Official Luthiers Forum!

I am working on my first instrument build. It is a four string fretless electric bass. My main bass is a Carvin LB75 so I am using it as a model.

Carvin uses two carbon fiber reinforcement rods in addition to a truss rod. I am planning to use a 2-way truss rod from Stew Mac but I'm not sure if i need the carbon fiber or not.

Anyone have any advice?

I'm not a bass builder but it's not hard to add carbon fiber reinforcement and adds tremendous stability. But make sure to route the channels and epoxy them in the neck blank before jointing the face and shaping the neck. Pressing in something so stiff and the expansion and contraction that can happen with the wood and the epoxy can make the neck move. So after it's glued up and dry do whatever you want to it and it should stay perfect.

4-string basses work fine without carbon, but then again, it sure won't hurt. Epoxy graphite tends to remove dead spots and generally stabilizes a neck. I do not agree with the previous comment that the neck moves around when gluing bars with epoxy glue. Just the opposite is my experience.