What to do with expensive bass with warped neck?

[attackbass]

I've got a USA 75 Reissue Jazz Bass, the one in natural with black blocks and binding and I toured and recorded with the bass for ten years, in all sorts of conditions from sub zero trailer temperatures in Eastern Europe to boiling hot trucks transporting gear across Australia. 

The bass has huge sentimental value to me. I got it in LA when I was recording an album with one of my previous bands back in 2007 and the producer, who was also at the time also a bass player in a hugely successful UK rock band,got me the bass through his fender endorsement. So I'm in LA recording an album, with a producer who was in my favourite band growing up who also turns out to be one of the nicest people I've ever worked with. You can probably see why I have some attachment to the bass! 

Fast forward to 2-3 years ago and due to getting issues with RSI I decide to give my basses all lower actions (I probably put James Jameson to shame) which was no problem apart for this fender. It played like total crap, so this spring I gave in and took it to a well respected guitar tech. 

His diagnosis was a warped neck or that the neck had settled in that position. He attempted to repair the neck, basically clamping and forcing it into shape whilst tightening the truss rod in the hope it would hold the neck pretty straight. 

He did a good job and the neck was definitely better for a while, and still is better than it was but it still has a bit of a bow and I would really like to have the bass playable and so have been stuck with the dilemma of what to do...

 

The tech thinks I should just replace the neck and have it converted to a 4 screw bolt on (it's 3 screw bolt on micro tilt)  with an all parts neck similar to the original as the frets on the current neck are almost done. My problem with this (and it's stupid) is that it'll lose some of its vibe and looks with a nameless neck without the cool logos, and bullet trussrod etc and I think those necks have a Vintage tint which mine doesn't.

 

My other option is to retire the bass and keep it for sentimental value and just a piece of my history. 

My third option is to do a bit of a Jaco and get the body completely refinished (this bass is battered), get a new neck and effectively make a completely new bass from the parts. Bit extreme but would be a bit like a bass resurrection. Lol. 

I don't know what other options I should consider so would love to hear some thoughts from fellow bass players on what they might do. I've tried and failed to find an actual 75 RI neck or one that's similar, fender don't have any answers for providing an alternative.

 

If it was a bass I had just played a number of weddings gigs on and kept in the house I would simply  just replace the neck with an all parts neck... But this bass has literally been around the world with me and I have spent so much of my life playing it!

 

Maybe I should just get a life haha but still would love to hear suggestions, thoughts or recommendations of Luthiers with God like powers!

 

 

[mybass]

If you are going to ‘Jaco’ it, first (get a luthier to) take the frets out then leave it a while to see if the neck comes back in without the frets.  It may show that the original fret slots and frets were not wide enough, forcing neck bend and yes, I’ve had a new Fender neck do that! A good re-cut of the fret slots and new frets may then be good to go. It’s a bit of a long shot but I can’t figure why after many years of being perfect the neck would start to warp.

[OliverBlackman]

If you like low action maybe look at a status graphite replacement? 

[Al Krow]

Heat treatment - Bass Gallery Camden. 

[afterimage]

Can another some other luthier take a look for you 

 

 

[afterimage]

 

[AngelDeVille]

Pull the frets and Re-plane the fretboard.

If it’s not too warped, the inlays should remain intact .

re-fret or not after.

 

[Skybone]

Maybe try and get in touch with the producer, and see if he has a contact at Fender so you can get another neck just like the one on your bass.

It's a long shot, and it could turn out to be expensive, but it might be worth a try, especially if it enables you to continue playing your favourite bass.

[NJE]

If it was me, I would keep as much of the bass the same as possible so no re-spray etc. All of the dings and marks sound like they have been well earned and add to the ‘mojo’ so keep it all as part of the bass’ story.

I would source a new high quality blocker neck, Warmoth or Allparts and have all of the decals duplicated which is pretty simple to to. You won’t get the bullet truss rod but it will be really close.

i don’t know if you have Instagram but there is a guy on there called Jagged_offset_electric and he gets some beautiful necks and does nitro tints and all that kind of thing and I am sure someone like him would be able to help with decals.

