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Jazz Body with Precision Neck
- Thread starter madjazzbass
- Start date
Did you just gloss over the original post or did it simply fly over your head?
it seems like the case of this Cheruti jazz.
neck is 42mm,
scale 33,5'
neckthrough.
pick ups Tesla corona b1
it dives a little bit, and it is the heavier of the herd, but otherwise amazing passive bass
neck is 42mm,
scale 33,5'
neckthrough.
pick ups Tesla corona b1
it dives a little bit, and it is the heavier of the herd, but otherwise amazing passive bass
Built this a while back, mostly because nobody made a J bodied P/J with a P neck. I've posted this pic on here a bunch of times, but what difference does once more make?
It's a routed Squier VM maple body with a US Fender 60th Anniversary P neck, EMG Geezer P/J pickups, Warmoth pickguard, and a Bad Ass II bridge. Plays beautifully, sounds amazing and versatile, but weighs 10.3 lbs thanks to the maple body (not that I actually notice...)
Personally, I much prefer the look of a J body, but wanted the 1 5/8" B neck. I'm not convinced the neck changes the tone all that much, but I find modern 1 1/2" A necks too skinny and don't fill my palm comfortably.
(I've subsequently picked up a real '63 Jazz and a Noel Redding signature Jazz, and have discovered that the real sweet spot for me is a fat A neck with the old-school thickness front to back. Both are perfect, but I can't find the same profile in anything new - certainly a GAS killer...)
It's a routed Squier VM maple body with a US Fender 60th Anniversary P neck, EMG Geezer P/J pickups, Warmoth pickguard, and a Bad Ass II bridge. Plays beautifully, sounds amazing and versatile, but weighs 10.3 lbs thanks to the maple body (not that I actually notice...)
Personally, I much prefer the look of a J body, but wanted the 1 5/8" B neck. I'm not convinced the neck changes the tone all that much, but I find modern 1 1/2" A necks too skinny and don't fill my palm comfortably.
(I've subsequently picked up a real '63 Jazz and a Noel Redding signature Jazz, and have discovered that the real sweet spot for me is a fat A neck with the old-school thickness front to back. Both are perfect, but I can't find the same profile in anything new - certainly a GAS killer...)
Fender makes a maple one. Here's mine on a Frankenfender build:
It's a cool neck. Fender calls it something like 'Vintage-style 70's Precision' or similar and sells them as a part. Skinny frets, vintage 7.25" radius, MIM but beautifully finished. I think it'd look great on a black J body...
it must have flown over my head
I would imagine so, because it's not like you are the type to make snarky comments that are based on your opinion only.
this is one of them.
So who has done this with a 5er? I've got a Squier Pro Tone neck I want to fit to a J bass. 3 inch heel is problematic finding a good fit. 20 frets. Thinking about sacrificing an Affinity J and hacking out the neck pocket to fit...Not risking much there.
Since the advent of the Jazz bass you could order a Precision with a jazz neck. And you could/can to this day order a Jazz bass with a Precision neck. The Jazz width is called an A neck, the Precision is called either a B or C width and there was even a D width though they are supposedly very rare. My 71' Precision bas has a factory stock A or Jazz neck that is original as I bought the bass from the original owner who ordered it that way since he is a small guy with small hands.
June 17, 2013 by Best Bass Gear
Although bass guitar necks can be built to any number of different sizes and shapes, more often than not a player does take the letter designation of the neck into consideration when shopping (especially if buying online unplayed).
Letter designations for bass guitar necks is more or less “a Fender thing”, and because Fender terminology is so pervasive in bass builds, Fender’s letter designations are used even for bass guitars they don’t even make. In addition, those same letter designations are often used by luthiers to describe a neck’s feel to someone who hasn’t actually played the instrument yet.
Where it gets really confusing however is that a letter designation can refer to the neck shape OR the nut width.
The modern Fender American Standard Precision Bass is a guitar with a B neck with a Modern C neck shape, with B referring to nut width, and Modern C referring to the curve shape of the back of the neck.
Nut widths either either A, B, C or D.
A – 1 1/2-inch
B – 1 5/8-inch
C – 1 3/4-inch
D – 1 7/8-inch
…and these were the original letter designations for Fender necks well before the whole neck-shape-by-letter thing came into being.
Fender neck shapes can be C, U, or V, and these letters literally refer to how the back of the neck is not only shaped but also how it looks. This means a C does have a shape similar to that of a letter C, a V actually looks like a letter V on the back, and so on.
