Hey, zedd. Sanded necks were not even an option

You are spot on about the jumbo frets. I don't know who got this fad started, I think 7 strings and certain kinds of metal music was a huge factor, but a lot of people, most everyone I've ever asked, just plain don't like them. They act more like a speed bump in my opinion. They also make it harder to get a good set up done, all that extra room you need to push down stretches the string and it builds up as you go up the neck

the worst part is you never get an option on fret size.I guess they figure if you don't like them you can spend a few hundred more to replace them, I've had quotes from $200 to over $400 for a refretting job. Maybe we would all be better off if they just sold us all the parts and we put together what we wanted the way we wanted.

Even the medium jumbo frets I often think are too big.  I grew up on old guitars from the 60's and before, the fret wire then was really thin, making it very easy to run up and down the neck be it notes or chords, no fat speed bumps to get in the way and slow you down. I'd bet that IF they gave us a choice very few players would pick a fat jumbo size fret.

For people wanting to replace the necks for another couple of hundred bucks or more, you do know that you can reshape the neck with simple hand tools, mostly all you need is a knife, a small hand plane, a scraper, a file and several different grits of sandpaper. I knew one fellow that would play his new [to him] guitar with a piece of sandpaper in his hand until the neck was worn down to fit the the natural shape of his hand as he played. That takes a lot longer, depending on the grit you begin with,  but you get a perfect fit in the end. Sometimes just a 1/32 of an inch makes all the difference, sometimes it needs to be a lot more.

3 out of the 4 holes line up great, the 4th I did not drill until after lining up the neck.

First screw down the 3 that do but not tight, put the two E strings on the guitar and when happy with the position tighten the 3 screws until neck is set in place. Select drill bit slightly small in diameter to the last remaing screw and set depth before you drill anything(you don't want to go through the neck). You must do this because if you have ever tried to drive a screw into solid rock maple you will likely snap the screw if you don't round off the screw head first. I didn't worry about filling in the screw hole, no one will ever see it. The neck fitted perfectly and all that remains to do now is re intonate which doesn't take to long, string height is perfect for me. This neck came off my Warmoth SuperStrat (pictured a few posts back) which I have gigged twice weekly with for years and is the best neck I have ever seen and played, it just works for me. So it is nicely worn in and above all, familiar, like putting on an old pair of slippers.

The frets on the maple neck are jumbo frets but without the height that you guys are intimating at, you can run your fingers up this neck and no speed bump effect, they have pretty flat tops to them. The Tyler neck uses medum jumbo, slightly thinner but are higher or deeper depending on your point of view and will wear down in a time. I prefer the frets to be a lot more worn down and flat topped.

So, all that remains for me to say is, with a little care and a good strat neck, this is a reasonably easy job to do and the improvement is more that worth the effort involved, especially in my case because I am using my best and favourite worn-in neck. I now feel I have the guitar I always wanted and very pleased indeed with my choice of 69 which allowed me this opportunity.

Anyway, after all the waiting, anticipation, anger, patience, impatience and a multitude of other character altering emotions surrounding this guitar, it's all over and I feel genuine relief, I can now concentrate on playing guitar again and enjoy it. I will write more songs now that I feel everything I ordered has arrived and my collection is complete.

Not much for me to say now, so hang in there those still waiting, it is a technology definitely worth having and I hope everyone else with issues manages to overcome them and crack on with the art of playing guitar.

Adios

So the fret wire is not as tall on the warmoth neck? I am wondering if a local guy can just reduce the fret height and exchange for a 59, I havn't seen anyone complaining about the 59 neck, don't think anyway.

I spoke to my local repair guy, he can put a fender neck on it for 150-225 bucks depending on condition and

he can file down the frets to be the height I would prefer for similar money. My decision now really is do i try a

59 and see if i like it better or .... the problem obviously with filing down is there is no coming back, replacing the

neck you can put the original back on if you want to sell down the line

would it void warranty to file frets? wouldnt think so as it should not effect the workings but not sure.

Over the last month, I've purchased the trifecta, first the hd 500, then DT 50, now JTV 89. Ordered from zzounds on 5/18 received 5/20. Really only ordered from ZZounds as Sweetwater and AMS were backordered. Arrived at 100% . I performed update with no issues,(still waiting to hear back regarding my DT 50 that was shipped to service after it went into COMA during update, so I was a little nervous about performing this). I'm very impressed. I A/B it along with my Ibanez into GR-55 testing Acoustics, Electrics, and Ibanez mags vs the JTV mags.

I got my black 69 today.  I order the lpb in march from Sweetwater but they had a black one in stock on wed so I snagged it.  Box was beaten to hell.  The factory set up is awful.  It plays like a bad Squier.  The trem is almost at a 45 degree angle.  The high E jumps off the fret board like I've been reading.  NOT GOOD!  BUT, I did plug it in for a little and like the models. However, I plugged it in a crate practice amp and so low that u can't do the alt tuning.  I'll set it up tomorrow and hope it plays like MIM strat.  If I don't send it back, I may need to put a warmoth neck on it.  To be continued . . .