Musicmaster bass neck on a Tele (guitar) body

[ilan]

This was posted by Fred Hammon on the old Dudepit. I just bought a '72 Mustang neck, maybe I can start building a similar project:

[Dave W]

The neck pockets are the same width, but the end of the Tele's pocket is squared off. Shouldn't be a big problem to round it slightly.

[ilan]

The neck pocket would have to be altered anyway, as the Musicmaster/Mustang neck goes deeper into the body by an inch or so compared to a Tele (an inch or so behind the neck plate screw holes). So I'd have to take down the "wall" between the neck pocket and front pickup route, and the only part that will need cutting to the exact shape of the neck butt is the pickguard.

If I do this I'll opt for a bound body.

[Dave W]

I forgot about that. Are you planning on buying an existing Tele guitar body, drilled and routed for the guitar bridge and pickups?

[ilan]

I forgot about that. Are you planning on buying an existing Tele guitar body, drilled and routed for the guitar bridge and pickups?

That is what I am considering. The bridge holes and bridge pickup route will be covered by the Dark Star pickup and the pickguard. The only sign that this was a guitar body will be the unused string ferrules in the back.

My initial plan was to marry the Mustang neck to a Musicmaster bass body I already have, converting it to a Mustang bass. It's the same body shape, and the larger Mustang pickguard will hide all the smaller MM pickguard's holes. I will have to slightly enlarge the pickup route under the pickguard to accept the split Mustang pickup, and drill the body for the ferrules, because the Mustang is string-thru.

But now this Tele-body bass made me reconsider.

[Chris P.]

I like the Tele shaped G&Ls, but this one.. ..I don't know. It's different, but I would prefer the Musicmaster body.