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Fender Dirnt neck

#3
I assumed that the Dirnt had a 1.75" Precision width neck but after looking at the specs I see it is 1.59"

That is slimmer width wise than a standard early 50's Fender bass. My guess is that neck is pretty close to what you are looking for. It definitely has front to back thickness.
 
#5
It's thicker than a standard US Jazz. I don't think it is baseball bat thick or anything but it is one of the thicker necks that Fender offers right now. I am not sure there is another option with that thickness while also being close to a jazz width.

Are you able to try one out?
 
#6
Zerozeddy said:
But in terms of thickness is it drastically different to "normal", or just slightly? Elsewhere Mr Fender talks of "modern C shape" which could mean anything (not in terms of this MD model you understand).
Click to expand...

Can only speculate, but I think they probably mean that it's C shaped but a little thinner round the edges then the traditional baseball bat kinda C shape, given the thick front to back profile and the thinner nut width.

Either way you should try to get a play on it like Johnny said, sounds like a pretty non-standard design so it might not be very similar to any other Fenders you might have played.
 
#8
Another vote to try before you buy.

I really wanted to like these when I first heard about them, but I got to examine a shipment of five identical ones and found the build quality depressing. Only one was any good, three were pretty bad and one was just firewood. :( MIM QC leaves much to be desired.
 
#9
SwamiRob said:
...should try to get a play on it like Johnny said...
Click to expand...

Of course - but the frustrating conservatism of most shops round here (and I include London) means there is a really lame selection of basses to try in the flesh. Unless you were gagging for a Squier.

It's for another thread, really, but Mr Fender and his ilk are p;ssing me off now in this regard. I don't see the point of selling model X if no-one actually stocks the d@mn thing. At least have the decency to offer sale-or-return.

So one has to use these fora to get as much info as poss before having a punt online from a dealer to whom one can return the goods if one doesn't like them innit.
 
#10
It's thicker than ANY P_bass I've ever had ( way fatter than modern P-bass nack and vintage neck from '62 RI )
This is baseball bat, for me totally unplayable BUT Billy Sheehan has that neck in his P-bass and he has the same neck dimensions in his Yamaha ATT
 
#12
Zerozeddy said:
Of course - but the frustrating conservatism of most shops round here (and I include London) means there is a really lame selection of basses to try in the flesh. Unless you were gagging for a Squier.

It's for another thread, really, but Mr Fender and his ilk are p;ssing me off now in this regard. I don't see the point of selling model X if no-one actually stocks the d@mn thing. At least have the decency to offer sale-or-return.

So one has to use these fora to get as much info as poss before having a punt online from a dealer to whom one can return the goods if one doesn't like them innit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately that conservatism is kinda justified at the moment, music shops are in a really bad way cos of online outlets and can't really afford to take chances on niche equipment, it's a shame really. Some places are afraid to even let you play on their stuff for fear of you trying it, and then getting it off some place on the internet instead.

I'm surprised you can't find anywhere in London that stocks one though, kinda odd, especially given Green Day got so much publicity a couple of years ago, when Blink was popular there were Hoppus signatures in a fair few shops, I guess the market has just been going even more in favour of internet based sales though so that might explain it.
 
#13
i played a couple of these on denmark st earlier this year, so they do pop up from time to time... both sounded great but were only averagely well put togther - less so than i would expect for the price, anyway. i remember the pots were especially rattly and cheap feeling.

and yes, the neck felt VERY fat to me, front to back. but as i said, brilliant sound from those pickups.

FWIW the G&L ASAT has a 1.5" nut with a very deep profile. they do cost a bit tho :D
 
#15
I would say that my Dirnt P's neck is about halfway between a J bass a and a warwick corvette in thickness, with a more of a Jazz width at the nut. It's chunky but playable... sounds like what you're looking for.

As others have noted, the Dirnt does have a very nice P bass tone, but the neck isn't for everyone.

FYI, the build quality on mine is excellent.
 
#17
I just purchased one slightly used at GC for $385. No issues with workmanship at all. Thick body finish to go with the thick neck. No electronics problems at all. I put flatwounds on immediately.

The thing is a little heavier than most, but my 2.5" padded strap takes care of that.

The neck is chunky. I'll use mine for those deliberate, soulfull bass lines, not too busy. I'd have a tough time playing a billion notes a minute on it (even if I could). I wouldn't call it a "fast" neck by any means. The neck is nicely crafted and the satin finish is very smooth.

I did have to shim the neck and adjust the relief. I'm a soft player and the BadAss II bridge makes you have to do some neck and saddle adjustments to achieve medium low action. I'm no set-up expert, however my opinion is that getting really low action on this bass may be hard to achieve. My understanding is Dirnt's input was for a bass that is played hard, so low action was not a criteria.

So if the bass sounds a little cantankerous, it is. But......THE SOUND IS AMAZING! It will definitely give you goosebumps. With the flatwounds and the tone slightly turned up, I can get a deep, smooth sound that is simply awesome even though the bass was designed for a punk rocker sound. (I'm sure you could get that sound as well.)

Bottom line....my opinion....not a fast neck, but GREAT sound.
 
#19
+1 to most of what's been said here. Cool looking bass, I dig it being a very pro-Fender guy. But the neck is nothing like a Jazz, IMHO. Its a big fat thing like fender hasn't made for a long time. My '75 tele bass is similar, but it makes the Dirnt feel cheap by comparison. The one Dirnt that has spent time in my family had severe neck problems - it had to be heated and bent to get the neck straightened out enough to be playable. I'm sure they're not all like that - I've seen others in the store that have been fine, but be prepared: some of these are keepers and some of them...be sure to keep you receipt...
 

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