My first bass was a Teisco del Rey that I paid $40+ tax for in about '68. Didn't have much of an amp, but it was good enough that I kept at it until I stopped playing anything from late '69-'72, when I picked up guitar again. I had sold the bass by that point and didn't buy another until about '87, when I got my SD Curlee with a bad truss rod. I played that for quite a while until it affected my hand and I was too annoyed by the bad intonation that couldn't be compensated for, so I put it away and occasionally thought about what could be done for the neck. A couple of years ago, I found an Ibanez SD400FL fretless and have been playing that. I took the Curlee apart and refinished the body, polished the brass and pondered the neck for a while before hearing that Birdsong is making SD Curlee basses again. After several conversations with Scott, he informed me a few weeks ago that he got a heapin' helping of NOS parts and today, I sent payment for a NOS Curlee neck. It's newer than the SD Curlee days, but the upside is that it won't have the truss rod problems. I don't mind that the SD is missing because it's still an original part, even if it's not technically "period correct". Not like it's super collectible, anyway. Still, it'll be a lot better than cobbling some mess together and honestly, it's not really feasible to spend the money for a new, hand-made neck.