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The rise of roasted necks may initially have been related to CITES but imo it very quickly became one of those classic guitar 'snake oil' things where manufacturers claim, usually without evidence, that a certain component or process gives the instrument some kind of special quality. I definitely first started seeing the roasted necks on high end instruments like Stingray's but now they seem to be available at every price point. Personally I like the aesthetic of roasted maple but, as with most of these things, I'm extremely skeptical about any special qualities, at least any that would make a noticeable difference from a non roasted neck.

Or should I say OOH-Ooooh-Ooooh! 🐵🍌🐵🍌🐒

Ooooooooh!

Not necessarily talking about old strings, but I have certainly warmed to a bass because of the effect the strings had on the overall tone. Case in point, one of my students has a very nice bass and as we were chatting away, I complimented him on how great it sounded that day. Rich, resonant and full of harmonic overtones. It turns out, he'd taken the strings off the bass that I had sold him a little while ago (my preferred string) and put those on this bass!!

Unexpectedly saw The Australian Pink.Floyd Show last night when a chum offered me his wife's ticket as she got herself double booked. Have to say that they put on a cracking show, including the whole of Wish You Were Here - which is my fave Floyd album.

Yes some necks are very stable and others much less so... I have a theory... In chunky wood necks the wood is doing the work and the truss rod does very little - typically Telecaster necks are like this. In slim necks the truss rod is doing more work... the truss rod (metal) is sensitive to temperature variations (expands and contracts), causing more movement. Heavy guage (high tension) strings also cause more movement with temp changes. All my Teles and Fender basses are very stable. My MM stingray (slim neck) is most variable and requires tweaks as the seasons change. Unfinished necks may be more suseptible to humidity changes - laquered ones don't really care.

Taking torrification out of the equation for a moment, yes—there are a number of factors at play. The quality of the timber has already been mentioned. A piece of maple for a neck on a £100 guitar won’t even be in the same ballpark as that used by a top-tier brand like Shuker. Not all truss rods are created equal, and some have been found to be prone to failure in cheaper instruments. Poorly cut channels and ill-fitting rods can mean the truss rod is already operating outside its effective range. How is the neck wood cut? Is it quarter-sawn, for example? Is the neck laminated, and if so, what laminates are being used? This includes the fretboard. I’d describe this as a cross-grain laminate, since the fretboard grain runs perpendicular to the neck laminates, offering additional resistance to twisting and lateral movement. Is the fretboard a thin veneer, like on my cranky old P Bass (a “ball-bat” neck I’ve adjusted once, and it’s rock solid), or a thick cap? What timber has been used? How much of the neck length, up to the end of the fretboard is attached to the body? On a standard P Bass, it’s from around the 16th fret onwards. Some neck-through basses join the body at the 24th fret. On a 35" scale-plus instrument, that’s a longer length of neck for forces to act upon. We know from school physics it’s easier to bend a longer piece of material than a shorter one. I’ll leave the exact term for that to the physicists—Beam Theory, maybe? I also read about a guitar tech who highlighted issues caused by fret installation itself, which could effectively add uneven backbow to an otherwise relaxed board. I’m sure there are plenty more reasons why necks move around, but these are the ones that came to mind while having a cuppa!

I’ve had TI Jazz flats on all my basses for maybe 5 years. But recently I’ve been unhappy with the tone I’m getting, especially from the old Jazz bass. This morning I dug out an old set of Labella DTB’s that the TI’s replaced and put them back on the bass. All of a sudden my favourite tone came back. I’m now thinking about the Labellas that used to be on the Stingray. Although my aging fingers do like the TI’s.

funny that so many talk about 25 years ago because that's when I got mine. Lol. The blue one, with case, 160 bucks at a little shop in Illinois, roselle music. I took lessons there and it was on the wall one Saturday and I remember staring at it. Owner asked if I wanted to handle it. I told him I had a lesson but afterward I would. He handed it to me and told me to use it in my lesson (that prompted a 5 min diversion as my teacher looked it over) I bought it on my way out. Had some work done and did some myself, installed a tune o matic bridge, swapped pickups to a custom wound high output set, sent the neck off to Chris woods in California because he was doing LED inlays and I asked him to do LED under mother of pearl Shankfin and it came out great. Currently it's in storage as life happens but I'm looking forward to getting it out again.

Hope you don't mind me editing your comment, it hit me solid in the face. 1. That's a good question I didn't and should have asked when the band discussed this at the rehearsal. Also I should have asked how many other bands the replacement guy (C) currently in. 2. In truth I wasn't really paying attention, more of a general listen to my cues etc. I was thinking perhaps B wasn't "leaning into it" as much as I would have thought. I happen to get into a convo about some other band related subject with B and I thought to raise the question, is there a problem. 3. 100% - you have me 100% I told the guys this is a bad thing to do, and repeated it many times. Call me a softy but I find it upsetting. I think the deep emotion is rooted in many years of scrapping. 4. When asked for my view about B, I gave a full speech, we should quietly speak with B, find out if there's any problems we could fix. I think this view comes with age, after being in a lot of scraps, when I've seen skilled negotiators at work, I'm very impressed at how they get a good solution and no one gets hurt. 5. Yes there are other band members, I think though as A's presentation was strong, the other guys just went along with it. It was mentioned if to move A into a different position in the band, but as we're not mainstream, finding another person will be nigh on impossible. 6. Yes I have advocated a "professional" approach. However that notion usually falls on inexperienced ears. Usually it's that ransom demand, "either he goes or I go". I have thought if to jump ship as overall the band is quite weak, nice enough guys but not really "doing the business". All the comments are good, making me think

But wait, there's more... Coming in a couple weeks.

But... but... but... That's Good isn't it..? Or, to quote from The Boss... "I reckon vote for your favourite 3 if you can whittle it down " Peace.

I'm picturing Scott holding the bass while his clone henchman gently guides him from behind like that scene from Ghost.

I can’t help thinking that ‘roasted’ has only come about as a result of CITES restrictions on the sale of rosewood and other dark fingerboard materials such as ebony. I don’t remember seeing a roasted neck before CITES became a thing? Personally, for some unfathomable reason, I cannot get away with maple fingerboards on basses I play live. I had a beautiful sunburst Stingray 5 that had to go as I could not adjust to the maple board.

I tried to get along with a Jazz Bass, I just always went back to a Precision when playing a Fender.

"Phalic Bass Move" Gotta be one of the best band names I've heard in a long time!

So , We bought the bullet and got Pair of EV active speakers , which sound Amazing and do everything under the sun. The working Mackie becomes a rear stage monitor , we have front wedges , the old one is in my Garage area to take down to the Tip when I get some time ... i cant justify keeping it for spares unless anyone local, wants to claim it , ( I might post it in the freebies section ) Unfortunately I don't feel like getting it working would save it for the band at this point its " tainted " as far as the guitarists are concerned.