Andyjr1515

I'm sure there are loads of 'it depends if...' there, but very interesting observation 👍

Personally, I wouldn't do that on this bass. I would do exactly what @Hellzero suggests. If you try to lower the bridge as a whole, you will need to chisel/rout both into the neck extension AND the body sides to accommodate the two bridge 'wings'. I would shim it under the bridge, say 1mm, bolt the neck back on, sand/chisel the neck extension back flat with the body, string it and see where the action is. If it's still too high, take the neck off again, add another shim, bolt it back and flatten the bridge wedge again. Externally, the bass will look exactly the same as it did originally - which is not the case if you try to sink the whole bridge into the body.

Hi, @W-1Pro - hope all good with you! It's been a long time Remember: - the truss rod is not there to change the action height. It's there to keep the neck straight. My strong advice is to loosen it back to where it was ASAP so it doesn't break something. When I get a moment tomorrow I'll post some simple instructions how to set the truss rod at the right tension - especially seeing that this is a sort of bolt-on-neck, almost certainly the neck needs a shim in the body side of the neck pocket. We are not talking anything of significant thickness...put in the right place, a thin shim can make a HUGE difference to action height

My view is that there are decent reasons for using wedges instead of a simple shim at the end of the pocket but: - it's not essential - it has nothing to do with ski-jumps The main decent reason that I might use wedges is that a wedge does provide a tighter contact between the neck and neck pocket - and the more rigid the neck fixing, then the less vibration loss. Whether anyone could hear the difference is, of course, a totally different matter! And so to ski jump. Ski jumps are real and not uncommon, but a single shim at the end of the neck pocket causing a ski jump is a 'challenge' to physics, materials science and, certainly in my case, practical observation: - Physics. The pair of screws at the shim end of the pocket is close to the shim. The pair of screws at the other end is close to the other contact point. The gap is in the middle - and on most basses (admittedly not all) there aren't additional screws there. So the screw forces are holding the two contact points tight - there is no bending force - Materials science. The heel of the neck has one of the largest aspect ratios (thickness: length) of most of the other wood components. Even in a hydraulic press, it would take some considerable force to bend that. I think the wood round the screw threads would fail first. - Practical observation. Those who have followed my build threads over the years will know that I exclusively build through-necks. And yes - you can and do get ski jumps with through-necks. Basically: the neck is pulled up by the string tension; the truss rod keeps the bendy bit straight but there remains a movement axis at the neck/body joint; the string tension wants to snap the neck at the joint for the neck and body to clap hands. There is some flex upwards even when new. And, over time, that continued tension can result in a set lift of the neck. It's one of the reasons that many builders add a 'fall-away' of the frets that sit over the body bulk near the heel. If you don't, then folks who like a super low action and play way up the dusty end will tend to get buzz of the upper frets.

Lovely. Simply lovely...

I think the Osmo Polyx products are absolutely splendid - but I have limited experience with their gloss formulas. All of that range is super-easy to apply and, in that you can always sand it off and start again if it doesn't suit, then probably worth a try. My reservations are that it depends just how hard the gloss version finally sets at. It is a modified-wax based product but, if you saw some of my satin results and tapped the finish as hard as you like with your fingernails, you generally would never think that. And bear in mind it is sold primarily for the rigours of home and commercial parquet and wooden floors. But whether the gloss version 'drags' on the fingers I really don't know. But - a small tin is cheap as chips and one of the easiest finishes to apply. It needs just a clean lint-free cloth and rubber gloves (just to keep the stickiness off your hands - trying to wash a waterproof coating off your hands is always a challenge ) and is pretty much fumeless - probably worth a try. If you do, my recommendation would be a single wipe, leave it overnight, another one, etc, and then leave it at least 2 weeks to really fully harden.

That doesn't look at all right to me. That looks like a stress crack that has also gone into the centre splice.

Oh...and, you never know with such things, but based on the photos and where the crack actually is, I would be very surprised, if done as above and from what I can see in the photo, if the resulting mend was not strong enough.

Yes - this ^^^^ I've never used Super 'Phatic (it sounds great!) but you can certainly do the same thing with extra-low-viscosity CA glue (number of makers/suppliers but it is easy to get hold of and is a specialist 'super glue' that is much, much thinner than the standard stuff ) As @Stub Mandrel says, capillary action sucks the glue deep into the joint. Masking tape right up to the edge is essential with CA glue, though, and after peeling it off, probably would need scraping with a razor blade to clean it up - and this might be where the super-phatic may well have the edge if it is water-based. If you're fast with your fingers, you could even squirt the glue into the crack while the string tension is on, maximising the opening, then immediately release the tension when the glue's in there and, as @Stub Mandrel says, pop the pre-prepared clamps on.

