I was given a 20-fret P-Bass style 34'' scale neck from a friend, and i was wondering, does the neck need to be at 34'' scale to be correct? or can the bridge be moved forward a little (1-2 inch) and still be playable?
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Can Necks fit all?
- Thread starter basscannon
- Start date
Moving the bridge changes your scale length. Technically you can move the bridge if you wanted to but then there would be no intonating the bass. Every fretted note would be very off.
I'm not sure that StewMac answers your question. On a fretted neck the distance between the frets is set by the scale length. If you shorten the scale length the frets will all be too far apart and (unless I have it backwards) all your fretted notes will be sharp. If you lengthen the scale length the frets will be too close together and all the fretted notes will be flat. The bass will not be in tune unless the scale length is correct.
If it were a fretless neck you could use any scale length you like because you can put your fingers where they need to be to be in tune but any fret lines or markers will be in the wrong place if you change the scale length.
Ken
If it were a fretless neck you could use any scale length you like because you can put your fingers where they need to be to be in tune but any fret lines or markers will be in the wrong place if you change the scale length.
Ken
A half inch move of the bridge will make the frets wrongly placed. Unless the bridge saddles travel length con compensate to put them in the right place.
You need a body that will accept a 34" scale with the neck you have- meaning you don't want to run out of room at the rear for the bridge and you don't want to run up into the bridge pup rout. If you're concerned about having the pups in the traditional Fender locations relative to the scale length, you'll need to take that into consideration.
Pics?
Is this a genuine Fender neck? If it's a true Fender neck (not "Fender licensed", not Squier) and it's from the last 10-15 years or so, there's a very good chance that a genuine Fender body of the same country of manufacture built around the same time will bolt directly on with no issues. Definite exceptions include 22-fret Fender Deluxe bodies, and there may be more. I've had zero problems building basses from Fender parts but I know what to look for, for the most part.
Do you have a body chosen for the neck? If you do, post images of it here. Someone may be able to eyeball it and give you at least a guess as to whether your neck will fit. It's possible that you'll have to do some routing or pocket side shimming to get a tight fit if it isn't a match.
Hi.
When mismatching necks and bodies of different construction and/or scale, moving the bridge is necessary more often than it's not.
The StewMac link tells You all you need to know, ie the 12 fret has to be in the middle of the scale in order to be able to play in tune.
So, measure the distance from the nut to the top of 12th fret (let's call that A), then from the 12th fret to the end of the FB (that'll be B). The distance between the g-string saddle top and the neck pocket edge must be A-B.
Most Fender style necks and bodies are interchangeable with minor adjustments/relocations, most others are not.
Regards
Sam
When mismatching necks and bodies of different construction and/or scale, moving the bridge is necessary more often than it's not.
The StewMac link tells You all you need to know, ie the 12 fret has to be in the middle of the scale in order to be able to play in tune.
So, measure the distance from the nut to the top of 12th fret (let's call that A), then from the 12th fret to the end of the FB (that'll be B). The distance between the g-string saddle top and the neck pocket edge must be A-B.
Most Fender style necks and bodies are interchangeable with minor adjustments/relocations, most others are not.
Regards
Sam
