Fender-style neck with a fatter heel?

[Sorefinger]

Hi!

I need your expertise. I recently bought (for cheap) an older Jazz bass handmade by a local luthier who is no longer in business. The thing sounds absolutely amazing, it has excellent pickups and hardware but the neck is warped beyond adjustment (reminds me of the Tacoma bridge before it collapsed ). It is playable, but I prefer my action lower.

It so happens that a standard Fender neck is a perfect fit - except that it sits too low in the pocket for the strings to clear the pickups.

Question: Are there any replacement necks on the market that feature standard Fender measurements but a fatter/higher heel? We´re talking about 6 - 7 mm here.

Thanks for your input!

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Sorefinger

Question: Are there any replacement necks on the market that feature standard Fender measurements but a fatter/higher heel? We´re talking about 6 - 7 mm here.

So in other words, the height (depth?) is not standard Fender measurements, right?

My recent search for a replacement neck to fit a body with non-standard heel pocket dimensions is documented elsewhere on TB; in short, you won't find an off-the-shelf solution, you have to go custom.

Warmoth, USA Custom Guitars, AllParts, Stew-Mac... forget it. They aren't tooled up to build necks in any shape other than 100% identical to Fender specs. Which includes the height/depth of the heel.

You could have a luthier build you a complete custom neck with the thicker/higher heel...or you might be able to just install a 6mm shim between the body & the neck. That would certainly give you a lot more options as far as what neck you could use.

[Sorefinger]

Hoover,

thanks for your reply, much appreciated. I did think about a shim as a last resort, but I wanted to make sure there were no other off-the-shelf options.

Heck, I´ll give it a try. Thanks again!

[UncleBalsamic]

Can you put some wood in the wood into the bottom of the neck pocket?

[Sorefinger]

Yes to both of the above.

Looks like I´ll have to go and get longer neck screws...

[randbguy]

Ditto on the pocket shims! Just make sure they or it is nice hard maple. You could also try a a thin shim accross the deepest part of the neck pocket. This would tilt the neck in the right direction. (Depends on how much tilt you need) I have seen them made of thin cardboard and the sound transfer was fine. Late 70's and early 80's Fender basses had these sometimes. I would try a wedge shim if you can make one accurately.

Good luck