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thinning the neck? Possible

bryanonbass

bryanonbass

Supporting Member
May 13, 2001
1,068
168
Northern NJ
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#1
I just got in a warmoth p-j with gorgeous birdseye maple neck with ebony board and tele headstock.

Unfortunately the neck is too wide for my tastes.

Is it worth it to try and get this neck thinned down to jazz specs or should i just sell it and get buy one? The issue is I have no extra cash to get the same neck just in jazz profile.

2 luthiers that I spoke with came up on opposite sides. 1 can do it for fairly cheap and 1 said it will cost like 400-500 and is not worth it for him.

any suggestions?
 
#3
DON'T THIN THE NECK. TRUST ME.

Doesn't matter how professionally done it is, eventually the neck will weaken and warp. When that happens, you're out of the money it cost to buy the neck, as well as the money it cost to have it thinned. From there, it's VERY hard to get your money back by selling it.

Your best bet would be to sell the neck you have, and buy a fresh one.
 
#7
Since you're thinking of replacing the neck anyway have you thought of trying the mod yourself?

I've narrowed several necks down to J width and re-profiled the back of those and several other necks.
 
#9
1 of the luthiers is somewhat local. I have never used him but he comes with great references. The other guy is on the other side of the country, but is super, mega highly regarded. But I am leaning towards BG's opinion. I would not want to be out any more money than necessary. So maybe I should sell and buy. Probably not get a neck as nice as this, but don't want to end up paying double you know.
 
#13
yeah thats why i love TB.

I was saying head over to the LUTHIERS FORUM. :p
Someone there would probably help you out should you decide to try this on your own. Heck if you don't you could possibly find someone who could make a neck for you.

But its really not as hard as nailing a nail straight. It's more like cutting grass with a blade.
 
#15
What! That is how you customize a neck. If you want to take it down to a Jazz size taper equally from both sides and from end to end. Use a file to soften the edge and fret ends before sanding. Mark the width at the nut. Use a straight edge, calipers, a ruler with 1/64 increments, and eye-ball to keep the measurements on the mark.

It really isn't that hard once you get past the tooling stage and start seeing the finishing results. You are only removing at most a 1/32 off each side. There are no structural risks.

I do speak from experience. Invalid Link Removed
 
#16
Les Claypool had this done a couple years back to his Rainbow bass. Thompson and Mike Browne did the work. Now that Browne's on his own, maybe you should contact him about it.
 
#17
TAZ said:
What! That is how you customize a neck. If you want to take it down to a Jazz size taper equally from both sides and from end to end. Use a file to soften the edge and fret ends before sanding. Mark the width at the nut. Use a straight edge, calipers, a ruler with 1/64 increments, and eye-ball to keep the measurements on the mark.

It really isn't that hard once you get past the tooling stage and start seeing the finishing results. You are only removing at most a 1/32 off each side. There are no structural risks.

I do speak from experience. Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...


Taz, all due respect, but *** did you just say?
Is that Klingon?

seriously thats how bad I am with tools
 

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