Replacing the neck vs. selling the bass?

[steamthief]

Well, I like the vintage white paint job, and the sound from the pickups, and the ano pickguard, and the old school spiral bridge. I like the history I have with my bass, too. The minute I saw it, then played it, I was in love. This is the bass I used in my first band. This is the bass I've learned to play on.

But now there's times I look at it and start thinking about cramping in my left hand, and the fact I'm thinking about that instead of rockin' my P/J is sad.

 

[sturoc]

Many good opinions. I do think that keeping the original neck if there are issues is a wise idea.
Having a Squire Vintage Fretless I don't care on the matter of devaluing the instrument, for others that all depends on current bass value.
Am considering putting an unlined neck on it for a cleaner look. Probably an aftermarket neck.
Anyone done this with a Squire bass, any issues ?

 

[oswah]

Man basses are like women, you can have a lot of history with one of them but when something is not right or doen't feel right, maybe it's just time to move on. We might try to fix things thou cos' they might seem fixable, but dude bad habits die hard, is up to you man, it's your heart XD

 

[BillyIVbass]

I have a California Series P and it is my favorite P-bass by far. I have a few MIAs 2 MIJs and 2 homebuilt Ps. I have a regular 20 fret neck non-Fender neck on mine. I walked into a steal on a really thick P-bass neck. I'm weird and like a thicker neck. The swap was simple with no hold ups.

 

[steamthief]

BillyIVbass, what you say is why I don't want to get rid of my bass. You had the Jazz neck on yours prior to swapping? Any tonal changes apparent?

 

[BillyIVbass]

I have tried a few necks. I honestly don't believe a neck has much of any tonal changes other than if it sits tight in the neck pocket vs, a loose fit.

I know you will kick yourself later if you ditch this bass. Mighty Mite makes a great neck for $100. All of your hardware from the Fender should transfer easy to a MM neck.

 

[jeff62]

Wow... sure lots of angst over a neck. It's pretty darn easy to put the original neck back on if you figure out that you don't like the replacement. While there's always a chance you may not like the replacement, there's an equal chance that you'll like it better than the original. Go for it!

 

[SnakeKappele]

Wow... sure lots of angst over a neck. It's pretty darn easy to put the original neck back on if you figure out that you don't like the replacement. While there's always a chance you may not like the replacement, there's an equal chance that you'll like it better than the original. Go for it!

+1

 

[Pilgrim]

The neck is key in my experience, it is the soul of a bass. It won't be the same after, so look elsewhere for your 'one'.

I disagree...that's a very individual statement that many people would not agree with.

A neck is a neck. I have 10 basses, all with different necks, and there's nothing magic about any of them. To me, balance and setup are more important than any particular measurements or finish of the neck. You can trade necks as you need to on a bass with bolt-on neck, and lose nothing. Put the original neck back on if you want - taking it off and trying another neck won't hurt a thing.

 

[hachi kid]

if you're wondering about replacing the neck, or not, try out a mighty might or USAGC neck, something affordable and good while keeping the original neck. if things don't feel right, it's only $100, and you can sell the neck to recoup some of the losses. but it's better to regret something you did then regret something you didn't do... i.e., replacing the neck and finding out it's not for you, instead of selling this bass, and looking for other basses altogether.

 

[Human Bass]

I love swapping necks! specially since im lefty. I recently installed a fretless (granadillo scale) 7-laminated (grumixava, mahogany, mapuranga) with a 2x2 turners and arrangement and extreme D profile in my MIA Deluxe Jazz.

A neck worlds apart from the original, and I like the bass more now.

 

[steamthief]

Wow... sure lots of angst over a neck. It's pretty darn easy to put the original neck back on if you figure out that you don't like the replacement. While there's always a chance you may not like the replacement, there's an equal chance that you'll like it better than the original. Go for it!

LOL, I know, big drama! Too much time on my hands, I suppose. It's just something I've never done before, and for anything new, I try and research the heck out of it before acting.

I'm going to try a new neck.

 

[spufman]

Well yeah, the "in my experience" bit identified it as a very individual statement! We all get different things out of basses in different ways.

 

[StyleOverShow]

Well said

The neck is 99% of an axe - if you're no happy with the neck, what's to like about the rest?

Well, the pups for instance. Had a vintage Gibson Ripper with an ebony fingerboard. Lovely to look at and comfortable to play, BUT the wide body and shallow curve made it difficult to play sitting down AND the single coil pups with the chicken head selector switch never really produced a sound that I was comfortable with.

So there are other questions to "what's to like about the rest".

The discussion seems to be around whether a bass is a monolithic piece of equipment or are parts inter-changeable. Seems like so much of the talk here is about swapping out pups and necks that if done properly it is more than possible and perhaps even desirable?