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SX Necks

I tried putting an MIM Fender fretless Jazz neck on an SX P-bass copy, and it didn't work. The neck pockets weren't the same width, but, more importantly, the screw holes didn't line up. I thought they would from a quick visual check, and figured the measurements would be standard -- but no, the holes were a couple millimeters off. Even if the screw pattern had matched, the Fender neck may not have worked because the SX holes aren't centered relative to the neck's width.

So I bought all Fender parts to go with the neck intended for the SX. I'm out a few hundred, but I'll have an unusual Fender P-bass with fretless J neck, constructed from new MIM parts with an American Series pickup.
 
FreeSpirit said:
Nedmundo-I wouldn't expect that to fit, because you are going from a jazz bass to a persicion. The two necks even if both are made by fender are different sizes. I am looking to go from jazz bass to jazz bass. Looks like I will have to try now, i'll see how it goes.
actually lots of people put jazz necks on precisions and vise versa, I'm pretty sure fender made necks will fit just fine with basses.
 
Fender J and P necks do usually interchage with no issues as the pocket dimensions are the same for both. The same applies to SX J and P necks being able to swap with each other.

I don't think there's been a general consensus on whether SX necks fit Fenders and vice versa. Some people say they do, some say they don't. Fender necks should fit in SX pockets because SX neck pockets are wider (2 9/16 vs 2 1/2), but there may be gaps on the sides, and as mentioned above, screw holes may not line up. This can be fixed because it is just wood that can be filled and re-drilled, but it depends how much effort you want to put into it.
 
If all you want to do is see how your MIM Fender sounds as a fretless, go to a large music store and try a fretless Fender.

If the necks aren't interchangeable, make your SX more Fenderlike by putting in Fender replacement pickups.
 
Dang this is disappointing. I was hoping to do a clean no hassle swap.
I have Fender jazz bass deluxe, but I wanted to put a maple/maple SX jazz neck on it (with in-lays)... then move the Fender maple/rosewood neck to the '75 style SX ash (wood) body.

I planned to make the Fender deluxe sort of like a Geddy and make an interesting fretless with the SX bod/ Fender neck.

Any advice on how to tackle this?
Do I need to adjust the relief before taking the necks off?


I've been playing a while, but never ventured into alterations and advanced setups.
 
dave120 said:
Fender J and P necks do usually interchage with no issues as the pocket dimensions are the same for both. The same applies to SX J and P necks being able to swap with each other.

I don't think there's been a general consensus on whether SX necks fit Fenders and vice versa. Some people say they do, some say they don't. Fender necks should fit in SX pockets because SX neck pockets are wider (2 9/16 vs 2 1/2), but there may be gaps on the sides, and as mentioned above, screw holes may not line up. This can be fixed because it is just wood that can be filled and re-drilled, but it depends how much effort you want to put into it.

I've done all of the research for this using several different SX necks, Warmoth necks, and several Fender bodies. Search for my lengthy treatise on the subject.
 
Hambone said:
I've done all of the research for this using several different SX necks, Warmoth necks, and several Fender bodies. Search for my lengthy treatise on the subject.

Oh trust me your posts have been regular reading material for me Hambone :)

It's a big part of the reason I decided to hot rod my SX is because of how good a platform you say it is for those things, and you're right!