Reprofiling '03 Warwick Thumb BO neck.

[D-L-B]

Had an estimate from a local luthier to shave a bit of wood off the neck of my '03 Warwick Thumb BO to bring it closer to the feel of my 95' (Fortress) neck. Taking it from it's chunky 'D' shape to a more player friendly 'C'. It's a rather fat neck and I'm confident stability won't suffer adversely form this mod.
Quoted me 150 quid though. Is that a fair price considering that in his own words, when I first took it in, it won't take much to get it how I want it?
Does anyone have anythoughts or experience on DIYing it? I assume it's just about patience and time.

Edited October 8, 2009 by D-L-B

[henry norton]

If it's a natural oil/wax finished Warwick then it's not too bad. If it includes refinishing a solid colour or lacquer then I might just be worried it's too cheap(!). Bear in mind this is carving the neck of an expensive bass and if he makes a mistake or it goes wrong down the line then it's his time/money/reputation at stake. It's especially important if it's a thru neck 'cos if that gets messed up you've basically messed up the entire instrument.

Doing it yourself shouldn't be too difficult with a sharp spokeshave, sandpaper, cardboard profiles of the final shape you want, somewhere solid to clamp the bass and a bit of time and patience. It helps that you're not slimming the whole neck down in which case you might start running into the truss rod cavity. None of it's rocket science but you need to be confident in what you're doing.

[steve-soar]

[quote name='D-L-B' post='620416' date='Oct 8 2009, 11:42 AM']Had an estimate from a local luthier to shave a bit of wood off the neck of my '03 Warwick Thumb BO to bring it closer to the feel of my 95' (Fortress) neck. Taking it from it's chunky 'D' shape to a more player friendly 'C'. It's a rather fat neck and I'm confident stability won't suffer adversely form this mod.
Quoted me 150 quid though. Is that a fair price considering that in his own words, when I first took it in, it won't take much to get it how I want it?
Does anyone have anythoughts or experience on DIYing it? I assume it's just about patience and time.[/quote]Who quoted that price? £150 is a fair price for such a skilled bit of carving and if it's a wenge neck, then that is one of the more difficult woods to work with.

[D-L-B]

It's the natural oil/wax finish neck.
I was quoted 70-100 by Ged Green, which seemed more reasonable. Plus, he seemed alot more interested and engaging when I spoke to him. I think the guy at KGB either took me for a mug or couldn't be bothered with the job, so the quote was, in my opinion, unreasonable. I understand it could be a time consuming job but come on, 150 green queens for a bit of sanding.
I picked the bass up today and within an hour or so of getting it home I'd done the job myself. End of.

Edited October 10, 2009 by D-L-B