Does anyone make custom necks and in that case how much should I count on paying for having 1 made?

[NoiseNinja]

So as the tittle says, are there any luthiers that will do just a custom neck to my specs and in that case how much should I count on ending up paying?

Pondering on having a custom neck made to my preferred specs for my Ibanez GSRM20B Mikro Bass, it's a 28,6" scale bass, and the stock neck got 22 frets.

However I would like to have a 24 stainless steel medium jumbo fret (yes, I do realize I will likely have to move the bridge) 3 piece laminated Jatoba neck made fitting the 28,6" scale length, with an ebony fretboard and a 2+2 tilted headstock.

Any idea on what kind of money (like minimum to maximum price) I should probably count on end up paying for something like that?

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Well, Luthier's Corner isn't a marketplace to shop for Luthiers to do custom work for you. Per TalkBass rules, we're not supposed to be doing commerce here. Also, most of the Luthiers who participate here are either pros who are booked up with their own lines, or hobby builders who are building for their own fun. Few of us who are regulars on here do custom work.

If you see a project going on here, and think the Luthier may be interested in your custom job, you may PM (Personal Message) them and ask. That's acceptable. But keep the discussion off of the general Luthier's Corner

I made one-off custom necks for many years, but I no longer do. As general guidance, a custom neck like you are asking for will cost in the range of $500 to $800. The cost depends on details of woods, inlays, frets, etc.

The overall motto here on Luthier's Corner is: This is where Luthiers talk to other Luthiers about technical stuff. Beginners, hobbyists and pros are welcome. We're trading design ideas, methods, and tool ideas to help each other build better. We're not trying to show off our stuff to the general bass player crowd, to get social approval or bring in business. And we're also not about repairs to production basses; that's for the Hardware, Setup & Repair section. Luthier's Corner is about trading the details of how to build basses.

 

[NoiseNinja]

Well, Luthier's Corner isn't a marketplace to shop for Luthiers to do custom work for you. Per TalkBass rules, we're not supposed to be doing commerce here. Also, most of the Luthiers who participate here are either pros who are booked up with their own lines, or hobby builders who are building for their own fun. Few of us who are regulars on here do custom work.

If you see a project going on here, and think the Luthier may be interested in your custom job, you may PM (Personal Message) them and ask. That's acceptable. But keep the discussion off of the general Luthier's Corner

I made one-off custom necks for many years, but I no longer do. As general guidance, a custom neck like you are asking for will cost in the range of $500 to $800. The cost depends on details of woods, inlays, frets, etc.

The overall motto here on Luthier's Corner is: This is where Luthiers talk to other Luthiers about technical stuff. Beginners, hobbyists and pros are welcome. We're trading design ideas, methods, and tool ideas to help each other build better. We're not trying to show off our stuff to the general bass player crowd, to get social approval or bring in business. And we're also not about repairs to production basses; that's for the Hardware, Setup & Repair section. Luthier's Corner is about trading the details of how to build basses.

Apparently I posted in the wrong sub-forum and I apologize for that, perhaps a moderator will be kind to move my post to a more appropriate sub-forum?

And actually I didn't mean for my OP to be an add looking for someone willing to take the job, it was intended as a more general inquiry, as in getting an idea if this was something that could be done and what kind of price I should expect to pay for such a service if I decided to go through with it, really not all that different from people looking for recommendations on instruments when looking for a new bass in the "Basses" sub-forum, which I guess should have been the sub-forum for posting an inquiry like this (or perhaps the "Repair" sub-forum?*))

*)Edit!!: Missed that detail when initially reading your reply, seems that is in fact the sub-forum you directed me to for this inquiry. Thanks Hopefully a moderator will be kind to move it there *

But thanks for answering my question regarding what kind of price to expect.

 

[dwizum]

Bruce gave you a great answer in terms of thinking about the cost and I would second it. I do think this is the right subforum for the "is it possible to build this neck and what would it cost" type question. or "how would this neck be built" or "is this custom neck idea going to be a problem." Generally, the rule is if it involves fixing or setting up a bass in the sense of turning screwdrivers, making adjustments, replacing parts, and work like that - it's in the Hardware, Setup, and Repair forum. But if it involves building anything from scratch and/or making a lot of wood dust it belongs here.

