Funky D Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 I just bought a fairly new used Stingray and, to my horror, have discovered a gap between the neck and body where they meet, as if the neck pocket is too big. The gap is big enough to slip a business card into. Now I'm assuming that Musicman basses don't leave the factory with such a flaw, so can anyone tell me what's likely to have caused the gap, and if it's fixable. Getting a refund isn't an option, so I'm hoping someone has a solution. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 (edited) Where exactly is the gap? Has it been shimmed to raise the action (pocket too deep) or is the gap along the sides of the neck? (ie: pocket too wide) Edited April 30, 2010 by Al Heeley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky D Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 [quote name='Al Heeley' post='824481' date='Apr 30 2010, 11:29 PM']Where exactly is the gap? Has it been shimmed to raise the action (pocket too deep) or is the gap along the sides of the neck? (ie: pocket too wide)[/quote] Hi. It's the gap at the side of the neck, so too wide. I've had someone loosen the neck bolts/screws and attempt to pull the neck into place, but it wouldn't budge. The gap was only discovered after various other attempts to remove fret buzz were unsuccessful. Truss rod relief has been checked and is spot on. Not sure if it's relevant, but the A and D strings aren't equidistant on each side of the fretboard dot markers. There's not a lot in it, but when you look close you can see that the dots get progressively closer to the A string as they go up the fretboard which would suggest that the neck is very slightly askew to the body. Am I heading for an expensive repair or a total write off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 I would take the neck off and add a very thin shim to the side of the pocket to bring the neck true again, then bolt it back on. Should not affect the fret buzz or performance, esp. if you get a thin shim of hard wood like maple. A good repair tech could make this nearly invisible and this should correct the string alignment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Got a real case of Deja-vu here It's not an ideal situation, but as Al said it can be sorted. Just takes a bit of time to find the problem then measure and sort out a suitable material for the shim I've seen instruments with so much excess paint in the neck cavity that it stopped the neck moving to one side. Usually you can just loosen the neck bolts and push the neck sideways to where you want it. In your case, that hasn't worked so it needs further investigation. The only way to know what's really going on is to take the neck off and have a root around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokl Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 FWIW my `89 Stingray has a large gap (couple business cards) on the bass side of the neck pocket. It's still one of the most resonant and acoustically "lively" basses I've played, and had no trouble with it at all since I bought it from the original owner in about 1993! I wouldn't have thought this would be the cause of fret buzz on your bass, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky D Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 Thanks everyone for your suggestions, and well done 7string on your powers of intuition. Deja-vu indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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