U – Early 1950s or 1970s shape
Soft V – Early 1950s
Hard V or just V – Mid-1950s shape
C – Late-50s oval shape
Modern C – Modern flat oval shape
(Tip: Looking for tuners that will fit your Fender neck?)
It’s a common mistake that some players state all C-shapes are the same. Not true. Old-style C is much different compared to the flatter Modern C.
When a player, luthier or builder says that a neck “feels like a baseball bat” concerning Fender shapes, he is referring to the old-style C or the U. Probably the U.
The chunkiest neck shape is without question the U. You play one of those, and oh yes, you’re holding a whole lot of wood – literally.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The terminology Fender currently uses for the larger old-style C is literally called “Large C”, such as on the American Vintage ’58 Precision. You will know a Large C when you pick one up, because as said above, it’s chunky.
Does neck shape totally dictate how a neck feels?
No. Fingerboard radius and fret wire size also count for a great deal.
A ‘true vintage’ build would probably be a Soft V shape with a 7.25-inch fingerboard radius and tall/skinny frets, meaning a super-round fingerboard with frets that no matter how well-done by the luthier will buzz all over the place because, well, that’s what tall/skinny vintage-style frets do.
In addition, the older 7.25-inch radius can in fact “fret out” when doing bends of at least one semitone. Again, there’s nothing wrong with the neck when that happens even when properly set up as it’s just the nature of what vintage-spec is like.
Are the letter designations for neck shapes above a complete list?
Nope.
What I did is listed the most commonly known shapes.
For example, there is the lesser-known “Medium V” shape. Not exactly a Hard V and not exactly a Soft, but right in the middle.
You’ve obviously heard some players say something to the effect of, “Only a real ’63 feels like a ’63!” Well, there’s more truth to that than you realize, because it could very well be that in ’63, Fender decided to use a Medium V profile…
…and this can be hell for a luthier trying to recreate that shape if he doesn’t have an actual ’63 for a frame of reference.
For example, if it were the case where a luthier was trying to recreate the exact feel of a ’63 Fender neck with a Medium V profile but didn’t have the original item for reference, he would take his best guess that the neck shape would either be a Soft or a Hard V, which of course doesn’t hit the mark of what a Medium V is supposed to feel like. The instrument would be well-built, but it “wouldn’t feel right” because the profile is off just a tad.
And yes, learned players that know their Fender vintage necks can feel the subtle difference between a Soft V and a Medium V.
Should you call nut width size by its proper letter designation?
Better luthiers know the old-style letter designations for Fender nut widths. But if you tried using the same terminology with your bass player friends or salespeople at the guitar store, you’ll most likely get the deer-in-the-headlights look. In fact, some people might even think you’re just making it up because it’s so rarely used these days.
In other words, when you say “C”, the assumption is that you’re talking about the neck shape and not the nut width, so… best to stick to that. Letter designation in reference to nut width is usually best used when speaking of vintage Fender guitars, because more often than not, that’s where it’s discussed most.
Although bass guitar necks can be built to any number of different sizes and shapes, more often than not a player does take the letter designation of the neck into consideration when shopping (especially if buying online unplayed).
Letter designations for bass guitar necks is more or less “a Fender thing”, and because Fender terminology is so pervasive in bass builds, Fender’s letter designations are used even for bass guitars they don’t even make. In addition, those same letter designations are often used by luthiers to describe a neck’s feel to someone who hasn’t actually played the instrument yet.
Where it gets really confusing however is that a letter designation can refer to the neck shape OR the nut width.
The modern Fender American Standard Precision Bass is a guitar with a B neck with a Modern C neck shape, with B referring to nut width, and Modern C referring to the curve shape of the back of the neck.
Nut widths either either A, B, C or D.
A – 1 1/2-inch
B – 1 5/8-inch
C – 1 3/4-inch
D – 1 7/8-inch
…and these were the original letter designations for Fender necks well before the whole neck-shape-by-letter thing came into being.
Fender neck shapes can be C, U, or V, and these letters literally refer to how the back of the neck is not only shaped but also how it looks. This means a C does have a shape similar to that of a letter C, a V actually looks like a letter V on the back, and so on.
U – Early 1950s or 1970s shape
Soft V – Early 1950s
Hard V or just V – Mid-1950s shape
C – Late-50s oval shape
Modern C – Modern flat oval shape
(Tip: Looking for tuners that will fit your Fender neck?)
