Musicman20 Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 It took me a few seconds but I can see the blocks are out of line as well because of the strings being out. Send it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 The fact that you can clearly see that it is misaligned in some way just from that snap is all the validation you need to send it back. If it was so small an inconsistancy that you could only tell by measuring it with a ruler that would be one thing, but something is obviously very out of kilter there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiram.k.hackenbacker Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Believe me, it took a few attempts to get this one. My left hand is out of shot near the bridge pulling the E, A and D strings left whilst trying to take a photo one handed with my other hand. But this is what it should look like. Still not bang on, but I could almost live with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiram.k.hackenbacker Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Apart from the obvious questions this video raises, like Why? Why? and WHY?, it appears that Dan "The Man" Hildebrand's Geddy seems to suffering from the same characteristic. In fact, apart from the one on the Sweetwater web site, I haven't seen a picture of one where the strings look properly central. http://youtu.be/-ZXqRtH3-xw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 It's just the CS team doing an accurate interpretation of a lot of the basses from that period Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1400738676' post='2456465'] It's just the CS team doing an accurate interpretation of a lot of the basses from that period [/quote] If that was the case there should also be a sizeable gap between the neck and the edges of the neck pocket. AFAIK the misalignment of necks in 70s Fenders was mostly down to the 3-bolt and Micro-Tilt system. Does this bass have it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Of course, what do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I picked up an early 70's Jazz in a London dealers and it had exactly the same issue. I pointed it out to the shop owner who took the bass, knee at the base the of the neck, one hand on the headstock and one on the body, and heaved the neck angle to correct it. I thanked him for his expertise and left! There is usually a tad of movement in the neck pocket so worth checking before sending back I've have thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 (edited) Can you take a pic from further back to see how the strings run along the whole length of the neck - from nut to heel and a bit of the body? Might still be that easy fix (neck looks to be leaning to the right a smidge to me). The nut seems to be cut properly from what you say. Fingerboard and frets looks lush by the way. Edited May 22, 2014 by miles'tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1400738676' post='2456465'] It's just the CS team doing an accurate interpretation of a lot of the basses from that period [/quote] Ha ha, you might be on the money there Gary! I remember being really disappointed at how noisy my Fender CS Jaco Jazz was, and I mean REALLY noisy, so I got onto Talkbass only to be told that this was the result of it being a 100% accurate copy of Jaco's '62 Jazz which was apparently also really noisy. I guess FCS are in a no win situation sometimes! The pics of the misaligned neck above aren't as bad as I was expecting to be honest, and to return to a comment I made in an earlier post, I have seen it that bad on EBMMs and Rics. Either way however, I wouldn't be happy as with my clumsy hands I'd be pulling the G off the fretboard. I also think the OP - being a bass player and a member of BC - might just want to sell it one day and that degree of string misalignment would put a few people off. As others have said, I'd like to see a pic of the whole length of the strings, especially over the PUPs and further along the board. There would for example be no point in repositioning the neck is that takes the strings away from the pole-pieces and/or causes other problems (neck instability/intonation/fretbuzz etc). If this bass left Corona perfect and has taken a knock between there and here, then yes, it might make more sense to simply get it sorted here (although as suggested above, you'd expect a bass of this apparent quality to be a little more resilient). If however it' a 4.15 Friday afternoon instrument it might be better sent back to California either for a fix, a new bass or a refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1400738676' post='2456465'] It's just the CS team doing an accurate interpretation of a lot of the basses from that period [/quote] It's [i]mojo[/i] you fools! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiram.k.hackenbacker Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 I have to say I was [b]really [/b]hesitant about this after resigning myself to it going back to the shop. I had even packed it away and come to terms with the fact that I wouldn't lay my eyes on it again until it came back from wherever it was going. After reading your comments, curiosity got the better of me. So I de-tensioned the strings and undid the neck bolts. I can confirm they are reliced all the way down to the tip! How do they do that? I had a look in the pocket, more to check that there weren't any shims in there than anything else and there aren't. I have to say that pocket is super snug, but has been pointed out by others, on these Jazz basses there isn't an awful lot on the G string side supporting that side of the neck. Anyway, I put it back together and this is the result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I love to say - "told you so" - Congratulations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiram.k.hackenbacker Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Thank you everyone for your time and helpful advice. Basschat comes up trumps again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1400751083' post='2456564']...I put it back together and this is the result.