Help with P Bass Special Getting Desperate

dbrown · #1 10-17-2008, 06:33 PM

I have a P Bass Special made in Mexico I believe in 1993. I was under the impression that it had a standard Jazz neck on it. I ordered a standard J neck and it is 2 frets and 2 inches too short. Does anyone know where I can get a proper replacement neck for this guitar? Would a standard P Bass neck fit or is it also 2 inches shorter? I need to replace it because the truss rod is stripped out and will only loosen, not tighten and the action is extreme. Another thought is if it is possible to unscrew the truss rod completely and install a new one? Thanks for any advice you can give.

Oren Hudson · #2 10-17-2008, 07:16 PM

Can't help you with replacement necks, but I can tell you that the truss rod, unfortunately, does not just simply screw out. Replacing it requires a lot of work including removing the fretboard to replace the rod and then putting it back on in addition to other work. Does the whole rod twist in place, or just the nut? In any event, I believe that there is a good bit of information in this section on truss rods if you try using the search feature.

dbrown · #3 10-17-2008, 10:51 PM

The bass I have was owned by someone else before and the hex key hole is stripped. It can be loosened but not tightened.

StarscreamG1 · #4 10-17-2008, 11:35 PM

I own a '95 Special and as far as I know the neck was a cross between the J and the P which is part of what makes it so unique and awesome. I am a total n00b with working on basses and am just learning. I have no idea what to tell you do to other than try to wedge a bigger allen wrench into the stripped hole and seeing if it can grab the sides well enough to try and tighten it.

If all else fails the only other thing I could suggest and this is just going by what I have read from others here on the board and not my personal experience is contact Warmoth I believe and see if they can make you a replacement neck with that ones specifications.

Cowpokes are simply incredible and just the thought of something like this happening to mine leaves me speechless. I feel for you, man in a big way. I hope you can get that amazing fender back up and running. Contact Warmoth or a decent luthier about building a replacement neck/ or tearing it apart to replace the truss rod!!!

dbrown · #5 10-18-2008, 07:19 AM

Another thought would be to just install a J Bass neck on the guitar and leave the gap where the longer beck used to sit. All four screws would still seat properly into the new neck. I could just cut a custom pick guard to cover up the approximately one inch gap it would leave.

dbrown · #6 10-18-2008, 07:29 AM

Okay, I think I have it! The Jazz neck I bought is exactly one inch shorter than the P Bass Special Neck. If I install the Jazz neck on the guitar and move the bridge one inch towards the heel (I think that is what you call it) of the guitar I will still have a 34" scale and the intonation, while it will need to be fine tuned, will still be correct. Any thoughts?

Bardley · #7 10-18-2008, 07:40 AM

If just the nut is stripped, it should be able to be replaced by a good luthier without removing the fretboard. I would talk to some of the luthiers on here before moving a bridge.

therex · #8 10-18-2008, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbrown

The bass I have was owned by someone else before and the hex key hole is stripped. It can be loosened but not tightened.

thats a normal thing dude
just replace the truss rod nut, altough not sure what kind of truss rod nut will fit your bass

dbrown · #9 10-18-2008, 07:59 AM

First, thanks to everyone for their help on this!

So the nut that is on the truss rod must be just screwed onto the truss rod itself, right?

Mine is a Mexican P Bass Special so I probably need this nut.

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bass_trussnuts.htm

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/i...3-8454-000.jpg

It looks as if I can back it out and off I should be able to install the new one.

StarscreamG1 · #10 10-18-2008, 08:48 AM

As far as I know, all 'Cowpokes' are MIM. My '95 is as well. And do everything you can first about fixing the situation before you put on the J neck and move the bridge!! The neck is one of the most appealing things about a Cowpoke, take that away and you've lost half of what that bass is IMO