trying to "build" my first bass

[flaghard]

im not really building a bass, im just putting bits and peices of some of my other basses together. So, heres my question, i have a Yamaha Rbx 270 which i want to take the body from and put on a new neck...what kind of neck can i use....would an old fender jazz/precision fit? Do they have to have 4 bolt/screw holes or can i just use what is needed? Any other tips about putting a neck on a body would be much appreciated.
thanks
Flaghard

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by flaghard

im not really building a bass, im just putting bits and peices of some of my other basses together. So, heres my question, i have a Yamaha Rbx 270 which i want to take the body from and put on a new neck...what kind of neck can i use....would an old fender jazz/precision fit? Do they have to have 4 bolt/screw holes or can i just use what is needed? Any other tips about putting a neck on a body would be much appreciated.
thanks
Flaghard

Replacement necks don't have screw holes (you'll have to do that yourself). As far as the pocket size...measure it...depth, width and length and compare to a fender (jazz and precision pockets are the same).

Also, pay special attention to frets (20, 21, 22, 24), this will also have an affect on the position of the bridge and you'd like to maintain that in the same spot if possible.

Chances are, your Yamaha neck pocket is NOT the same as a fender. If you want to put a different dimensioned neck on the body...first you'd have to fill the pocket with a precision cut piece of wood and then re-route it. NOT an easy task to get right...

Why don't you just bag the idea of saving the Yamaha body and get yourself a decent kit bass for a starter...Everything is then cut to fit. Try a Saga (cheap around $100) or a Carvin Bolt on kit (around $350).

Get some books, too about building solid-body guitars and basses as well as a book or too about finishing wood.

Don't be despaired, however, by all means...DO IT! You'll learn heaps!

[fenderx55]

so ur saying that if i order a jbass neck from warmoth to fit on my mim jbass, i may have to reposition the bridge if i get the 24fret extension? please say it ain't so!

[nashvillebill]

yep you'ld have to reposition the bridge...the wrong way--it would now be off the back of the body, somewhere out in space....

The nut must be 34 inches from the bridge for the new neck's fret spacing to work. The old bridge was postitioned so the 24 frets comes out correctly. If the new neck is 21 or 22 frets, the nut will be too close to the neck...understand?

I'm in the same boat, sorta, I've got a RBX 760 four-string that I'd like to make into a 5 string. But there aren't any necks available that are the right length.

[BillyB_from_LZ]

The warmoth extension has a section of the fingerboard hanging off in space like a diving board over the body. The neck's heal is in the same place and the bridge should be fine where it is...

http://www.warmoth.com/bass/necks/ne...lude_fretboard

The web site says "Each of these necks fit the standard Fender bass without any modifications.
The fingerboard simply extends beyond the end of the neck, over the pickguard."

[nashvillebill]

Yes but my RBX--and I think the whole series--is 24 frets right up to the end of the heel pocket, not an extension past the end of the pocket. So the RBX neck is an inch or two longer than a standard Fender neck.

edit: oops I'm confused because two different questions are being posed by two different people. The Warmoth replacement neck WILL fit a standard Fender bass (read their fine print for the details). It's the Yamaha that it won't fit. Sorry for the confusion!!

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Why not sell the 760 and get a 765?...darn nice basses and not all that expensive...

If you put a wider 5 string neck on the four string body, the pickups may not have wide enough pole spacing to do a decent job with all 5 strings.

[nashvillebill]

A lcoal store had a used 765, same color, looked identical to mine...they wanted $399 for it. I took mine in and asked "how much if I trade my 760 for it?" The guy said "200 plus your bass". I was looking over his shoulder at the blue book, they are only about $15 to $25 difference in blue book value.

Needless to say I didn't go for that bargain.

[bwbass]

Originally Posted by fenderx55@yahoo

so ur saying that if i order a jbass neck from warmoth to fit on my mim jbass, i may have to reposition the bridge if i get the 24fret extension? please say it ain't so!

OK.

"It ain't so."

If the body's compatible with a 20 or 21 fret neck (your MIM is), our 24-fret extended neck will work fine, though you'll have to do some fancy hand maneuvering to reach all those extra frets.

In the case of the Yamaha, which already has a 24 fret neck without an extended fingerboard, our neck would mount way too close to the bridge on the yamaha body. You would have to build a little "deck" off the back of the body to mount the bridge.

[nashvillebill]

Originally Posted by bwbass

OK.

In the case of the Yamaha, which already has a 24 fret neck without an extended fingerboard, our neck would mount way too close to the bridge on the yamaha body. You would have to build a little "deck" off the back of the body to mount the bridge.

Or figure out some way to mount the neck further away from the body....yuck...

Better yet, persuade Warmoth to make a 5 string 24 fret-to-the heel neck....

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Or you could buy a 5 string Carvin neck through and cut the body part off to make a neck...but they're $230....

http://www.carvin.com/products/singl...er=NT5&CID=BKT

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by BillyB_from_LZ

Or you could buy a 5 string Carvin neck through and cut the body part off to make a neck...but they're $230....

http://www.carvin.com/products/singl...er=NT5&CID=BKT

OK... .... Now, you guys are scaring me.

[BillyB_from_LZ]

It WOULD work and one could make the neck heel just about any size/shape or location that you'd want.

Whether it's the "right" thing to do is another discussion entirely.