Your preference for necks??

[Dan Knowlton]

Yes, I prefer that basses have necks...










5-string, 1.875" at the nut, 3/4" spacing at the bridge and either 32", 33",34", 35" or 36" scale! I have a couple of Laklands (1.81" at the nut) and I can really feel the difference - but scale length does not seem to matter to me. BTW - I like either wood or composite necks. Tried a Kramer with an aluminum neck - HATED it, too cold!
Dan

 

[Hoggles]

Wenge #1

Ovangkol #2

Bubinga stringers in both. Frets or Fretless. Not a huge fan of painted or glossed necks. Natural finish preferred. Love the African hardwoods for my basses Sound, feel, look, durability...can't go wrong with African hardwoods The neck on my Thumb NT is perfection in my opinion. Can't wait for the wenge neck in my Ibanez SR1200, that will be at my doorstep next Tuesday I'm also SUPER stoked on the Ovangkol top and it's figuring. I feel I got really lucky with that grain pattern. Couldn't find another that had that much stripping...even in Ibanez's own promo pics for the 1200. Stoked!

 

[bassman10096]

I really like the jazz neck's width and thickness--but I've been in love with the '51 p-bass headstock shape. Can somebody make me one of those?!

You can order the "Tele"/"old P" headstock shape on a Jazz neck from Warmoth. No extra charge.

Oh, and yes - I always like to use a neck.

 

[Hoggles]

You can order the "Tele"/"old P" headstock shape on a Jazz neck from Warmoth. No extra charge.

If your signature is to be believed...I might be the worlds greatest interpretive bass player

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

The Michael Tobias designed asymmetric neck is one of the main reasons that I play MTD basses.

It just works for me. Fits perfectly in my hands.

 

[Duder]

In my very limited experience, I prefer the thin, narrow, fast necks on Ibanez SR series basses. They're just super comfortable.

 

[Mudcat35]

I've found I am more sensitive to neck width and not so much to neck thickness (depth). In general, for a 4-string, I like necks closer to the 1 1/2" width like a jazz or maybe 1 5/8". I'm not as fond of 1 3/4" necks. My 5-string is a 1 3/4" neck, but the string spacing is still narrow, so it works.

 

[bikeplate]

Narrow nut. The rest is up for debate

 

[40Hz]

Here's mine for a 4-string:

Neck: maple or mainly maple laminated with other wood(s). 34.5" scale, standard "modern C-type" profile (but would consider an asymmetric profile), 22mm 1st fret/25mm 12th fret. Angled headstock with straight-pull inline or 2x2 tuners. Any attachment method (bolt-on/set/thru) as long as it's stable - although I probably prefer bolt-on more than the other two. Truss rod accessible without need to remove neck a major plus.

Fingerboard: any (maple/rosewood/ebony/etc.) 1-5/8 at nut, 9.5" fretboard radius (compound radius a possibility). Unbound with side dot markers, and either dot or no neck position markers. (NO block inlay!) Medium jumbo frets. PLEK setup if possible.

I don't play 5-string enough (or any other ESB for that matter) to have arrived at any preferences other than a 35" scale.

Short-scale necks are so buttery to play that I have no preferences at all for those. I'm perfectly happy with whatever is on them if I like the way bass itself sounds.

 

[micguy]

1 11/16 wide, just the right depth (not too deep, not too shallow). Warmoth's P neck with the shorter front to back profile is just about perfect. I have big hands, and even a big P neck isn't big enough to stop my thumb from wrapping when needed ;-). I love roasted maple (stability) with a rosewood fingerboard (mostly looks there). I just got a neck with a roasted maple fingerboard as an experiment. Will I like it? At the price, I sure hope so - I decided it was time for some diversity within my herd, so I'm branching out a bit from the normal stuff and tring a few things on the next build.

 

[JimmyM]

I prefer your basic J neck like the current AmStds have, but I'll play anything. I do prefer a 9 1/4" or better radius over a rounder radius, though.

 

[wmhill]

Maple w/ maple fretboard, 1.5" wide, a 24 frets, with a zero fret, fairly thin and the real ace in the hole : asymmetrical profile. Comfy as it gets!
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[KickingBass]

Ibanez necks are legit! That being said my optimal neck would *big breath* Jazz style Ebony fretboard, maple neck, pearloid block inlays, 24 frets, white binding, Stainless steel jumbo frets, matching matte black headstock, black hipshot ultralight tuner, easy to adjust truss rod (probably at the headstock), graphite stiffening rods, satin finish. whew edit: I've never noticed radius much when it comes to feel so I guess about 10" would be fine.

 

[Burwabit]

Sadowsky 5 neck feels just right to me.
On 4s, I'll play just about anything.

 

[DavC]

i have grown to prefer my current Warmoth Deluxe 5 Jazz necks ... especially the narrower nut versus wider .. have 1 of each ... the most comfy 5 neck profile w/the asymmetrical backside of the neck ... really feels great and easy to play for my old arthritic fingers ...!!

 

[hover]

I've taken a real shine to my Warmoth Goncalo Alves as a neck shaft wood. My P bass has one, and it's just awesome from both feel and tone (don't start).
It has a Pau Ferro board.

I wish to get the same on a 4+1 5 string build, where I may get it bound (with dots), as I am loving the look of that lately.

Either way, J style for 4 strings, 1.75" wide 5's.

 

[Phalex]

I prefer a slimmer neck across the nut, but one that has a fairly round profile front to back. Tung oil is the way to go for the finish on the back of it!

 

[superheavyfunk]

Rosewood, somewhere between a P and a J in terms of nut width, fairly thin 'D' shape profile, and a 7.25 radius, all on a five string neck.

There. Now who wants to build that for me?

 

[ATLbassist]

I tend towards thinner necks with binding and block inlays - think 70s Jazz and Rickenbacker. The tighter spacing and thinner profile make it easier for me to move around. The binding is part aesthetic and part functional; it looks classier to me and it's much easier to see the side marker dots (still need a reference sometimes).

 

[macmanlou]

I love the necks Scott Beckwith makes for his Birdsong basses as well as his own Shortbass. I think the shape is kind of an offset C because my thumb just falls into place where it belongs. My fretless Shortbass is unlined rosewood with side dots only. I also like Mustang necks, especially the MIJ vintage reissue, which has a 7 1/2 degree radius, also rosewood.