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Neck gap. Should I be concerned?

#41
gebass6 said:
Always a Fender!Why is that?
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:laugh:

roccobladr said:
Just curious as to what is causing this and if it’s something I need to be concerned about.
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bolophonic said:
If it sounds good, I would stop worrying about it.
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roccobladr said:
If it really is a busted body then I’d be tempted to ride it out since it still plays and sounds fine.
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Ampslut said:
I had a CBS p-bass fretless that had a gap big enough to store picks. The neck screws are what does the heavy lifting here and not the neck pocket. No worries.
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#43
gebass6 said:
Always a Fender!Why is that?
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IME a gap between the neck heel and base of the pocket route, like we see in OP’s photo results from the through body holes being an RCH too small, allowing your neck screw threads to gain purchase in the body. When that happens the screw is pushing up on the neck as it passes out of the body while trying to pull the neck down as it enters the heel. You will strip your screw head or neck threads if you keep cranking trying to close such a gap.
The solution is to enlarge the through body holes just enough to allow the neck screws to pass without having to thread them through the body. I remove the neck, then flip the body and drop a neck screw in a hole until it can no longer pass without turning it with a driver, then use a screwdriver and a block of wood to tap the screw head down to the neck plate. You will still need to unscrew the fastener, so repeat the process until you can pull the screw out by hand and push it back down flush by hand. Keep in mind removing the screw with the neck in place will raise it enough with a driver to allow a good finger grip on the screw, you want some resistance, but not enough to require a driver for further removal. The trick is knowing when to stop enlarging the holes. You don’t want them loose enough the screw will fall out, but you shouldn’t need a screw driver to remove it once it clears the neck heel.
 
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#44
fhm555 said:
IME a gap between the neck heel and base of the pocket route, like we see in OP’s photo results from the through body holes being an RCH too small, allowing your neck screw threads to gain purchase in the body. When that happens the screw is pushing up on the neck as it passes out of the body while trying to pull the neck down as it enters the heel. You will strip your screw head or neck threads if you keep cranking trying to close such a gap.
The solution is to enlarge the through body holes just enough to allow the neck screws to pass without having to thread them through the body. I remove the neck, then flip the body and drop a neck screw in a hole until it can no longer pass without turning it with a driver, then use a screwdriver and a block of wood to tap the screw head down to the neck plate. You will still need to unscrew the fastener, so repeat the process until you can pull the screw out by hand and push it back down flush by hand. Keep in mind removing the screw with the neck in place will raise it enough with a driver to allow a good finger grip on the screw, you want some resistance, but not enough to require a driver for further removal. The trick is knowing when to stop enlarging the holes. You don’t want them loose enough the screw will fall out, but you shouldn’t need a screw driver to remove it once it clears the neck heel.
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Absolutely correct sir! This is critical for the mechanical connection of a bolt on neck. Many of the bodies I acquire need a little "reaming".
 
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#45
roccobladr said:
Wow. These were definitely not the responses I was expecting!

I’ll try taking the neck off, but is there any chance this might do more harm than good? If it really is a busted body then I’d be tempted to ride it out since it still plays and sounds fine.
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Yeah I do think that’s a cracked neck pocket - it can be glued shut although if it doesn’t open easily you’d probably need a syringe to get the glue in the cracks. Once it’s glued down it’ll probably help discourage continued cupping that that part of the bass is experiencing, but at the same time it’s not going to fix it entirely. If the bass plays fine I wouldn’t be so worried about the neck pocket dip but the neck pocket cracks should be fixed because they look like they’ll keep growing til the neck comes off with the neck pocket attached. Even if that happens you can probably still glue it.
The concerning part about the cracks is the worst looking side doesn’t quite extend from the neck pocket all the way. Still there’s no reason not to try fixing it at this point! You can test the cracks depth with a feeler gauge, piece of paper or maybe the end of a guitar string
 
#48
enormungus said:
It looks like a sloppy route. As long as the route depth is even at the corners where the neck screws are, I wouldn't worry about it.
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Bad rout!

Is this common with MIM made Fenders? I bought a MIM Mike Dirnt road worn body from Stratosphere and the neck cavity was 1/16 of an inch too shallow. I had to have the neck pocket routed down which I did myself........scary! There were other issues too. Bridge was not perpendicular to the center line. One of the control plate screw was drilled diagonal to catch the edge.

That cracked finish is horrible!

MIM quality?
 
#49
-Asdfgh- said:
Ideally you don't want vibration to transfer. It may affect overall system stiffness, although probably not much. Generally you want things to be stiff unless you want the sound to be coloured.
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I think we're saying the same thing. I want the base of the neck to be in full contact (flush) with the neck pocket providing maximum rigidity which will also result, in my experience, with the ability to feel the neck and body vibrate. It's not a requirement as some older Fenders, Musicman and G&Ls had the 3 bolt "microtilt" feature which, if engaged, lifted the butt of the neck away from the neck pocket. So no longer in full contact with the neck pocket. In theory this may cause vibrations to decay more quickly. Marcus Miller implied this when talking about his new Sire line of basses.
 
#50
roccobladr said:
Wow. These were definitely not the responses I was expecting!

I’ll try taking the neck off, but is there any chance this might do more harm than good? If it really is a busted body then I’d be tempted to ride it out since it still plays and sounds fine.
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No man, address the issue. I'm sure it can be mended if it is indeed cracked but it may get worse if you keep playing it that way. If you're not sure how to remove it properly bring it to someone who does.
 
#51
You should take the neck off to look and make sure the crack isn't in the body. If it's not in the body, then bolt it back on and keep rocking it. If the crack is in the body, you don't want a catastrophic failure on stage, there is a chance that the cheapest fix will be to source a replacement body. But the paint cracks are much bigger than typical paint cracks, there is a noticeable gap where there usually isn't, this all adds up to you probably wanting to verify that there isn't a fatal flaw in this body.
 
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#52
bassdude51 said:
Bad rout!

Is this common with MIM made Fenders? I bought a MIM Mike Dirnt road worn body from Stratosphere and the neck cavity was 1/16 of an inch too shallow. I had to have the neck pocket routed down which I did myself........scary! There were other issues too. Bridge was not perpendicular to the center line. One of the control plate screw was drilled diagonal to catch the edge.

That cracked finish is horrible!

MIM quality?
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Recent quality is quite good, IME.
I had a Player Precision that was wonderfully made with NO GAPS in the neck pocket, excellent paint and a medium light weight body. All hardware was properly aligned and worked well. I only sold it because I prefer a chunkier neck. Otherwise, it was really a nice bass!
 
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#56
bassdude51 said:
Bad rout!

Is this common with MIM made Fenders? I bought a MIM Mike Dirnt road worn body from Stratosphere and the neck cavity was 1/16 of an inch too shallow. I had to have the neck pocket routed down which I did myself........scary! There were other issues too. Bridge was not perpendicular to the center line. One of the control plate screw was drilled diagonal to catch the edge.

That cracked finish is horrible!

MIM quality?
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I have (4) MIM bodies, three bought as complete instruments, the fourth to build a parts bass, and none have experienced any of those issues.
 
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#58
Nighttrain1127 said:
The neck screws thread through the neck into the body not the other way around so if he enlarges the holes in the body the screws will pull the remaining threads out. So opening the holes in the neck to clear the screws would be correct.
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Okay, I'm 100% sure today isn't April 1st, so could you make a photo or video demo of all that with your own bass, to make clear what you're suggesting, please?
 
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