can you replace a 24f neck with a 22f neck?

[timstar5150]

My Michael Kelly 24f neck is f***ed because they have drilled the floyd nut holes wrong. I want to put a 22f neck on instead, is this possible?

(the guitar has a floyd which I assume will need to be re-intonated).

The neck pocket/heel is also a non-neck plated, curved version, like a Van Halen Wolfgang type. I guess this might cause problems?

thanks,
tim

[Rich#6]

you can't do it. no way to intonate properly.

[Matt_B]

My Michael Kelly 24f neck is f***ed because they have drilled the floyd nut holes wrong. I want to put a 22f neck on instead, is this possible?

Ok, I understand why you need to replace the neck but why replace it with a 22 fretter?

[timstar5150]

i just prefer 22f but im happy with a 24fretter.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

How are the Floyd nut holes drilled wrong? If it's a top-mount and they're just in the wrong spot, it's not too difficult to fill & re-drill.

[Dannyjoe Carter]

Well the number of frets has nothing to do with it intonating as long as the scale length is the same. Case in point, I put a Charvel Journey 22 fret neck on an old Ibanez RG550 I had because the two were laying around for years. That guitar smoked!! The RG body had a route for extra frets in the top which looked funny but it played great!
You can do it with no problem.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Well the number of frets has nothing to do with it intonating as long as the scale length is the same.

That is correct. The 12th fret will still be the same distance from the nut, along with all of the other frets, like the 22nd fret.

Case in point, I put a Charvel Journey 22 fret neck on an old Ibanez RG550 I had because the two were laying around for years. That guitar smoked!! The RG body had a route for extra frets in the top which looked funny but it played great!
You can do it with no problem.

Now, that part is just wrong. If you look at the construction of a 24-fret Jackson neck you will see that the heel extends to the 23rd fret. A neck where the heel only extends to the 21st fret is going to be a problem.

The result is, the 21st fret is now in the same spot where the 23rd fret should be. Even if the scale length is the same, this won't work. It won't intonate.

[Matt_B]

Now, that part is just wrong. If you look at the construction of a 24-fret Jackson neck you will see that the heel extends to the 23rd fret. A neck where the heel only extends to the 21st fret is going to be a problem.

The result is, the 21st fret is now in the same spot where the 23rd fret should be. Even if the scale length is the same, this won't work. It won't intonate.

Exactly because in the case you give, the scale length does change, quite a bit actually.

[Dannyjoe Carter]

That is correct. The 12th fret will still be the same distance from the nut, along with all of the other frets, like the 22nd fret.



Now, that part is just wrong. If you look at the construction of a 24-fret Jackson neck you will see that the heel extends to the 23rd fret. A neck where the heel only extends to the 21st fret is going to be a problem.

The result is, the 21st fret is now in the same spot where the 23rd fret should be. Even if the scale length is the same, this won't work. It won't intonate.

OK.
Have they always been that way? I had a few back in the 90's come into my repair shop and I "thought" they were pretty much fender specs -

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Exactly because in the case you give, the scale length does change, quite a bit actually.

It sure does!

Yeah, I wasn't very clear about what I was trying to say there...

The 21st fret is now in the same spot where the 23rd fret should be. Even if the scale length the two necks are designed for is the same, this won't work. It won't intonate, because the guitar's scale has been changed, to one which does not match the design of the neck.

OK.
Have they always been that way? I had a few back in the 90's come into my repair shop and I "thought" they were pretty much fender specs -

As far as I'm aware, they've always been that way.

[lerxstcat]

That is correct. The 12th fret will still be the same distance from the nut, along with all of the other frets, like the 22nd fret.



Now, that part is just wrong. If you look at the construction of a 24-fret Jackson neck you will see that the heel extends to the 23rd fret. A neck where the heel only extends to the 21st fret is going to be a problem.

The result is, the 21st fret is now in the same spot where the 23rd fret should be. Even if the scale length is the same, this won't work. It won't intonate.

I read his post as saying he placed the neck not all the way into the pocket, hence the "open" and "looking funny" comments. I guess you'd have to drill new holes for the neck and it wouldn't be very secure in the pocket, but if that is what he meant I guess it could work, with a pre-AANJ body. Would look pretty bad though, and I wouldn't think it'd last forever.

To the OP, if Michael Kelly fucked it up, why not just get the correct new neck from them? Or any 24-fret neck that fits? You don't have to play the top 2 frets, you know...

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

<slaps forehead>

Here I undestood this to be a Jackson Kelly, not a Michael Kelly.

Who knew quitting smoking was so detrimental to communication skills? I think I'm down about 30 IQ points.

Anyway, my statement to the OP still stands, if the nut is just drilled off-center or something it can be fixed in a few minutes by any decent repair guy (because I can do it, and I'm barely decent.)

[Balou]

Its my understanding that you can replace it with whatever you want as was stated here, the number of frets has nothing to due with the length of the neck. I would of liked Charvel to of tapered the butt like on some of the Music Zoo ones Ive seen so to be able to reach the 19+ frets easier. It just wasnt worth an extra $1200 to get that and a Yellow pickup IMO.

[Tricky]

Why dont you just fill the holes & put a top mount Floyd nut on the neck. Easy fix.
Way less trouble, and less expensive than trying to fit up a 22 fret neck that wont work anyway.

[Sunbane]

Its my understanding that you can replace it with whatever you want as was stated here, the number of frets has nothing to due with the length of the neck.

Wrong. Put a 22-fretter and a 24-fretter of the same scale length next to each other. The 24 fretter will have a longer fretboard to accomodate the extra frets. Whether they will interchange ultimately depends on how the heels of the necks were designed, and in most cases I've seen, the heel of a 24-fretter extends further. The only exceptions I can think of right away are the Warmoth 24 fret necks.