Aiden Mustafa Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 A friend of mine gave me this 70s era jazz bass for me to own and restore to playing order. It's got all sorts of problems, but it has a body and that's all I need, I love that bridge pickup slot position. I want this to project go ahead, however there is just one problem... the neck is absolutely knackered, basically unplayable (unless I want my fingers to be shredded into pieces). The bass also a 3 bolt system, so finding an exact replacement neck is tough, especially on a budget and in the UK. I was thinking about buying a 70s style neck from fender, but they only come with the 4 bolt holes. So my question is, could I modify the bass by drilling 4 holes into the body where the neck would go? Would the neck fit into the slot or would that be something I have to worry about? Has anyone done this before and/or is it possible? I'm not worried about looks, and I'm not looking to hold any value, as I have no plans of selling the bass at all once I get it up to my playing standard. (I am sorry if this seems like sacrelige to some people) If anyone can help and/or want to ask questions about the bass please do not hesitate to ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris7273 Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Other option : keep the three holes system and drill the neck… install the neck, and use the body holes as pilot holes to see where the new holes should be drilled in the neck. three screws are enough… 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokl Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 What he said ^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Cant you just get undrilled necks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimike Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Don't forget to take the truss rod into consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasman Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 I'd agree with Chris7273 - transferring the four neck holes accurately from the neck to the body wouldn't be a trivial job. whereas spotting through the three holes in the body into the neck would be easy. My first Fender bass was a hybrid like this; someone had mated a three-hole Mk1 Tele body with a four-hole '60s Precision neck. The fourth hole in the neck was just visible (could have been filled but wasn't) but no matter - the joint was as solid as a rock! Lovely bass, but a bit of a shoulder-buster at around 11lb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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