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Chunky neck - to reshape or replace?


TimCook
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Hi there.

I've recently bought a new (2nd hand) bass which I'm absolutely in love with but have struggled to adapt to the neck - it feels like a stretch and I feel left forearm fatigue after only a short time playing.

The bass is a 4-string with a 35" scale where I've only previously played 34" but added to this, has a very thick/chunky profile.

Has anyone any experience of commissioning a luthier to reshape a neck? My other option would be to commission a luthier to custom build a whole new neck (with max 34" scale) but I'd likely have to sell another bass to afford this route so it'd be a last resort.

Any experience or recommendations gratefully received.
Tim

Edited by TimCook
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Shaving the neck down shouldn't be too much of a task for a decent luthier, though I'd probably advise a change of neck profile (thinning the shoulders for example) rather than actually reducing the thickness front to back too much. It's often the neck profile rather than the actual depth which causes the most problems with comfort and it's a lot safer to remove it from here instead of the middle.

You could also have a bit taken from the depth at the same time, but there's a truss rod in there somewhere and if whoever is carving the neck exposed it, then it's game over :shok: ! I use a magnet when doing this type of work to keep an eye on the depth. So basically what I'm saying in a round a bout way...don't expect to be able to go too thin :).

Keep in mind the neck will need to be refinished after, which will be the more expensive part of the job and if it's a valuable bass will most likely decrease the resale value unless the whole neck is stripped. Often an oil finish is used and the headstock and heel finish blended in as best as possible, which is considerably cheaper.

Regarding a new custom neck, I offer those, but changing scale would be a bit of an issue as the bridge would need to be moved and doing this would throw off the location of the pickups a little, so it might not sound quite the same afterwards. Feel free to PM or email me if I can help in any way.

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Hi, many thanks for your thorough and thoughtful response... it's an expensive instrument so I've decided it's probably best not to take the risk with re-profiling.
So I probably need to think hard about a custom neck - the bridge can't be moved (it's routed similar to a Warwick 2-piece bridge) but the neck joint goes all the way to the front pickup so I'm assuming there shouldn't be a problem with a new fingerboard extending an additional 11-12mm towards the pickup (upper fret access is very good) for the smaller scale length. A new neck would mean I could re-fit, with a full set-up of course, the original neck should I ever decide to sell.
[attachment=221320:photo 1.JPG]

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