[/quote] A useful photo for you to use when applying for a situation with Fender, California, maybe..? It looks like a winner from here; well done, that man. [URL=http://www.smileyvault.com/][IMG]http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/CBSA/smileyvault-cute-big-smiley-animated-041.gif[/IMG][/URL] Now I know why I prefer set necks, though..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Great news. Has it alleviated the E string buzz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1400706725' post='2456361'] The neck pocket is mostly open on the treble side of a Fender. Enough for it to move a smidge no matter how precise the rout. It may be a CS bass but it's still a load of bits screwed together. Of course it's all up to the OP to do what he feels most comfortable with. Best of luck with it all. [/quote] I own basses with far less wood at both sides of the neck pocket than this Fender and they don't have any neck alignment problems. I've even had the neck off one (to adjust the truss rod) and the fit was so good that there was no way that the neck could go back on other than in perfect alignment. Other manufacturers can make a great bolt-on neck joint so why can't Fender? - especially since they've been doing it for longer than most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiram.k.hackenbacker Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1400751577' post='2456574'] Great news. Has it alleviated the E string buzz? [/quote] It's nowhere near as bad and I'm sure that can be fully sorted with a tweak he and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Looks pretty much spot on now, how does it play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Late to the party here but I'm fairly astonished at the number of you who have not come across this problem before - it's an inbuilt "feature" of the Fender design and knowing how well Leo planned for production, I would guess that he left the lower edge of the neck pocket open on purpose so that issues of neck alignment could be easily adjusted and at little to no cost. When I used to work in musical instrument retail, I've done literally hundreds of these - Strats, Teles, Precisions, Jazzes and all the copies too and for a quick fix I've also done the "over the knee" trick without loosening strings, neck screws or anything! Remember that due to the length of the neck, a tiny change in the angle will move the nut across by a significant amount, thus throwing the string alignment off. Because of the radius of the fingerboard, this will also have been contributing to the buzzing E. These movements *can* happen in transit but it's more likely that the bass was simply not assembled with huge attention to detail at the factory. And I say factory deliberately - the sheer volume of production of Fender Custom Shop instruments makes it clear to me that the FCS is very unlikely to resemble the carefully marketed image of a handful of careful and attentive master luthiers painstakingly creating exemplars of the guitar maker's craft. These are mass produced instruments to the Fender blueprint. Or am I just an old cynic? Anyway, glad it's sorted - looks like a nice bass. Cheers Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Diablo' timestamp='1400743699' post='2456498'] I picked up an early 70's Jazz in a London dealers and it had exactly the same issue. I pointed it out to the shop owner who took the bass, knee at the base the of the neck, one hand on the headstock and one on the body, and heaved the neck angle to correct it. I thanked him for his expertise and left! There is usually a tad of movement in the neck pocket so worth checking before sending back I've have thought. [/quote] I'm certain I have read that in the early days of Fender this was a recommended technique for fixing such issues and the company sent instructions to their dealers in how to carry it out. Edited May 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Pickguard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Glad you've now got a bass with the neck at the right angle, result! Without wanting to be too much of a dampener, though, that'd play on my mind, especially given the cost of the bass. Is it likely to move again? I'd have sent it back anyway. . But then I might be too picky... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Excellent! Now stop messing about and take a proper picture of the bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote]I'm certain I have read that in the early days of Fender this was a recommended technique for fixing such issues and the company sent instructions to their dealers in how to carry it out. [/quote] Sure, I'm just more from the school where I would at least slightly let off string and neck screw tension, move it, then retighten rather than treat it like you are try a strong-man attempt to tie a knot in an iron bar. There is the "setting up the instrument correctly with care and attention" vs the "use brute force to get it somewhere near" approach, and I'm not going to buy a bass from the latter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1400751458' post='2456570'] Thank you everyone for your time and helpful advice. Basschat comes up trumps again [/quote] Awesome stuff! Glad it was nothing major. Now, let's see some piccys of the whole bass! The little we have seen looks gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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