Replacement neck?

Joeymarshmallow · #1 03-21-2008, 11:34 AM

I'm not completely satisfied with the tone of my p-bass, and I kind of want it to be a little "warmer" sounding. I like the sound of the maple neck on my other bass, but the question is - will a replacement neck do a whole lot for my tone? The neck on it now is completely functional, I was just thinking of an upgrade...

jrfrond · #2 03-21-2008, 11:52 AM

"Warmth" is a function of many things, and on a P-Bass, neck wood is not my first choice. Fingerboard wood (i.e. maple or rosewood on a typical P-Bass) DOES affect the warmth, with rosewood being warmer than maple, but also affects the attack too, maple being a bit sharper.

If I were trying to warm-up a P-Bass, the pickup would be my first plan of attack.

Joeymarshmallow · #3 03-21-2008, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrfrond

"Warmth" is a function of many things, and on a P-Bass, neck wood is not my first choice. Fingerboard wood (i.e. maple or rosewood on a typical P-Bass) DOES affect the warmth, with rosewood being warmer than maple, but also affects the attack too, maple being a bit sharper.

If I were trying to warm-up a P-Bass, the pickup would be my first plan of attack.

I've already upgraded the pups to Bartolini 8S, this is a Squier we're talking about, and I think I might just be making excuses to upgrade from the original Squier parts. I really like the bass, I just want it to be of a little more quality.

jrfrond · #4 03-21-2008, 01:05 PM

It's hard to say without seeing and playing it, but I'd suspect the body wood before the neck wood.

62bass · #5 03-21-2008, 01:19 PM

As far as replacement necks go, they all will sound similar. I can hear small differences between a J and a P neck on the same P bass and a maple fingerboard against rosewood, but not enough to get all worked up about. When actually playing with a band nobody will hear any difference. If you plan on doing solo bass concerts in theaters, then the most discerning in the audience might pick up the difference, at least the music critic for the New York Times and a few others might. And if your solo bass album gets reviewed in an audiophile magazine it might be remarked on. Or if you record a bass duet album with Anthony Jackson he might sneer at your tone. But when you're doing those types of gigs I don't think you'll be bringing a Squier.

I say get a better bass if you want a radical change in sound.