If you get to the point where you want to shop for a builder, there really isn't a good spot on Talkbass for that. There are however a handful of facebook groups about luthiery and most of them welcome this sort of "who would build this for me" type question, so maybe you could try that part of your question there if/when you're ready to move ahead.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Bruce gave you a great answer in terms of thinking about the cost and I would second it. I do think this is the right subforum for the "is it possible to build this neck and what would it cost" type question. or "how would this neck be built" or "is this custom neck idea going to be a problem." Generally, the rule is if it involves fixing or setting up a bass in the sense of turning screwdrivers, making adjustments, replacing parts, and work like that - it's in the Hardware, Setup, and Repair forum. But if it involves building anything from scratch and/or making a lot of wood dust it belongs here.

If you get to the point where you want to shop for a builder, there really isn't a good spot on Talkbass for that. There are however a handful of facebook groups about luthiery and most of them welcome this sort of "who would build this for me" type question, so maybe you could try that part of your question there if/when you're ready to move ahead.

Yeah, I don't mind answering occasional questions from the "audience" about whether something is possible or how it could be done. But I personally don't want Luthier's Corner to become an Ask The Luthiers show, with an endless line of audience members asking us technical questions, pushing their ideas of what we should build, and arguing about technical details. That's what the other portions of TalkBass are for; Basses, Pickups, Hardware, Setup & Repair, etc.

Luthier's Corner is for Luthiers asking other Luthiers, helping each other with technical things. We welcome the general audience to read along for their own interest and knowledge. But we really aren't interested in their commentary or opinions about our work. Not here, anyway. If we want to show off our basses and see if everyone likes them, then we'll run a thread over in Basses. And let the commentary pour in!

This is my own opinion of the rules for Luthier's Corner. I'm not the boss. But I frequently talk to the Moderators (mostly Joshua), and I believe that they mostly agree with me on this.

 

[Beej]

@NoiseNinja I agree with pretty much everything above, but my curiosity about your building goals is piqued. I understand why someone would want a 24 fret board, but what is the idea behind having a 3 piece jatoba neck? I ask because it might be easier and less expensive to find a local luthier who can replace your existing fretboard with a 24 fret ebony board, but keep the neck. The extra frets would be on an overhang into the body and then you would not have to move the bridge and deal with those factors.

Anyway, just wondering what your goals were... as a group I think we're pretty good for helping work through ideas and potential pitfalls with building plans.

 

[NoiseNinja]

@NoiseNinja I agree with pretty much everything above, but my curiosity about your building goals is piqued. I understand why someone would want a 24 fret board, but what is the idea behind having a 3 piece jatoba neck? I ask because it might be easier and less expensive to find a local luthier who can replace your existing fretboard with a 24 fret ebony board, but keep the neck. The extra frets would be on an overhang into the body and then you would not have to move the bridge and deal with those factors.

Anyway, just wondering what your goals were... as a group I think we're pretty good for helping work through ideas and potential pitfalls with building plans.

Well, I like the look of Jatoba, and also it is a much harder and stiffer wood than maple, which makes a great choice for neck wood, and making the neck a laminated 3 piece would then make the neck even more stable.

I guess replacing the fretboard could be an option, but if it would be possible to not make the two extra frets as overhang frets it would give easier access to them, though I would of course then need to move the bridge.

Finally so far it's not something I have money to go through with right at the moment, but it might very well be something I want to go through with in the future, just kind of toeing the water here.

 

[dwizum]

Jatoba is extremely stiff, to the point that a neck made only from jatoba could be easy to make too stiff. Stiffness has more to do with balancing the truss rod vs string tension than influencing stability - jatoba will still move seasonally if it experiences changes in humidity. It's shrinkage rates are only a minor improvement on maple. (12.1% volumetric vs 14%). That said there's no reason to not use it if you really want it!

If you aren't interested in an overhang, what about increasing the scale length? Then you could essentially keep all the work confined to the neck, leaving the bridge alone but pushing the nut further from the body and allowing room for the extra frets. Although, I suppose if you wanted a longer scale length, you probably wouldn't be starting with a Mikro.