Sounds lovely, @ped.

The new neck looks the business, @ped . Ref the old neck, personally, I would take the tension off the trussrod to avoid the possibility of a permanent back bow setting in over storage time...

I have to say, that shiny neck does look the absolute dog's wotsits!! If you can get one/get one done like that, I'll be well impressed

Laser engravers are stunning bits of kit. And this is a stunning use of a laser engraver. 5 gold stars and smiley face - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wow!!! That is superb. And I struggle to get my head around how your did it. Lovely work generally, but that feature is a 'knock out of the ball park' jobee. Bravo!!

I would second @neepheid in terms of Artec's 'bang for the buck'. I can't think of any Artec product I've used or fitted that hasn't hit way above its weight and I've certainly used their lipstick pickups in my own guitars in the past.

Yes, absolutely. As @Hellzero says, small changes in the angle of the neck make a significant change to the action height. The Amazon link that @Hellzero puts on of the full-pocket tapered shims is also spot on.

It doesn't have to be. Accepting that any mod, good or bad, will reduce the resale value, then if the bass is potentially a keeper but you just want to make it more comfortable to play by taking some weight out of it - then you could do it from the back (upper horn, lower horn, either side of the neck run) without overly upsetting the balance and just leave the back with open chambers. It's a bit 'horses for courses'.

Be aware, by the way, that the amount of material you have to remove to make any tangible difference to the weight can be surprisingly high! You might find this thread for a very heavy Harley Benton I did a few years back for @Harryburke of interest:

Provided that you don't weaken the bridge area, it is unlikely to make any perceptible difference to the sound. And even those cases where the mods are so extreme that it does make a difference to the sound, it is just that - a difference, not a detriment. So, unless the bass is absolutely the best sound that you've ever experienced regardless of make, cost, type...then go for it. A bass that is too heavy is a bass that doesn't get played very often - if at all...

...and I'm assuming you don't have any proper nut files @Skybone The correct answer is 'take it to a guitar tech' but, if you are willing to risk having to do that anyway if it all goes wrong : What I would personally do for a bass - if my precious files got stolen on just the day I needed them - is: - use the new strings themselves as the nut file formers. This is tricky for a G string but, happily, you don't need to do that one - make a sharp thin pencil mark along the bottom of the nut slots - wrap a small piece of some 320-ish grit paper around the string - a half-loop only - hold the paper tight on the string with thumb and finger of both hands and gently file the slot back and forth - be patient...105 to 135 is quite a change - change the sandpaper from time to time - check the string fit without the sandpaper wrap from time to time to see the progress or lack of it - as soon as there is ANY sign that the pencil mark is being sanded away, STOP!!!! Be aware that properly slots are angled down a touch towards the headstock so that it is the very front edge of the slot that is the highest point. You may need to follow this angle as you sand if you find that the string is riding high at the back edge of the slot.

It was certainly an interesting veneer! This is how the final thing came out:

Most kind...but does Andyjr1515 know his epoxies from his onions?? Jury might be out

Well, the worst thing is if there is any area with not enough...that patch will bubble and raise with the moisture of atmosphere/subsequent finish spray/etc. You will be sanding the joint line in any case to use the epoxy in the joint to blend the veneer/joint/original finish, so a bit of squeeze out isn't the end of the world assuming that this is intended to be sprayed afterwards in any case.

With luck, your Jazz body would come out of the vacuum bag a bit like this: Then, ALWAYS cutting across the grain and not along it, you use the curve of the body sides as your blade guide: After some careful sanding along the line, again, across the grain line and not into it, it should blend in pretty well:

I've never tried applying veneer with epoxy (if I was doing this, I would strip it all down to wood then use the PVA 'iron on' method I've described in a number of past threads. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages of this too so epoxy isn't such a bad thought). But, assuming this is the standard flat-topped Sire Jazz, to use epoxy, I would be tempted to use a vacuum bag (like skate-boarders use or folks who want to store quilts in their loft). - I would cut the veneer a couple of cm large all-round and use a decent medium set epoxy (I think I would probably use Z-poxy Finishing Resin). - the veneer I would use would be close-grained, non-figured (the figured will likely split in the process). - with luck, the vacuum will not only help you achieve the close, flat bonding, but also start to curve the veneer a touch round the edges - when set, the excess veneer would be cut off with a single-edged razor or scalpel (must be super-sharp) from the top laying the blade from the top and using the curve of the top to use as a 'summit' for the blade to have point-contact only - then I would sand along the line of the joint with a sanding block, starting with something like 240 grit and finishing with 320 or finer I'll try and find some old pics of some of the things I'm talking about