Thinking about a neck swap…

[rogo]

Hi, so I’m worse than useless when it comes to anything to do with making or creating things but I’ve always loved my jazz bass neck but I’m a big fan of the precision body. I’ve got a squier p bass which I like but don’t get along with the neck, so the question is would it be possibly to just bolt a new fender jazz neck to it? I’m not sure if I’d need a shim or anything and I don’t particularly wanna buy a new neck for nothing. Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers 

[itu]

The basic idea is simple: you have two necks with similar screw holes and you make a change. That's it.

 

Along came tolerances.

 

It may be so that you need to shim the other neck to get the angle right. This is simple. Few plastic sheets, sized 1 cm x 4 cm x 1-2 mm or so.

 

Neck pocket may be loose or tight. Your choice: the pocket or the neck heel needs some sanding.

 

If the screw holes do not fit, consider using DIN 7965 slotted inserts after filling the holes of the neck, and drilling new ones that fit. The slotted end goes in first: 

 

Sure you have to change strings and check the fine tuning and string height, but that takes less than half an hour. You need a tuner and few tools.

[rogo]

sounds good, I assumed it’s not gonna be a perfect fit and something would need to be sanded. I reckon I could have a go and take it to a pro if/ when I mess it up. Just thinking neck angle, am I looking for flat 180 or do I need a bit of a slant 

[Beedster]

2 hours ago, rogo said:

Hi, so I’m worse than useless when it comes to anything to do with making or creating things but I’ve always loved my jazz bass neck but I’m a big fan of the precision body. I’ve got a squier p bass which I like but don’t get along with the neck, so the question is would it be possibly to just bolt a new fender jazz neck to it? I’m not sure if I’d need a shim or anything and I don’t particularly wanna buy a new neck for nothing. Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers 

Yes, it will work 99% of the time without modification, with the possible exception of small adjustments to saddle height and potentially intonation

[Beedster]

19 minutes ago, rogo said:

sounds good, I assumed it’s not gonna be a perfect fit and something would need to be sanded. I reckon I could have a go and take it to a pro if/ when I mess it up. Just thinking neck angle, am I looking for flat 180 or do I need a bit of a slant 

I've swapped hundred of Fender, Allparts, Squier, Warmoth, Mighty Mite, Musikraft and similar necks over the years and have not once had to use sandpaper. All the brands fit each others necks/bodies within tolerable tolerances. There will be some exceptions and some imperfections, but they are few and far between and rarely affect either tone or mechanics

[rogo]

ooh it’s sounding promising, might have to source a new neck…

16 minutes ago, Beedster said:

I've swapped hundred of Fender, Allparts, Squier, Warmoth, Mighty Mite, Musikraft and similar necks over the years and have not once had to use sandpaper. All the brands fit each others necks/bodies within tolerable tolerances. There will be some exceptions and some imperfections, but they are few and far between and rarely affect either tone or mechanics

 

I know who to message if I mess it up then!

[Beedster]

7 minutes ago, rogo said:

ooh it’s sounding promising, might have to source a new neck…

 

I know who to message if I mess it up then!

If you mess it up it's too late. Seriously though, you won't, at least as long as you buy a Fender-fit neck which all of those I've listed above are

[Beedster]

Just now, Beedster said:

If you mess it up it's too late. Seriously though, you won't, at least as long as you buy a Fender-fit neck which all of those I've listed above are

Fender fit Jazz neck that is 👍

[rogo]

I was planning on buying a fender C jazz neck, got my eye on one 

[Ralf1e]

It's quite likely you will find when you take it apart there is already a factory fitted black stick on shim in the neck pocket

Check the new neck is straight first in case the truss needs a tweak.

When you try your new neck on dry fit it i.e. (no packing or shims) if its a snug fit and lay a straight edge along the neck from the nut slots to the bridge saddles. This will give you an idea of the way the strings will lay and the angles involved. It will also show you if your bridge and or it's saddles are already too high or low etc.

If there is an ever increasing big gap along the neck from the nut to the bridge saddles lower the saddles. It the gap is still too big then you need a shim in the heel of the neck to tilt the neck back a bit.

A thin shim can make quite a difference so go easy and add a little bit at time.

Brass shims are available from Amazon or Ebay in mixed sized packs

Stew mac suppy wooden wedges at pre set angles but if you only need a little shim that can be overkill and a bit of plastic card does the job as mentioned above 

Have fun with it and take your time. It will help teach you how a guitar works and why it sometimes doesn't 😀