ibanez EX Bass needs new neck.

[funkybeats]

I have a bass to fix. I'm not experienced at doing this, but I have a buddy who has rebuilt a few guitars who's gonna help me. The neck is bowed inward, has a small crack on the back below the head. I'm pretty sure the hole at the top of the truss rod is stripped. So I'm pretty sure repair is not an option. Gotta replace the whole neck. Have no effing clue where to start. Help? :sad: I have pictures but I can't get them to post . Grrr.

 

[line6man]

Warmoth makes their necks to Fender specifications. The problem is, I doubt that your Ibanez has the same specs as a Fender...
I don't think Warmoth offers a neck that will fit your bass.

What model bass is it?

 

[OzziePete]

1. Get the damaged neck off the body.
2. Take precise measurements of the neck pocket.
3. Compare measurements of your Ibanez's neck pocket to the stated Warmoth neck pocket for basses (go to Warmoth website, click on Bass Bodies, go to any bass body shape and then click on the Neck Pocket Specs tag)
4. If the measurements match you are in business, otherwise a custom replacement from someone, somewhere must be found. Don't know if Warmoth would do a bass neck with different neck pocket specs.

Hopefully you will have a match and can pull the trigger on a new neck. Good luck.

 

[funkybeats]

Really? Crap. Well I'll have to check it out tomorrow. Any ideas where I can get a neck to fit this kind of bass? It's an EX series made in Korea. They're not in production anymore and I have a feeling it's gonna be like pulling teeth to get parts for it. I got a couple guitars years ago and I've been playing those since. I kinda left off bass playing for a while, but I know some guys who need a bassist for a ska band. Fun! If I can get this thing fixed I'm back in business.  It's a killer instrument. I'd hate to have to abandon it.

 

[JaySwear]

that could be really tough. maybe search ebay? i looked around but only came up with one result for "ibanez ex bass"

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Herein lies the problem, sorry if I seem bluntly rude, that's not the intention.  The Ibanez EX Bass is/was a cheap, beginner level bass.  The neck on those is not the usual Ibanez stable multi-laminate that they're known for.  Everything from the hardware to the pickups was cheap.  I understand sentimental value, especially if a deceased realtive purchased it, and if feels and sounds good to you, you have no choice but to seek a replacement.  However, spending any money on a replacement neck for that bass should cost more than it is worth.  Ask yourself why they're no longer in production.  There's probably several different answers.  14 years ago, my bass player had one of those.  If your's is that old, then you've got your money's worth from it.  Give it a good burial, or store it in hopes it will reach Danelectro or Airline status.

And at first glance (neck pocket specs not withstanding), a Warmoth neck doesn't look compatible.

 

[line6man]

Herein lies the problem, sorry if I seem bluntly rude, that's not the intention.  The Ibanez EX Bass is/was a cheap, beginner level bass.  The neck on those is not the usual Ibanez stable multi-laminate that they're known for.  Everything from the hardware to the pickups was cheap.  I understand sentimental value, especially if a deceased realtive purchased it, and if feels and sounds good to you, you have no choice but to seek a replacement.  However, spending any money on a replacement neck for that bass should cost more than it is worth.  Ask yourself why they're no longer in production.  There's probably several different answers.  14 years ago, my bass player had one of those.  If your's is that old, then you've got your money's worth from it.  Give it a good burial, or store it in hopes it will reach Danelectro or Airline status.

And at first glance (neck pocket specs not withstanding), a Warmoth neck doesn't look compatible.

+1
I was going to say that trying to find a custom neck would cost more than the bass is worth, but I didn't know of anyone that could do a custom neck, so I didn't post.
For the amount of money you would be putting into buying a new neck, you could just buy a whole new bass.
You might also be able to make a few bucks putting the body and hardware from your Ibanez EX on eBay.

 

[funkybeats]

Hmm.. It did cross my mind that I'd probably be spending more than it's worth. I could just buy a used guitar and save myself the hassle. Who would buy the parts on ebay though if you can't get anything to fit this model?

 

[line6man]

Who would buy the parts on ebay though if you can't get anything to fit this model?

?
You could use cheap parts for projects.
Or, people with the same bass that are looking for replacement parts for it.

 

[funkybeats]

I'll have to try that. Thanks!

 

[OzziePete]

Yes, parting out the bass on e-bay to fund a new project for a bass guitar of better quality, would be an enterprising idea. :sign13:

Like you, there's probably more than a few folks around looking for parts for their EX Bass and finding nothing. If you put all the parts up for sale, they suddenly can get the bridge they had broken or the pickup mounts etc...

 

[m4rk0]

Herein lies the problem, sorry if I seem bluntly rude, that's not the intention.  The Ibanez EX Bass is/was a cheap, beginner level bass. 

I think there were different levels within the EX range... Luke has a nice EX six string, not half as bad as your modern Chinese crap.
and I quite like my EX bass, in fact, it is the only bass I am keeping.. I recently sold my 70s blazer and I am in the process of selling my Washburn Bass

keeping this one:

 

[line6man]

Herein lies the problem, sorry if I seem bluntly rude, that's not the intention.  The Ibanez EX Bass is/was a cheap, beginner level bass. 

I think there were different levels within the EX range... Luke has a nice EX six string, not half as bad as your modern Chinese crap.
and I quite like my EX bass, in fact, it is the only bass I am keeping.. I recently sold my 70s blazer and I am in the process of selling my Washburn Bass

keeping this one:

Not to steal the thread, but how do you like the reverse P placement?
I see discussions about reversed P pickups all the time on TalkBass, and some people say it sounds more balanced that way, and others say there is no difference.

 

[jay4321]

You know I was in recent need of a recording bass, and bought this Ibanez one at 15% off. I'm extremely happy with it. Looks great, plays great, sounds pretty good overall too with a variety of sounds. This one is a 5-string, but I'm sure there's a 4-string equivalent if that's what you need.

I tried maybe 10 basses in this price range in person, and the decision wasn't even close. There was a somewhat beat-up MIM Jazz I'd considered, which sounded pretty good, but the Ibanez had a better range of usable tones.

 

[blue313]

I tried maybe 10 basses in this price range in person, and the decision wasn't even close.

Same here, except I got mine during post holiday clearance for $99.  The closest bass in the store was $250 for something wasn't a toy.  They may be cheap but they get the job done for someone who's not a serious bass player.

Your neck problem may be fixable but potentially expensive.  It might be a great project though.  Gluing the crack in a neck isn't too horrible, and hopefully your truss rod is single acting with a removable and replaceable nut.  If the original nut is stripped it explains why the truss rod isn't removing the forward bow.

 

[m4rk0]

Not to steal the thread, but how do you like the reverse P placement?
I see discussions about reversed P pickups all the time on TalkBass, and some people say it sounds more balanced that way, and others say there is no difference.

Sounds great to me, but I don't have a regular one to compare it to.

 

[funkybeats]

Man that picture looks exactly like the guitar I have. Exact same color. Mine has frets though. Well I'm gonna take it to Axe music and see what the tech says. If it's not too expensive I'll try to fix it. If not I'll pull it apart and try to sell the parts. This may not be a really high quality guitar, but it's been really solid for me. I have really fond albeit hazy memories of all the house and frat parties I played with this thing.