Epiphone Resurrection

[Slidlow]

Acquired this forlorn Epiphone missing its head. This has bolt on neck so a replacement is the quickest route. The body and hardware are all good.

My first thought and I believe I will carry through is to use the 34” replacement neck shortened to 22 frets.

That will keep the bridge placement as is. Have to address balance issues ( if any) and an idea from @Matt Liebenau to go with a Flying V headstock can help keep the headstock smaller. Also I will use compact tuners as opposed to the large originals ( I don’t have the originals anyway). Kind of a SG meets Grabber look.

 

[Clark W]

Acquired this forlorn Epiphone missing its head. This has bolt on neck so a replacement is the quickest route. The body and hardware are all good.View attachment 7331838My first thought and I believe I will carry through is to use the 34” replacement neck shortened to 22 frets.View attachment 7331839That will keep the bridge placement as is. Have to address balance issues ( if any) and an idea from @Matt Liebeanau to go with a Flying V headstock can help keep the headstock smaller. Also I will use compact tuners as opposed to the large originals ( I don’t have the originals anyway). Kind of a SG meets Grabber look.

I hope it works, this would be really cool if it does. But looking at the size difference between the 1st frets of both necks I think there will be intonation/tuning issues. I could be wrong and hopefully so cause I love seeing unique fixes that work that others might not think of. And this would definitely be a unique fix. Good luck!

 

[Slidlow]

I hope it works, this would be really cool if it does. But looking at the size difference between the 1st frets of both necks I think there will be intonation/tuning issues. I could be wrong and hopefully so cause I love seeing unique fixes that work that others might not think of. And this would definitely be a unique fix. Good luck!

It will work. Cutting the 34” scale neck at the 22nd fret places it in correct location to the bridge mounted in the original neck pocket. This was missing the bridge so I have one on order to double check before trimming the neck. All that will change is the pickup position in relation to the scale length. The pickup will essentially be closer to the bridge and might help with the typical thumpiness of this type pickup.

 

[Slidlow]

The fretboard is nice so I will salvage it and the truss rod for a future build.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

If the rest of the neck is in reasonable shape, I'd just rebuild the headstock on it. I think that would be a lot less work than fitting a different neck onto it. Rebuilding/replacing a headstock isn't that difficult.

 

[Slidlow]

If the rest of the neck is in reasonable shape, I'd just rebuild the headstock on it. I think that would be a lot less work than fitting a different neck onto it. Rebuilding/replacing a headstock isn't that difficult.

Yes a valid point. I have this 34” neck and can make it work. The truss rod is super stiff in the original and I have a different short scale that can use the fretboard. Difficulty is not an issue, remember I’m the one that sliced a Carvin in two.

 

[ahbradot]

I think the dingo ate your baby...

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

My first thought was "Wow, a headless SG!".

 

[getting-bassed]

A baritone conversion neck would make that into a really cool Bass VI/Baritone range instrument.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

My first thought was "Wow, a headless SG!".

Now we’re talking. Fix that notorious neck dive and have a cool 1 of a kind!

 

[ctmullins]

I did something somewhat similar. Acquired an Epi EB0 body and made a neck. I chose 33" scale, used Hipshot Ultralite tuners, and loaded it with a trio of EMGs. It's one of my top-tier basses for recording and gigging both. The small body with the bevels is really comfortable!

Yeah, it neck-dives a bit, but that doesn't bother me!

 

[Trevorus]

Shortening that other neck won't work, unfortunately. The frets are spaced differently for the different scale lengths. I second (third, whatever it is) rebuilding the headstock.

 

[MrWolf14]

My first thought was "Wow, a headless SG!".

EXACTLY MY SAME THOUGHT!

 

[Slidlow]

Shortening that other neck won't work, unfortunately. The frets are spaced differently for the different scale lengths. I second (third, whatever it is) rebuilding the headstock.

With the 24th and 23 rd fret portion of the neck cut off it will sit in the original neck pocket and line up with the original bridge for a correct and accurate 34” scale. The original necks are crap soft mahogany type wood and this new one is maple. Yes neck dive may be a thing but it is with many styles of bass.

 

[Slidlow]

I did something somewhat similar. Acquired an Epi EB0 body and made a neck. I chose 33" scale, used Hipshot Ultralite tuners, and loaded it with a trio of EMGs. It's one of my top-tier basses for recording and gigging both. The small body with the bevels is really comfortable!

Yeah, it neck-dives a bit, but that doesn't both me a bit.

Very nice If there is some neck dive I’ll probably use one of the many fixes I’ve seen over the years outlined in this forum. There a shameless plug for Talkbass and especially Luthiers Corner.

 

[MPU]

I find it funny that there are people telling how something does not work or telling what one should do for a guy who has REALLY made some instruments, not just read stories on internet. This is Luthiers corner, we make things work! I’m sure Slidlow has enough knowledge about scale lengths and positioning bridge to make this bass playable. I know, I was a newbie once too and didn’t know a s**t abot anything luthiery, but still…

 

[Philonius]

The frets are spaced differently for the different scale lengths.

I’m sure Slidlow has enough knowledge about scale lengths and positioning bridge to make this bass playable. I know, I was a newbie once too and didn’t know a s**t abot anything luthiery, but still…

I'm not saying I know more than the OP about luthiery either, but I don't see how this works properly without slicing off the headstock and scarfing it back in higher up the neck.

 

[ctmullins]

I'm not saying I know more than the OP about luthiery either, but I don't see how this works properly without slicing off the headstock and scarfing it back in higher up the neck.

If the neck is fretted to a 34" scale, then the first order of business is to mount the neck such that the nut is 34" from the forwardmost position of the bridge saddles. This is not negotiable if you want to be in tune.

Once that's done, you may find that the neck is still too long to fit into the existing pocket, so you may need to trim that end of the neck to fit.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Shortening that other neck won't work, unfortunately. The frets are spaced differently for the different scale lengths. I second (third, whatever it is) rebuilding the headstock.

He’s changing scales, stock it’s 30”, this neck is a 34” , the distance from bridge saddle to nut will be appropriate for a 34” scale once the neck is shortened.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Very nice If there is some neck dive I’ll probably use one of the many fixes I’ve seen over the years outlined in this forum. There a shameless plug for Talkbass and especially Luthiers Corner.

Tungsten slugs.