Graphite/carbon fibre necks.

[ambient]

Is there a difference between the two ?

Anyway, I digress

A bit of a daft question.

As the owner of a very beautiful modulus bass, I was wondering how durable is carbon fibre ? I mean what's its life expectancy ?

My bass is 14 years old, though you wouldn't believe it if you saw it .

Also how big a job is a re-fret ? It doesn't need one, I don't think it has ever really been played much, but would any luthier be able to do it, or is it something a specialist like Status would have to do ?

Sorry for the probably daft questions, but I've really formed an attachment with it.

[E sharp]

My Modulus quantum neck on my Stingray is about 25yrs old , and is without a truss rod . They reckon a few hundred years will pass before it thinks about moving . It used to be fretless , and no one would fret it . Status were in their Trace Elliot tie in days , and were just too busy . Got someone called Steve Smith from Southend to do it . I think he's dead now - he worked with Bernie Goodfellow . You may find that Status , as good as they are , won't want to touch any graphite neck , that's not their own .

Edited November 18, 2013 by E sharp

[Kiwi]

There's no real answer at the moment. I have a very early graphite necked bass from 1979 and it's still going strong. Issues with necks have typically been due to construction - either tensions built into the neck that have resulted in the fingerboard delaminating (Modulus basses), or a lack of stiffness in the phenolic fingerboard that has resulted in bowing of the neck under string tension (Modulus again after making necks for Musicman and some isolated examples of Status basses in the early 90's).

I suspect they'll last much, much longer than wooden necks if they're well made.

[matski]

I have a MusicMan Cutlass - which has a Modulus graphite neck fitted as standard. It is 30 years old. It has no problems.

[Fat Rich]

I've only heard of a couple of graphite necks that have had problems, one had been left out in the sun for a whole day at a California open air gig (if I remember correctly) and the fingerboard had come unstuck from the neck. The other is someone on here whose sweat seems to have had some kind of reaction with the phenolic fingerboard, I've not seen pictures so don't know any details.

I have several Status basses, some from the early '92 and they're as good as new, seen plenty of older ones all with no problems. Status necks look like the carbon fibre weave you find in the motorsport / aerospace industries but they're described by Rob Green as graphite, other graphite necks I've seen don't seem to have the weave visible and are probably constructed differently. All these manufacturers seem a bit secretive about their production techniques.

Refrets are probably a bit tricky, I think it can sometimes involve fitting a new fingerboard so probably pricey.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Fat Rich

[ambient]

Thanks for all of your replies.

It's been well looked after, and I intend to continue looking after it, so I don't foresee anything going wrong with it

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1384814714' post='2281180']
I suspect they'll last much, much longer than wooden necks if they're well made.
[/quote]
Really? I am a fan of Graphite - but don't see why wood wouldn't last as long as a composite if cared for.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1384857588' post='2281433']
I have a MusicMan Cutlass - which has a Modulus graphite neck fitted as standard. It is 30 years old. It has no problems.
[/quote]
I've owned three Cutlass basses and played two more with problems.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1385063137' post='2284098']
Really? I am a fan of Graphite - but don't see why wood wouldn't last as long as a composite if cared for.
[/quote]
Depends on the timeframe obviously...but I'm thinking 50-100 years...if a graphite neck was properly cared for too.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1385063137' post='2284098']

Really? I am a fan of Graphite - but don't see why wood wouldn't last as long as a composite if cared for.
[/quote]

I had a one piece birdseye maple neck on a EBMM sterling from 1994, and it was the worst neck for shifting, even mild tempreture changes would make it change neck relief. It had gotten much less rigid compared to when it was first cut. Id be heavily surprised if anyCarbon fibre or graphite neck was even half as bad.

Even if made right, wood is just inconsistent that's that. If you do carbon fiber of graphite right, it's right there are no inconsistencies.

By contrast I had a stingray from 93 with similar neck (rosewood board) and that was stiff and rigid as you'd expect.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1385106523' post='2284459']
I had a one piece birdseye maple neck on a EBMM sterling from 1994, and it was the worst neck for shifting, even mild tempreture changes would make it change neck relief. It had gotten much less rigid compared to when it was first cut. Id be heavily surprised if anyCarbon fibre or graphite neck was even half as bad.

Even if made right, wood is just inconsistent that's that. If you do carbon fiber of graphite right, it's right there are no inconsistencies.

By contrast I had a stingray from 93 with similar neck (rosewood board) and that was stiff and rigid as you'd expect.
[/quote] birdseye maple is by definition not the best wood for making necks out of. I've no idea why EBMM do it so much

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1385107161' post='2284461']
birdseye maple is by definition not the best wood for making necks out of. I've no idea why EBMM do it so much
[/quote]


Looks nice I guess. That's an extreme example granted, I've had other basses that haven't been anywhere near as stable as this status one I have, plus the tonal positives to be had win it for me aswell. It's a shame they are so expensive.

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1385071510' post='2284253']
Depends on the timeframe obviously...but I'm thinking 50-100 years...if a graphite neck was properly cared for too.
[/quote]
Hmmm, well lets put it this way...I have never seen an antique Stradivarius violin with a graphite neck.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1385112517' post='2284524']
Hmmm, well lets put it this way...I have never seen an antique Stradivarius violin with a graphite neck.
[/quote]
Nope... and I've never seen one with LED's either.

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1385113304' post='2284537']
Nope... and I've never seen one with LED's either.
[/quote]
Lol, or a hipshot Dtuner!

[BRINO]

Got a fender Jazz for over 20 years and a Rickenbacker 25 years, necks still cool but My Status graphite since 2003 has been exceptionable never goes out of tune handles brilliant a feels amazing

It works hard too

[Dingus]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1385107161' post='2284461']
birdseye maple is by definition not the best wood for making necks out of. I've no idea why EBMM do it so much
[/quote]

Scientific opinion is split on whether figured maple is actually less stable in reality. From my own experience, I have come across so many dodgy wooden necks that I cannot help but say that graphite is far, far less likely to give you the same problems, especially over time. Yes, graphite can go wonky , but it is rare . Wood , on the other hand, only needs to bend , twist or warp a fraction of a millimeter to start to be a major pain in the arse or even a total disaster if you are particulaly unlucky.

I got rid of my graphite-necked basses around the turn of the Millenium, and I sometimes struggle to remember why, but I think it was something to do with letting go of the past ,accepting it wasn't the 1980's anymore ( still kept the hair , though) . and going back to the simple life I had as an early adolescent playing my Fender Jazz Bass. Of course, Sod's Law dictated that the Jazz Bass I bought to replace my graphite basses had a neck on that I nicknamed "the barometer", because I could literally have sat in my room with curtains drawn and told you how the weather had changed by the direction the neck had shifted in . It was a nightmare.

I spent far more time adjusting that bass and its' hopelessly useless ( hopelessly useless? Yes it was hopelessly flawed and it was useless trying to fix it) neck than I ever did playing it. It was a beautiful bass in many ways , but I am still grateful every time I pick up any of my current crop of Fender basses and they all play perfectly up and down the neck . No bass with a graphite neck would have performed so badly in the same respects.