Cheap Chinese neck!

[Basscabman]

Couldn't get on with the width of the neck on my PB50 so thought I'd take a chance on a cheapo Chinese neck off eBay for £55 inc shipping. 

Took 3 months to arrive because of Covid but I was well Impressed with the quality. Binding Is perfect, frets are all level, truss rod works fine and the block inlays are perfect too.

The big plus is that it's 38mm at the nut, the profile at the back is the same as a classic 70's jazz (baseball bat). It even came with a fender logo (I didn't ask for it & It wasn't on the one in the ad) which will be removed.

Fitted straight onto the PB50 with no problems, tuners off the harley neck also fitted on without aggro.

The neck is darker than It looks in the pic.

So If you're prepared for a 3 month wait a cheapo neck can work.

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by Basscabman

[Grahambythesea]

I like the block markers on it, not ‘51 but nice. 👍🏼

[Reggaebass]

I’ve been tempted a few times by the cheaper necks from China, but never tried them, I quite like this one .   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143570655749

[hooky_lowdown]

Not sure if it's the angle of the photo, but the headstock shape looks funny. 🤔

[Basscabman]

It's a little different to a standard fender or squier headstock. The lump at the bottom where the logo sits is a little bit longer.

[stewblack]

They do a P-Bass neck? 

[songofthewind]

I’ve got two Chinese cheapie Jazz necks. They are absolutely fine, apart from their wonky potato shaped headstocks. Must get busy on those soon.

[lemmywinks]

4 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve been tempted a few times by the cheaper necks from China, but never tried them, I quite like this one .   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143570655749

Seen those on AliExpress where they're a tenner cheaper, you can get the whole bass made of the same wood with a transparent scratchplate for £223:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000389057852.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.83ef1f67GWbM32&algo_pvid=7c3dbb69-5bb0-45ef-8b12-c22d1c544a90&algo_expid=7c3dbb69-5bb0-45ef-8b12-c22d1c544a90-0&btsid=0ab6fab215894974827868136e32e0&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

 

[Basscabman]

3 hours ago, stewblack said:

They do a P-Bass neck? 

The bloke I got it from does all sorts, Jazz, P bass, guitar necks etc. Name on eBay is Jinwan_1  Just be prepared for a long wait for it to be delivered. He said It usually takes 15 to 20 days but with the covid problem stuff is sitting in warehouses waiting to be shipped for a lot longer than usual. Around 60 days to the UK.

[JohnDaBass]

I had a Jazz neck & '51P neck and they turned out to be really, really good. I'm very pleased. 

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/424871-nbd-yob-52-p-bitsa/

Edited May 15, 2020 by JohnDaBass
Error

[Bassassin]

Just checked out the seller's current listings - a neck like the OP's is exactly what I've been after for a J build I've been wanting to do for ages. Even been toying with the idea of using a L/H neck for a reversed headstock - and they do have one.

Unfortunately they are a little more expensive now - £78.88 delivered.

[BreadBin]

Kmise necks are pretty good for the money.

[funkynotstinky]

@Basscabman Wondering how the neck's getting on 6-9 months later? How does it play,  how's the intonation etc.? Any other comments or observations? 

I've just stumbled across the same seller on eBay and the quality looks decent in the pics. They appear better than a lot of the other options. 

Cheers in advance, Paul. 

[kodiakblair]

1 hour ago, funkynotstinky said:

Wondering how the neck's getting on 6-9 months later? How does it play,  how's the intonation etc.? Any other comments or observations?

Can't answer for @Basscabman but my necks from Wang Guitar on Ali-Ex (Jinwan on eBay) have been great.  Had the blocked/bound 42mm nut version on my ThunderCabronita for 6-7 month ,not one problem 👍

[andruca]

