pbass body short scale conversion

[simpsoda]

A few questions. Can a regular p-bass body be converted to a short scale? I was considering a 30" bronco neck, or 32" warmoth shortscale.

I already bought a mij pbass body! Plan on refinishing, so would be able to do woodwork as necessary!

I'm more experienced with woodworking, than with bass. Just started learning, and in need of expert advice on what is needed to fit one of the above mentioned short scale necks?

One person mentioned offsetting the neck slightly by using a shim?

Also, not sure if the bridge or pickups have to be moved?

Thanks!

 

[johnk_10]

the bronco neck is much narrower so you'd have to fill or shim the sides of the neck pocket for a good fit. the bridge would have to be moved forward (to allow for the shorter scale length) and the pickup's pole pieces would also be spaced too wide in the standard configuration. you could mount a p bass's pickups a little closer together and probably could make it work though.

 

[simpsoda]

Thanks for the information John.
I have one follow up question. Does the bridge need to be moved for short scale, because of string length or necessary for the sound?

 

[wyliee]

FYI, the 30" and 32" Warmoth necks have a narrower heel than a standard 34" Fender style neck. You'll find basic specs here: Invalid Link Removed

You'd need to rebuild the neck pocket if you wanted to use one on a full size body.

 

[selowitch]

Since you can just order a matching body from Warmoth, trying to reverse-engineer a long-scale body into a medium- or short-scale project is probably not worth it. You may not like the results.