Putting a 6 string neck on a 5 string body?

behndy · #1 09-09-2009, 08:02 PM

hey there. i just bought a Ktone luthite bass. thing... is... CLEAR. i know most people think that's just repulsive, but i actually really dig it.

anyways..... the band i'm in right now everything's written for a 6 string, and all my other basses are 6's so i'd like this even better if it was a 6. i've never had a bass where i replaced the neck on it... and i don't really know anything about working with clear luthite over wood.

is replacing the 5 string neck on here with a 6 string neck going to be doable? with wood basses if the neck is wider because it's more strings can you change the body to fit it? is that possible with luthite?

i'm super ignorant about working on basses, so i'm sorry if these are stupid questions.

oh yeah... it's a bolt on, not a neck through of course.

thanks much!

-0behn desu0-

ehque · #2 09-09-2009, 10:10 PM

I don't think you can easily route a bigger pocket without messing up the clarity of the luthite. Could you use a 6-string with the same heel dimensions as a 5? (narrower string spacing)

behndy · #3 09-10-2009, 12:15 AM

yeah..... that was my other thought. i've always hated Soundgears BECAUSE of their minuscule necks. i DO have pretty big hands... but i think i WOULD rather have a tighter spaced 6 then a 5.

i know Warmoth is a good place to buy bass parts, but they only make the Gecko in 6, which is 3.3 inches, and the 5 string neck on there now is 2.75 inches. pretty big difference.

any recommendations on a place that has a wider selection of 6 string necks?

thanks!

-0behn desu0-

kalle74 · #4 09-10-2009, 04:11 PM

clear luthite? are you sure it´s not acrylic?

Acrylic could be routed quite easily by a skilled craftsman (using very sharp bits, so as not to tear it), and I think heat is used to restore the "clearness"...

behndy · #5 09-11-2009, 12:59 AM

um...... it was listed as Luthite, but the luthier i use thinks it's acrylic. and he seemed to think that the body style doesn't lend itself to putting a bigger neck on it easily. that the places the bolts will want to go will be empty space once the body has been expanded.

also, he's concerned that i'd be getting into something way more expensive then this bass would be worth spending. he's never routed acrylic, but he was going to look around for me to see if he can find how much it would run me to have somebody do the work.

Kalle74 - do you have any idea how much something like that would run?

rokk.

-0behn desu0-