HOSCO Replacement Necks?

[thebrig]

Has anyone had any experience of Hosco replacement necks?

I'm looking for a Jazz bass maple neck and the Hosco's are available for £219 and are supposed to be a very accurate copy of a Fender neck, but I could also buy a Genuine Fender MIM neck for not a lot more, so I was wondering how the Hosco compares to a Fender MIM neck?

[Dad3353]

The Fender neck comes with fitted nut and satin finish. I don't know about any difference in postage costs, but would need checking, too. Other than that, I doubt that there's much in it, really.

[thebrig]

6 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

The Fender neck comes with fitted nut and satin finish. I don't know about any difference in postage costs, but would need checking, too. Other than that, I doubt that there's much in it, really.

Thanks for the reply Dad, its for a self-build and I'm going to reshape the headstock to a 51/tele shape, so I'm not too bothered about how its finished, I'm really wondering about build quality and playability. 🙂

The main concern I've got with the Fender neck is that the tuner holes are pre-drilled and might not match the tuners I have already purchased. 🤔

[Dad3353]

If you're sure of the Hosco tuner holes, I'd go for that one, then, and pocket the price difference. They have a good enough reputation, I'd suggest, to reckon that the quality and playability are on a par with the MIM stuff. Our Eldest is a luthier, so we don't buy-in necks, so no more experience than that; sorry.

[AndyTravis]

https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Fender-1951-Precision-Bass-Neck/art-BAS0010486-000?campaign=GShopping/GB&ProgramUUID=5G_AqJarZwoAAAFl0FZyjI8V&gclid=CjwKCAjw1K75BRAEEiwAd41h1LL1hRLjyBMzhTXy2HTOxyYYnW6fz4pSvKFWKyCbWUh6Xy79t9yJJRoCM18QAvD_BwE

 

[AndyTravis]

Oh, jazz width. Sorry

[LukeFRC]

10 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Oh, jazz width. Sorry

also depends on heel shape with a '51

[AndyTravis]

32 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

also depends on heel shape with a '51

Well. Yes. But someone with the skills and tools to reshape a headstock wouldn’t struggle to adjust

[thebrig]

17 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Well. Yes. But someone with the skills and tools to reshape a headstock wouldn’t struggle to adjust

The neck pocket is a round heel as per standard Fender dimensions, I could certainly round off the heel of the neck but I was wondering whether the rest of the neck heel would fit, width, depth, etc?

[AndyTravis]

I’d do some measurements first. 
 

I fitted a Tele neck to a P body a few years ago.

I can’t remember how I did it now. Thing I squared the heel pocket.

[thebrig]

34 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

I’d do some measurements first. 
 

I fitted a Tele neck to a P body a few years ago.

I can’t remember how I did it now. Thing I squared the heel pocket.

I've just compared the templates of a 51/tele neck and a jazz neck and it can be done, but I much prefer the 38mm nut on a jazz which is the reason for I chose a body with a rounded neck pocket, nearly all square heeled necks have a nut width that varies between 42mm and 44mm which I find to wide for me. 

[Slappindabass]

Hosco necks are.superb, I have 2.

[thebrig]

14 minutes ago, Slappindabass said:

Hosco necks are.superb, I have 2.

Thanks for the heads up, I ordered one about an hour ago 👍

[LukeFRC]

The thing I can never work out, and it would be expensive to find out, is how good are some of these different aftermarket necks... as good a Harley Benton, as good as a Squier, or a mex fender, or USA or Sadowsky or where...

reason is that I’ve built a few bitsas before, and it’s always a good way to sink a lot of dosh into a project, only to find the neck feels ok ish, and not as nice as other basses I might have ... so the bitsa doesn’t get played and the whole thing gets sold ...

[thebrig]

12 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

The thing I can never work out, and it would be expensive to find out, is how good are some of these different aftermarket necks... as good a Harley Benton, as good as a Squier, or a mex fender, or USA or Sadowsky or where...

reason is that I’ve built a few bitsas before, and it’s always a good way to sink a lot of dosh into a project, only to find the neck feels ok ish, and not as nice as other basses I might have ... so the bitsa doesn’t get played and the whole thing gets sold ...

Over the past ten years or so, I've owned a couple of 70's Fenders, three American Standards, an American 60th Anniversary precision, and a couple of Fender Roadworns, they all had great necks but the only two basses I use now are my two self-builds where one has a Mighty Mite neck installed, and the other has a Squier VM neck installed, they both feel nice and play great for me. 🙂

But you could be right with my latest build, I've not tried a Hosco neck before so its a bit of a gamble, and if it doesn't feel right to me, then it could end up getting sold. 😐