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Am I crazy for wanting to make a neck thinner?

TexasThunder

TexasThunder

Mar 4, 2018
352
1,419
Texas
#1
For starters, I’m a fairly advanced woodworker.

Secondly, I’ve posted in another thread about just buying a replacement neck that meets my needs.

But I got to thinking...just traded for a Fender JMJ SS bass and am really digging it so far. However, I have small hands for a dude and the neck is a bit on the chunky side. This is also going to be a bass one of my daughters, learns on. So, I’m considering a diy neck adjustment to remove some wood from the back.

Am I crazy for having this idea?
 
#2
Hey Texas Thunder,

Not crazy at all. Doing these kinds of adjustments are common. If I'm gathering correctly (with Google search), this is your bass? Invalid Link Removed

If it's already road worn, whatever you do could be an enhancement aesthetically.

You'll most likely need to sand down to wood (with low grit, graduating up to about 220), or get out a wrap and work some of the thickness out of the back of the neck, then sand. There's a lot of videos out there on youtube, with many techniques. I'd recommend taking the neck off the bass though, and taping off the fretboard including down the side (covering the fret ends & board). I usually take a plastic grocery store bag and wrap/tape it around the head stock till I'm done.

You'll want to re-seal and put a light coat of something durable. For simplicity on tasks like these, I like MinWax wipe on poly (satin). A few light coats can get you to done. I like to thin it down a bit with de-natured alcohol so it goes on light. I usually do about 3 coats.

Then once it's all dry, hit it with steel wool 0000.

Not sure if you already had plans on refinishing, but since I was already typing.

Hope this helps!
 
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#5
One caveat: unless you know the exact depth and type of the trussrod, and how much wood is left under its slot, leave the back of the neck unaltered in a swathe about 1/4"-3/8" wide right down the neck back centerline. Outside of that area, its pretty safe taking away some material to a sort of "soft vee". I have small/average hands and onset of arthritis, so thinner necks feel better to me too. Common wisdom is 1/8" minimum under the rod, if you sand through, the neck is toast.
 
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#6
I have a Fender MIM Mustang and wouldn’t describe the neck as chunky. I’ve never played a JMJ but I can’t believe that they’re that much different. Personally, I would sell it and find something that feels right, rather than risk damaging the neck and devaluing the instrument. But it’s your bass. Do as you see fit.
 
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#7
Gilmourisgod said:
One caveat: unless you know the exact depth and type of the trussrod, and how much wood is left under its slot, leave the back of the neck unaltered in a swathe about 1/4"-3/8" wide right down the neck back centerline. Outside of that area, its pretty safe taking away some material to a sort of "soft vee". I have small/average hands and onset of arthritis, so thinner necks feel better to me too. Common wisdom is 1/8" minimum under the rod, if you sand through, the neck is toast.
Click to expand...

Exactly what Gilmourisgod said :) Get a measurement of the truss rod slot bottom with a digital caliper (I usually use the bottom stick part - line up the bottom fretboard line, and then extend the stick part. This will get you your safe zone. I usually draw a pencil line down the side of the neck.
 
#9
A narrower/thinner neck makes dead/weak spots more likely or worse.

I have a 30" scale neck on a TMB30 that is also a little thick,
1.61" nut, thickness .85" (measured at the nut side of the 1st fret), 1.01" (12th fret),
and it is my *best* neck in this regard.

My Glarry J-type bass (P-width and also thick) also almost perfect.
A Fender American Pro Jazz was my worst, which is how I learned this.
 
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#10
TexasThunder said:
Am I crazy for having this idea?
Click to expand...
no.

i've both thinned and narrowed necks to arrive at a more comfortable playing experience. i'm fairly tolerant of different feels, but they all have to be in the same universe for me to play my best. it's easy to do and you don't have to thin/sand a lot to get a significantly different feel on a particular neck. so you might plan on doing it in several steps (a little each time) to allow for a realistic playing experience (assessment) after you take the thickness down a bit. at some point: you can live/play with it = you're done!

good luck thinning your neck! :thumbsup:
 
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#11
I don't think that you are crazy for wanting to make a neck thinner but IMHO, it's not necessary. Once again IMHO, it's the width of a neck at the nut that matters for small hands, not the thickness.

I mean, how much material are you going to remove? A 1/32"? A 1/16"? Kind of insignificant.

My son bought me one of these and I love the neck. At age 69, it's much easier to play than a Precision. With the pickup mod, blindfold test, sounds like a P.

If the Squire Bronco has a thinner neck than the JMJ, buy one. They are fairly cheap. Save yourself the trouble and the devaluation of your JMJ Mustang.

DSCF8723.JPG
DSCF8722.JPG
 
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#12
chinjazz said:
Get a measurement of the truss rod slot bottom with a digital caliper (I usually use the bottom stick part - line up the bottom fretboard line, and then extend the stick part. This will get you your safe zone. I usually draw a pencil line down the side of the neck.
Click to expand...

Hard to do on a finished neck! :D

The cliff note's is: Yes, you can try, but it is literally a crapshoot in terms of the structural integrity of the neck. Unless you find someone who has disassembled an identical neck and measured the truss rod slot, we can't really tell you if it's safe to take off 1/8" or you should stop at 1/32".
 
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#14
I would consider selling the JMJ and getting a MIJ Mustang. They have a 1.5" nut width and contour similar to a MIM Jazz. You won't be sacrificing anything in the quality department either. Just hard to find at this point.
 
#15
Thanks everyone. I think I’ll hold off for now, play it as is for a while and decide later. Maybe shop for an after market neck or one off a Squier Mustang to try on it. I can play it fine as is, it’s more of a preference thing for me. My bigger concern is how my daughter will adjust to it.

The Bronco suggestion is really good too, for her.
 
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#17
TexasThunder said:
For starters, I’m a fairly advanced woodworker.

Secondly, I’ve posted in another thread about just buying a replacement neck that meets my needs.

But I got to thinking...just traded for a Fender JMJ SS bass and am really digging it so far. However, I have small hands for a dude and the neck is a bit on the chunky side. This is also going to be a bass one of my daughters, learns on. So, I’m considering a diy neck adjustment to remove some wood from the back.

Am I crazy for having this idea?
Click to expand...
I don’t think it’s that crazy. I opened for one of my bass heroes a couple years back (Ryan Martinie of soften the glare/mudvayne) hes A smaller built guy and he had the necks on his “stock” basses shaved. He had his custom fretless made with the neck profile he likes. Lot of the great guitar players Around here that use vintage style instruments Do the same. For example a lot of the flashier guitar players that play Gibson’s shave the necks down to more of a modern Ibanez wizard neck type of feel.
 
#19
It's down to personal taste and preference. Alembic will tell you that the basses they make for Stanley Clarke (short-scale) have a fairly small profile, and he prefers them shaved down from that starting point. Bear in mind, SC is a full-grown man with big hands who easily plays a full-size upright, too big for most guys. It's all what you prefer.
 
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#20
TexasThunder said:
Thanks everyone. I think I’ll hold off for now, play it as is for a while and decide later. Maybe shop for an after market neck or one off a Squier Mustang to try on it. I can play it fine as is, it’s more of a preference thing for me. My bigger concern is how my daughter will adjust to it.

The Bronco suggestion is really good too, for her.
Click to expand...
Tribute g&l fallout (short scale suggestion)
 
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