What is the best way to have NBD without the new bass? Swap necks!
I have had two spare Wal MK1 necks for years. Of my MK1's two of them were prefect candidates for swaps so I picked up a fretted 1982 neck to put on my Walnut top that was converted to fretless, and I picked up a later unlined fretless neck to put on my schedua top lined fretless.
I have been meaning to swap these out literally for years and finally got around to one of them today. So here are some pics:
The patient in this transplant is my 1987 walnut top MK1 converted to fretless which is going to receive the old school 1982 fretted neck. What makes it old school? It says "Custom Bass" at the end. Just like Mick Karns!
The neck on this Walnut beauty is great but the conversion was done with dark lines that are essentially invisible. That would normally be my preference but because the dots are placed where they would be on a fretted, there is no reliable reference to gauge where to play.
Here you can see the bass with the converted neck still on it, and the soon to be translated neck to the side
And here is a closer view of the old school neck. Notice it only has one string tree vs. the two trees on the later neck:
This is a picture of the date on the heel:
Since the neck bolts are small hex shaped machine screws, and the bass was made in England, I was concerned that the hex size was metric. But it turns out the bolts just take a regular 3/32" hex which fit nice and snug. And since the necks have threaded bushings installed, you don't have to worry about stripping or overtightening. It was easy peasy getting the neck off:
Once I got the neck back on I tinkered with getting the original rotosound flats as shown here back on. But they were getting down to wire at the ends and I got tired of getting poked: I prefer draw blood only at the doctor's office. Plus, I realized I wanted to put on some light rounds, so I bagged up the Rotos for a rainy day and grabbed myself a pack of Hartke XL nickels from the good old box o' strings. They are gauges 40-60-75-95 and very easy to play. Here is the bass with the new neck pre strings:
And here she is, now fretted, and all string up with the Hartkes. The original neck is beside her.
So, this was a fun and easy way to get a "new bass," and a Wal no less!
I also learned a couple of things. First, the old school necks had only a single string tree though construction seems near identical. Never noticed!!
Second, the older neck is milimeters shorter at the heel than the later neck as the trimming that covers the truss access area is now a bit loose. But the neck fit great with no fudging required.
And the thing didn't even need a set up with the new neck freshly installed! The action is now ultra low, like scary low, with no buzzing. I can now play so fast I sound like I have been practicing for weeks!
Anyway, NBD...
I have had two spare Wal MK1 necks for years. Of my MK1's two of them were prefect candidates for swaps so I picked up a fretted 1982 neck to put on my Walnut top that was converted to fretless, and I picked up a later unlined fretless neck to put on my schedua top lined fretless.
I have been meaning to swap these out literally for years and finally got around to one of them today. So here are some pics:
The patient in this transplant is my 1987 walnut top MK1 converted to fretless which is going to receive the old school 1982 fretted neck. What makes it old school? It says "Custom Bass" at the end. Just like Mick Karns!
The neck on this Walnut beauty is great but the conversion was done with dark lines that are essentially invisible. That would normally be my preference but because the dots are placed where they would be on a fretted, there is no reliable reference to gauge where to play.
Here you can see the bass with the converted neck still on it, and the soon to be translated neck to the side
And here is a closer view of the old school neck. Notice it only has one string tree vs. the two trees on the later neck:
This is a picture of the date on the heel:
Since the neck bolts are small hex shaped machine screws, and the bass was made in England, I was concerned that the hex size was metric. But it turns out the bolts just take a regular 3/32" hex which fit nice and snug. And since the necks have threaded bushings installed, you don't have to worry about stripping or overtightening. It was easy peasy getting the neck off:
Once I got the neck back on I tinkered with getting the original rotosound flats as shown here back on. But they were getting down to wire at the ends and I got tired of getting poked: I prefer draw blood only at the doctor's office. Plus, I realized I wanted to put on some light rounds, so I bagged up the Rotos for a rainy day and grabbed myself a pack of Hartke XL nickels from the good old box o' strings. They are gauges 40-60-75-95 and very easy to play. Here is the bass with the new neck pre strings:
And here she is, now fretted, and all string up with the Hartkes. The original neck is beside her.
So, this was a fun and easy way to get a "new bass," and a Wal no less!
I also learned a couple of things. First, the old school necks had only a single string tree though construction seems near identical. Never noticed!!
Second, the older neck is milimeters shorter at the heel than the later neck as the trimming that covers the truss access area is now a bit loose. But the neck fit great with no fudging required.
And the thing didn't even need a set up with the new neck freshly installed! The action is now ultra low, like scary low, with no buzzing. I can now play so fast I sound like I have been practicing for weeks!
Anyway, NBD...
