Neck pocket gap due to humidity

[Benjamin666u]

I'd received a hand-made vintage bass recently from a reputatble builder in other country. first when it arrived, i saw the neck pocket gaps and the builder claim it might due to the high humidity exposure during shipment, which cause the body to swell.

i sent it back to change another body. this time they claimed its perfectly fitted while sending out. but when i got it, i still saw gaps between neck and body (arround 1-2mm). the gaps make me feel bad....so i was wondering how could i get rid of them.

one way i come up with is to dry the body ( exposed to low humidity..slighly heat it up??) to see if the body shrinks back to the original size...

did anyone got this experiences??

 

[RattleSnack]

(...) it might due to the high humidity exposure during shipment, which cause the body to swell.

That makes no sense. I don't think body can change size that much in a day or two.

 

[Benjamin666u]

That makes no sense. I don't think body can change size that much in a day or two.

Sorry for not made it clear..bass was shipped from other country, maybe the shipment was around 4 days(??)

Haha..

 

[mdogs]

I think the builder is high! High humidity will cause the wood to swell, not shrink which would make the gap smaller. Tell him to build a bass with a smaller neck pocket. Having said that though, this is not a serious issue.

 

[CharlieB]

I wouldn't let that totally bother me. Some of the Fender basses (and guitars) are similarly fit.

Higher humidity will swell the wood in all directions, making the neck swell, the body swell... and you'll have a tighter fit. This is simply a case of being fit to not the very highest degree of precision.

 

[buldog5151bass]

There is no way there could be that much shrinkage. That's what his patterns are.

 

[gln1955]

I think the builder is high! High humidity will cause the wood to swell, not shrink which would make the gap smaller. Tell him to build a bass with a smaller neck pocket. Having said that though, this is not a serious issue.

Yes. Both the neck wood and body wood would swell a little with very high humidity. If the neck were "perfectly fitted" it might be hard to remove the neck in a high humidity environment.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Negative. What you're seeing is pretty much the orientation between the neck and body and falls in line with other bolt-on configurations. It appears the pickguard butts up against the neck.

May we have a shot of the front, please? I'm curious about the neck / body / string alignment.

Riis

 

[Benjamin666u]

Negative. What you're seeing is pretty much the orientation between the neck and body and falls in line with other bolt-on configurations. It appears the pickguard butts up against the neck.

May we have a shot of the front, please? I'm curious about the neck / body / string alignment.

Riis

Here we go.

 

[Goatrope]

I'd received a hand-made vintage bass recently from a reputatble builder in other country. first when it arrived, i saw the neck pocket gaps and the builder claim it might due to the high humidity exposure during shipment, which cause the body to swell.

i sent it back to change another body. this time they claimed its perfectly fitted while sending out. but when i got it, i still saw gaps between neck and body (arround 1-2mm). the gaps make me feel bad....so i was wondering how could i get rid of them.

one way i come up with is to dry the body ( exposed to low humidity..slighly heat it up??) to see if the body shrinks back to the original size...

did anyone got this experiences??

Sorry. What you’ve been told about the humidity causing this gap is an error. The second attempt makes it clear that the builder has a lower set of standards for what constitutes reasonably good quality.

I hope you get this sorted out. Best to get a discount or a refund.

 

[JRA]

I wouldn't let that totally bother me.

i wouldn't even let it partially bother me!

does the damn thing play?

 

[Zooberwerx]

Here we go.

Thank you. I'll assume you're happy with the string orientation in regards to the fingerboard? One bright note: I doubt you'll have to worry about the finish cracking at the shoulder adjacent to the neck pocket.

One suggestion...and this is your call..would be to slacken the strings, loosen the neck bolts, and gently pull the neck towards the left. It may minimize the gap but the pickguard placement doesn't give us much real estate. It may just be an exercise in futility.

Riis