I would loosen the strings, loosen the bolts, push up against the headstock as you retighten the bolts. The gap will go away a bit.
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gap ? neck pocket stuff ...
- Thread starter himluis1
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- neck neck pocket pocket
Install a piece of screen between the neck and body, put the neck in the straightest position possible and tighten the screws as normal. Almost every vintage fender I have owned had a gap and some had loose necks because of the poor fit. Screen door repair kit always cured it. Most hardware stores sell screen door repair kits that have a few little squares of screen. Cut to fit the neck pocket (or use it to shim for neck angle problems, if there aren't any just put a piece of screen over the whole neck pocket.
I just acquired a 1984 Japanese PJ, and it has a similar gap. My tech guy said this was kinda normal for the era and model. Didn't sound like it was a big deal.
I'm glad I saw this. I am working on a neck swap myself this week and was having trouble finding this info. Thanks!
Hard to tell from the picture, but it almost looks like the gap is between the pickguard and the neck and not the body and the neck because it looks like the body is flush against the neck above the pickguard. If gap is just in the pickguard, it will have zero effect on the function of the bass.
now that i took the pickguard off and took a closer look i realize that it was more on the pickguard that anything else ... no biggie i think ... what u all think ?
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When you transplant a J neck onto a P body you should expect a gap. Jazz necks and P necks have a different taper from end to end, because of their different widths at the nut.
As mentioned, don't worry about gaps, the neck pocket fit has no bearing on sound. Its purpose is to lower the neck down into the body, so it's level with the bridge saddles. The neck bolts (screws) are doing the clamping work.
Did that P guard originally come with that body?
As mentioned, don't worry about gaps, the neck pocket fit has no bearing on sound. Its purpose is to lower the neck down into the body, so it's level with the bridge saddles. The neck bolts (screws) are doing the clamping work.
Did that P guard originally come with that body?
the pickguard came with a fender mim fsr p bass i had a long time ago and i kept it ....
Roll with it. That's nothing. Like others have said, if the strings are shifted more to one side of the neck than the other, loosen the bolts slightly (you don't even need to loosen the strings), shift the neck, tighten back down.
I think you nailed it. So common, and so inconsequential. I'd bet my sizeable collection that some amazing players have cut some amazing tracks on bolt-neck guitars and basses from a wide variety of manufacturers that had a tiny gap at the neck pocket, and it didn't make one iota of difference or negatively impact tone or playability.
Personally, I like that tiny bit of wiggle room so I can adjust the neck and bolt it down with the strings perfectly centered and equal margins with the outside edges of the fretboard. Every time I've had a neck pocket/heel that was tight, I was unable to accomplish this with any degree of accuracy or permanency.
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