A question about sanding a neck

[jnewmark]

I have a 1995, passive Fender Jazz, 4 string that I love the sound of, but am finding the neck to be somewhat thicker, ( front to back ), than I am comfortable with. I would call it a " high " C shape. I thought about replacing it with a thinner neck if I could find one, but then thought about maybe having my luthier sand it down a bit to get more of a thinner profile. Is this a pita for a luthier to do or is it a better option than getting a replacement neck? Any comments welcome.

 

[Reedt2000]

Personally, I think a replacement neck is the way to go. You can get one that just drops in. If you sell the bass you can put the original back on and buy a body for the replacement. There's no worry of sanding too much and hitting the truss rod channel, or needing to finish the sanded neck. No worries about sanding the neck profile evenly. It might be a little more expensive, but a new neck eliminates a lot of potential headaches. Just my $0.02 of course, let's see what the rest of TB has to say

 

[Hot Rats]

I've done it to a few Warmoth necks. It's a bit time consuming but rewarding. A competent luthier could do it.

 

[jnewmark]

Personally, I think a replacement neck is the way to go. You can get one that just drops in. If you sell the bass you can put the original back on and buy a body for the replacement. There's no worry of sanding too much and hitting the truss rod channel, or needing to finish the sanded neck. No worries about sanding the neck profile evenly. It might be a little more expensive, but a new neck eliminates a lot of potential headaches. Just my $0.02 of course, let's see what the rest of TB has to say

Yeah, but I would have to find one that is slimmer than the one on the bass. Actually, I have a CS 1960 Jazz that has a thinner profile neck and I thought about switching, but I don't want to change anything about that bass, as its 8.5 lbs and is my recording bass.

 

[micguy]

I've done it to a few Warmth necks. It's a bit time consuming but rewarding. A competent luthier could do it.

I've done it. With a bit of patience and a set of calipers (to monitor things closely so you don't overshoot) it's not that hard - just takes an hour or two for the shaping, and then a few days to a couple weeks to re-finish it.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Sanding a neck isn’t particularly difficult, and fairly safe if the depth of the trussrod is known. The refinish work would probably take longer, and the combined price for a Pro Luthier may exceed the cost of a new neck. Warmoth makes really nice necks, but pricey. Allparts and Mighty Mite also make decent necks.

 

[jnewmark]

Sanding a neck isn’t particularly difficult, and fairly safe if the depth of the trussrod is known. The refinish work would probably take longer, and the combined price for a Pro Luthier may exceed the cost of a new neck. Warmoth makes really nice necks, but pricey. Allparts and Mighty Mite also make decent necks.

I did look at warmouth. They a have a choice between "standard" and "slim tapered" neck profiles. What is the difference?

 

[Dark Horse]

I did look at warmouth. They a have a choice between "standard" and "slim tapered" neck profiles. What is the difference?

Invalid Link Removed

 

[JRA]

i've 're-profiled' several necks DIY with the rationalization that if anything went wrong: i'd have to bear the cost of a replacement. so far, i've just been lucky, no problems whatsoever! knock on wood! it doesn't take much to totally change the feel of the neck (IME). also, on one, i had a luthier narrow the neck (width), and that has been successful, too.

FWIW, i have a bunch of necks, so the whole idea of sanding one (and having a "fail") isn't quite the worry for me as it might be for some, so there's that.

that said, i think the advice to get a new/different, good-feeling neck is thoughtful, solid, and the best way to guarantee a win! good luck with your neck!

 

[jnewmark]

i've 're-profiled' several necks DIY with the rationalization that if anything went wrong: i'd have to bear the cost of a replacement. so far, i've just been lucky, no problems whatsoever! knock on wood! it doesn't take much to totally change the feel of the neck (IME). also, on one, i had a luthier narrow the neck (width), and that has been successful, too.

FWIW, i have a bunch of necks, so the whole idea of sanding one (and having a "fail") isn't quite the worry for me as it might be for some, so there's that.

that said, i think the advice to get a new/different, good-feeling neck is thoughtful, solid, and the best way to guarantee a win! good luck with your neck!

yeah, a replacement does seem the easiest way, but I would like to keep the neck that came with the bass, if possible. definitely have to have a discussion with my luthier as I won't attempt either solution by myself !

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I don’t know the dimensions, but I think “slim tapered” is more Jazz bass, “standard” more like a P. I like skinny necks, but it’s more about back to front than side to side for me.

 

[jnewmark]

I don’t know the dimensions, but I think “slim tapered” is more Jazz bass, “standard” more like a P. I like skinny necks, but it’s more about back to front than side to side for me.