So new neck and the rest original for me, then frame the old neck with a load of pictures of you using it or use it as a back scratcher.

Edited November 6, 2019 by NJE

[krispn]

Custom made neck (Jon Shuker etc) to the same spec and have him do it nice and fancy like!

[Manton Customs]

4 hours ago, AngelDeVille said:

Pull the frets and Re-plane the fretboard.

If it’s not too warped, the inlays should remain intact .

re-fret or not after.

 

This is what I’d do if I couldn’t solve it by another method (which I’d try first).

Planing and refretting the neck would be guaranteed to work though as it’s letting the wood do what it naturally wants to do and not trying to correct it by forcing it straight.

If it’s just the truss rod that has run out of adjustment that can be fixed without going this far though. Thats a very common problem on Fender necks.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Manton Customs

[attackbass]

9 hours ago, afterimage said:

Can another some other luthier take a look for you 

 

 

Thanks, This is what my tech has done already.

[attackbass]

30 minutes ago, Manton Customs said:

This is what I’d do if I couldn’t solve it by another method (which I’d try first).

Planing and refretting the neck would be guaranteed to work though as it’s letting the wood do what it naturally wants to do and not trying to correct it by forcing it straight.

If it’s just the truss rod that has run out of adjustment that can be fixed without going this far though. Thats a very common problem on Fender necks.

The neck is maple with block inlays, I don't think planing will be an option as the neck is coated in a thick poly coating, without stripping the neck of the finish and refinishing

[attackbass]

1 hour ago, Skybone said:

Maybe try and get in touch with the producer, and see if he has a contact at Fender so you can get another neck just like the one on your bass.

It's a long shot, and it could turn out to be expensive, but it might be worth a try, especially if it enables you to continue playing your favourite bass.

I don't think fender make the necks at all anymore. The guy no longer has a fender deal either and I don't think fender, judging by my experience of being a fender artist in the past care about helping with these issues. They just want to sell guys in bands discounted guitars so they can be seen playing with them.

[attackbass]

9 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Heat treatment - Bass Gallery Camden. 

Interesting, I'll have a look into that and maybe drop them a mail. My tech did mention that but seemed to be of the impression it didnt have guarantees.

[Manton Customs]

3 minutes ago, attackbass said:

The neck is maple with block inlays, I don't think planing will be an option as the neck is coated in a thick poly coating, without stripping the neck of the finish and refinishing

Not really an issue, refinishing a fretboard isn't a huge job.

[attackbass]

1 hour ago, NJE said:

If it was me, I would keep as much of the bass the same as possible so no re-spray etc. All of the dings and marks sound like they have been well earned and add to the ‘mojo’ so keep it all as part of the bass’ story.

I would source a new high quality blocker neck, Warmoth or Allparts and have all of the decals duplicated which is pretty simple to to. You won’t get the bullet truss rod but it will be really close.

i don’t know if you have Instagram but there is a guy on there called Jagged_offset_electric and he gets some beautiful necks and does nitro tints and all that kind of thing and I am sure someone like him would be able to help with decals.

So new neck and the rest original for me, then frame the old neck with a load of pictures of you using it or use it as a back scratcher.

Thanks,  that was one idea actually id forgotten about , I think I struggled to find the right decals online before tho but will maybe do some more digging. 

[attackbass]

4 minutes ago, Manton Customs said:

Not really an issue, refinishing a fretboard isn't a huge job.

Two worries I would have, would be that it would wreck the binding, which I think is just painted tbh, and if it was restored would looks a bit odd?

 

The other think is the warp tend to look it's most severe towards the nut end of the neck. I'm no tech, so correct me if I'm wrong but usually isn't planing the fretboard only usually done at the higher register part of the fingerboard where it has lifted? 

[Manton Customs]

1 minute ago, attackbass said:

Two worries I would have, would be that it would wreck the binding, which I think is just painted tbh, and if it was restored would looks a bit odd?

