Warmoth standard profile P-bass neck

[mdogs]

I like the standard Warmoth J-bass neck too (except that I prefer "modern" P-bass nut widths). I tend to prefer chunkier profiles on J-basses, but slightly slimmer profiles on P-basses. It's all about how much wood you have to get your hand around.

I have Warmoth standard J neck, that I might trade if you are interested. A couple of things about it, it is roasted maple with a roasted maple fretboard, it has tiny 6035 frets and it has a reverse headstock and it is finished in Tru Oil. It has almost no use on it, I bought it a couple of years ago and I really don't like the standard taper.

 

[kevinpmajka]

My two cents - is if you go for a Warmoth - pay up for the graphite rods. The steel rod is dense and heavy and I felt like I was holding the neck up with my hand. (I bought 3 Warmoth standard P necks in 2020 and have since sold them all).

(Build quality etc from Warmoth was superb)

 

[AK Bass Guy]

It looks like Musikraft no longer offer full laquer finishes, only oil or a thin sealer. This is the ONE thing I'm not equipped to do, even if decided to build the neck myself. I can do a spray can finish in a rather dusty workshop with less than ideal ventilation. I have done it before on a couple of occasions, and it turned out surprisingly nice, but not like a professional factory finish, which is what I want from this neck.

If I want a finished Musikraft neck I would have to wait months for delivery and then ship it somewhere else (probably out of the country) for the finish. In my location this means a lot of customs paperwork. I'm outside the US, and outside the EU too. That's too much hassle, unless I can't find a better option. My only option locally for a professional finish would be auto repair shops, but I tried that once, and the result wasn't quite as nice as I had hoped for.

Musikraft's Fender Custom Shop neck profiles look interesting, but the one that looks like my best option (60s oval C) is only .79" at the 1st fret, which is the same as the Warmoth slim profile that I don't like. The Musikraft 60s neck does look slightly more "rounded" though, and also gets significantly thicker than the Warmoth higher up the neck so I guess it might work. I love the 1.600" nut width option. That's more or less the same as my BB, and for me that's the perfect sweetspot between a "modern" Fender P-bass and a J-bass. But no finish.... that's probably a dealbreaker for me.

I know I said I'm not picky about neck profiles/widths , but if I order an expensive custom made neck to replace a neck that didn't feel right, I want it to be perfect.

USACG isn't an option unfortunately. I want a rosewood fretboard and they won't ship rosewood necks outside the US. I though this wasn't a problem anymore, after the exceptions for musical instruments&parts were implemented in the CITES appendix...??? Everyone else seem to be shipping rosewood necks/instruments internationally without any additional customs paperwork or export/import licenses.

WD necks are not an option, the ones I've tried were extremely poor quality, and also extremely chunky.

Allparts MIJ necks look interesting, but they only have one rosewood P-bass neck. It has a compound 7.25"-10" fretboard, which isn't what I want, and also .092" at the 1st fret, which is too chunky for my idea of a perfect neck.

At this point my best options seems are probably to either build a neck myself (which I really don't want to) and ship it somewhere for a professional laquer finish, or to accept a 38 mm nut width and get a Warmoth standard profile J-bass neck. I like the Warmoth "standard" J-bass neck, but ideally I want a nut width around 40-41 mm (and a 9.5"-10" radius) for this particular bass. Basically something that sits somethere between a Fender AmPro and a Yamaha BBP34. Most available replacement necks with "modern" P-bass nut widths seem to be either considerably more chunky, or too slim front-to-back.

Forgot about this, but Warmoth does make 41mm nut.
Here is a Roasted they have in stock now.

Roasted doesn’t need a hard finish. You could do a Howard Feed ‘n’ Wax like I did.

Or have one made to order with a finish but that will be a bit of a wait.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Forgot about this, but Warmoth does make 41mm nut.
Here is a Roasted they have in stock now.
View attachment 7001879
View attachment 7001880
Roasted doesn’t need a hard finish. You could do a Howard Feed ‘n’ Wax like I did.
View attachment 7001881
Or have one made to order with a finish but that will be a bit of a wait.

I know. Unfortunately my problem isn't with the nut width but the front-to-back thickness of the neck .The slim profile neck I got was 41 mm, but the rather flat profile (it doesn't really feel like a C-profile at all IMO) makes it feel wider than it actually is. Based on the listed specs I had expected to like this neck, but unfortunately it turned out to be one of VERY few necks I've played that actually hurt my hands. I even ordered it with tall frets, which adds a tiny but of perceived front-to-back thickness, but the back of the neck is just too flat for my hands. It feels like I need to use more force to fret the notes cleanly.

Warmoth's standard profile P-bass neck is considerably deeper front-to-back. Based on the listed specs it should feel noticeably more chunky than a Fender AmPro. That's probably slightly on the chunky side for me, even with the 41 mm nut width.

My perfect neck is the Yamaha BBP34 (which actually has a 40 mm nut width, so a tiny step towards a J-bass nut width) but I also love Fender's AmPro necks (which are close to 41 mm and deeper front-to-back than the BB).

