Mating an old J Bass neck to a new body

[loxjet]

I recently acquired a Fender MIM Jazz Bass Deluxe to replace the Jazz Bass Plus I bought new in 1990. The Plus has been experiencing some godawful racket when plugged in-- it sounds a little like the scene in Blazing Saddles when they're all sitting around the campfire eating beans.

I despise the MIM neck: It's awkward and dry and not at all fun to play. (Sort of like a girlfriend I had in college). The frets are dressed poorly and are sharp as hell on the ends. The JBass Plus neck, on the other hand, is completely effortless to play. It is thinner than a regular Jazz neck but the bout seems to be the same size as the MIM. Would it be just as easy as slapping the old neck on to the new body and redoing the intonation? (The Plus neck is about an inch longer than the MIM neck.) And would it be possible to put the Badass bridge of the Plus onto the MIM body? Would I want to?

Or could the guts of the Plus be repaired or replaced? I doubt the Kubicki preamp would be fixable, but could the innards be completely replaced?

Playing the MIM neck makes me sad, and one should never be sad when playing music. I will do just about anything not to have to give up the Plus neck.

 

[Figjam]

All Fender necks are easily swappable. Go for it!

The bridge should fit too.

 

[JimmyM]

As long as it's 20 frets it should be fine.

 

[landau roof]

Sell or return (if possible) the Deluxe and replace the pre in the Plus. Not familiar with the model, just make sure whatever interests you fits in the route.

 

[loxjet]

Sell or return (if possible) the Deluxe and replace the pre in the Plus. Not familiar with the model, just make sure whatever interests you fits in the route.

Re returns: I took a needle file to the nasty fret ends, so it ain't brand-new anymore (though it plays better now than it did). Does this void my warranty? The bass was given to me as a gift and came from GC. I would never have bought this POS had I played it, but has trying to make it playable made it so I can't send it back?

(I was wondering why the MIA basses were twice the price of the MIM basses. I know now.)

 

[landau roof]

So long as you didn't gouge the edges of the fretboard and the fret ends are shiny, they probably won't notice. Even if you spent $100 or so for a pro dressing and had it looking new again, you'd be better off returning it than eating the depreciation. I recently sold a P Deluxe for $450 and new they were $700, IIRC.

 

[JimmyM]

Re returns: I took a needle file to the nasty fret ends, so it ain't brand-new anymore (though it plays better now than it did). Does this void my warranty?

I ain't talkin' if you ain't talkin'.

 

[Arial Bender]

As long as it's 20 frets it should be fine.

Jazz + 22 frets.

 

[JimmyM]

Jazz + 22 frets.

So it is. In that case, I don't think the plan will work, as the fretboard overhang isn't enough to compensate for the extra frets.

 

[awilkie84]

The easiest solution is to replaced the electronics in the Plus.

Does the Jazz Plus have an overhanging extra 2 frets, or are they part of the neck?

If they're part of the neck, you'll need to move the bridge closer to the neck to keep the scale correct.
If they're overhang, don't worry about it.