 

The other think is the warp tend to look it's most severe towards the nut end of the neck. I'm no tech, so correct me if I'm wrong but usually isn't planing the fretboard only usually done at the higher register part of the fingerboard where it has lifted? 

It would depend on who did the work really. The only potential concern would be the block inlays, but the warp would have to be quite severe to risk going through those.

No, the whole fretboard is planed in situations like this, you're probably thinking of correcting a ski jump when the last frets are levelled.

Is the issue a twist, or has the truss rod just ran out of adjustment?

[attackbass]

The truss rod was maxed out with a big curve still present. The curve is not so severe now, but the truss rod is still maxed out, holding it in place. 

 

From what my tech said, the curve/warp was too large for the trussrod to deal with. He explained the truss rod was only really intended for small adjustments and a thin metal pole would not be able to correct the curvature present in the neck.

[Marc S]

2 hours ago, NJE said:

If it was me, I would keep as much of the bass the same as possible so no re-spray etc. All of the dings and marks sound like they have been well earned and add to the ‘mojo’ so keep it all as part of the bass’ story.

I would source a new high quality blocker neck.......

So new neck and the rest original for me, then frame the old neck with a load of pictures of you using it or use it as a back scratcher.

Hi, I think @NJE is spot on here. If you refinish the bass and put a new neck on it.... it may just end up feeling like it's another bass, and one you don't have that history and connection with. So definitely leave it alone from a refin point of view. Regarding the neck, I'd say try to get another luthiers' opinion. I'm sure your current luthier is fine and experienced etc, but you may just find someone who has another idea or solution, or perhaps even a source for a replacement neck....

At this stage, you've almost got nothing to lose as far as the neck is concerned. Could you try something simple, like changing to lower tension strings?
Thomastik Infeldt Flats (and their rounds for that matter) are very low tension. This simple solution may help - worth a try?
Is the truss rod really maxed out, or could it be that the tilt adjustment screw is making adjustment difficult? Or could it be that the issue is with the size of the frets, as mentioned above?

Hope you can sort it good sir. Sounds like you really want to keep that bass, and it has such sentimental value for you.
I don't think hanging it on the wall is the best solution - I think it's there to be played, and it must be nice to have a bass which is such an integral part of your musical history
Best of luck with it - and let us know how you get on

Edited November 6, 2019 by Marc S

[Manton Customs]

28 minutes ago, attackbass said:

The truss rod was maxed out with a big curve still present. The curve is not so severe now, but the truss rod is still maxed out, holding it in place. 

 

From what my tech said, the curve/warp was too large for the trussrod to deal with. He explained the truss rod was only really intended for small adjustments and a thin metal pole would not be able to correct the curvature present in the neck.

And has your tech tried adding a washer or two under the truss rod nut? That may be all that is needed to buy back some more adjustment.

As mentioned above you might want to get someone else to look at it.

[Marc S]

8 minutes ago, Manton Customs said:

And has your tech tried adding a washer or two under the truss rod nut? That may be all that is needed to buy back some more adjustment....

Another good suggestion....

[miles'tone]

2 hours ago, Manton Customs said:

And has your tech tried adding a washer or two under the truss rod nut? That may be all that is needed to buy back some more adjustment.

As mentioned above you might want to get someone else to look at it.

This! Adding 2 or three washers maybe all it needs. Worked wonders for me on an old P bass I had which had gone full banana. 

Try it and go for some light gauge strings too. 

It would be a shame to have to change anything on your old pal. 

[EMG456]

13 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Heat treatment - Bass Gallery Camden. 

What he said.

I used to believe that the heat treatment thing was just crazy urban myth but having tried it myself, it works. A couple of years back I bought a beat up Hayman 4040 which had a neck with huge s bend in it - pretty much beyond repair I reckoned so I managed to  buy a replacement neck (Sheregold but the same really) from a friendly basschatter. That's good and the bass is nice but rather than chuck the original neck away, I decided to experiment. By a system of trial and error, I now have that neck straight apart from one little bend right at the heel end. I haven't taken the time to sort that last bit out but I will soon.

I reckon that a luthier who unlike me actually knows what he is doing would be able to sort it out for you.