So to sum it up:

-Warmoth's slim profile P-bass neck is considerably slimmer front-to-back than the BBP34.
-Warmoth's standard profile P-bass neck is slightly chunkier than a Fender AmPro.

Which means they're both outside my neck profile "sweetspot", which isn't really THAT narrow. There's a huge difference between the BB and the AmPro, which I both like.

I wish Warmoth would offer a P-bass neck that's closer to a classic "modern" (41 mm) Fender C-profile, or SLIGHTLY slimmer. But unfortunately they don't. The same seems to be the case with most aftermarket necks, except maybe Musikraft, but then I will have to sort out the finish myself...

 

[Deleted member 271037]

My two cents - is if you go for a Warmoth - pay up for the graphite rods. The steel rod is dense and heavy and I felt like I was holding the neck up with my hand. (I bought 3 Warmoth standard P necks in 2020 and have since sold them all).

(Build quality etc from Warmoth was superb)

Good point, but weight isn't the issue here. It's all about the neck profile and the front-to-back thickness of the neck. I've already got graphite rods in both my Warmoth necks. The build quality of the necks is absolutely superb (certainly a LOT better than Fender necks!!!). I'm just not comfortable with that slim profile P-bass neck.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I have Warmoth standard J neck, that I might trade if you are interested. A couple of things about it, it is roasted maple with a roasted maple fretboard, it has tiny 6035 frets and it has a reverse headstock and it is finished in Tru Oil. It has almost no use on it, I bought it a couple of years ago and I really don't like the standard taper.

Thanks for the offer, but I've already got a Warmoth standard neck on a different P-bass. I actually like that neck a lot, but I prefer a wider nut width, around 40-41 mm.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Why do you want a lacquer finish? You can achieve very durable finishes with oil/wax finishes. They do require some maintenance, though. And if you are even considering building your own neck, I'd think you have the skills to also shape a chunkier neck to a profile you like.

I want a gloss lacquer finish because I prefer a gloss lacquer finish, it's as simple as that. If the neck is absolutely perfect I don't mind a satin finish. The BBP34 that I've mentioned, which is my favorite bass ever, actually has a satin neck. But I don't like oiled/waxed necks. It's just a matter of personal taste.

Yes, I could certainly get a chunkier neck and scrape/sand it down to my preferred profile, but again: That would require a re-finish, which I'm not capable of doing myself. At least not to the standard of a factory gloss finish that I ideally want. I scrape/sand necks for customers all the time, but only if they will accept either an oiled neck or a sanded/polished spray can finish (which usually turns out quite nice, but I'm not looking for "nice" here, I'm looking for perfection).

 

[Minimalist]

I want a gloss lacquer finish because I prefer a gloss lacquer finish, it's as simple as that. If the neck is absolutely perfect I don't mind a satin finish. The BBP34 that I've mentioned, which is my favorite bass ever, actually has a satin neck. But I don't like oiled/waxed necks. It's just a matter of personal taste.

Yes, I could certainly get a chunkier neck and scrape/sand it down to my preferred profile, but again: That would require a re-finish, which I'm not capable of doing myself. At least not to the standard of a factory gloss finish that I ideally want. I scrape/sand necks for customers all the time, but only if they will accept either an oiled neck or a sanded/polished spray can finish (which usually turns out quite nice, but I'm not looking for "nice" here, I'm looking for perfection).

I think tru-oil can give you a high gloss finish, but I don't know how durable it is.

 

[AK Bass Guy]

I know. Unfortunately my problem isn't with the nut width but the front-to-back thickness of the neck .The slim profile neck I got was 41 mm, but the rather flat profile (it doesn't really feel like a C-profile at all IMO) makes it feel wider than it actually is. Based on the listed specs I had expected to like this neck, but unfortunately it turned out to be one of VERY few necks I've played that actually hurt my hands. I even ordered it with tall frets, which adds a tiny but of perceived front-to-back thickness, but the back of the neck is just too flat for my hands. It feels like I need to use more force to fret the notes cleanly.

Warmoth's standard profile P-bass neck is considerably deeper front-to-back. Based on the listed specs it should feel noticeably more chunky than a Fender AmPro. That's probably slightly on the chunky side for me, even with the 41 mm nut width.

My perfect neck is the Yamaha BBP34 (which actually has a 40 mm nut width, so a tiny step towards a J-bass nut width) but I also love Fender's AmPro necks (which are close to 41 mm and deeper front-to-back than the BB).

So to sum it up:

-Warmoth's slim profile P-bass neck is considerably slimmer front-to-back than the BBP34.
-Warmoth's standard profile P-bass neck is slightly chunkier than a Fender AmPro.

Which means they're both outside my neck profile "sweetspot", which isn't really THAT narrow. There's a huge difference between the BB and the AmPro, which I both like.

I wish Warmoth would offer a P-bass neck that's closer to a classic "modern" (41 mm) Fender C-profile, or SLIGHTLY slimmer. But unfortunately they don't. The same seems to be the case with most aftermarket necks, except maybe Musikraft, but then I will have to sort out the finish myself...

