Warped Neck

Jazz bass? I went through a batch of those about that vintage. Finally sold em all


Maybe someone will want that neck as a project to practice on

 

If you like the bass otherwise, maybe put a warmoth or neck from @BeeTL

 

The Warmoth is a pretty nice neck. Ya wont save money over a replacement USA Fender neck, and they're more than a replacement MIM neck, but better quality, sturdier, more stable, than either of those. And you get to pick the wood, the fretboard, the nut, and the size and material of the frets. They offer reams for your tuners, so its really almost painless (except the moola)

 

Other than the neck problem, do you like the bass? You could have it repaired. It sounds like it needs a fingerboard resurfacing and refretting.

 

Would you want to put the money of a resurface and refret into a MIM neck.... and hope it stays put, or put the same or similar moola into a better neck that _will_ stay put?

 

That's a reasonable question, but you can look at it the other way too.

Most necks do the bulk of their moving and warping in the first year, and then settle in. There are exceptions, of course, but necks that have serious long-term warpage in their DNA will still do most of it in the first year or two. Rarely does a neck stay stable for some years, then suddenly beginning warping badly. Unless they've been been badly externally abused, like being in a flood.

That's why we Luthiers usually set our neck wood strips aside on a shelf for a year or so before using them. If the strip doesn't do anything crazy in a year, then we're pretty confident that they will behave forever.

In this case, what the OP is describing sounds pretty minor. Dips in two spots doesn't sound to me like serious throw-it-away warpage. It may even be able to be fixed with just a fret leveling. The neck is four years old, and that's how much it moved. The most likely case is that it's now fully settled in and won't move any more. You know its history.

If you buy a new freshly-made neck, it may or may not have settled in. Generally, the higher the cost/quality level, the lower the risk of it warping. But, it's an unknown, what will happen as it ages.

If you buy a 5+ year old neck that's nice and straight as you buy it, that's the least risk. It's unlikely that it will suddenly start warping.

That's the question: Spend $300 fixing a neck of known history, or spend $300 or more on another neck, guessing at the risk.

These are things to consider. I just hate to see guys automatically declare that a bass or a neck is Total Junk That Must Be Thrown Away.

 

Thanks for the mention!

Other than finished, ready to install 32" scale conversion necks, I'm not selling replacement necks.

@Bruce Johnson makes a valid point in that the neck may be of value to someone as a project, if not @Bass.

 

Warpedneck.com

 

Where are you at? Hard to believe a couple of days of cold did that.

Another idea: pull out the frets yourself and fill in the slots. Then set the neck very level and sand it flat (but keeping the radius). You can get a nice long sanding block at an auto body place (about 2’). Then you can step through various grits easily. You’ll have a nice, stable fretless neck that still has the fender logo.

Otherwise if you’re near Calgary come see me and I’ll trade you a nice fretted mighty mite maple neck for it and I’ll do the above myself.