ToastBeans

I don't know if anyone still cares but, I took her to the shop back home and they gave it a once over - The nut was cut too high (thus the action), the relief was royally f***ed (thus the tension), and, the biggest problem, the 2nd fret is seated way too high (thus the action/buzzing). Should be fixed over the weekend and back in my loving arms soon (I'm out of town). Thanks to everybody for their help and insight. This is a job that I wish I could have done myself, but ultimately, I'm glad I didn't.

Gust0o - I am coming from the world of guitar, so this is actually my only bass at this point. It plays, but only with the subtly of an avalanche! I don't really know of any real luthiers that are accessible to me. There are a few shops here and home, but, none that I particularly trust 100% (is there some sort of accreditation or something I can look for?) . That being said, I [i]would[/i] like to learn to do this myself and make the best out of my situation. As it is, I do have access to a router for the next few days.. In regards to the cost of repair vs. initial cost - I only spent about £32 on it, so, the sky's the limit, I suppose.

By the way Stu, I've tried shimming this thing all sorts of ways in the past (that's how I got it in the shop in the first place!). The problem is in the head end of the neck and I just don't have the skills to repair it.

Letts - That would be fantastic! RhysP - I am actually in the States. TalkBass was down when I tried to register, so I came "across the pond" as it were. Honestly, most of the great bassists that I admire are from the UK and there seem to be less stupid kids on this forum, so I thought I'd get a decent spectrum of info on here. Too many of the American forums devolve into brand-loyalty based in-fighting by the end of the first page! So, for the time being, I'm looking at dropping a Mighty Mite MM2908 neck onto the Washburn XB-120 body (not really sure if the current neck is more of a P or J one...). I am still waiting to get the heel/pocket dimensions from Washburn. I am also going to put a BADASS bridge on it (happen to have one sitting around). Just for fun, I might also put a pickup cover and a thumb rest in there somewhere. What do you guys think? Any further tips/advice? The next big improvement down the line is a refinish and a decent set of pickups, but that's a whole other thread waiting to happen

How hard is it to route out the pocket?

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1343748406' post='1754578'] Before you went doing anything that can't be undone try this route [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/49897-how-to-shim-a-neck/"]http://basschat.co.u...to-shim-a-neck/[/url] If the action is as high as you say (what is the gap measurement between the bottom of your two E strings and the 12th fret for example?) I would doubt it's been caused entirely by such a fine gap in your scarf joint. Hard to tell from your pic, at face value I'd agree it could be just shrinkage. Try detuning completely then study the "gap" as you retune, does it become more obvious - can you see it widen? What you could try is some of the Evostik wood glue (in the green bottle) - not the quick drying one. Water it down [i]slightly[/i] so that it flows better and paint it into the crack with a paintbrush (when the guitar is tuned up & the gap is open). Get as much of it in there as you can, try blowing it in there as hard as you can, until no more will go in. Then detune, push teh strings to the sides & clamp it closed between two pieces of soft wood. Leave it at least 48 hours, more preferably. If it doesn't work you only lost the price of the glue. What "Dad3353" describes is the usual way of fixing a broken scarf, many SGs have suffered that fate. It works, but it ain't pretty - and a real luthier will charge for it. If Mighty Mite don't do a straight retro-fit replacement you'd still be paying someone to alter the heel or the pocket - or both - to fit them together. MM necks are very good & priced accordingly. There's a bass like yours on Ebay just now at £100, not much more than a MM neck alone, for a donor neck & lots of spare parts. PS. Might be asking the obvious - but have you asked Washburn if they've heard of this before - or if they carry spare necks for them? I've only approached them once, but they were helpful. [/quote] Upon closer inspection, the neck has started warping? a little. The neck starts to bow/lift up from the 5th fret to the headstock. Could that be due to shrinkage? I'm guessing that I just need a new neck (unfortunate). I saw that on ebay but, being a university student, it is still a bit too rich for my blood. I'm in talks with a local luthier about making a replacement neck. if that's too much, it might be time to switch to a fender clone... (sad face). I love this cheap little bass and wish that it would play right. As it is, I have to hammer it and everything comes out sounding like funk/punk! Washburn isn't helping that much. They told me to go to Warmoth, but, as I understand it, the heel/pocket is too different.

Thanks for the suggestions! I suppose that it stands to reason that the joint wouldn't gradually break like that. I wouldn't mind "syringing" it but I don't think that there's enough of a crack to fit anything in. Though, if it is not the neck, I'm curious as to what is making this such a pain to play. I initially took it to the shop because I made a royal mess of the intonation and there was all sorts of buzzing and dead spots. He was able to alleviate a lot of this, but at the expense of the action and apparently the string tension... I'm thinking it may be NND indeed. Letts - why do you say it would be impossible? Could Warmoth not do it, or is the heel too different?

You can feel, not a gap, but the neck wood raised above the head wood. It is about 1mm's difference.

Hello everyone, For several years now I have owned a Washburn XB-102 (I know, I know...). It has been playable but just barely. The action and string tension are just way too high. I took it in to have it set up properly, the tech did the best he could but pointed out to me that the neck was splitting apart at the scallop shaped seam between the neck and headstock (see photo). Is there any relatively easy fix for this, or is it one of those "you have to break it all the way to fix it" types of things? Should I just get a new neck? Would a Mighty Mite fit it?