I got the cheapest body and neck I could get from AliExpress. Neck was 23.40€ (Outdoor Equip Store) and body was 28.97€ (Soundly Music Store) back then, shipping included. It's been one year since I put up a DIY with those and all other parts from a "Jazz" I got from a guy for 38€ (badly shaped, painted by someone on LSD, truss rod not working, etc.). So far no issues with the neck. Not the thinnest Jazz neck but decent enough. Truss rod doing great too (have adjusted it 3 times IIRC). Will never know what the parts on the "donor" bass were, no brand to be seen anywhere. Still came out nice and sounds good for any kinda' stuff, even tho' it's mostly set up to play punk/HC/metal. At 90€ (if I don't count the Hipshot D-tuner, which I already had lying around) it's been a great bass. STILL, it had dead spots (most notably the Bb at E string fret 6) which I got rid of with a Fat Finger (add some 10-15€) I have always on it these days (not used in this recording) so the neck's not perfect, but still intonation's good, no high frets, fret ends are OK (except for just 4 I had to file a little), no ski jump so far and stays straight, so at 23.40€ it's way more than I ever expected. With such precedent, I expect a 55£ to be definitely decent. I love maple+blocks. I would have payed a little more for maple+black blocks but back then it was more than double the money (around 50€), so I decided to stick to cheapest possible. Cheapest neck you can get from AliExpress right now is 53+€ (either "rosewood" or maple).

 

[Reggaebass]

I nearly bought one of these a while back for a project, it looks decent enough, and I received an offer after watching it for £46, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-FRET-J-B-GUITAR-NECK-MAPLE-NECK-ROSE-FINGERBOARD-34-Scale-38mm-NUT-d7jr-/233870953321?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

[nilebodgers]

10 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I nearly bought one of these a while back for a project, it looks decent enough, and I received an offer after watching it for £46, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-FRET-J-B-GUITAR-NECK-MAPLE-NECK-ROSE-FINGERBOARD-34-Scale-38mm-NUT-d7jr-/233870953321?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

The problem I have seen with all the cheap chinese guitar necks I have bought (and looking at most ones where detailed dimensions are shown) is that the heel depth is non-standard and too great for "standard" fender body neck pockets. The neck sits very high to the point that the bridge saddles can't go high enough (or are at extremes of adjustment) to make it work with a standard body.

[Reggaebass]

6 minutes ago, nilebodgers said:

The problem I have seen with all the cheap chinese guitar necks I have bought (and looking at most ones where detailed dimensions are shown) is that the heel depth is non-standard

Thanks nile, that’s good to know, I’ve always used fender necks before but just wondered about these 🙂

[Rich]

3 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I nearly bought one of these a while back for a project, it looks decent enough, and I received an offer after watching it for £46, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-FRET-J-B-GUITAR-NECK-MAPLE-NECK-ROSE-FINGERBOARD-34-Scale-38mm-NUT-d7jr-/233870953321?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

I quite like the look of their maple f/b necks too. I have an old Harley Benton JB loaded body hanging around and quite fancy sticking a neck on & tuning it BEAD for a giggle. Trouble is that the neck pocket is quite narrow and the widest heel it will take is 62mm. I've asked the seller for the width of this one but don't hold out much hope. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233867761195

 

[Reggaebass]

2 minutes ago, Rich said:

I quite like the look of their maple f/b necks too. I have an old Harley Benton JB loaded body hanging around and quite fancy sticking a neck on & tuning it BEAD for a giggle. Trouble is that the neck pocket is quite narrow and the widest heel it will take is 62mm. I've asked the seller for the width of this one but don't hold out much hope. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233867761195

 

It’s the same guy Rich, he sent me this when I asked for sizes, 

Hi
17.8mm tuner hole and 63.7mm heel,
Thanks 
William

[Rich]

Bah  Thanks

[nilebodgers]

15 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Thanks nile, that’s good to know, I’ve always used fender necks before but just wondered about these 🙂

The flat heel section is also longer on these necks than a standard fender neck, although I don't think that matters.

[Ricky 4000]

5 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Thanks nile, that’s good to know, I’ve always used fender necks before but just wondered about these 🙂

I've found exactly what @nilebodgers says r.e. the one Chinese neck I bought.

The whole thing is oversize, but if you did buy one RB, a woodworking man such as yourself may be able to slim the whole thing down by a mm or two?

I found the extended heel that Nile also mentioned, is a hurdle to playing chords or whatnot on the high frets.

Here is a pic of the behemoth, next to a more normal neck:

I sanded the heel end to fit in the body, but if all the Chinese necks are like this, as I said, in my view it's oversize by a fair bit in every dimension. 👍

[Reggaebass]

10 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

is a hurdle to playing chords or whatnot on the high frets.

Thanks very much Ricky 👍, what are these high frets you speak of, I don’t think I’ve got any of those 😂

[Ricky 4000]

13 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Thanks very much Ricky 👍, what are these high frets you speak of, I don’t think I’ve got any of those 😂

Only required for the very high bit in Nite Club by The Specials, RB. 😄