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What do I do?.....Bass mod question

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Progress Not Perfection.
Sep 2, 2004
12,524
291
Vancouver, BC Canada
#1
Here's the deal. I just bought a new body to go with my geddy lee jazz neck. I am just so tired of black. The new body is a beautiful cherry burst.

The trouble is the neck pocket is not quite right. There is about a 2 or 3mm gap on the left side. Its really not that big of a deal, but the issue is that the strings are not centred like they should be on the neck. They all need to be shifted up a bit... by up I mean closer to the E side of the neck.

My choice is either move the bridge about 3mm over by redrilling or buy a bridge that has adjustable string spacing.

The jazz body is a "Signature" model and has the ability to be a string thru, which I like. If I redrill I wont be able to use the string thru feature. I could just install a bridge that has adjustable string spacing but some how that seems like its just not the ideal resolution. I want to chose an option that is going to work the best, be reliable and not cause problems in the long run.
 
#2
I would suggest trying to find a bridge that has some adjustment first.
Also, consider having a new nut cut.
Finally, maybe 1/2 (or a 1/8 or 1/16 or whatever)of a millimeter can be taken out by jamming a wedge or shim on the proper side of the neck pocket.

These suggestions are all in an effort to avoid drilling new holes. Besides losing the string-thru option; a distance of 3 mil. (or less) seems too close to the old holes to me. (I could be wrong on this but redrilling would be a last resort for me. I'd carve or file the neck pocket first.)

Hopefully some real builders will chime in!
Good luck with your project!

Chad
 
#3
If I understand your situation, the holes are in the neck and when you tighten the screws your strings are closer to the edge of the fretboard on the G-string side than on the E-string side, and you want to get more of an even margin.

It might not be that big of a deal. Have you tried loosening the neck-to-body screws (loosen the strings first) and shifting the neck to get things to even out? It's like if it's playing position you want the neck-to-body joint to be the fulcrum and pull up on the peghead end of the neck. Then tighten the screws. Hopefully your pickup poles will line up with the strings. If they don't, and there's room in the neck pocket to get a fresh start, you might have to remove the neck, drill out the screw holes with a 3/16" or 1/4" bit, and glue in some wooden dowels. That'll effectively eliminate the holes in the neck in case you need to redrill it to get things to line up.

There are three things to watch; 1) the bridge, 2) the string margin on the fretboard, 3) the pickup poles lining up with the strings.

Assume the bridge is ok for starters and see if you can solve the problem by shifting the neck making sure the pickup poles are ok. If that won't cut it, make a judgement call and see if doweling and redrilling the neck will do it. If that doesn't look like it'll work let us know.

Hopefully you can cheat enough to get it to all line up.
 
#5
Thanks for the suggestions. Moving the neck probably wont work because the gap is on the left side so if I move the neck over to close up the space the strings will be shifted even more to the G side of the neck. Weird I know.

"Finally, maybe 1/2 (or a 1/8 or 1/16 or whatever)of a millimeter can be taken out by jamming a wedge or shim on the proper side of the neck pocket."

I am going to try this as well as getting an adjustable bridge. I agree that redrilling should be my last option. The new nut is an idea too, but its not so easy to mess around with the nut so I think that will be one of the last things I try.

Any other suggestions / comments?
 
#7
Actually, nut's are fairly easy to install, not a piece of cake, but not to bad. I believe that the Geddy has a bone nut (I could be wrong) so if your user title is accurate, you might not want that in there anyway. Graph-tech nuts are my favorite and the black would probably go well with the black inlays
 

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