Building a 22 fret neck 20 fret body.

Well, I would like to introduce myself, as this is my first post. "I am an idiot!" (But that is mostly because I am a guitarist and not a bassist.)

I just picked up at 22 fret(less) J-Bass neck off E-bay. I simultaneously ordered a J-bass body from Warmoth, which I had a custom hole drilled in, so it is non-returnable. 34" scale body...but with this neck--35.5" scale. You get the picture...

Should I:

1. lengthen the neck pocket to shorten the scale, leaving the bridge and pickup routes in the proper position.

2. attach the neck as is and move the bridge to create the proper scale length, and install the pickups in the current routes.

3. Attach the neck as is and move the bridge, while also making new routes in my brand new one piece body and pickguard.

4. install the neck from my MIM P-Bass and destroy that body instead until I can afford another neck for the J.

5. other options?

The neck is from a 97 American Deluxe J Bass. Obviously the body is already routed and drilled for the bridge.

 

Thanks for the reply. Now that I think of it. I think it is a Jazz Plus neck. Serial number says 1997 (so it isn't a boner bass neck), and it is made in USA....Oh, and it has four mounting holes not five.


At any rate, the neck is 1.5" longer than a regular 20 fret neck from nut to bridge, so that does means the scale is not the same. It would only be 34" scale if the nut or bridge moved closer to the center of the neck. Unless I move the bridge closer to the nut or the nut closer to the bridge, the scale will be 35.5"
After thinking about it over night, I am thinking of buying a 20 fret neck from Allparts, and then either putting the 22 fret neck up on ebay or getting another body for that one that is drilled and routed properly in order to make it a 34" scale. Any more suggestions are gladly accepted. Thanks.

 

It is a fender neck, not a warmoth neck. The fretboard does not extend out over the body. The neck is actually 1.5" longer. If I set it on top of my standard Pbass, and line up the two necks at the neck pocket, the nut on the 22 fret neck extends an extra 1.5 inches past the P bass neck.

I hate to argue about scale, but I will: on a 34" scale bass, the 12th fret is 17". But if a longer neck is put on (and the neck pocket is not altered and the bridge is not moved), then the point of measurement moves. It is still half the distance, but it no longer lines up with the 12th fret marker. The twelfth fret then has to be moved to 17.75". A fret or a marker is an arbitrary mark. Scale is measure from nut to bridge or half that distance times two. Fret 12 on a normal bass would be half the length of the string measured from nut to bridge, but since this neck is longer and the body's neck pocket and bridge are set up for a shorter 20 fret neck the scale is 35.5" Since it is fretless, it doesn't matter of course, except the lines on the board will be in the wrong place.

Anyway, I am going to put it up on ebay and buy a standard neck from Allparts.

 

I still have it...I was just now trying to decide if I want to keep it or not. I will meditate on it and let you know. I am considering fretting it myself and putting it in my MIM P-Bass.

 

Back on the auction block:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270343109480

 

It will "work" fine, but the pickups will be in the wrong place (more to the treble side) relative to the new scale length so they will sound like poopoo. Not to mention it has fret markers on the board which would be annoying if they were in the wrong place.

 

I will have to beg to differ on the pickup placement issue . There would be a much larger difference than that between the '60s and '70s J-Bass bridge pickup placement, which is only .4" And most people agree there is a difference in sound there.

A 35.5" scale would be fun, but it would need to be drop tuned due to the increase in string tension, and a dropped fretless is not really on my list. I bought a new fretless neck for the J-bass I was building (this project) and I don't really need two fretless basses when I only have two basses to begin with.
As far as the fretboard...like I told the other person there are fret markers (lines) for every fret, not just position markers. It would be a huge hastle to remove, fill, color match and level.
Plus, it would be easier to fret the neck than it would be to remove the fret markers and fill them in. Like I said, I might end up doing that if it doesn't sell and throw it on my p-bass. It might look cool to have the fret markers inbetween the new frets too. It would look random and strange.

 

Thanks, yes I have already. I bought an Allparts neck, and it is heavier and not anywhere as nice as the Fender, but oh well. Cheers.