3 bolt neck to 4 bolt body, is this swap doable?

Sat Jan 02, 2016 7:04 pm

I have a 1994 Legacy with a 3 bolt neck. I have an opportunity to purchase a 2010 USA Legacy body from a friend. Will the 3 bolt neck fit the 4 bolt body width & length wise? I realize that I will have to drill either the neck or the body depending on the fit.

Has anyone successfully done this type of transplant? I'd prefer to drill the 4 bolt body to fit the 3 bolt neck if it is doable. My 3 bolt body is perfect and I don't want scratch it up gigging, so I'd appreciate and insights into this swap

Re: 3 bolt neck to 4 bolt body, is this swap doable?

Wed Jan 06, 2016 2:14 pm

clint wrote:I have a 1994 Legacy with a 3 bolt neck. I have an opportunity to purchase a 2010 USA Legacy body from a friend. Will the 3 bolt neck fit the 4 bolt body width & length wise? I realize that I will have to drill either the neck or the body depending on the fit.

Has anyone successfully done this type of transplant? I'd prefer to drill the 4 bolt body to fit the 3 bolt neck if it is doable. My 3 bolt body is perfect and I don't want scratch it up gigging, so I'd appreciate and insights into this swap


Not without filling the screw holes on the 4-bolt body and re-drilling them.
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Also, the neck heel width of the 3-bolt neck is narrower, so you would need to shim the sides.
The width of the 3-bolt neck at the 22nd fret is 2 13/64", while the width of the 4-bolt neck at the 22nd fret is 2 1/4".

Hope this helps.

:ugeek:

Re: 3 bolt neck to 4 bolt body, is this swap doable?

Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:02 pm

I may have a line on an unused 2013 Legacy neck (rosewood/maple). PM me should you be interested.

Cheers,

KF

Re: 3 bolt neck to 4 bolt body, is this swap doable?

Fri Jan 08, 2016 12:37 am

Thanks very much for the replies and information. It looks like this swap will be a bit more work than i feel comfortable doing to my Legacy. I'll just beep looking for a three bolt body.

Cheers!

Re: 3 bolt neck to 4 bolt body, is this swap doable?

Fri Jan 08, 2016 2:11 am

clint wrote:It looks like this swap will be a bit more work than i feel comfortable doing to my Legacy.

If it's perfect, play it! It should be the reason you bought it. ;)
But if you're looking for a good guitar for gigging, you may consider a used or even new Legacy from the Tribute series.