J Bass: Fender vs Warmoth: Fretboard Radius: Will I even notice?

[M Daley]

Didn't know where else to put this, so I went with the general forum

I really want to order my "ultimate" bass neck from Warmoth. I notice that they have a standard 10' fretboard radius and my Jazz bass has a 7.5 or some such.

For those of you who've played both, will I even notice the difference?

 

[mayfly]

No.  I made my bass player a W Jazz and to her it feels just the same as her Fender 62 J re-issue.

I can't tell either

 

[M Daley]

Thanks!

 

[AprioriMark]

Yeah, you won't notice a difference, I'm sure.  I can't wait to see your bass build. 

-Mark

 

[M Daley]

Thank you, Mark. I'm sure I'll be sharing it here once I place the order.

 

[whyachi]

You might want to go with the thinner neck profile option

 

[BassmanAK]

Radius on a bass fingerboard affects how low the action can be set....
If you're a half-inch off the board guy, you'll be fine....
If you like it lower... Then 10 will actually do the job for most
setups.....
if you like to bend up high.... You'll want a flatter board....
Similar to guitar specs in this area....

 

[line6man]

I'm afraid I really don't understand the question.

What does it matter if you notice a difference or not? The instrument is going to be different than what you are currently playing either way, so you might as well adjust to it.


My first Warmoth neck has a nearly flat radius, and my second Warmoth neck has a 10" radius.
I'm unable to draw any conclusions on the radius, because my action is different, and the necks feel different (One is raw with sharp fingerboard edges, the other has a gloss finish with smoothed out fingerboard edges.)

I've never paid much attention to radii. :dontknow:

 

[line6man]

if you like to bend up high.... You'll want a flatter board....

I've heard that curvy radii can "fret out" when you do string bends.

I've never played a fretted Jazz bass, so I have no idea, but if the OP currently has a 7.5" radius, 10" should not be any worse. In fact, it should alleviate the issue to a degree.

 

[Cagey]

I've heard that curvy radii can "fret out" when you do string bends.

The more severe (small) a radius is, the more likely that will happen, but even then it usually only happens if the action is set very low. With compound radii, it's almost unheard of, even with low action.

 

[line6man]

I've heard that curvy radii can "fret out" when you do string bends.

The more severe (small) a radius is, the more likely that will happen, but even then it usually only happens if the action is set very low. With compound radii, it's almost unheard of, even with low action.

The compound 10"-16" radius Warmoth does is only on guitar necks.
Jazz bass necks get straight 10" radii.

 

[AprioriMark]

You might want to go with the thinner neck profile option

I want to echo this.  The thinner neck option (+45 bucks) is well worth it.  It's not super thin, but it's really, really nice.  I say this owning 8 Warmoth bass necks at the moment.

-Mark

 

[lafromla1]

You might want to go with the thinner neck profile option

I want to echo this.  The thinner neck option (+45 bucks) is well worth it.  It's not super thin, but it's really, really nice.  I say this owning 8 Warmoth bass necks at the moment.

-Mark

Only 8?  I dont know if I can take his word for it. :laughing11:

 

[M Daley]

Thanks, the slimmer neck option did seem like it would be worth the money. 

 

[Malta]

I don't notice any difference either.