Questions about Fender MIM jazz bass

[conway1521]

hey guys, I have recently purchased a Fender MIM jazz bass body. I want to make it into my main bass (I already own a Yamaha BB300, perfectly good bass), but I had a few questions involving the neck. I will need to buy a neck in the near future, and since I am on a restricted budget (still in high school and no job) I was looking at the Mighty Mite replacement necks. After browsing the internet, I have read conflicting opinions as to whether Mighty Mite Jazz bass necks fit on a Made in Mexico Fender jazz bass. Does anybody know for sure? If they do, what are your opinions of them? If not, what other necks are there that aren't over $150? I am very interested in quality, i just dont have the means for the more expensive necks. For this, I was also looking at used Fender jazz necks. Again, does anybody know if used Fender Jazz bass necks fit on a body made in mexico? also, do you recommend getting a used neck online, with the risk of it being not in good condition i.e. dead spots etc.. ?

Thanks in advance!!

[Splods]

Why do you need a new neck? is there something very bad with the current neck?

[ibateur]

Seems he only bought a MIM BODY

[Hopkins]

I know some of the MIM Jazzes had different sized pickup cavities, but I think the necks are all interchangeable. I don't see any problems with fitting it that a bit of sand paper couldn't take care of.

Every Might Mite neck I have ever used has been at least playable out of the box, the fret work isn't always perfect though. That is something to be aware of. I don't think they could sell them at their price point if they spent the time to get the fretwork perfect.

[charlie monroe]

My Mighty Mite Jazz neck fits in a 1996 MIM Jazz, a 2005 Highway One P and some random Squier P I have.

I wouldn't be concerned.

[conway1521]

thanks for the quick replies!! I think I will get the Mighty Mite neck then! another question, how do I do this paint job on the bass once its sanded and ready?

[johnson79]

That looks like a photo flame. They used a thin laminate that looked like flame maple. More of a contact paper than a veneer since it want actually wood.

[conway1521]

thats what I figured.. Shouldn't be too hard to find one online. As for the binding, how do you do that? Do i need to cut a sort of ledge and carefully put the binding in with glue and then scrape off the excess, or is there an easier way?

[C.Linton]

Originally Posted by conway1521

thats what I figured.. Shouldn't be too hard to find one online. As for the binding, how do you do that? Do i need to cut a sort of ledge and carefully put the binding in with glue and then scrape off the excess, or is there an easier way?

That's pretty much the way it's done, don't think there''s any shortcuts. You'll need some kind of router to do that, and if the edge of the bass is rounded over with a forearm contour, which, I'd be willing to bet, your MIM Jazz body is like, you won't be able to do it at all.

[dhsierra1]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

That's pretty much the way it's done, don't think there''s any shortcuts. You'll need some kind of router to do that, and if the edge of the bass is rounded over with a forearm contour, which, I'd be willing to bet, your MIM Jazz body is like, you won't be able to do it at all.

quite true. One way around that might be to mask that strip and use paint. Just a thought.

[Pilgrim]

Based on the questions you are asking, it appears that you are just thinking about this kind of work for the first time.

You are not going to get all the info you need on a forum. You need to spend time searching online references on refinishing, and check books like Dan Erlewine's books on guitar repair.

BTW - I agree, you're not going to successfully add binding to an MIM Jazz body. You need to stop and do research before you try to modify any bass body.

[walterw]

+1

"i wanna convert my car from automatic to stick shift; is it hard to do myself?"

look at Reranch for articles on how to actually refinish guitars (hint: it ain't like painting a fence.) refins and binding are pretty advanced and equipment-heavy jobs if you don't want the results to look like crap.