Yes me too, although I don't like overly wide necks. I had a Geddy Lee Jazz that had a neck like a broom handle down at the nut, and thin but not too wide at the 12th. Of course, that was the only bass that got stolen from me.

 

[Grinderman]

I have a 1995, passive Fender Jazz, 4 string that I love the sound of, but am finding the neck to be somewhat thicker, ( front to back ), than I am comfortable with. I would call it a " high " C shape. I thought about replacing it with a thinner neck if I could find one, but then thought about maybe having my luthier sand it down a bit to get more of a thinner profile. Is this a pita for a luthier to do or is it a better option than getting a replacement neck? Any comments welcome.

What do you envision or plan to do regarding the finish on the neck after it's thinned?

I've shaved (front to back thickness) and shaped necks how I want them myself. To me it's easy. I can't speak to what's easy for someone else.

If you're paying someone else to do that work then I have to question what they'll charge you for that. It might make more sense to get a new made-to-order Musikraft Jazz neck. They offer the same profile, front-to-back thick, and taper as Fender Custom Shop's '60s U profile Jazz Bass neck. (0.79" at 1st fret, 0.99" at 12th fret) They have a great selection of options, quality, and very fair prices.

 

[Grinderman]

 

[tb-player]

As long as you don’t expose the truss rod, it’s not that big of a deal.

 

[SunByrne]

Just had this done. G&L L-2000 neck was just a little too chunky, and gloss, so since my luthier had the neck off anyway for a de-fret, I had him sand it down just a little and give it a satin finish. Big improvement!

 

[Dark Horse]

I don’t know the dimensions, but I think “slim tapered” is more Jazz bass, “standard” more like a P. I like skinny necks, but it’s more about back to front than side to side for me.

Yes me too, although I don't like overly wide necks. I had a Geddy Lee Jazz that had a neck like a broom handle down at the nut, and thin but not too wide at the 12th. Of course, that was the only bass that got stolen from me.

The Warmoth link I provided above has all that info, including front to back info

slim and standard in a jazz neck are more akin to a “standard jazz” and a “geddy/flea” jazz

 

[Deleted member 271037]

A luthier should be able to do this pretty fast (although he would probably use a combination of scraping and sanding... just sanding it would take forever!). It shouldn't cost too much but if you want the neck re-finished it will be significantly more expensive. Maple necks should NOT be left unfinished. You can oil it instead of refinishing it of course.

A good luthier will have the skills to shape the EXACT neck profile you want (as long as it's possible within the limitations of the existing neck of course). A good luthier should also have the people/communication skills to actually listen and UNDERSTAND exactly what you want. This can be a bit more hit&miss in my experience...

Warmoth necks are great too. The Warmoth bass necks I've tried don't feel quite like Fender necks to me though. There's something about the neck profiles that give me a kinda "Gibson vibe". But they're great, I really like them. Top quality, very stable, lots of different wood options. Much higher quality than most Fender necks IMO.

Warmoths "standard" Jazz Bass necks are perfect for MY hands but I wouldn't call them slim. They are relatively deep, front-to-back. If you want a slim neck you should probably choose their slim taper option. The specs/measurements can be found on the Warmoth website so you can compare with your existing neck.

Just be aware that Warmoth recommend levelling the frets on their necks, which means you might need a trip to a luthier anyway... Personally I've always found the fretwork on Warmoth necks to be acceptable out of the box. At least no worse than factory fresh Fenders. Just be aware that there will be finish on top of the frets on Warmoth's finished fretboards. A light sanding is always a good idea, unless you don't mind little flakes of finish coming off the frets when you play it.

 

[JRA]

A luthier should be able to do this pretty fast...he would probably use a combination of scraping and sanding... just sanding it would take forever!

agreed. i used rasps and a series of sandpapers for my DIY. but i'd repeat: a little goes a long way.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

One thing I've learned the hard way on neck carves/re-shapes: pay attention to the edge where the fingerboard meets the neck beam, you dont want to end up with a square "shoulder" right there, the neck profile should just kind of roll right into the the fingerboard. If the neck has an old-school single action trussrod, you really need to know how deep it is, or don't touch the center 1/2" wide swathe along the neck centerline to play it safe. Most of the "feel" on a neck, for me anyway, is how much meat there is between back centerline and the fingerboard, in other words "C" profile vs. "D" profile. I tend to like a more flat "D" profile, which is a section of an ellipse. You could just wing it with a piece of straight wood or MDF with sandpaper glued to it, don't assume you can get it straight purely by hand, or ideally check your progress with a profile guage. I like the old fashioned ones with a series of steel pins over the new plastic ones, which give a much rougher approximation.