anzoid Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Just bought a secondhand Hohner Jack bass off of eBay. Great sound but it's got a twist in the neck - as seen on the photo. Is this repairable? Would that be expensive? Is it worth bothering with on a £200 bass? Do I live with it or just send it back? Overall the guitar is in good condition and I like the sound. Not played it in earnest yet but the twist doesn't seem to be having an effect, it's an older guitar so I guess it's been like this for a while, and may have been why the previous owner moved it on. The eBay seller obviously didn't spot it because he mentioned everything else and was happy to send extra photos (didn't think to ask whether the neck was twisted...) Any thoughts and comments much appreciated. [attachment=196363:hohner_bass.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Not ideal, but I'd say if it's stable, it sounds OK, is tunable and you can play it without problems then I'd leave it! But then I go with the flow, me... I know some people's OCD wouldn't allow this solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Yeah, if you can live with it, don't throw money at it! A neck like that that won't be cheap or easy to correct. If you really want to have one with a straight neck whilst being a few hundred quid worse off, buy another one! Then you'll have a sellable bass AND a useable backup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I've had few basses with neck-twist issues, this looks quite severe and the IMO it will be difficult to achieve a consistent & playable setup with this problem. If I'd paid £200 for this I would be looking for a refund, or in the event I was OK with keeping the bass, about half my money back. A £200 Hohner Jack shouldn't really come with any issues - never mind pretty much irreparable ones. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I think you should try negotiate a partial refund. Especially if the twist isn't effecting it yet, hopefully it won't get worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Looking at the photo, and the relationship between the truss hole in the neck and the truss access hole in the end cap, it looks like the end cap on the neck might be mounted wonkily rather than the neck itself being twisted - how does it look if you sight down the bass from the bridge end at an angle where you can see the smallest amount of fretboard still visible between the frets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzoid Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) SubsonicSimpleton - that's some awesome powers of observation from a low quality photo I've just spent five minutes staring down the neck of the guitar (gone cross eyed... ), holding it up to the light and putting CDs under the strings at the "head" end to get a line on the fretboard and, yup, looks like the end cap is wonky - sits about 1mm higher (looking end on) on the right hand side. Doh! I think I can live with that and although it's not a great looker - few dings and for some reason an extra jack plug has been fitted on the front... whatever... it sounds awesome. I need to open up the back because i think the pre-map in it isn't the Hohner orginal because it's got some serious welly. Thank you to everyone for all the advice - I think I would have kept it and tried to get some money back, but no need now. Edited July 16, 2015 by anzoid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 How's the height from each string to the fretboard, near the headstock? Could this have been made on purpose to even out the height of each string? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 The original preamp had some serious welly, well mine did, if its the original one there should be a hole in the control cover on the back with a x head in it to adjust output, it will have a +/- round it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzoid Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Ghost Bass, string height looks OK, the E is maybe slightly higher than it could be but I'm going to try stringing it BEAD, or might chuck a DB de-tuner bridge on it that I've got kicking around. The end screws don't look as though they've been moved - or if they have been it was long while ago based on gunk build-up DarkHeart, the previous Jack (and a B2A) I had did have the hole in the control cover that you mention but this one doesn't, although there is a serial number stamped into the plastic - 8860562 - maybe the 88 means 1988 but I don't know whether that makes it early or late... It's sporting EMG Selects rather than the Hohner logo I've seen on other Jacks. I've just recently picked up a 5-string Steinberger Spirit and a 4-string Spirit also arrived today (yeah, too many headless basses...) and overall I think the Hohner is better quality. The 5-string has Steinberger's own brand pickups and although the sound is good the output is pretty low - not even enough to drive my tuner! The 4-string has EMG Selects but they're much more brittle sounding than the Hohner's EMGs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goonieman Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I have personally dealt with, and fixed , several twisted necks using heat treatment - the majority of which have worked (at least as far as i've owned the instruments - which have never been for longer than 6 months!) The equipment i've used has been 'lo-fi' - i.e. some g-clamps, iron bars, and heating irons. One of the main threads that I agree with, in terms of procedure, is this one: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/rescuing-a-badly-twisted-1964-jazz-bass-neck.1137165/ But firstly, as subsonicsimpleton suggests, are you sure its twisted? Rest a good metal ruler on one end, and another up the other end (being sure to balance the rulers!). You'll tell pretty fast how twisted it is. I can add more as the discussion develops on my own personal experiences... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Great basses. I just dug mine out. Must sort the electrics soi can take it out as my back up :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 If the end cap is wonky and the fingerboard/neck itself is level/untwisted, then as long as the strings sit correctly on top of the zero fret I guess there's no need to worry? If it bugs you I wonder if the end cap could be removed, the screw holes plugged and it realigned - much like you sometimes have to do with a conventional bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1437061686' post='2823304'] How's the height from each string to the fretboard, near the headstock? Could this have been made on purpose to even out the height of each string? [/quote] It's got a zero fret so that shouldn't affect it. I'd be inclined to remove the endpiece and see if the screw holes were in the right places (which would also make it easier to see if there's a twist). Might be the screws being put in on the wonk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 [quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1437172693' post='2824309'] ...put in on the wonk. [/quote] Put In-on-the-Wonk. It's a small village in Gloucestershire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Observational powers of the Jedi by [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]SubsonicSimpleton If it stays in tune and has an action that you are happy with then all is good. Cosmetic issues can be annoying, it is also possible to 'forget' them with time and just enjoy playing it.[/color][/font] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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