Replacement necks

[Jonrh98]

I'm planning to mod my first bass, a cheap p copy, to make it more usable. It'll be a more classic p bass to go along with my modern, active Sandberg and my fretless. 

 

Replacement necks are totally new to me, though. I definitely need one (the neck on this bass is dire) but no idea what to go for. My instinct is to avoid far Eastern eBay options, unless anyone happens to have positive experiences?

Outside of that, my choices seem to be a fender neck, an allparts neck, a WD neck or one of the slightly cheaper options from northwest guitars.

 

Any input on any of these options is highly appreciated.

[kodiakblair]

25 minutes ago, Jonrh98 said:

My instinct is to avoid far Eastern eBay options, unless anyone happens to have positive experiences?

Bought and used necks sold by "wang guitar store 1980" on Ali-Ex , their eBay presence is "Jinwan"

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/bass-neck/5615246_517813061.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_home.pcShopHead_902313684.1_0_1

 

They've been great , rock solid with no fret work required. Bit of a surprise that since Warmoth, Allparts and Fender all tell you to expect doing fretwork on their necks 🤣

 

I'm not the only one happy with these necks , spotted a few builds over on TalkBS using them 👍 A mate over in Kenya has also reported good experiences with them.

[Jonrh98]

3 minutes ago, kodiakblair said:

Bought and used necks sold by "wang guitar store 1980" on Ali-Ex , their eBay presence is "Jinwan"

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/bass-neck/5615246_517813061.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_home.pcShopHead_902313684.1_0_1

 

They've been great , rock solid with no fret work required. Bit of a surprise that since Warmoth, Allparts and Fender all tell you to expect doing fretwork on their necks 🤣

 

I'm not the only one happy with these necks , spotted a few builds over on TalkBS using them 👍 A mate over in Kenya has also reported good experiences with them.

Thanks so much! I was hoping someone would have had decent experiences with cheaper necks, it'd be good to free up some more money for hardware and pups.

[kodiakblair]

13 minutes ago, Jonrh98 said:

it'd be good to free up some more money

Freeing up money is good but for me time was more important.

 

Maple blank, truss rod and fret wire come to around £35 ; then there's my time to shape and sand it. Was well worth paying the extra £20 for somebody else to do the work 🙂

 

£50 odd for a blocked/binding reverse Tele peghead with square heel , it was no contest 👍

[Jonrh98]

11 minutes ago, kodiakblair said:

Freeing up money is good but for me time was more important.

 

Maple blank, truss rod and fret wire come to around £35 ; then there's my time to shape and sand it. Was well worth paying the extra £20 for somebody else to do the work 🙂

 

£50 odd for a blocked/binding reverse Tele peghead with square heel , it was no contest 👍

Very true - I'm no tech myself, so as pre-made as I can get is best. Don't mind drilling screw holes, adding shims etc but beyond that is not for me.

I might grab myself one of these cheaper necks and just see how it goes to be honest

[kodiakblair]

4 minutes ago, Jonrh98 said:

I might grab myself one of these cheaper necks and just see how it goes to be honest

Check the delivered item against the photo and don't tick the "item accepted box" unless you're happy.

 

That said , keep in mind you've paid £60 inc delivery. Warmoth,Fender,WD and Allparts charge £200 and £400 up to cover their QC scrap pile ; these £60 sellers don't have that luxury.

Small cosmetic flaws will get passed .

 

Also as I mentioned the big names all warn you not to expect an alteration-free drop in , same goes for the £60 necks. The CNC instructions for cutting neck pockets vary across factories and even vary within those factories , it depends on how often they recalibrate the machines. Heavy gloss finish might mean a too tight fit needing a bit sanding. Matt finish could be slightly smaller , scratchplate hides that 🙂

 

That's the thing with replacement necks. Aye , they're meant for a certain type of body but it's a type of body made in different places over a long period of time. The best the replacement neck folk can hope for is "near enough" 👍

 

I'll keep an eye out to see what path you take 🙂