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Double Bass Replacement necks

eh_train

eh_train

Supporting Member
Commercial User
Jan 12, 2004
1,493
1,270
Toronto
www.standupguybasses.com
Disclosures
Owner, Stand Up Guy Basses (Repair/Sell/Buy upright basses)
#1
Hi,
Has anyone bought one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-4-upright-bas...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca69d5c99

If so, was it worth the money, or not?

The reason I ask is because I want to replace a neck on a lower quality carved bass. I'm no pro luthier, but have put quite a few ply basses back into commission (e.g, reset necks, reglued scroll breaks, reglued a bass bar, carved replacement bridges).

I realize a new neck is more ambitious (and I might even need to do it twice to get it right -no worries, it's all part of the fun!). Given the choice between the above and a better quality one (e.g, Metropolatin Music's $250 offering), which way would you go?

Thanks for any advice,

Paul (eh_train)
 
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#3
Paul, why not carve your own scroll from scratch? It will take a bit longer, but it's really fun and not all that complicated.

The carving on that ebay neck is a quite rough, and the foot is just a raw block, so you've got a lot of work to do anyway to shape that so it fits into a block mortise.
 
#4
Hi Jake, hi Matthew,

Thanks for the wise words of advice. It's a busted up German shop bass that could be brought back to life. It at least deserves a neck that's straight.

Matthew, I get, in theory, how doing it from scratch could be fun. BUT, right now I have so little extra time that I will probably go with something like this: Invalid Link Removed
With the first 80% done, I might finish it within a few months.

Cheers,

Paul
 
#5
Would a neck graph take less time, and look better in the end? Or, could heat treating, and carbon fiber inserts, straighten out the warped neck?

Saving the original scroll, could be more ascetically pleasing and, you would not have to drill out for the tuners!
 
#9
Hi all,

Thanks for keeping this interesting! I like the lions head scroll, although it's a little grandiose for a German shop bass. Also, 350 Euros.

CT, thanks for your post. It's not actually a warped neck, it's a partial neck. So now I'll post more info. and a pic., then consider any further advice. If there's any reasonable way to graft on a scroll, I'd be delighted to hear of it!

You'll see that the body/neck joint is completely intact, and that about 2/3 of the neck is still present - all but the last couple of inches and the scroll. Might it be possible to attach new wood where it's missing (the last bit of the neck and the scroll), perhaps with an angled join and carbon fibre reinforcement? Many cheaper electric guitar necks are built with an angled join (how do I put in one of those "ducking" icons - I know I'm asking for trouble comparing upright bass luthiery with electric guitar construction).

I know it wouldn't be pretty, but could it function?? I have a nice thick ebony fingerboard that would also lend some strength where the join was made.

My rationale for even considering this is that the bottom of the neck is still nicely seated in the body. If I can let go of this, however, then just installing an entirely new neck probably makes most sense.

Comments?
 

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#10
Sure - a person could add to the existing neck stub with a long scarf joint backed up with a 1/4" x 1/2" carbon fibre reinforcement- you could add just that portion that you need. Its fairly straightforward woodworking, bearing in mind that your angles will need to be perfect to keep the neck straight and your plane wicked sharp to slice the mating surfaces!

I think Traeger has some guidelines in 'The Book'. I'm assuming you have 'The Book'...
 
#11
In my beginner luthier opinion, repairing the neck with a scarf joint (the name of the type of joint you described) would be way easier than trying to reset the neck joint, which might be the most difficult task in lutherie. Search "scarf joint" on this site to get an idea of how it's done, and it's O.K. to look at the EB side, the basic idea is the same. If you have the original scroll, you should consider trying to save it. Check out the upton site, they have a cool picture of a scroll graft in progress.
 
#12
Thanks, all, for your advice! Jake, I do have 'The Book' and will refer to it again. Unfortunately, I got the bass without the scroll. I might check Ebay for something of the correct vintage, or (gulp) consider carving a replacement part!

Cheers,
Paul (Eh_train)
 
#13
You are better off buying a replacement neck from Metropolitan music-internationalviolin etc... I bought one neck from this company and the neck was funny!! Had a hairline crack down the middle plus it was very thin etc... hOPE THIS HELPS
 
#16
With out a scroll, it may be better to replace the whole neck.

What is the overstand? and the projected bridge hight? this could be a golden opportunity to correct any playability issues with the bass.

If you are not saving the neck "stump", it would be easy to detach it from the bass.
 
#17
Paul, yes I still have my day job, and that is where I sleep!

You neck isn't really a candidate for scarf graft, because its so highly flamed the graft will be painfully visible.

But there's a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], never been used, at the Contrabasse Shoppe ... you could always make them an offer for it ;-)
 

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