difficulty finding a replacement neck

[hags2k]

So I've got this MIM Fender Jazz Bass V that I've had sitting around for a while, not knowing what to do with it. I bought it from a guy I used to work with, and it seemed like he had barely touched the thing, and kept it in a nice case. It still looks brand new, in fact.

 

There's one fatal flaw I didn't find out until much later. When I bought the thing, I had assumed that like most people who are just "kinda" interested in the instrument, he'd never bothered to adjust or have it properly set up. The action was high, but not unbelievable. So, I carefully made a slight truss rod adjustment (1/8 turn max), and waited a few days. Nothing. Did it again, waiting a week this time. Nothing. I repeated this process over the course of the next couple months, making sure not to go to far and to always give the neck a chance to flex in between adjustments.

 

I eventually tightened it as far as it would go. Figuring that perhaps the thing had been cranked before and the wood compressed, I removed the nut and put a couple washers in the slot, a method that had allowed me to adjust a 4 string Jazz bass the previous year with great results. After a few more months, the nut hit bottom again, and even though the neck seemed to temporarily straighten out on many occasions, it seemed to "slip" back to its original position after just a couple days.

 

I figure the rod's broken. Crap.

 

I've been looking for replacement parts, and though I've found numerous 22 fret replacement necks on ebay and through mail-order sites like Warmoth.com, the neck currently installed is a 20 fret neck, and I'm hesitant to start cutting up the body to make a different size neck fit.

 

Anyone have some suggestions? If it comes to it, I'd probably even be willing to sell it for parts. I really only use a 5 string occasionally, and I've been contemplating investing in a used Ibanez SR-405 as a replacement, a bass I've enjoyed playing but can also be had for VERY little scratch.

 

The bass IS in wonderful condition otherwise, and looks brand new. It sounds great, but the action is just too high to be played now. I put a super-light set of strings on, selecting each string individually to get as light of a gauge as possible. Still, too high and tough to intonate as well.

 

Any thoughts?

[kenfxj]

This might work.

 

ebay 20 fret p-bass neck

 

$75.95 by MightyMite.

[hags2k]

Ah, yeah, the mighty-mite neck might fit, but from what I can tell the measurements at the heel are a little different. Plus, I'd have to get a new nut (not a big deal) and new tuners (slightly bigger deal) for it, since nothing from my current neck would fith that one.

 

It's less work than making the other jazz necks fit, but it still involves carving up the body, which would seriously hurt whatever value there is left in the body (if I were to sell it for parts). I also don't have any of the required tools for a job like that.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, though. I had considered that. Those necks always show up when doing an ebay search for "fender bass neck 5", which I've been doing a lot lately :-)

[Rocky McDougall]

My suggestion is to buy a MIM V off of ebay that has a good neck but the body may be a little beat up. Put that neck on your bass since it is in such nice contition. Sell the other body on Ebay. You should be able to buy a bass for $250 - $300. You should be able to sell the body on Ebay for $150 to $200. This could result in you getting the correct neck for about $100. I would not put an aftermarket neck on your bass as it would make it hard to sell in the future.The reason I suggested this is that 5 string necks are hard to find. Who ever buys your extra body could use it as a 4 or 5 string bass. You could get more for it if you sold all parts seperatly. Sell the body, pickgard, electronics, bridge all seperately. Also try to buy a guitar with a nice case. Keep the case, it could be worth $50 - $75 which out put you in the deal at much reduced cost.

Rocky

[jcadmus]

Before you go to the expense of buying a new neck though, you might want to take it to a qualified repairman and get a second opinion -- he'll probably look it over for nothing.

 

And if does find a problem that's fixable, it will most likely be cheaper than buying a new neck.

[hags2k]

Originally posted by Rocky3840:

My suggestion is to buy a MIM V off of ebay that has a good neck but the body may be a little beat up. Put that neck on your bass since it is in such nice contition. Sell the other body on Ebay. You should be able to buy a bass for $250 - $300. You should be able to sell the body on Ebay for $150 to $200. This could result in you getting the correct neck for about $100. I would not put an aftermarket neck on your bass as it would make it hard to sell in the future.The reason I suggested this is that 5 string necks are hard to find. Who ever buys your extra body could use it as a 4 or 5 string bass. You could get more for it if you sold all parts seperatly. Sell the body, pickgard, electronics, bridge all seperately. Also try to buy a guitar with a nice case. Keep the case, it could be worth $50 - $75 which out put you in the deal at much reduced cost.

Rocky

Those are some excellent suggestions. I hadn't really considered getting another instrument to swap parts with. Also a good idea to sell everything separately. It's a little more work, but I think you're right that it would be more lucrative that way.

[hags2k]

Originally posted by jcadmus:

Before you go to the expense of buying a new neck though, you might want to take it to a qualified repairman and get a second opinion -- he'll probably look it over for nothing.

 

And if does find a problem that's fixable, it will most likely be cheaper than buying a new neck.

That's probably true for most repairs, but even really nice guys I've talked to say that they usually charge at least 150 bucks for a truss rod repair/replacement. It is worth getting looked at, certainly, but I'm pretty darned confident that it's a broken rod, which I'm told is almost impossible to repair without cutting out the "skunk-stripe" on the back or removing the fingerboard, depending on the construction of the neck.

 

Then again, a broken rod would probably not be considered a "fixable" problem, especially on a sub-$500 instrument.