andydye Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 (edited) [i]This neck came to me as part of a Geddy Jazz that had been seriously pimped, beautiful to play, sounded great but I needed a fretless and block & bound maple wasn't gonna be an easy defret (I also didn't want to spoil Mr Shukers lovely work!).[/i] [i]I have therefore decided to have a fretless neck fitted to the body by our very own BassDoc which then leaves me at liberty to sell the neck to someone who wants to have a superb jazz neck that plays beautifully![/i] [i]the spec:[/i] [i]The new (Shuker) neck is identical in shape, profile, nut width, fret size, blocks, binding, scale length, etc (even down to the degree of gloss and tinting on the neck, the original is a vintage tint somewhere between matte and gloss, not fully one or the other - Shuker cloned it perfectly) except for the following differences: - 21 frets not 20 - so it gives the highest note as an E rather than an Eb as on a normal 20 fret jazz bass - 16" radius - flatter radius so bends don't fret out - graphite reinforcement - haven't needed to adjust the neck once... all the comfort of the original geddy neck, none of the fuss = epic win. - slightly fuller shoulders, so slightly more D-like neck profile rather than uber shallow C. - 3 over 1 tuner arrangement rather than 4 inline - this was to reduce the overall length of the bass and get it to sit better on the body (the original one was too neck heavy for my style of playing).[/i] [i]- Hipshot ultralites tuners (included with the neck!) - The Geddy signature was traced and lasered onto the new headstock rather than leave it blank.[/i] ...a few pics, some of it still on the body, some 'neck / body only' shots too: [media]http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_dye/sets/72157629542231959/[/media] The extra fret: This is achieved by means of a slight fretboard extension that goes beyond the end of the neck (body end), giving a slight overhang, this means that you get an extra fret without having to rout anything or move the bridge or anything. Same scale length, same position. superb snug fit in the original jazz neck pocket (I've shown a couple of pics of the existing body rout on my Geddy body, it still has all the original paint in there along with the date and model stamp). Issues: There is a tiny tiny mark in the lacquer on the back of the neck, it's almost behind the nut, I can't feel it when playing as it's above where my correctly positioned thumb rests when right at the nut end! There is a missing gear screw from one of the tuners, I have emailed hipshot and a replacement is on its way - screw received 1st May, new photo added to end of Flickr set! In short, nothing of note! Not sure how much a Shuker custom neck is new but I think £300 shipped (in UK only) might be a good starting point? PM me if interested as I can't always see posts on my mobile... I may be interested in trades but I'm really after the cash to part fund my new fretless one! Edited May 10, 2012 by andydye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I wonder if you would get more interest if the tuners were arranged like a Jazz rather than a MM? Just a thought. Any reason why they were arranged in that style? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1335797361' post='1636147'] I wonder if you would get more interest if the tuners were arranged like a Jazz rather than a MM? Just a thought. Any reason why they were arranged in that style? [/quote] I have thought the same myself, aesthetics eh...it was a practical thing... McGraham's words (he had the neck made): "[i] 3 over 1 tuner arrangement rather than 4 inline - this was to reduce the overall length of the bass and get it to sit better on the body (the original one was too neck heavy for my style of playing)"[/i] It did work too, the neck and body balanced beautifully! Ultralites tuners, shorter headstock, worked a treat... it's a gorgeous neck too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeptrying Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 That's a beautiful neck, 3 over 1 tuners are fab. wish I could afford this bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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