Anyone successfully used a all Brazilian Ebony bass neck for a build? :)

[MrWalker]

Hello everyone!
A few years ago, I bought a swamp ash/quilted maple chambered jazz bass body, and without considering balance and weight, I bought an all brazilian ebony neck for it (with steel bars and all the bells and whistles). As the slightly more experienced builders out there understand (and I discovered quickly), adding an extra heavy neck to an extra light body causes quite a bit of neck-dive.... 

Well, to cut the long story short, since then, the fabolous swamp ash/maple body got a Status graphite neck, and is an awesome and lightweight instrument now.

I tried to match the BE neck to an alder Precision bass body, and although it's better, it's still on the neck-heavy side. So now that body is getting a more conventional maple affair neck from Warmoth.

So, my question is, have anyone found a bass body that actually can manage to balance the BE neck? I do understand that the bass in total will be suitable as a boat anchor, but at least it can be played sitting down. The neck itself is awesome, it's just a challenge to match it up to anything to get a properly balanced instrument that doesn't smash into the floor if you let go.

Anyone?!

 

[swarfrat]

No experience but the G4 body looks like the longest horn available.
https://www.warmoth.com/Bass/Bodies/GBass/G4Bass.aspx

The closer you can get the strap button to the 12th fret, the less the neck contributes to neck dive. Alternatively, you can sink a bunch of weight at the far upper bout (think Explorer Bass if such a thing existed) but that'd weigh a ton and the explorer body gives much of that balance back in its dumb strap button location. If they'd just swapped the upper bump and lower horn.

 

[MrWalker]

No experience but the G4 body looks like the longest horn available.
https://www.warmoth.com/Bass/Bodies/GBass/G4Bass.aspx

The closer you can get the strap button to the 12th fret, the less the neck contributes to neck dive. Alternatively, you can sink a bunch of weight at the far upper bout (think Explorer Bass if such a thing existed) but that'd weigh a ton and the explorer body gives much of that balance back in its dumb strap button location. If they'd just swapped the upper bump and lower horn.

True!
Just checked, the G4 is slightly longer but still within the 12th fret. But most of the ones I've seen (none available at the moment) seems to be lighter in weight than the Jazz bass bodies. Thinking I need a somewhat heavy Jazz body, but unsure exactly how heavy it needs to be.... I guess it's a matter of experimentation. Could of course add weight to the control cavity by adding wheel calibration leads on the inside if it's not quite heavy enough as well.

 

[swarfrat]

The longer the lever the less weight you need

 

[MrWalker]

The longer the lever the less weight you need

Yes, you're of course right about that
Thanks!  :bass:

 

[Re-Pete]

From experience a solid maple Jazz Bass body from Warmoth would be pretty heavy. I have a Jazzmaster guitar body like that and it is as heavy as my alder body Precision bass body.

A friend of mine also used to own an Ibanez Eagle Bass that was made with a mahogany solid body (Jazz bass shape with extra horn curl). It was the heaviest bass I ever lifted.

So if I was trying to match up a heavy bass neck that's where I'd start....

 

[swarfrat]

Jeff Carlisi's "explorer" is maple but it's only about an inch thick. Still weighs a ton.

 

[Bob Hoover Ross]

Apologies for the zombie thread resurection, but fwiw I used a Warmoth all-Brazilian Ebony bass neck on this bass which had a Swamp Ash P Bass body, and just by cheating the rear strap button a couple inches off center I was able to ameliorate any neck dive.

Obviously I sold the bass, but not because of any balance issues.