I have what may be an Erlewine guitar from the early-to-mid 1980s. It could also be a Hondo clone; I have nothing in the way of proper identifying information, as the neck has been broken and was subsequently removed in preparation for installing a new one, and there is nothing with a serial number or other mark. The headstock logo was "Automatic," white on black.
It was bought from a friend for just a couple hundred dollars; he was of the opinion that it was a cheap clone. The neck was broken in a strap-slip mishap; the headstock hit a concrete sidewalk and broke halfway through. I made an attempt to clamp-and-glue it, which held for a while, although the intonation was thereafter off. The guitar was shelved in favor of a new one, and over the ensuing decades the neck continued to deteriorate, eventually breaking almost completely through.
In examining the remaining guitar thoroughly, I find it to be of really nice quality. The more I think about it, the more expensive the guitar seems to have been. So I'd like to try to resurrect it by installing a new neck and replacing the old hardware. But I've had a hard time locating any neck that seems like a good fit. Most of what I find online is of the bolt-on variety, and I need a set neck...one that fits. The neck pocket dimensions appear to be 3.8 cm wide x 7.4 cm long by 3.8 cm deep (or about 3" x 1 1/2" by 1 3/4"), with some rounding at the proximal end and at the bottom of the pocket. Are these common dimensions? They don't seem to match what I've found for Les Paul necks, which are the most common set necks I've been able to find online.
I've contacted Erlewine in the hope of obtaining a neck from them, but they don't sell necks. Should I just try to find something "in the ballpark" and expect to sand down the heel to fit the pocket? Can anyone recommend any vendors? Anybody have any spare necks they're willing to sell / trade for?
le bump
