matching a different neck to a body?

[goodweather]

Hi guys -

I'm a complete newbie as far as bass "(re)assembly" goes. I can install pickups, do truss rod adjustment and set intonation at the bridge. Little else. : ) Also, I checked the FAQ and found nothing on this issue.

One of my older basses suffered an accident and its neck is severely damaged. But the body and electronics are in fine condition and I do not want to discard them; for a couple of reasons I always felt attached to this bass. I like it, although the neck always sucked and was not very playable (at least compared to the necks on my more recent, fancier basses).

I would like to replace the neck, and do so with one different from the original one.


- Is this possible? The old one was a light-weight, bolt-on, 4-string fretted neck.

- What should I watch out for to determine if a given neck will work on/ be compatible with this body?

- Other than ebay, what are good places to buy (perhaps new?) quality parts for a bass?

Thanks for any help!

M.

[T-Bird]

Hi, goodweather

AFAIK Fender & F-clones are the only ones that have replacement necks available.

You need to know the scale lenght obviously, the lenght of the neck (from the nut to the heel) and the dimensions of the heel.

Happy hunting
Sam

[spudmaster34]

also, be sure you match the correct number of frets, otherwise it won't work.

[juerg.lemke]

Hi guys

Thank you for your tips. I just checked what you told me and the only necks I found (warmoth.com) are for Fender(-like) basses with 20 frets, while my bass has 22...

Do you know of any other manufacturers to check out?

Thanks!

M

[Rodent]

the brand/model and a semi-closeup of the body/neck joint would be most helpful here

all the best,

R