A noob's build journey, need advice on necks

[KayXero]

Just skip to the third post ................




I have been playing for 5 years and have had a few basses. Nothing fancy. My first bass was a Squier MB4 skill cross bones. Second was a Peavey Grind. I traded that to a dude for a Peavey Millineum that had a Fury neck on it since I was bored with my Grind and not impressed with it after a year or so. Then I sold it cus I never loved it and was strapped for cash.

Now I always intended to rebuild my first bass in some way. 4 years ago when I got my second bass, I defretted my first bass and got flatwounds and had a workable fretless. Then in an attempt to change my pickup sound, I tried to change a capacitor with no prior knowledge or reserch on how to do so. So I basically fudged up the electronics on that bass long ago. Plus the novelty of fretless wore off on me and I always planned that one day I would rebuild her and make her my one and only guitar.


That day is here. I am discarding everything but her body. This means new pickups, neck, tuners, bridge, etc...you get the drill. I have lurked mightily here and search many a forum in the quest for much needed knowledge and info. My budget is not great so I will tell you what I have settled on and then ask for your thoughts. And mind you I dont buy used. I only like new stuff and just dont like having peoples used stuff due to experiences in the past with any used products.

I am turning her into a p bass special custom bass. Since shes got spots for a p bass and j bass pickup and since I love the fender headstock oh so much. Which is funny cus I used to hate fender basses (looks wise, plus I was a peavey boy for a while) until becoming a fanatical John mayer fan made me fall in love with the stratocaster shape. And being a bass player, since the p bass shape closely resembles it, I fell in love.

Pickups:
I was choosing between GFS, Dragonfire, and GuitarHeads pickups. And based on what I read all over the internet I chose GFS pickups. I almost went with Dragonfire, despite reading how their customer service in several cases has been garbage. But I spoke with Ken today to get some advice and info on his products and did not get a good vibe. So GFS it is.

Bridge:
Bass Parts Resource Economy gold bridge BB-E4-G. Heard good things here from several threads about how well the economies are made and that dropping wicked cash on a name brand wasnt worth it.

Tuners:
Suggestions? Anything that doesnt break the bank. I was thinking at most 35 bucks for elephant Fender looking tuning machines.

Electronics + Odds and Ends:
All from bass parts resource. Prolly since I have three pot spaces, Id go with 2 concentric pots for tone/volume for each pickup, and then one master volume. Would love suggestions though.


NECK:
Biggest issue for me so far. The original neck was a 34" scale length neck with 22 medium jumbo frets. I got pretty damn used to having 22 frets when I started and would love to have it again. Problem is that I cant seem to find a fender replacement neck with 22 frets. They are all 20 or 21. If I do see an option for a 22 fret neck, its some 400 plus $ American deluxe neck, or a custom neck site. I really cant afford that. plus customs have horrid back order and wait times.

So I settled on the mighty mite mm2909 from musicians friend. Same scale length but 21 frets and in maple, which I love. Plus its very affordable and I have heard they hold up well.

Problem is that although I read you can change necks with the same scale length, I am still unsure of stuff. Main issue is my original neck was 21 frets on the neck with a 1 fret overhang. The MM neck seems to be 20 frets with a 1 fret overhang, so Im worried about intonation. Not to mention some websites list this model as 20 frets while others say 21 frets.....

Help =(

PS - My local guitar store will be drilling and putting everything together. Thanks if you took the time to read and reply.

[Rickett Customs]

As long as it's 17" from your 12th fret to the bridge saddles (or 34" from the edge of the nut, to your saddles) , you should have no intonation problems.

[KayXero]

So based on my reading on other sites and what you said I got the MM neck. I pretty much listened to all the "if the scale length matches your fine" arguments.

However, Im now sitting and reading more stuff online and despite the website say its a 34" scale neck, and my bass body with the original neck being 34", wont I run into issues

The body was made for a 22 fret neck....its 21 fret with 1 fret extension. The MM is just a 20 fret with no extension and sits closer to the bridge by a fret doesnt it?....So wouldnt the intonation be off and id be out of a hundred dollars?


Im worried and totally expecting the tech to call me about this soon.

[Beej]

I believe that what Jason ^^ above was saying, related to ensuring your scale is 34" when assembled to have no intonation issues. When you line up the neck heel in the pocket, what is your measured scale length? You need to have 17" from the inside edge of the nut to the centre of the 12th fret, and then another 17" from the centre of the 12th fret to the saddles. The saddles need to have a little play, probably around 1/2".

Can you place the neck snugly into the pocket, place a tape measure along the neck from the nut to the bridge, take a picture and post it up? You'll get better feedback...

[KayXero]

I dont have pics....but with the measuring I did before I sent the bass in it was 17 inches from inside nut to the 12th fret. The from the 12th fret to the bridge area, it was 17 inches at the bottom half of the bridge outline of my finish. There was no bridge on it so I took note that it was 17 inches in the bottom half of the bridge outline in my finish, which im guessing is under the saddles by a bit....

So im screwed out of 100 bucks and am prolly gonna have to sell this neck and shell out for a Cyr custom im thinking =(....i really dont have the cash but I havent played bass in months.

[Nev375]

Can the whole bridge be moved back a half-inch or so?

[KayXero]

Would saddle adjustment help?

Presuming that this doesnt work out im thinking that since ill save a bit of cash in paying the tech...He couldnt start work last week cus the pots I gave him didnt fit and they didnt stock the ones I wanted so I said id order them myself. And Im figuring Im gonna have to ask him to look at the neck and give me his opinion.

All that being said, seeing as theres a great chance the neck wont work for my old bass, I am thinking of buying an SX bass with the money I save in tech labor and just putting the Mighty Mite on it, until I can afford my custom neck next semester for my main bass.

Kind of a shame the SX Im eyeing right now is a damn 30inch short scaler.

[Nev375]

Without pictures of where that 34" scale line falls at your bridge its hard to tell if your saddles will have enough room to adjust for intonation. But you might be ok.

It should fall across the front half of the bridge, you say it falls across the back.... so move the bridge back a little if your body has room for it. (which it should)

Worse case scenario the hole for the ground wire might be partly visible, but that can be fixed by installing a larger bridge down the road.

[Beej]

Ok OP, slow down and breathe a bit!

Its a squier, no? Does it have the standard Fender bridge? If it does, you can easily drill some new holes and move it back a bit on the body to accommodate the new neck location (relative to the bridge). If the tech does not notice this or suggest it to you immediately, find a new tech!

If this were brought to me, I'd place the neck, measure and mark a new bridge witness point, locate the bridge as far back as I could reasonably put it and still cover up the old holes, and then drill some new holes and mount the bridge. Done. You'd probably have some minor indentation in the finish from where the bridge originally sat, but at least it would be perfectly functional without a full refinish.

Pics, pics, pics, they will greatly help with the quality and quantity of advice you receive...

[Rickett Customs]

^^^^ Exactly!