Fender neck swap

[Lesgo]

I resurrected an old "poor condition" MIM precision, and I'm really happy with it. Replaced all the wiring, pickups, pickguard, knobs, etc. a really fun project.

Of course now that it's giggable, I'm dissatisfied. I've always wanted a black P bass with a maple fretboard. This one is rosewood. Playability is not an issue here - the neck works as it should.

I see a few "fender licensed" maple necks with nitro finishes and fake fender decals. I feel like I would be putting bad Gris-gris on my bass if I used an aftermarket neck with a fender decal.

Is it worth it to pony up the $200 for a Fender MIM replacement neck? Should I be patient and scour the classifieds? Should I go Mighty Mite or Allparts?

If I do end up swapping, what is the approximate value of a good condition 17 year old MIM neck with a rosewood fretboard? I wonder if I could come out close to even, depending on the replacement neck.

Or - am I being ridiculous? Should I just enjoy the fantastic bass that I spent time restoring?

Thanks in advance!

 

[tangentmusic]

Get the genuine Fender MIM maple neck off their website.

I bought one a couple years ago.
All you have to do is slot the nut completely (comes with guide slots) and drill a hole for the string tree.

 

[tjh]

If it is 17 years old, that would make it a '99-2000 model, which would be pre- 'upgrade' for the '02 model year ... adding a new $200 neck will not do much for the value, it won't hurt, but you will still have the old spec body attached to it ... if you buy a new neck from Fender, you will also need to swap over the machine heads, which are also 17 years old ... you could always look for either a 2008 and newer MIM Standard with the maple board and do a switch, or watch for that loose neck in all the classifieds ... however, if you do a neck swap, putting your old neck on a newer body (to sell) will likely hurt that value of it .. Stratosphere is another option, they usually have take off necks from MIM Standards around loaded, but they can be a bit pricey on stuff ...

.. since your prime objective with all of this is aesthetics, I would be playing as is while watching for a used maple board neck to come up somewhere in the classifieds, should be about $175+/- range loaded and ready to bolt on ... then you can either move your RW board neck to offset the cost, or hang onto it to re-install should you ever want to sell the bass ...

JMHO .. as always ...

 

[Shuggy73]

I was planning on posting a thread about replacement necks when I came across this one. Since my questions are along a similar line, I will add to this discussion. I hope I am not hijacking the thread. I too am looking for a maple neck for a P-bass project. I have read many threads on many websites about the usual brands, Warmoth, Allparts, Mighty Mite and USACG. Of course there are the cheapy Chinese Ebay oferings. My question is were do the upper end Squier necks fit into the list of necks. I am currently looking at 3 necks. A new tinted MM neck without tuners for around $150, a used Allparts with tuners for around $200 and a new VM P neck with tuners for around $190. How does the VM stand up to the others? You rarely ever hear anyone recommend a Squier neck when someone is looking for a replacement. I would assume the fit and finish would be better than an AP or MM that has not had the frets workied on. Also, were does an SX neck fit in? Their replacement necks are cheap like the Chinese ones on Ebay. The few SX basses i've seen seem to have nice quality necks. Any opinions/experiences would be we appreciated.

 

[Lesgo]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Just pulled the trigger on a new MIM P neck with the maple fretboard. List price is more than I paid for the bass (oops!).

Of course I should probably now sell the rosewood neck. But it will be hard not to remove the frets and stick it onto my Squier....