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New ebony fretless neck for my '71 Precision...


wateroftyne
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Hi all

Some of you might have stumbled across [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=46215&st=0"]this thread[/url] where I agonised over selling my fretless '71 P to buy a Tony Franklin P instead, as I preferred the tone of the ebony board over rosewood.

Well, I reached a decision... sell the Franklin and get a replacement ebony neck for the '71.

So, over to Howard, BC's very own Bass Doc, who sourced one from Allparts. It arrived yesterday after a couple of weeks.

I'm impressed. It's very, very nice indeed. The first thing that struck me was the HUGE slab of ebony on it... it's far thicker than I expected. Very cool. There's a 'lip' at the heel where the board overlaps the pickguard. Howard offered to remove it if I want for authenticity's sake, but I might just leave it there. It's not doing any harm.

The neck profile is FAB... standard B width, but very, very chunky front-to-back. Again, Howard could reshape it if I want but as it is it's much better suited to my strangely large hands than the much shallower Franklin.

So, Howard created a bone nut for it, swapped the hardware over and gave it a set-up. It feels so focussed, vibrant and lively compared to the rosewood... just as I hoped. It's incredibly even and there's no major dead spots. Result!

I have a couple of gigs coming up.. I'll use it then to check everything's OK, then it's going back to Bass Doc to have a lovely authentic 70s amber lacquer applied. Can't wait!

Rest assured the factory neck is now officially retired, and will be well looked after...

Here's the new'un:





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  • 1 month later...

Well, it's finished!

It took a little longer than planned, because summer - and its pesky holidays - got in the way, but it was worth the wait!

Howard 'The Bass Doc' has done a sterling job, and it came in right on budget. The tint is very similar to my '71 neck (which is now going into retirement). It has a nice chunky profile, and is much livelier than the original rosewood board.

I decided to have a (mostly but not-quite accurate) TV Logo put on it which raises any number of moral issues. I wrestled with my conscience, but... meh. It's Fender licensed, and I have the original neck, so it's not really cheating. It's all about conservation, innit. :)







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[quote name='wateroftyne' post='543994' date='Jul 18 2009, 02:27 PM']Well, it's finished!

It took a little longer than planned, because summer - and its pesky holidays - got in the way, but it was worth the wait!

Howard 'The Bass Doc' has done a sterling job, and it came in right on budget. The tint is very similar to my '71 neck (which is now going into retirement). It has a nice chunky profile, and is much livelier than the original rosewood board.

I decided to have a (mostly but not-quite accurate) TV Logo put on it which raises any number of moral issues. I wrestled with my conscience, but... meh. I have the original neck, so it's not really cheating. It's all about conservation, innit. :)







[/quote]


Wow....I always check our your Fender P pics....incredible basses. Now this looks even more amazing.

I have never played a fretless, and I feel I am missing out. At some point I will try and have a play with one.

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Oooh, that looks beautiful! I don't even dig sunburst but i'm coming round :rolleyes:

I'm after a Warwick fretless because I know it will feel like an old friend to me and sound how I need it to sound. But, by god, your P-Bass makes me feel like I want to ditch the old friend for a new bitch :)

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