Ray 34 with Status Graphite Neck?

jkjgiants26 · #1 07-11-2011, 07:42 PM

I have a Sterling by Music Man Ray 34 that i got in March and i adjusted my action myself and it had no fret buzz but was not as low as my Jaguar so i try to get it as low as possible and it wasnt getting that low and i was getting a lot of fret buzz. So a couple days later i had my bass teacher look at it and said it the neck had back bow and it may have a problem and to get it checked by a professional to see what was wrong. So now i want to know if a Status Graphite (i believe its carbon fiber) neck will fit on it. I have heard great things about them and think it would be nice on it. Im just asking because i want to have a plan if the neck needs to be replaced on it because i love this bass for its fingerstyle sound and active electronics.

iunno · #2 07-11-2011, 08:07 PM

A carbon fiber neck will make the bass sound much different. A good way to see the difference in tone between neck is at lakands site, they have a normal p and a p with a jazz neck, and they sound much different.

jkjgiants26 · #3 07-11-2011, 08:18 PM

um ok? but that doesnt answer my question.

stflbn · #4 07-12-2011, 07:46 AM

Sounds like you have the truss rod tightened to much... and could possibly be in risk of damaging your neck on your bass.

No reason the Ray34 action should not be able to be as low as a Jaguars... at the very most it 'could' need a fret leveling, but that would only be if you insist on ultra low action, and at that point you'd likely be more knowledgable about setting up instruments.

Take it to someone who knows what they're doing... and take your Jaguar along if you want the Ray set up like the Jag.

IMHO.

rojo412 · #5 07-12-2011, 07:47 AM

Measure the neck width at the 21st fret, then find out if the US model is the same.

Status necks come undrilled, so they can be mounted precisely to the bass in question. If the neck pocket of the Ray 34 isn't exactly right and is to narrow, you can get it routed out for a perfect fit.

But at the cost of doing a Status neck and the labor, you could buy a used US made Stingray.

... Just sayin'.

(and backbow is usually related to a neck that's got too much truss tension. I'd recommend a proper setup for the bass before anything else.)

john m · #6 07-12-2011, 07:49 AM

My understanding is that a tighter tension rod creates more back bow. Loosen it to get relief.

Those in the know, please correct me if I'm wrong.

john m

stflbn · #7 07-12-2011, 07:53 AM

Yes... Tightening creates back bow (hump in middle of neck). Loosening allows the correct relief (very slightly like a bow and arrow) But which way you go and what you're looking for all depends on the "current state" of the neck relief and truss rod. There is no General Answer.

An eighth to a quarter of a turn on a truss rod "usually" does quite a bit unless things are already 'out of whack'. But doing to much and the wrong way you can either damage the truss rod itself, or over an extended time permanently warp the neck on your bass.

basswave · #8 07-12-2011, 08:17 AM

Hello jkjgiants26

To answer your question at high level.

I replaced my Ray35 neck with a Status and it was a perfect match.

In fact I posted it in the basses forum specifically in case someone had this question and it I posed it over at Statii forum page.

Now its a 5 string and not the 4 but I'm willing to bet there are no issues.

It appears nobody has posed it before about the SBMM gear and status so in my attempt to help both companies I posted it in a few places.

basswave · #9 07-12-2011, 08:22 AM

rojo412 · #10 07-12-2011, 09:08 AM

NICE!!!

Wanna trade pickup covers?

basswave · #11 07-12-2011, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rojo412

NICE!!!

Wanna trade pickup covers?

HUH...

Hey A I think you can buy them now from EBMM if I'm not mistaken. I thought I read that somewhere but I could be wrong.

rojo412 · #12 07-12-2011, 09:46 AM

Hmmmmm....
I'll check!

jkjgiants26 · #13 07-12-2011, 09:53 AM

Ok no offense to anyone who did this but i wasn't looking for people to tell me about adjusting my action because I fixed the back bow before that but the neck keeps getting more bowed and the action keeps getting higher that's the problem it has. I just wanted to know if a Status Graphite neck would fit and I got answers to that so thank you.

grendle · #14 07-14-2011, 04:39 PM

Get the bass set up first. I believe those and most fenders and such have 1 piece necks which from my experience tend to move like wet spaghetti.

I always wanted to do a graphite neck MM. Look at Moses graphite also. They do necks specificly for MM basses, and have some cool head stocks too. Using a graphite neck will drastically change your tone though. I would think it should sound good with the heavy MM body though.

walterw · #15 07-14-2011, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkjgiants26

Ok no offense to anyone who did this but i wasn't looking for people to tell me about adjusting my action because I fixed the back bow before that but the neck keeps getting more bowed and the action keeps getting higher that's the problem it has.

then you didn't fix the action! now it needs to be tightened enough to make the up-bow go away. assuming the neck isn't defective, all this really isn't that big a deal.

+1 to maybe avoiding putting an exotic neck on a budget bass, and just getting a better bass.

john grey · #16 07-15-2011, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

then you didn't fix the action! now it needs to be tightened enough to make the up-bow go away. assuming the neck isn't defective, all this really isn't that big a deal.

+1 to maybe avoiding putting an exotic neck on a budget bass, and just getting a better bass.

This thread should be let to die a natural death. The OP's mind is closed to any alternative or additional explanation (no offense, jkjgiants26). He "setup the action" and now it's not functioning.
He was advised to take it to someone, a professional, who had experience (by his Bass teacher who saw the work first-hand) & there was very likely a damn good reason for that.
Any more input or alternative issues on this subject is wasted time.