Taking the edge off a new neck.

[TheSuzie]

I have a fretless SX P that I am about to pull out of storage. This bass has never been played and the edge of the fingerboard is really uncomfortable. It feels like the fingerboard was glued on and then the final radius of the back/sides of the neck was machined, leaving quite a sharp edge on the fingerboard. This neck is also a bit wider than other Ps that I have played and owned so I would not mind loosing a little bit of the width (wish I could add a tiny bit of depth too...).

The thing is that I am clueless when it comes to this sort of woodwork. I'm good with metal and fine using a drill press on wood but I have very little wood shaping/sanding/finishing experience and what I have done was on furniture many years ago.

My guess is that since a lot of what I want to take down is rosewood, it may be tedious to do by hand sanding. Maybe someone who knows will enlighten.

My metal brained self thinks of just grabbing the neck and chucking into someone's bridgeport but I don't have access and I'm sure there would still need to be some smoothing done afterward.

I am probably making a mountain out of a molehill but I don't want to mess this up too badly. It is my only bass guitar atm and I don't really have funds for something else. BTW this neck has the atomic orange, miles thick finish.


Thanks,
S

[testing1two]

Putting a radius on the fingerboard edges is pretty easy. Reshaping the neck requires a little more planning. For the edges, a little 220 grit wrapped around your finger will do the trick and should only take a few minutes. You should mask the sides of the neck where the maple meets the rosewood to prevent any accidental scratching (unless of course you're going to reshape the neck in which case you'll have to remove all that finish anyways).

[TheSuzie]

Thanks for the tips. IIRC, I can probably narrow the neck by almost 1/32" on each side by just sanding/planing the rosewood fingerboard. That is about all I really want to do. I usually like P necks. This one just seems a little strange and not comfy to me.

Can I take off that much rosewood easily by just sanding or will it take the rest of my life?

Thanks Again,
S

[testing1two]

1/32 is not much material at all, you'll be fine. If the process feels slow, use a rougher grit paper and then smooth with 2 or 3 finer grits. The key is to take your time and don't go overboard. Also, don't sand the face of the fingerboard as this can adversely affect the radius.

[Musiclogic]

Remember you will need to file and redress the fret ends before removing material, and 1/32 can be as much as 1/16 in at the 20th fret, as you change the string angle by narrowing the neck. Something not commonly discussed by advisors with little to no experience.

[TheSuzie]

As mentioned this is a fretless P with a really wide neck. I can take off tons before I come anywhere near the strings. I may just go for it and take a good 1/16 off of each side. I will see when I get it back in my hands soon.

S