Taking Necks off of Jazz Basses?

[Bolt91]

I'm thinking about buying a Geddy and taking the neck off of it and putting it on another jazz bass I have. I was just wondering what the procedure for changing necks was, or if I should do it at all.

[Tomis17]

The procedure for taking a neck off is pretty simple. Carefully unwind the strings and unscrew the screws off. I would have to caution you that you need to know that the neck will fit the new body before you go ahead and blow your money on a project like this. Once you're sure that the neck fits the body than the next hard part is setting up the neck to fit the neck body. That can be pretty tricky if you're not familiar with setups.

[Bolt91]

I'll be putting the Geddy neck on a MIM Standard Jazz bass, and probably the standard's neck on the Geddy, or I might just sell the Geddy and the other neck. I don't know a whole lot about setting up guitars, but some of my friends do, so I could have them help me. I'm just worried about taking the necks off.

[basss]

After you take off the strings completely loosen the truss rod.

[Matthew Bryson]

Originally Posted by Bolt91

I'll be putting the Geddy neck on a MIM Standard Jazz bass, and probably the standard's neck on the Geddy

I'd be surprised if that was a direct swap.

The necks will probably fit in each others neck pockets just fine (no guarantee though)

You are likely to run into trouble with the bolt holes in the two necks not lining up (even if the neck plate is the same on both)

If the necks fit in the neck pockets, but the holes don't line up, you have to drill the old holes to accept plugs, plug the holes, drill new mounting holes.

You'll need a drill press, not just a drill.

Also - I've found that the bolts for the Geddy Lee are pretty heavy duty compared to other Fenders, so there may be a difference in size there. That might create an issue, but would be easy enough to fix.


I looked into swapping the necks on my Geddy Lee and my HWY 1 P bass - not a direct swap (and I don't have a drill press) so I didn't do it.


Good luck!

[Guiseppe]

I just bought a body from Warmoth that I'm going to use w/ the neck from my Geddy. Now if I can just make it the 10-12 weeks until the order is completed!

[Jazzbassman23]

I guess I don't understand why you'd want to put a GL neck on an MIM body in the first place.

[xwreckx]

umm before you go and do all that... warmoth for a limited time is offering the geddy neck =] plus frets and nut and all are customized to you =] it might be a little cheaper to go that route

[coolrunner989]

Originally Posted by Jazzbassman23

I guess I don't understand why you'd want to put a GL neck on an MIM body in the first place.

+1

[Stingray5]

Originally Posted by basss

After you take off the strings completely loosen the truss rod.

Why?



And tp the original post - I'll join, too, in asking - what's better about the MIM body that you'd buy a Geddy Lee jazz only for the neck? Why not buy the GL and just use it?

[basss]

Originally Posted by Stingray5

Why?



And tp the original post - I'll join, too, in asking - what's better about the MIM body that you'd buy a Geddy Lee jazz only for the neck? Why not buy the GL and just use it?

The truss rod counteracts the pull of the strings. By leaving it tight with no strings on to pull the neck back straight it will bend the neck and possibly permanently warp the wood.

[Stingray5]

Originally Posted by basss

The truss rod counteracts the pull of the strings. By leaving it tight with no strings on to pull the neck back straight it will bend the neck and possibly permanently warp the wood.

That implies that you need to loosen the truss rod every time you change strings..

To oppse further, I always make sure the strings are NOT tight when I DO tighten the trussrod for adjustment..

For the record I've had 2 necks for my Jazz bass (fretted/fretless) that I've been switching out for over 10 years. Even if one of the necks has been off and sitting on a shelf for a year - never touched the truss rod, never had a problem.

[gkbass13]

im going to hop on the "why would you put a GL neck ona MIM body in the first place" bandwagon. it would be much easier to buy a custom neck from warmoth(and fender decals if you need them) or to strip the body and paint it yourself. ...a different pickgaurd maybe...you will find once you get the geddy that the hardware, and quality of the MIJ fender stuff is much better than the MIM stuff....it also has a badass bridge and 60's pickups if im not mistaken.

[basss]

Originally Posted by Stingray5

That implies that you need to loosen the truss rod every time you change strings..

To oppse further, I always make sure the strings are NOT tight when I DO tighten the trussrod for adjustment..

For the record I've had 2 necks for my Jazz bass (fretted/fretless) that I've been switching out for over 10 years. Even if one of the necks has been off and sitting on a shelf for a year - never touched the truss rod, never had a problem.

Repair guys will recommend that you change strings 1 at a time. Generally the truss would need to be tightened on a neck without string tension opposing it for a while to permanently affect the wood. If you take the strings off for 5 minutes without touching the truss rod you should be fine but I wouldn't do it. I'm not a luthier but I do a lot of my own work and have read and talked to repair guys so believe what you want. I think you risking a warped neck. You may get lucky and never have a problem.

[Stingray5]

Originally Posted by basss

Repair guys will recommend that you change strings 1 at a time. Generally the truss would need to be tightened on a neck without string tension opposing it for a while to permanently affect the wood. If you take the strings off for 5 minutes without touching the truss rod you should be fine but I wouldn't do it. I'm not a luthier but I do a lot of my own work and have read and talked to repair guys so believe what you want. I think you risking a warped neck. You may get lucky and never have a problem.

I must say this is all news to me. I've never heard this before.. I've left basses sitting for years at a time with no strings and never loosened the trussrod. Guess I've been doing it wrong for the past 20 years!


Can anyone else confirm or deny this? I would almost think that loosening the truss rod all they way when the neck will be stringless for long periods of time would make it more susceptible to warping.

[robboy]

I have a 66 and a 65 Jazz and a Warmoth body with a Fender 62 reissue neck. I 've been freely swapping the necks until I got the right combinations. I take all the strings off and sometimes the necks sit for quite a while with no strings.The 65 neck has sat in the closet for a year at a time with no problems. All 3 of the basses play perfectly and I've never had a problem with the necks warping. I've been doing this for 20 plus years with no problems. Maybe I'm just lucky but I don't think so. Warping is due to temperature and humidity issues and I can't say I've ever seen a trussrod "warp" a neck.

[Bolt91]

I don't know. After hearing about the drill press stuff and filling and drilling holes, I don't think I'm gonna do it hahaha I'm doing all of this because my MIM Jazz has the most beautiful finish I've ever seen. Midnight Wine. And the Geddy is just plain black. BORING! I know the hardware and everything is better on the Geddy, but I can just get new pickups for the MIM later anyways.

[HMZ]

Originally Posted by Bolt91

I'll be putting the Geddy neck on a MIM Standard Jazz bass, and probably the standard's neck on the Geddy, or I might just sell the Geddy and the other neck. I don't know a whole lot about setting up guitars, but some of my friends do, so I could have them help me. I'm just worried about taking the necks off.

Why would you bother? I would just keep the Geddy and sell the MIM.