Replacement neck for 80s St. Blues P-bass

[augiegus]

Hello all,

I suppose I should introduce myself first. I am a late bloomer in actually playing live music. I have piddled around with guitar since 14 but never was in a band or even took a lesson (with the exception of Mel Bay). I bought a St. Blues Bass a year ago and today with little practice find myself in a band at the ripe age of 44. I am learning on the fly and have several faults but my bandmates so far have not thrown me out of the band so to the point...

The neck on my St. Blues P-bass clone has a non-functioning truss rod and the neck seems cheap (bought it online) in that the rosewood finger board looks so thin that it was basically sprayed on. I want a new neck and was just gonna do maple on maple from Warmoth with a finish applied but then realized I could go with exotic wood and have a sans finish and well the wheels got spinning.

The point of all this is two necks have perked my interest. The first is BN3630 a teak neck/goncalo alves fingerboard and BN3899 a wenge neck/bubinga fingerboard. The first "looks" good to go but no info on teak as a tonewood on the Warmoth site. FIRST question anybody out there have a teak bass neck and if so how do you like it? The wenge neck just draws me in for texture of the grain and that I think it would match the red p-bass body with black pickgaurd very well. SECOND question same as first except about the wenge neck?

I made the bonehead mistake of buying two basses in one day the St. Blues and a Guild Pilot with stock EMGs (see it as a blessing now). I have been using the Pilot and dig the bass though when I listen to our practice recordings it seems a little more trebly then I would prefer. This leads us to the THIRD question that I understand may not be answerable: Of the two bass necks would one add a bassier component to the overall bass sound?

I know Warmoth makes amazing necks/parts and I will be happy with whatever I decide on. I just was curious if anyone had a OH GOD don't get the blah blah blah neck for... this may not be possible with Warmoth but you are reading a post from a guy who bought an Earth Amplifier (read not good).

Thanks

Augiegus

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

First things first, I'd see if your bass's neck pocket is Fender compatible.

 

[JimBeed]

Main Point: Make triple sure that the neck pocket of the St. Blues bass fits a warmoth neck,
the details can be found here: http://www.warmoth.com/Bass/Necks/faq2.aspx under the appropriate heading (I'm guessing 4 string neck).

I have no clue about the teak, haven't got one.

I do however have a wengle/bloodwood neck.

now if the St.Blues currently has a maple/rosewood neck.

Then judging by the bright/warm meter and personal experience of it with what is classed as a bright fingerboard(the bloodwood) which has a rather between warmth and bright sound to it, to me anyways.
Then i believe the wenge/bubinga will add some more bass to the sound. If what i believe to be true-ish about warmth being bass and bright being treble (In a sense) then that would hold true.

Somebody else with more experience in warmoth parts will be here. but seeing a bass question thought i'd chime in =]

 

[tfarny]

I'd probably recommend you build a full Warmoth bass if you're sure by now that you know specifically what you want in terms of tone, specs, weight, and looks.
But yeah, don't buy a W neck until you've done the measurements for compatibility yourself or by a trusted tech.

 

[bagman67]

I disagree, tfarny.  He should pick up the Warmoth neck specifically hoping it WON'T fit, so then if he's right, he also gets to pick a body, and he can be sucked into the swirling vortex of the addiction...

 

[augiegus]

I like the way you folks think. I will do the measuring but I already had the thought that what if it does not enhance the sound? My second thought was buy a body and do my best to cope with my mistake  :laughing7:

It is from the late 80s and looks like a standard P-bass but yep who knows if the pocket is correct? As if I can see accurately to the 1/16" or heck a 1/4" of an inch for that matter. I will look it over tomorrow was a long day here.

 

[augiegus]

Ok the status of the neck dilema is this. I measured the pocket every which way and called Warmoth several times and yes it appears that it will fit! I did take a long hard look at the neck options and my checking account and went for the Teak neck (this too was helped by the phone barrage with Warmoth). I will keep the page posted once the neck comes in and will post pics accordingly.

Now I will say that part of me is ok if I measured a little incorrectly for Warmoth has showcase bodies I can finish (I am pretty good with lacquer IMO) and the wonderful thing is with wood so beautiful I can just use clear coat. So it is almost a win win situation except the St. Blues bass is defunctious...

I have a new question. The problem with the St. Blues is the bottom phillips screw that works the truss rod housing is getting stripped (by yours truley). It is still operating and can be taken out completely. It makes me wonder powers that be can this lil slim socket size fixture be replaced with a allen wrench duplicate? Does such a critter exist?  :help:

 

[augiegus]

I have been super busy but finally had some time to post some pics. I love the raw feel of the neck and my only regret is I wish I was better with my camera to give the instrument visual justice. Here she is in all her glory!

 

[augiegus]

Love the wood texture on back of the neck!

 

[Cagey]

Nice job! I like that neck!

 

[Jack Michaelson]

Looks good!

Notice any tonal change?

 

[drewfx]

Looks sweet!

Unfortunately I missed this thread when it first appeared as I actually have a teak/ebony J-bass neck.

When I was researching the wood properties of teak, it generally falls somewhere in the middle between maple and mahogany. My take is that it's fairly neutral sounding, rather than having a distinct or overbearing sound one way or another.

Hopefully you'll be as happy with yours as I am with mine!

 

[augiegus]

I believe my bass sounds a little deeper with the new neck. I really love the fact that no finish was required for the teak. You can feel every note and this seems to make me want to play more.

The neck was a little snug on the S&T body but with a teensy amount of effort was able to get neck in place. It was very sage advice to measure the pocket and make sure this neck was usable for my bass. The whole process was flaw free from viewing the showroom necks on day one to tuning the G string and plugging in.

I have now caught the bug and am looking into a 100% Warmoth (neck/body) bass. I am even considering "glow in the dark" finish for the body but am trying to find out more about the finish before making the leap (there is the other problem of no money at present).