Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Jazz bass neck thickness.


machinehead
 Share

Recommended Posts

I have an American Vintage 75 reissue jazz. It's a stunning instrument to look at with the less common rosewood fretboard and gorgeous mother-of-pearl inlays but the best feature is the slim and fast neck. It's a joy to play.

Last year I bought a MIM classic 70s jazz which I would compare very favourably to the 75 reissue in every way but I always thought the classic 70s had a much thicker neck than the 75 reissue.

This has never been a problem to me because I can play thick or thin necks, wide or narrow equally comfortably.

But, the other day I had the vernier guage out and decided to actually measure the two basses. Guess what - the difference in thickness is less than 0.5mm!!

The US jazz is approx 20.5mm and the MIM is approx 21.0mm. Hardly noticeable.

The difference actually seems to be that the neck profile is a flatter "C" on the 75 and more "D" shaped on the classic 70s. It's surprising how different the necks feel even though they are not really hugely different, only a very slightly different profile. You can barely see a difference though, it's so slight.

I was surprised by this. I think I was allowing myself to be influenced by what I'd read about classic 70s jazz necks but, in reality, they are pretty slim.

So, don't be put off the great value MIM classic 70s jazz bass by talk of club-like necks. It's just not true in my experience.

Frank.

Edited by machinehead
Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah i had a US 75 RI, and it was the best neck ive ever played.. the neck shape can (although slight) can make the difference between a good neck and a great neck though..our hands and feel, can tell the difference of mm's and very small diffrences in the shape of a neck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 years later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...