$30 unbranded bass necks from eBay?

[RobinC]

What say you? Part of me thinks "for $30, why the hell not". The other part of me thinks, "for $30, this can't possibly be good".

Fully Finished Bass Maple Neck 21 Fret Rosewood Fingerboard for JAZZ E3B3

Anyone had experience with these?

 

[M.R. Ogle]

I think you got this one fully thought through. Both parts are probably correct.

 

[RobinC]

I think you got this one fully thought through. Both parts are probably correct.

lol, excellent response

 

[reddesert]

Guitarfetish is selling some competitively cheap bass necks (look in the clearance section). For the cheaper ones, you have to cut the nut slot and install it yourself. I got one, slightly mangled the nut slot but made it work, and it's certainly functional. They are a little fat.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I am noticing a RED star on the seller's rating.

Hmm, I must not understand the ratings system, because they've only had 25 complaints in the last month, but have done over 2,500 transactions.
How is that possible?

 

[RobinC]

I am noticing a RED star on the seller's rating.

I don't use eBay much. What does that mean?

 

[buldog5151bass]

Why do some people say they won't play a Squier or other cheap bass, but will buy cheap parts?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

TBH, I'm not sure either. I thought it was bad, but their reviews are 98% positive.
I'm also not even understanding how they managed to get over 2,600 reviews in a month.

 

[RobinC]

Why do some people say they won't play a Squier or other cheap bass, but will, buy cheap parts?

Some people do say that. Some people don't give it much thought. I've probably been guilty of both in the past, though I don't believe either opinion was stated thus far in this thread. But for clarity, for this particular project (which is a parts build of a squier body) keeping costs low is a higher priority for me than branded components. That said, I am interested in finding out when there is a difference between cheap parts and inexpensive parts.

TBH, I'm not sure either. I thought it was bad, but their reviews are 98% positive.
I'm also not even understanding how they managed to get over 2,600 reviews in a month.

I poked around their profile very, very briefly and it looks like they sell a ton of different stuff and they are a relatively new seller. Maybe their diverse offerings and relative newness is the reason? Maybe not. Hard to know, really...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I spend that much money on booze in a weekend, so if it turned out to be a lemon, I would just not imbibe for one weekend.

 

[JustForSport]

Well, they have 17, 606 items listed in their store...
87, 595 transactions since store startup (Feb 22, 2012)= red star-
was some other color for whatever was the number group before that, and it'll be a different color when they reach the next range.
98.8 positive feedback is pretty good.
Don't know how long they've been selling those bass necks, or what the feedback ratio has been for them alone.
"Copper frets" must be a translation thing- cuprous-nickel likely.
The neck shown has nice flatsawn maple with some character- nothing wrong with that.
For the price, it may be worth the risk considering being well-cured, etc.

 

[Nev375]

If you got 30 bucks why not try it and build a prototype. You can upgrade to something proper later.

This is why interchangeable parts is a beautiful thing.

 

[JustForSport]

keeping costs low is a higher priority for me than branded components. That said, I am interested in finding out when there is a difference between cheap parts and inexpensive parts.

That certainly applies to basses as well as parts (which they're all made of), and there's a lot of 'cheap' but expensive basses, same as well-made, but inexpensive basses,
but some buyers see things differently than others...

 

[bassstrangler]

Look at the photo of the close-up on the higher frets. It looks like you could fit a business card in the gap between the frets and the board.

I saw some necks on Amazon for similar prices recently. Was tempted...

 

[JustForSport]

It looks like you could fit a business card in the gap between the frets and the board.

Looks like shadowing to me.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I am noticing a RED star on the seller's rating.

Hmm, I must not understand the ratings system, because they've only had 25 complaints in the last month, but have done over 2,500 transactions.
How is that possible?

At that rate it takes 83 years for all the hate to equal one month of sales.
Go figger.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

No, 8.3 years.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

No, 8.3 years.

You are correct sir!
There goes my eBay math rating.

 

[Darknut]

I just tried one of these cheap necks & promptly sent it right back. the heel size was 1/8 of a inch narrower than advertised & the headstock was "not" like the photo

 

[Jazz Ad]

It is about thrice the price the guy paid for these generic necks off Chinese sites.