Wayne Firefly Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Right then... I tour a lot with my favourite old stick which is a 2002 Musicman Sterling... its had a hard life and looks 'road worn' if thats the trendy term... looks hammered by my estimation !! Anyway, its not the first Sterling Ive had but its the first Musicman Ive had where the neck moves and it moves A LOT. Hot gigs, strings rattle around the frets, colder gigs, the action is nice and high... Now, I know all the usual bumph about moisture, temperature, how wood and necks move etc but this needs resetting around every 3 gigs or so... Its gotten to the point when I spoke to the MM rep at a local music shop he recommended I get another (new) neck, Tru-oil it which should minimise the problems Im having. I dropped Mr Green at Status a line as he does SR necks, no luck.... wont do Sterling necks... I can guess in real world terms why, tooling and costs etc so fair point. Apart from the replacement neck option (which is fine really) has anyone got any thoughts on sending the current neck to a decent luthier and removing the fingerboard, routing the neck for graphite rods and reattaching the board, Tru-oil it and see what happens ?? Or should I just get a Stingray and Status neck or buy a Zon or something ?? The replacement neck is the seemingly cheapest option AND I love the bass already as it goes like billyo otherwise and Im not too precious about it being too posh either. Any opinions ? [attachment=155699:577076_4541457978354_789967342_n.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Moses do a graphite neck for a Sterling - http://mosesgraphite.com/productpages/mm-144-music-man-gl-4/. Have no experience of Moses necks myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Firefly Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Had a look, almost every person who posted reckons they are a little rough on the quality side so without actually seeing a couple Im loath to throw that much at one.... although saying that, I have never played a Zon either !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Something to consider could be where you're storing the bass, you sound like you're already familiar with the do's and don'ts, but in front of any heat sources or air conditioners isn't good. Going from extremes in temperature isn't going to help either, though sometimes unavoidable. I'm sure you already knew all that though, but thought I'd mention it just in case. It does sound to me like you just have an unstable neck, where there sadly isn't much you can do to it. I don't believe adding carbon fibre rods would be the answer as there is still a risk it would not solve your problem and it would be fairly costly. So a replacement neck may well be your best bet. A standard one piece (plus fingerboard) would probably serve you well as long as its stable this time round. Though an interesting idea may be to look into a laminated neck which would make a more unique, much more stable and (in my opinion) cool looking neck! I hope I'm not braking any rules of the forum by saying we offer a custom neck making service should you choose to go this route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Firefly Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hmmmm I know Kubickis have very laminated necks for such a purpose apparently. Its usually stored indoors at room temperature unless its out being used. Its as you say, the unavoidable changes in temperature going from a frozen van into a sweaty / hot venue or vice versa. I think its just unstable to be honest, Ive had 7 other MM basses and all others were fine. This one HAS had a very hard life too so its not much of a suprise although its always the same. Sods law I think applies here when you find one you keep coming back to like a faithful pet, tends to get ill !! Cant just be a healthy specimen !! Ithink its going to be a replacement and Tru-oil it before fitting so seal it from moisture etc. Lucky its a bolt on in a small way, otherwise it'd just be a strictly at home bass otherwise !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Am I correct in thinking MM necks are one piece ? Are they Quartersawn or Plainsawn ? Anecdotally some do seem to 'move' a lot more than others. On a related note my OLP MM2 neck ( one piece maple ) shifts noticeably whilst I have some laminated necks on Westones and Fenix basses which just seem not to move and they're stored in exactly the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Firefly Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 One (1997) Sterling I had was definitely quatersawn whereas this one (2002) is definitely flatsawn. No idea why. Yes, its a one piece neck (with rosewood board). Of the 7 MM basses Ive owned, this is the only one that been so bad. I read an interview with Flea about 1991 or something in Bass Player when he said Musicman basses were his favourite, BUT he reckons he took about 6 Stingrays out on the road with him and wanted to stop using them 'Because the necks always warp' is the line I distinctly remember. I daresay they probably did under those conditions, hence why the Modulus (GRAPHITE !!) Flea bass has a similar layout to a Stingray but hot rodded. God I wish a Status neck was an option..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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