Swapping out an old Ibanez Blazer neck for summat else

[Scoop 6]

I've got an old 1980/81 Ibanez Blazer, which I love, but sadly the truss rod has given up the ghost and no amount of coaxing it will reduce the bow that has developed in the neck. I've been searching for a replacement for a while now...

I got to wondering - would a replacement P bass neck from, say, Warmoth fit on the Ibanez body? I have no idea of neck pocket sizes or bolt-hole locations but I thought it might be a stop gap until I can locate a replacement Blazer neck (IF I can locate a replacement Blazer neck, that is).

Anyone any ideas of the top of your collective heads? There must be a Blazer expert or two about. 

[Grangur 659]

I had a local tech replace a truss rod and fix a twist in the neck. This entailed removal of the fretboard. 

Truss rods can cost very little and the labour was around £100. So, it may be worth keeping it all original. It's up to you.

[Scoop 6]

Handy to know. Thanks for the response.

[Bassassin 1,883]

Blazers are getting a bit scarce & prices are going up as a result - I'd be keen to keep it standard if it was mine. Blazer necks do come up but not very often. Have you tried stacking washers under the truss nut to give it a bit more scope for adjustment? I've had good results doing this with maxed-out rods.

As far as replacing it's concerned, I think all Blazer necks were one-piece maple, so the truss will have been fitted under the skunk stripe. Don't know if this makes any difference to actually replacing it, but would think some refinishing to the back of the neck would be unavoidable.

[Scoop 6]

9 minutes ago, Bassassin said:

Blazers are getting a bit scarce & prices are going up as a result - I'd be keen to keep it standard if it was mine. Blazer necks do come up but not very often. Have you tried stacking washers under the truss nut to give it a bit more scope for adjustment? I've had good results doing this with maxed-out rods.

As far as replacing it's concerned, I think all Blazer necks were one-piece maple, so the truss will have been fitted under the skunk stripe. Don't know if this makes any difference to actually replacing it, but would think some refinishing to the back of the neck would be unavoidable.

Of course, they're skunk striped, aren't they? Bugger...

The truss nut looks to be maxed out but to be honest, I can't get ANY movement from it at all. Judicious and careful application of penetrating oil and then a little secondary heat (warm a very slightly oversized hex bolt with direct application of a soldering iron and then place the heated hex  onto the nut before attempting to shift it with the correct sized one) seems to be the way to go. If I can get the nut off completely I'll have a go at clamping the neck straight for a week or two with occasional  heat applied (gentle wafts of the Mrs' hairdryer). Then I'll washer the truss threads and stick the nut back on with my fingers crossed.

That might do the trick.

 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Scoop
typos

[Ghost_Bass 91]

Yep! Try to fix it yourself the way you described first. It will be the cheaper and non-destroying method. If it comes to that take it to a good luthier that you know will be able to make a good job of routing out the skunk stripe, replce the rod and refinish the neck like the original.

[Bassassin 1,883]

Have you tried flexing the neck back to remove tension from the rod when you try to slacken the nut?

[fleabag 5,780]

Scoop, this is a vintage quality bass. Do it a favour, take it to a proper geezer bloke luthier to sort the problems, and suck up the cost. You'll be glad you did in the end

[Scoop 6]

On 05/04/2018 at 16:48, Bassassin said:

Have you tried flexing the neck back to remove tension from the rod when you try to slacken the nut?

Yeah, no go on that score, sadly.

 

On 05/04/2018 at 17:33, fleabag said:

Scoop, this is a vintage quality bass. Do it a favour, take it to a proper geezer bloke luthier to sort the problems, and suck up the cost. You'll be glad you did in the end

Understood but I'm not entirely skill-less when it comes to fettling guitars and basses. I've been doing my own set-ups and maintenance since the early 80s. I've 25 basses in total (and six guitars) and maintain all of them myself. I'll have a go at the penetrating oil job. mentioned above, and if that fails I'll get it to my friendly, neighbourhood, proper geezer bloke luthier.  

[fleabag 5,780]

If you can do a good job, then great - save yourself a wedge of moolah.

be nice to keep it original