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Anyone change their 34" neck to a 32"

tcnmtn

tcnmtn

May 19, 2008
108
57
Murfreesboro TN
#1
Hello,
I have a Lakland 44-02 and am considering having a 32" neck made to replace the 34". The reason is because I have tendinitous in the elbow on my fretting hand. I bought a cheap 32" to try out and I love the scale.
Question - has anyone done this before and how does it change the sound since the pickups or bridge is not moving? Will it make a noticable difference in the balance when playing on the strap.
I have an estimate of $450 from a local Luthier to build the neck.
 
#2
It will change everything. The pickups won't move but the bridge will have to unless you don't care about it playing in tune. The saddles will need to move 1 inch closer to the nut, on average. This will change the tone too...might be a good or bad thing depending. Balance will also change.

It can be done, but it will change a lot. Bit of a roll of the dice to see if it works.

$450 is not a bad price if he does good work. I've had some good custom necks in that price range made.
 
#5
Marcus Willett said:
It will change everything. The pickups won't move but the bridge will have to unless you don't care about it playing in tune. The saddles will need to move 1 inch closer to the nut, on average.
Click to expand...

I don't quite follow. If the neck is built so that the nut is 32" (nominally) from the saddles in their existing location, and the frets are installed at the proper locations for that scale length, then it should be a straight bolt-on situation. If it's some sort of a retro-fit with an existing neck, then there might be some different issues to deal with, but on a custom neck purpose-built for a shorter scale on a specific body, I don't see a problem. For guitars, there are bolt-on scale-length conversion necks available that don't require any other mods. This is no different.
 
#6
EricF said:
I don't quite follow. If the neck is built so that the nut is 32" (nominally) from the saddles in their existing location, and the frets are installed at the proper locations for that scale length, then it should be a straight bolt-on situation. If it's some sort of a retro-fit with an existing neck, then there might be some different issues to deal with, but on a custom neck purpose-built for a shorter scale on a specific body, I don't see a problem. For guitars, there are bolt-on scale-length conversion necks available that don't require any other mods. This is no different.
Click to expand...

You are changing the scale length, not just the neck. The bridge and saddles are positioned where they are based on 34" scale. If you decrease the scale by 2", one half of that will be made up by then neck itself (nut-to-12th fret) the other half can only be made up by moving the bridge. The only other option is to cut the neck pocket 1" deeper to make up the difference. It will have to be made up somewhere; there is no getting around this.

EDIT: There is a bit of a workaround if you are willing to have the instrument hang oddly (top horn around 10th fret) and have a longer heel to compensate, it might be do-able then
 
#7
(added to earlier post)
There is a bit of a workaround if you are willing to have the instrument hang oddly (top horn around 10th fret) and have a longer heel to compensate, it might be do-able then

I guess it's more accurate to say you cannot preserve the spacial and pickup relationships without giving somewhere.
 
#8
Marcus Willett said:
You are changing the scale length, not just the neck. The bridge and saddles are positioned where they are based on 34" scale. If you decrease the scale by 2", one half of that will be made up by then neck itself (nut-to-12th fret) the other half can only be made up by moving the bridge. The only other option is to cut the neck pocket 1" deeper to make up the difference. It will have to be made up somewhere; there is no getting around this.
Click to expand...

With all respect, Marcus, I'm still not buying it. :)

With the existing bridge location remining, and the nut 32" away from the saddles, when the scale is divided properly from that point, the 12th fret position will be 1" closer to the bridge than it is currently with a 34" scale. If the 12th fret position wasn't changing, then you are correct that the bridge would also have to move. I don't see a reason here why the 12th fret position has to remain static in relation to the existing bridge location.
 
#9
This plan should work just fine.

To illustrate how this works tune a 34" scale bass to DGCF and put a capo on the second fret, et VOILA! a EADG tuned bass with a scale of around 30". The only downside of this would be a reduction in the number of frets on the neck by 2, but that's a small price to pay for playing comfort.

So yes, a shorter custom made neck for a 34" scale bass could convert it to 30" with no further mods.

Best of luck with the project!
 
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#11
peibrandon said:
This plan should work just fine.

To illustrate how this works tune a 34" scale bass to DGCF and put a capo on the second fret, et VOILA! a EADG tuned bass with a scale of around 30". The only downside of this would be a reduction in the number of frets on the neck by 2, but that's a small price to pay for playing comfort.

So yes, a shorter custom made neck for a 34" scale bass could convert it to 30" with no further mods.

Best of luck with the project!
Click to expand...

I think the key phrase here is 'custom made'.
 
#12
It will change things, that was the question; whether or not you "buy it" ;)
You don't get something for nothing tho

Yes, it can be done...try this

Get a tape measure out. Stretch it out to 32"

Put the 32 inch mark over your saddles.

the 16" mark is where your 12th fret will be

the other end is the nut

you will lose about 2 frets unless cut into the neck pocket or have an overhung heel

THAT is what I was talking about when you talked about replacing the neck...I made the assumption you wanted the same number of frets

if you're OK with where those fall, and having fewer frets, go ahead...should be interesting
 
#14
EricF said:
Marcus - I guess you and I were just thinking with different parameters in mind. :)
Click to expand...
Well, yeah, I assumed the only parameter you wanted to change (since it was all you mentioned) was scale length. Were that true, I would be 100% correct. :D

If you are willing to live with fewer frets and the bass hanging differently (like I said, probably top horn reaching to 10th fret or so), then you can indeed do it.

Still a crapshoot tho, goodluck!
 
#15
Marcus Willett said:
Well, yeah, I assumed the only parameter you wanted to change (since it was all you mentioned) was scale length. Were that true, I would be 100% correct. :D

If you are willing to live with fewer frets and the bass hanging differently (like I said, probably top horn reaching to 10th fret or so), then you can indeed do it.

Still a crapshoot tho, goodluck!
Click to expand...

I'm not the OP. I was just throwing my dos centavos in the ring. :)

I certainly agree that the bass will change in many ways, but from a technical aspect, it's totally do-able. Whether the result is good or not is definitely up in the air.
 
#17
I would also like to take this opportunity to apologize to the OP for my early assumption that he may not know the difference between neck and scale length.

If he is contemplating spending $450 for a luthier to build him a new one (now that I have re-read the post), I'm guessing he does indeed know the difference.
 
#19
I am the OP. Thanks for the input - I think I learned a few things - lets see if I have it right. I don't plan to move the bridge or pickups. When the neck is made it will measure 16" from the nut to the 12th fret. Then the luthier will have to calculate how long to make the rest of the neck so the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge is also 16".
Regarding how it hangs - I measured and the strap nut will be over the 11th fret. Hope that doesn't affect the balance too much.
I hope this works out well. If it doesn't then I have the orignal neck and the Lakland is still in fine shape. This option is a lot cheaper than trying to order a similar quality guitar with a 32" scale.
 

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