Official Luthiers Forum!

I broke the neck on my Fender Jazz Bass. How difficult is it to replace neck? Does body and neck need to be matched? If I get a replacement neck from fender does it just bolt on? does it need to be shimmed? glued? Yes, I know nothing about guitar repair or crafting. Thanks for any input.
Dar

This won't be difficult for a luthier to get you back in business. For someone such as yourself, it WILL be tricky. Yes, they "just bolt on" but often need to be adjusted, shimmed, tweaked and coaxed into performing as they should. Experience in doing this especially with a Bass neck is important.

My advice...see a competent luthier who has experience with such issues.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Depending on the brake the original neck is likely repairable to a stable state and would help retain the value of the guitar as original. While a new neck is a good option the original neck was fitted explicit to that body and a new neck will have to be as well as the fretboard and a new fret job and set-up. Both options are doable in most cases. go to Fender's web site and contact them for the closest certified Fender repair tech. He will likely be an independent luthier and will have proven his ability to do repair work for Fender. Depending on your location he may be closer than you think.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input.
*note to self*
Dont practice while wife is sleeping.

Daron,

Another option, especially if the neck is "totaled", is to take a look at Warmoth.com. Those folks are aftermarket neck/body experts and most likely can find you a perfect fit. Additionally, if there's been something that you don't like about the original neck, they have custom profiles that might suit you better. The advice about finding the proper tech to fit the neck is definitely the way to go.

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Carlton Macksam
Muskegon, Michigan

Even better than Warmoth is USA Custom Guitars

http://usacustomguitars.com/

they will gladly help you get a neck that properly matches your bass

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-donh-

Everything is a tone control!

Hey Daron,

I am no pro but I have fixed a few badly broken neck so they have come out like new, at least they play the same and you need to look hard to find the repair. Now I am not suggesting that you should tackle this yourself if you don't have the tools and hand skills already, you would really want to be fixing some cheapies first to get your chops up before you take to your Fender. But, you can get an idea of the process by checking out Frank Fords excellent website Frets.com.

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Structural/BrokenHeadstocks/LongBreak/longbreak.html

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Structural/BrokenHeadstocks/HybridRepair/59d28peghead.html

Once you know yourself what needs doing, you are less likely to be hood winked be some unskilled buffoon who has not got a clue at all and just wants to take your money ruining your guitar in the process. In knowing, you are more likely the choose the right repairer and have this done professionally as JJ suggest and if you do, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised, even shocked at how successful this kind of repair can be. It really is amazing just what a good repair dude can do.

Cheers

Kim