Got it. Unfortunately Warmoth offers a lot less options for bass necks than guitar necks, don’t know why. If it was me in your situation I’d buy the standard profile and sand it down to the shape I liked, but I totally understand not wanting to take the time to do it. Sometimes you just want to buy what you want and not have modify it to your needs. I might modify a neck by sanding it I kinda enjoy that. But I HATE having to apply any type of chemical finish on anything anymore. If it needs to have a hard finish I just buy it that way.

Good luck on your search.
If you can’t find a finished neck to your liking your only option might be to buy a parts bass that has the neck you want and sell off the rest of the parts. Kinda sucks doing it that way though.

 

[kevinpmajka]

Another solid option here would be to get an Allparts neck unfinished - so you can shape it or finished. The only bummer is that they do not offer roasted maple bass necks all the time. They have at some times, but it's typical Fender Japan neck quality without the logo. (PRO or PRF models come to mind). I had a fretless neck and it was big (fretless P neck).

Bloomdoom or MJT could do the neck finishing for you - and they both offer Allparts I believe. (Not affiliated)

 

[Old Fart]

I have data. In millimeters. Knowing there are no showrooms where I can hold a Warmoth neck in my hands before buying (I live less than an hour from their shop where they don't allow walk-ins), I bought one. I am considering whether to keep it. It was off the shelf with a nice dark Ebony board. Standard P nut width ( 1 11/16" ) and standard neck profile. Candidly, as I expected, the fretboard edges are too sharp for my taste but I ordered this with no nut or frets so that I can round that edge by sanding. I am deciding whether to keep it, so I did some measuring to compare it with three basses I have. A Tony Franklin Fretless, a 2004 American Standard and a 2012 AVRI '63. Thickness measurements were taken just barely on the nut side of where the first fret is or would be. Width measurements were taken just barely on the 1st fret side of the nut slot. These are all Precision basses, of course.

There were some surprises. As you can see, the thinnest front-to-back is the '63 AVRI. This is often thought to be a baseball bat neck, which happens to also have the 7 1/4" radius fretboard. I would have bet heavily against this finding.

The thickest neck, front-to-back is the Warmoth. Warmoth's own spec reports this neck should be 22 mm. It is thicker than that. Sure, only 0.8 mm, which is not much, but some of you guys know what a difference one millimeter can make. The measurement is basically the same at both sides of the 1st fret nut slot (44.8 and 44.75).

The width of this neck is nowhere near the standard width for a standard P. It is closer to the '63 AVRI width ( 1 3/4" ) than to the standard P width ( 1 5/8" ). Indeed, I fished a genuine Fender pre-slotted Precision nut blank from my box of toys and indeed this neck slot is around (actually, exactly) 2 mm wider than 1 5/8" and wider than this nut blank. As discussed above, while this is only about 2 mm too wide, IT'S TOO WIDE.

And so it seems that Warmoth is licensed to make Fender necks but it appears this just means the headstock shape. I don't know why Warmoth P necks are simply not made to a regular Fender P width and thickness spec. It could be they are prohibited from doing so under their arrangemement with Fender. And if so, then also probably prohibited from disclosing that.

I think it is wrong to put a Fender waterslide on the headstock of a neck that is not a Fender, and these sharp differences between Fender and Warmoth specs and profiles make that doubly wrong. In my view.

I like my Am Std neck profile, which is nearly the same as the TF profile which is also dreamy. But I also don't hate the '63 AVRI neck with its 1 3/4" width and 7 1/4" radius. I have ten days to request a return ticket and I will spend that time evaluating this neck without installing it or making ANY modifications whatsoever. This is a condition of returning it for a refund. I will consider further whether to keep it. I want a neck that has small ("vintage" or smaller) frets. This neck is unfinished and I would put an oil finish on it. The necks with the best action are the old ones with the lacquer worn off, or the ones that were finished with oil in the first place. Lacquer and poly finishes are quite sticky, IMHO.

I digress. I just thought this thread would benefit from some data, since the topic here (and the thread title) is Warmoth standard profile P-bass neck.

 

[Old Fart]

Note: I just learned something. I imagined that Warmoth "P" necks are all 1 11/16". This is untrue. I just happened to see only this width on in-stock necks. They also come in 1 5/8".

 

[AK Bass Guy]

Note: I just learned something. I imagined that Warmoth "P" necks are all 1 11/16". This is untrue. I just happened to see only this width on in-stock necks. They also come in 1 5/8".

Depends on when you are looking. Last month they had a good selection of the 2 PBass nut width in stock. The Jazz nut width is probably their most popular and those are always in stock.
As of now they have 2 left handed 1 5/8” and 1 Tele headstock right handed 1 5/8” in stock.

Check out this left handed fretless rosewood on rosewood they have in stock.

 

[non]

For what it is worth, I have a warmoth p bass with a slim tapper jazz neck. It feels right in between my 1986 MIJ squire jazz bass and my ibby sr600.