is it a ok to install a neck that doesn't sit flush in the neck pocket?

[chingas]

I have a nice Ebony ESP fretless fender jazz neck I would like to install on a warmouth jazz body, but the base of the neck is a tad thinner so it's not as snug a fit in the neck pocket. Should I try to have it installed? Can that be easily remedied?

[therex]

i am sure other have done it, but filled the spaces with something. dont remeber much right not but someone will know

[Johnny Mack]

ive put an SX neck into a cheapo chinese P copy that does not fit. just make sure your neck bolts are tight and it should be alright. after stringing it up to tune, i would bend the neck slightly a few times. it would kinda creak into position where i could tighten up the neck bolts a bit more and retune. just take it slow and it should be alright.

[halloweenfiend]

My Mighty Mite maple P neck shows a slight gap between the end of the neck and the neck pocket. However this has never been an issue because it bolts on nice and tight.

-Jon

[RBrownBass]

Originally Posted by chingas

I have a nice Ebony ESP fretless fender jazz neck I would like to install on a warmouth jazz body, but the base of the neck is a tad thinner so it's not as snug a fit in the neck pocket. Should I try to have it installed? Can that be easily remedied?

You can install the neck as is and it will probably play and sound okay. But I'd always be looking at that gap (no matter how it sounded) and thinking, "unacceptable".

The only remedy is to either add wood to the sides of the neck or to the sides of the neck pocket. If I were you, I wouldn't alter a Warmoth body so that an ESP neck would fit. I'd just put it on like it is and play it until a Warmoth or some other snug-fitting neck came along.

[Georynn]

I've used plenty of shims in ill fitting necks, anything from a business card to pieces of veneer. Just stick it in there, and try to get as much of the gap filled as possible. the more contact you can make, the less the neck will have the opportunity to move...

Hope that helps

[chingas]

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

[shirojiro]

Originally Posted by halloweenfiend

My Mighty Mite maple P neck shows a slight gap between the end of the neck and the neck pocket. However this has never been an issue because it bolts on nice and tight.

-Jon

I was wondering if that gap gave you any trouble with intonation.

I'm currently trying to replace the neck on a MIM Precision and I've found the same issue. The Mighty Mite neck that I purchased fits snugly in the neck pocket, but the very end of the heel doesn't contact the end of the neck pocket in the body. The sides fit much more snugly than the original neck though.

I think to fix this might be a little tough, though. I'd have to reshape the end of the neck evenly to fit the slight curve in the Pbass neck pocket.

The gap is maybe 1/16"

[mongo2]

I made a couple of bodies for breadboarding pickups without neck pockets at all, just a flat board body. There was no problem with tone or intonation at all. I even rehearsed and gigged them a few times.

[JLS]

That's why saddles are adjustable...

[Pilgrim]

As long as the screws are good and tight, it won't make a difference sound-wise. IMO there's no difference in sound between a 1/32" gap and a 1/8" gap on the sides. A gap is a gap is a gap.

[shirojiro]

Originally Posted by JLS

That's why saddles are adjustable...

Kinda depends on how big the gap is, eh?

[Fetusyolk]

Originally Posted by shirojiro

Kinda depends on how big the gap is, eh?

no

[bronzdragon]

No personal experience on this matter, however, I have heard numerous times in the building threads of people using shims to fill gaps.

~r~

[shirojiro]

Originally Posted by Fetusyolk

no

Really...

So if the gap at the end of heel was. say 2", don't you think that it might affect the scale of the neck and then the intonation?

Yes, that's an exaggeration, but that was my point. I suppose that as long as there's enough play in the bridge adjustment, I'd be ok with a small gap, but I was wondering if it had posed the OP any issues.

FWIW, I mounted up the tuners and my MIM Pbass intonates fine with a Mighty Mite neck, even with a little gap.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by shirojiro

Really...

So if the gap at the end of heel was. say 2", don't you think that it might affect the scale of the neck and then the intonation?

No. As long as the neck is screwed down in the right position, the scale and intonation will not be a problem. The neck position determines the scale length and the ability to intonate. (Yes, the frets have to be in the correct place on the neck, but that's not what we're discussing.)

You could bolt a neck onto a 2x4 that has no neck pocket and if the neck and bridge are in the right relationship to each other, the scale length and intonation would be correct.

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

You could bolt a neck onto a 2x4 that has no neck pocket and if the neck and bridge are in the right relationship to each other, the scale length and intonation would be correct.

As I mentioned before, I've done this but with a 6"x3/4" plank.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by mongo2

As I mentioned before, I've done this but with a 6"x3/4" plank.

Part bass, part survival weapon!

[Tim Skaggs]

A small gap is not going to prevent you from getting the intonation set unless you have a very limited adjustment bridge. I saw a Fender "Power Jazz" once that had a neck that fit the pocket perfectly, but intonation could not be set properly. The reason; the original neck was a 24 fret and the replacement was a 21 fret. The replacement looked great, but it didn't work at all & you could not move the bridge far enough back on the body to get the intonation set properly.

Small gaps are not hard to shim, but they aren't anything like a well fitted pocket. As far as bolting necks to flat surfaces with no side support, I've yet to see one that wouldn't shift over a period of time no matter how tight the neck screws were tightened. (did you ever see neck to pocket fit on any early 70's Tele basses?) Seems after the wood gets some time to heat and cool a while, the neck to body contact just isn't quite enough to prevent a neck shift. A very tight pocket helps that a lot, but it's not 100% immune to neck shift.

[Jefenator]

You mean like, this??



Yes.