Fingerboard Length Options
Standard 22 Fret
A fingerboard with 22 frets is considered the industry "standard" for the last few decades and sports the typical 1/4" overhang off the end of the heel. This has always been the standard spec for our Vintage Modern series.
(Vintage Modern Tele® neck shown)
21 Fret Option
A fingerboard with 21 frets is considered a "vintage" spec, where the fingerboard is flush with the neck heel. You may have one less fret to play on but you will find that taking off and putting on a pickguard is much easier without the the fingerboard overhang.
(Vintage Modern Tele® neck shown)
- 21 vs. 22 Frets -
The original Fender necks all have 21 fret fingerboards, Gibsons have 22. Over the years, the 22 fret
replacement neck evolved with the 22nd fret on a slight fingerboard extension as shown below.
Warmoth Pro and Vintage Modern necks come standard with 22 frets. Total Vintage necks offered with 21 frets only.
- 24 Fret Extension-
The desire for a 2 octave neck drives some players to extremes. This can be accomplished by extending the fingerboard a little more.
The trade-off is the neck pickup. As you can see, the extra frets must move towards the bridge and interfere with the neck pickup. In order to use a neck pickup, it becomes necessary to relocate the pickup rout. This is why we offer the 24 fret reposition on bodies.
This custom feature is $25.00 extra and is available ONLY on Warmoth Pro construction necks.
- 24 Fret Pickup Rout Reposition for Bodies -
On Flat Top Bodies, we can reposition the neck pickup rout towards the bridge; just out of reach of the 24 fret fretboard extension.
 Soloist body shown
 Soloist with 24 Fret Extension neck
This custom feature is $35 extra.
Player Tips:
- Not using a pickguard and are you using a rear routed body? Be sure to check out our 720 body modification.
- Can YOU reach from that body indent to the end of the fret board? A common concern of 24 fret replacement necks is that of access to those extra frets with YOUR fingers. You can see the difference below in hand access between a Strat® body (Left) and the Soloist body (Right)
Tech Tips:
- Our fingerboard extensions hang over the top of the body with a gap of about .125" between the fingerboard and the guitar body. Most pickguards do not exceed .090" in thickness. After installing a pickguard, the gap is reduced to about .035" or about a 32nd of an inch.
- Some Strat® models with thick pickguards, specifically, the Strat® Plus can have problems with fingerboard extensions. On these guitars, either the pickguard must be modified or the bottom of the fingerboard shaved down.
- Switching from 21 to 22 frets usually requires no modification to the guitar besides replacing the neck.
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