Super Skinny Necks

[donslow]

Soooooooo....to keep this brief......

im a HUGE fan of Ibanez SR basses, more specifically their super slim, super thin necks, but am getting to a point where I’m looking for a change of aesthetics (and variation of sound) once in a while...

I have a stock SR500 and a modified SR300 (with precision pickups in) I also have a bitsa ‘51 precision with a jazz neck but there’s something about it that just feels....big

Are there any basses that are openly available, new or used, that have similar necks to the SR’s or is it that am I just so used to the SR necks that everything else feels like I’m trying to play a tree

Ive heard some epiphone and Warwick (including rock bass range) are known to have thin, slim necks, any truth in this?!

anyone have experience with basses that have really thin, slim necks?!

[Reggaebass]

My Sandberg TT has a pretty slim neck, it’s a 38mm nut and it’s fairly shallow front to back, I haven’t measured it but I would say it’s slightly slimmer than my jazzes 🙂

[40hz]

Early era Warwick basses have the thinnest necks I've ever played. My old 91' Stage One had a pencil thin neck - was awesome.

Edited September 3, 2020 by 40hz

[Bassassin]

Depends how mad you want to go. Ibanez' own EDA900 (based on the rather more exotic Affirma) has a similar skinny neck to the SRs, but with its piezo/passive soapbar, luthite body and erm, interesting styling, couldn't sound or look more different.

Pretty hard to find these days, think they were discontinued in 2005. You're not having mine.

[Paul S]

Slimmest necks I have owned include a Peavey Fury (the narrowest), CIJ Fender Jaguar, Fender Precision Lyte.   A Squier VM Mustang came close.  These were not only narrow but also shallow.  I believe my current Gibson T-Bird has a particularly narrow neck, too.  I've not owned one but the Fender Geddy Lee sig Jazz also has a super slim neck.

[Lfalex v1.1]

14 minutes ago, Bassassin said:

Depends how mad you want to go. Ibanez' own EDA900 (based on the rather more exotic Affirma) has a similar skinny neck to the SRs, but with its piezo/passive soapbar, luthite body and erm, interesting styling, couldn't sound or look more different.

Pretty hard to find these days, think they were discontinued in 2005. You're not having mine.

Or my EDB 605. I think they might actually share neck dimensions with the SR series (?)

[ahpook]

Do all the Ibanez basses with SR model numbers have the thin necks ? My interest is piqued now as I do like a bass with a skinny neck.

I can confirm that the Geddy Lee Jazz basses do have deliciously thin necks.

[Cuzzie]

2 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

My Sandberg TT has a pretty slim neck, it’s a 38mm nut and it’s fairly shallow front to back, I haven’t measured it but I would say it’s slightly slimmer than my jazzes 🙂

Sandberg MarloweDK is even slimmer at 37mm at the nut and slimmer all around

Status Graphite Jazz replacement neck is also on the sleek side

[Cuzzie]

Also the Spector Doug Wimbish if it’s an accurate representation of his own bass will be very very slim - He had Stuart Spector shave it to within an inch of its life when doing it for him

[Cuzzie]

Fender P bass lyte  Is also Pretty sleek

[PaulThePlug]

Check out the ibanez web site... great info on each model, neck dimensions etc.

SR neck preety much all the same dimension within each range, Premier, Prestege, Standard... 5 piece neck, etc. woods vary but 38mm at nut, GSR slightly wider at the nut... 1 piece neck

Got a GSR200 and a SR600 both necks are real nice...

Edited September 3, 2020 by PaulThePlug

[PaulThePlug]

17 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

...

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by PaulThePlug

[songofthewind]

The most ergonomic and playable bass I ever had, by a very long way, was an Ibanez SR500. Great EQ too. It was just not my style in colour or vibe. I am shallow and vain.

[donslow]

1 hour ago, ahpook said:

Do all the Ibanez basses with SR model numbers have the thin necks ? My interest is piqued now as I do like a bass with a skinny neck.

I can confirm that the Geddy Lee Jazz basses do have deliciously thin necks.

Might have to have a looky about for a try on a geddy lee although I have always wondered if they would be more jazz like than nearly not there at all...

 

1 hour ago, Cuzzie said:

Fender P bass lyte  Is also Pretty sleek

have heard that also, same with the jaguar necks @Paul S mentioned never played either though

 

1 hour ago, Cuzzie said:

Also the Spector Doug Wimbish if it’s an accurate representation of his own bass will be very very slim - He had Stuart Spector shave it to within an inch of its life when doing it for him

that could also be Worth looking for..

[itu]

Modulus Quantum neck (5-string) is very thin from the fretboard to the back, and 17.5 mm string spacing.

Ibanez Veasley model (6-string) has 14 mm string spacing.

