uk_lefty Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Hi everyone, I bought a G&L Tribute 4-string bass neck recently, all maple. It's excellent, needs some sharp edges sorting on the frets but otherwise its great... However...! The neck has an extra fret to a standard Fender P or Fender clone neck. It fits perfectly in the neck pocket on the body I want to use with it (Westfield P Bass body for now) but I'm unsure what to do about the fact that the scale is slightly thrown off. Do I remove some wood from the body to extend the length of the neck pocket (would also need the pick-guard trimming too)? Have the neck trimmed back? Source a different body? Ideally I'd like to source a better body over time, but now I know the neck isn't right for a generic P-Bass body I'm not so sure of my options, and I don't want to spend too much on getting this right. All advice welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 If there's enough room to do it I'd say repositioning the bridge to change the scale length would be the first thing I'd look at doing rather than re-routing out the neck pocket! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 interesting, hadn't thought of that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Repositioning the bridge is going to be made more difficult because the G&L Saddle Lock bridge has a sizeable route made into the body for a protrusion from the base of the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Aha - the current body is a Westfield P Bass copy, and the bridge is a Wilkinson P Bass copy so hopefully that shouldn't be a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I don't read so good, I thought the whole bass was a G&L. Nothing to see here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1424038120' post='2691946'] Repositioning the bridge is going to be made more difficult because the G&L Saddle Lock bridge has a sizeable route made into the body for a protrusion from the base of the bridge. [/quote] Aha! This goes a long way towards explaining why the bridge on my L1505 stays in place with just 2 screws, even with 5 strings top-loaded into it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1424043274' post='2692011'] Aha! This goes a long way towards explaining why the bridge on my L1505 stays in place with just 2 screws, even with 5 strings top-loaded into it... [/quote] You might want to read this: http://www.bassesbyleo.com/l2500_bridge_mod.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Personally, I'd go with your original plan of extending the length of the heel pocket. It's not a difficult thing to do if you have a router and know what you're doing. It would correct the scale length, whilst also keeping the balance of the bass and the pickup position in the "correct" place on the 34" scale. If you simply fit the neck as is, in the current heel slot, and move the bridge a bit towards the neck to compensate, you will have to move the pickup by the same amount (if you want to keep the same pickup placement in relation to the scale). It'll all tend to make the bass a bit longer , which for most people I think would be a negative. I'd also say that if you are going to have to pay someone a far amount to do routing etc it would be much cheaper and easier just to buy a new neck (I'd go for a CWGP neck) made for a Fender-sized body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1424043982' post='2692021'] You might want to read this: [url="http://www.bassesbyleo.com/l2500_bridge_mod.html"]http://www.bassesbyl...bridge_mod.html[/url] [/quote] Thank you neepheid, that's most illuminating. I have flats (Chromes) on my L1505 and I was reluctant to fit them through the body in case of problems with the break angle at the points where they emerge from the bridge plate and pass over the bridge saddles. Having said that, I have Chromes on my Mustang (a 32in set to allow for the extra distance through the body) and have had no problems there, so I might just have to get an extra-long set and re-string the L1505. Unfortunately I probably don't the metalworking skills or tools to do the mod suggested in the Basses By Leo link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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