Jerry_B Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 (edited) As there's probably no current way that I can afford an unlined fretless Fender Precision, I'm just wondering whether it may be possible to create a Frankenfretless. Here's what I'm thinking is needed in terms of ingredients: Cheap Pbass - possibly a Squier Affinity (black). Mighty Mite unlined ebony neck Wizard pups Replacement pickguard (black) So I have a couple of questions: - Will a Mighty Mite neck will easily plonk down into the Affinity, along with it's tuning machines? - Is it more practical to import the neck from Mighty Mite in the US? Like I said, this is just a feeler to see whether the whole idea is practical... Edited November 2, 2010 by Jerry_B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 Anyone...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 (edited) I did the same with a fretless neck and a P-Bass I have. I ended up having to shift the bridge forward a bit as the neck was a stingray-style, thereby a bit of an uneven fit in the neck pocket. It did, however, have a beautiful unlined ebony board on a great neck. Aaaaaand... I'm selling it. I can send you pics if you want? £40? Dan Edited November 3, 2010 by DanOwens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Old Horse Murphy has been advertising an american fretless p bass neck. And he's a splendid chap to deal with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 (edited) [quote name='DanOwens' post='1011400' date='Nov 3 2010, 09:46 PM']I did the same with a fretless neck and a P-Bass I have. I ended up having to shift the bridge forward a bit as the neck was a stingray-style, thereby a bit of an uneven fit in the neck pocket. It did, however, have a beautiful unlined ebony board on a great neck. Aaaaaand... I'm selling it. I can send you pics if you want? £40?[/quote] Hmm, yeah - bung me a PM! But I'm still curious as to whether this is possible with a MM Pbass neck fitting to a Squier Pbass. Another point being that I was going for an all black look as much as possible... Edited November 3, 2010 by Jerry_B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 [quote name='gary mac' post='1011422' date='Nov 3 2010, 10:11 PM']Old Horse Murphy has been advertising an american fretless p bass neck. And he's a splendid chap to deal with![/quote] Aha! I shall have a look. Does Fender stuff fit Squier stuff? I ask as some bits sometimes don't, i.e. scratchplates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Not sure matey, sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 I'd do your maths first vis-a-vis importing a new neck from the States as shipping and import duty/tax can add a significant amount to a 'bargain' part. There are a couple of suppliers in the UK who'll do a plain ebony neck for reasonable money, some advertise on Ebay. You could always go the DIY route, buy your Affinity, chisel off the old board and glue a new chunk of ebony on it. It's not as difficult as it sounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 I've just found Jobiebass' thread where he used a MM unlined ebanol fretless [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=16104&view=findpost&p=201281"]HERE.[/url] I'll send pics this weekend. I can guarantee it'll be cheaper than importing the neck or putting a new board on yourself, and the board is gorgeous. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Bizarrely, I have just this week completed more-or-less exactly the project you describe. Mighty Mite maple neck with fretless ebanol fingerboard Korean Hipshot tuners from a Lakland Skyline Squier body (routed to take a J pickup at the bridge) with bridge & scratchplate P and J pickups from two different basses Concentric pots from Allparts to give V/T for each pickup Concentric knobs from a John East pre-amp Looks great, sounds great, plays very nicely. The neck sat neatly in the pocket, very tight against the treble side but with a 2mm gap on the bass side. My luthier filled that with a sliver of wood. Everything lined up pretty much perfectly from the start, didn't even need a shim. I'll be taking some photos at the weekend, but I haven't got any just now. Are you in London, Jerry? If so, by all means come and have a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 4, 2010 Author Share Posted November 4, 2010 (edited) This is all very interesting, and thanks for the replies! [b]Happy Jack[/b] - I'm only in London on and off for the next few weeks. Photos would be nice to see, just out of curiosity. [b]DanOwens[/b] - I've just realised that the neck you mentioned is a Stingray type. I lean more toward the Pbass look in terms of the headstock - for this project at least! So does anyone know of/recommend a UK seller for MM necks of the type I'm looking for? All I can find is US sellers. Do the MM necks have the holes already drilled for the string tree and the tuners? If so, do Squier bits fit? I'm hoping to transfer as much as possible from the Affinity. And also my DIY skills and kit are non-existent. Edited November 4, 2010 by Jerry_B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 I'm still having problems finding a Mighty Mite neck in the UK. Two UK sources sell fretless necks but they £180-235 for them! Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 [quote name='Jerry_B' post='1014139' date='Nov 6 2010, 12:07 PM']I'm still having problems finding a Mighty Mite neck in the UK. Two UK sources sell fretless necks but they £180-235 for them! Any advice?[/quote] Yup - buy from the States. That's what I did. Not a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 Aha - so there's no mad amounts of duty to pay on them? Did you get yours direct from MM or somewhere else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Bolton Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 I've got a Mighty Mite neck that on my Jazz that I bought off ebay about this time last year. There was a seller in the uk that for a few months had a selection rosewood and maple J and P necks, I picked up a maple J number for £78 if I remember rightly. I haven't seen them for a while though. They're licensed by Fender but the seller said in his listing that some Squier bodies are thinner than Fender models which can lead to problems fitting the neck, but I think that tends to be on the lower end Squiers. The necks are brilliant though, much better than the expensive Allparts number I had before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 [quote name='Jerry_B' post='1014245' date='Nov 6 2010, 01:32 PM']Aha - so there's no mad amounts of duty to pay on them? Did you get yours direct from MM or somewhere else?[/quote] Direct from the MM website, and I got lucky with the grain & finish. This is it when it was attached to my Duck Dunn: [url="http://tinypic.com/m/6tlp8m/3"]http://tinypic.com/m/6tlp8m/3[/url] No tax or duty, no problem or delay with the shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 Aha - great, thanks for the info. So the fret lines shown on yours (along the top of the neck) were standard, Happy Jack? And did you have to trim down the nut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 The 'fretline' idea came from an Ibanez 2366FLB I had a while back ( [url="http://tinypic.com/m/54vxc8/3"]http://tinypic.com/m/54vxc8/3[/url] ). I took the bass to my regular luthier and showed him what they'd done, then bought the MM neck for him to replicate the effect. It works particularly well with an unlined fretless board, like the MM's, because the audience sees the unlined board but as you play and glance down at the neck you see frets. The inlays are little slivers of binding material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 I see. I asked as I don't like the idea of any lines on a fretless, even along the top of the neck. I just go by the dots, if need be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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