Finding a replacement neck for older bass

[LyleRyan]

Hello, all:

I have an older flatback (German? 1890's?) that once had the pegbox broken off the neck. The repair has been stable for the 20 years I've owned the bass, although it's not pretty. But as I'm playing it more and more, I'm getting more and more concerned.

I'll probably just move on to another bass, but I thought through rebuilding this bass with a couple of Luthiers. We thought through various grafts around the old repair, but they weren't hopeful that a new neck repair would have the strength needed.

The proposal came up that I might be better off replacing the neck, not that I'd save any money, but that I'd have more confidence in it.

Naturally I'd want the size, age, and style of the neck to be a reasonable match to the body; maybe even the finish. (dreamer)

Any ideas where I might look for a neck, or how I should approach it? I'm thinking of emailing dimensions & photos to some European shops, but don't know where to start.

Thanks in advance....Lyle

[simandlhandle]

Its funny , I remember when it was first pointed out to me that basses aren't like cars or toasters, you can get replacement parts, but that's not how it's usually done. My bass had a broken neck, and Roger Dawson suggested having a neck graft. He said he could keep the original 1880 scroll, and just graft the new neck on it." Well where will we get the new neck from?" I asked. He showed me this big lump of wood and said " I'll carve it out of this, and can make it just like your old neck". He did, and it turned out to be a beautifully flamed neck, actually better than the original. Get recomendations from people, and choose a luthier. have him make a complete new neck and scroll, or do a neck graft. Unless it is a really cheap bass, and it doesn't matter whether it matches up with the new neck or not, your bass is worth it.

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by LyleRyan

I'll probably just move on to another bass, but I thought through rebuilding this bass with a couple of Luthiers. We thought through various grafts around the old repair, but they weren't hopeful that a new neck repair would have the strength needed.

I don't know what you are talking about with "various grafts around the old repair", but a true neck graft has been accepted as the best way to repair a broken neck for at least 100 years. Some have said that a neck graft is even stronger than a new neck. However, it may be cheaper to replace the entire neck than to have a neck graft performed as the neck graft is much more labor intensive and not every luthier is qualified to do a bass neck graft.