It’s a common mistake that some players state all C-shapes are the same. Not true. Old-style C is much different compared to the flatter Modern C.
When a player, luthier or builder says that a neck “feels like a baseball bat” concerning Fender shapes, he is referring to the old-style C or the U. Probably the U.
The chunkiest neck shape is without question the U. You play one of those, and oh yes, you’re holding a whole lot of wood – literally.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The terminology Fender currently uses for the larger old-style C is literally called “Large C”, such as on the American Vintage ’58 Precision. You will know a Large C when you pick one up, because as said above, it’s chunky.
Does neck shape totally dictate how a neck feels?
No. Fingerboard radius and fret wire size also count for a great deal.
A ‘true vintage’ build would probably be a Soft V shape with a 7.25-inch fingerboard radius and tall/skinny frets, meaning a super-round fingerboard with frets that no matter how well-done by the luthier will buzz all over the place because, well, that’s what tall/skinny vintage-style frets do.
In addition, the older 7.25-inch radius can in fact “fret out” when doing bends of at least one semitone. Again, there’s nothing wrong with the neck when that happens even when properly set up as it’s just the nature of what vintage-spec is like.
Are the letter designations for neck shapes above a complete list?
Nope.
What I did is listed the most commonly known shapes.
For example, there is the lesser-known “Medium V” shape. Not exactly a Hard V and not exactly a Soft, but right in the middle.
You’ve obviously heard some players say something to the effect of, “Only a real ’63 feels like a ’63!” Well, there’s more truth to that than you realize, because it could very well be that in ’63, Fender decided to use a Medium V profile…
…and this can be hell for a luthier trying to recreate that shape if he doesn’t have an actual ’63 for a frame of reference.
For example, if it were the case where a luthier was trying to recreate the exact feel of a ’63 Fender neck with a Medium V profile but didn’t have the original item for reference, he would take his best guess that the neck shape would either be a Soft or a Hard V, which of course doesn’t hit the mark of what a Medium V is supposed to feel like. The instrument would be well-built, but it “wouldn’t feel right” because the profile is off just a tad.
And yes, learned players that know their Fender vintage necks can feel the subtle difference between a Soft V and a Medium V.
Should you call nut width size by its proper letter designation?
Better luthiers know the old-style letter designations for Fender nut widths. But if you tried using the same terminology with your bass player friends or salespeople at the guitar store, you’ll most likely get the deer-in-the-headlights look. In fact, some people might even think you’re just making it up because it’s so rarely used these days.
In other words, when you say “C”, the assumption is that you’re talking about the neck shape and not the nut width, so… best to stick to that. Letter designation in reference to nut width is usually best used when speaking of vintage Fender guitars, because more often than not, that’s where it’s discussed most.
Anyway just play what you like, it doesn't matter what other people like or play. Why make a stink about it or pitch a rant. Relax, enjoy, have fun. I just got home from a four hour gig and played a bass without ever even once thinking wow this neck ...is....whatever.....too big, too small, too thick too fat, too flat, too wide. I was to busy making music. I didn't think about the neck more than once or twice and it was brief in passing because I was too busy playing. It was the one in my avatar a fiver wide baseball bat neck and I love Jazz necks too it just doesn't matter to me.
My favorite neck is the one o the Fender VS '62 Precision I bought in April '83. It's a full 1.75" wide and very shallow front-to-back. That depth is critical to the feel, and positioning of my left hand. A narrow neck needs more depth to remain stable and that alters the position of the thumb. I generally liked the sound of my Geddy Lee, but the impossibly narrow neck forced my hand into awkward positions at the lower end.
For ME, that neck on a Jazz with '60s spacing and a stock vintage bridge could be a useable Jazz for me. And considering all he Precisions with J necks that have been created over the last four or five decades, where ARE all the Jazz basses with P necks?
For ME, that neck on a Jazz with '60s spacing and a stock vintage bridge could be a useable Jazz for me. And considering all he Precisions with J necks that have been created over the last four or five decades, where ARE all the Jazz basses with P necks?
I built this jazz bass-with-a-precision neck using a Warmoth body and a Mexican Fender P neck.
(OP) Waiting for my new Warmoth P neck (Maple w/pearloid blocks (cream) binding) to arrive, of course it's gonna be fitted onto a (Ash) Jazz body; All the hardware is Gold, a first for me. I think its gonna be Sick!!
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No, it's not magical, it's just gonna have a different (thicker) tone because there's more mass/meat on the P neck, That's my beleif and my experience, no magic involved.