[alyctes]

Peavey Fury and Fury II.   I should sell mine, they aren't being used.

[LukeFRC]

22 hours ago, Bassassin said:

Depends how mad you want to go. Ibanez' own EDA900 (based on the rather more exotic Affirma) has a similar skinny neck to the SRs, but with its piezo/passive soapbar, luthite body and erm, interesting styling, couldn't sound or look more different.

Pretty hard to find these days, think they were discontinued in 2005. You're not having mine.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBANEZ-ERGODYNE-EDA905-5-STRING-BASS-2004-MADE-IN-KOREA-PLUS-HARD-CASE/254620130897?hash=item3b488ade51:g:veQAAOSwXspe3fXD 

[mybass]

One from my workshop that I ve put out for sale....33" scale fretless, small fast 3 piece neck. A tad under 38mm nut width. 

I made it as a 'new' variation to try a small bodied bass and slim neck. Works a treat and sounds great, as heard at a bass bash.

Edited September 4, 2020 by mybass

[donslow]

2 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBANEZ-ERGODYNE-EDA905-5-STRING-BASS-2004-MADE-IN-KOREA-PLUS-HARD-CASE/254620130897?hash=item3b488ade51:g:veQAAOSwXspe3fXD 

Not a huge fan of the body shape by any means but that metal jack plate doesn’t look right in my eyes :-s

[donslow]

1 hour ago, mybass said:

One from my workshop that I ve put out for sale....33" scale fretless, small fast 3 piece neck. A tad under 38mm nut width. 

I made it as a 'new' variation to try a small bodied bass and slim neck. Works a treat and sounds great, as heard at a bass bash.

That’s nice!

[casapete]

On 03/09/2020 at 19:42, Cuzzie said:

Fender P bass lyte  Is also Pretty sleek

All the P-Lytes I’ve had have been very slim in the neck department. The funny thing is, prior to using this model I’d been playing my 60’s Precision and then a succession of Musicman Stingrays, all of which had much chunkier necks. I made the transition to the P-Lyte really easily, which given the radical playing difference was really surprising. 

[4000]

On 03/09/2020 at 18:21, Bassassin said:

Depends how mad you want to go. Ibanez' own EDA900 (based on the rather more exotic Affirma) has a similar skinny neck to the SRs, but with its piezo/passive soapbar, luthite body and erm, interesting styling, couldn't sound or look more different.

Pretty hard to find these days, think they were discontinued in 2005. You're not having mine.

I had one for a while in the same finish. Thought it looked great, played nicely, but never really got on with the sound, which I found a bit lifeless (didn’t really use the piezo as I don’t get on with them). I also had a bit of a problem with the ergonomics. 

[4000]

16 hours ago, casapete said:

All the P-Lytes I’ve had have been very slim in the neck department. The funny thing is, prior to using this model I’d been playing my 60’s Precision and then a succession of Musicman Stingrays, all of which had much chunkier necks. I made the transition to the P-Lyte really easily, which given the radical playing difference was really surprising. 

Have never got on with the P Lytes. The sound just isn’t there for me. 

[Bassassin]

15 minutes ago, 4000 said:

I had one for a while in the same finish. Thought it looked great, played nicely, but never really got on with the sound, which I found a bit lifeless (didn’t really use the piezo as I don’t get on with them). I also had a bit of a problem with the ergonomics. 

Agree about the sound. Certainly doesn't sound like much else, but never found a tone I was that happy with. The single passive soapbar's never going to sound that inspiring, but you can get some interesting combinations with the piezo - but interesting's not necessarily good or useable! Always found it very comfortable & playable though.

[S.F.Sorrow]

Like others have said: Sandberg. I don't have my basses in front of me right now but from memory I think Sandberg necks are slightly narrower at the nut than Ibanez SR but also have a SLIGHTLY chunkier feel to the front-to-back profile. Don't get me wrong, Sandbergs are VERY slim. The necks are probably the closest I've played to Ibanez SR.

In my experience Sandbergs are also considerably more stable to differences in temperature/humidity than SRs. I often have to tweak the truss rods on my SRs when the weather changes. I've never EVER had to touch the truss rod on my Sandberg after I set it up with my preferred strings.

Stock Sandbergs are ULTRA bright though. I love the build quality and 'feel' of Sandbergs but I don't like the sound of their stock pickups/electronics. Far too bright for my taste. I custom ordered a passive California VS with Kloppmann PB63 pickups for a FAR more classic P-bass tone. A stock, active Sandberg VS doesn't sound even remotely like a P-bass IMO, even though it may look like one with the split coil. I'm not saying stock Sandbergs are bad but if you're looking for a classic P (or J) tone they're probably not the best choice.