting one neck and bolting on another.

I recall Dave (Budman's) Model 2 with the maple neck that he added black binding and I remember him saying that neck or neck pocket was angled for the JT-6. When I looked at the Model 1 and Model 2 neck looking for any kind of variances, I couldn't find any. I was just figuring maybe there is an inerrant difference since the model 1 has the vintage trem and the model 2 has a JT'6 so one would be different.

If I have to do the dreaded plug and re-drill what's the best way to do it right the first time? Seems like if you are off a millimeter you're SOL, as I can see by when I bend the neck on the guitar I can get the strings closer to where they should be aligned and it's not a whole heck of a lot to shift it.

Thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

[Grandturk]

I find whenever your dealing with puttin parts together, you're going to have inconsistancies that require a little effort to get right. As far as the model necks all being equal, I don't know if thats the case. I went to do a quick neck swap between my Model 4 and my 1a, and when i got the 1a neck on the model 4 body, it was too high in the pocket - as if the model 4 neck was smaller - I would have had to raise the string rollers on the bridge to compensate, and they were already at the max for the adjustment screws.

[Jackson-Charvel]

So how did you compensate for that? Shave down the neck pocket or shave down the neck heel? Either way I was hoping to minimize any kind of non-reverseable modifications, so they will swap back with no problems.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

find someone that knows what they are doing and have them dowel and redrill to fit that particular body.

[Grandturk]

So how did you compensate for that? Shave down the neck pocket or shave down the neck heel? Either way I was hoping to minimize any kind of non-reverseable modifications, so they will swap back with no problems.

Oh - i guess I should have finished my story - I didn't go through with the swap I unbolted then necks and went back to stock, thus ending my quest for a Model 4 with a maple fretboard.

[Jackson-Charvel]

Dreamland that's a great suggestion, but I think I can handle it if I know the certain pitfalls to overlook for the first time, which is why I was asking if that was the ONLY way this is going to work, or if there was some other thing I was overlooking. But thanks for your suggestion, I will keep it in mind if I suddenly forget how to use a drill or a hammer.