deep neck pocket

[Igharib]

Hey guys,

I have a couple of signature basses (a very controversial bass since its appearance on ebay) and I am very happy about the sound and the playability of both and they do compare to my other high end basses.
the issue is as i was setting up one of them, i noticed the deep neck pocket as in the picture and that the neck is totally fitted till the end. the thing is this a matched body with a neck , signature as well but could it be that it didn't match quite right with this body ? the other bass is matched with a Canadian fender authorized made neck and fits perfectly but the 2 bodies are not identical specially the pickup routing is different. what would cause this ? should it be fixed ? would it work with a 24 fret neck ? help me setup wizards, i love the bass and i don't mind making it as good as it can be.

 

[sissy kathy]

Looks like you have a Fender replacement neck on a non Fender body.. Even The longer necks Fender is making for some models don't have a square pocket. You could:
1) ask for your money back.
2) make a filler to go in there.
3) put the pick guard back on and forgetaboutit.

 

[saabfender]

I thought I remember hearing that Chinese Squiers have this as a difference.

Making it "as good as can be" is to leave it alone. No one will ever know. It will be your little secret. Don't waste time or effort filling it. It will make no difference to the bass whether there is any material in that slot. Recently, I hogged out a bunch of material on a body to mount different pickups at different locations. The net difference to the acoustic sound of the guitar was zero.

 

[Turnaround]

It’s a complete mismatch of neck and body. Totally unacceptable in my opinion. I would demand my money back.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

If you made that just to experiment that’s fine but it sounds like you bought that as a commercially produced instrument. In that case, unless they paid you to take it, it is no bueno. Money back or use as a bludgeon.

 

[Igharib]

Thanks guys for the replies !
I knew I was taking a risk while purchasing . I live abroad so its hard to return and refund and things . Nonetheless , I’m still happy with the bass but I just wanted to know what went wrong there ! Thanks a lot everyone

 

[saabfender]

Thanks guys for the replies !
I knew I was taking a risk while purchasing . I live abroad so its hard to return and refund and things . Nonetheless , I’m still happy with the bass but I just wanted to know what went wrong there ! Thanks a lot everyone

Basses that make you smile are actually pretty rare. In my book, little idiosyncrasies and weirdnesses help make an instrument more interesting and improves its internal story.

 

[JLS]

#3.

You can intonate this OK?

 

[Igharib]

#3.

You can intonate this OK?

yes intonation is ok ans scale length is ok just a mismatched neck

 

[Matt Liebenau]

If it intonates well, sounds good and makes you want to play the bass then that’s more important then what any of us think (including my post above).

 

[vancityjoe]

if the gap in the neck pocket is shorter than your free space to move the saddles back, i would mount the neck properly (with newly drilled holes in the neck) and then intonate the bass by moving the saddles backward as required.

but i am adventurous.

 

[wvbass]

I've never dealt with anything like that, but I know what I would do with it. If I was otherwise happy with the bass, and if intonation/scale length check out okay, I would make a neck shim. In this case the shim would be to fill the gap between the end of the neck and the end of the neck pocket. It might take a little hand shaping, but it shouldn't be difficult to fill that space.

My concern is that the neck may scoot a little in the pocket and go out of tune and out of intonation because the neck can move towards the bridge. That would not be a good situation.

 

[wvbass]

if the gap in the neck pocket is shorter than your free space to move the saddles back, i would mount the neck properly (with newly drilled holes in the neck) and then intonate the bass by moving the saddles backward as required.

but i am adventurous.

I see where you are coming from, but whoever did this has successfully jammed a round peg in a square hole. Since the OP says the intonation is okay, I wouldn't move the neck; I'd fill the space in the neck pocket. Moving the neck could force the OP to move the bridge as well, and would change the relative position of the pickups.

 

[vancityjoe]

It's not a job for the weak of heart to be sure.
Since it's a mutt bass I would roll the dice and do it. Learning is fun.
If you aren't inclined with tools, it's better left as is!