Fretless P Neck?

[uwe]

Hi guys, rarely do I post here in the F(i)ender Förüm, but give a Gibsonite some help, will ya?

I have an eighties RI of a 62 P, always liked the bass' sound, but the neck was slightly warped from day one (which is probably why I got it cheaper in a shop in Texas around 89, I didn't notice at the time). The warp got worse over time, repeated fret dressings just prolonged the decay and the trussrod cried "unconditional surrender!" eventually and broke. I wanted my luthier to repair it and convert it to fretless, but he said even with a new truss rod and a new fingerboard the neck is warped to hell***, I should look for a replacement neck. *** I've meanwhile talked him into giving it a try to preserve the integrity of the bass, but he remains doubtful, mumbling something about "the laws of physics cannot be changed". 

So now I'm on the lookout for a fretless P bass neck (and if that is unavailable a fretless J Bass neck) and it should be an original Fender USA neck, I don't care whether it is vintage or new (assuming that they all fit my 62 RI) .

Any ideas? I looked at ebay and found this here, a disassembled 71 P neck of uncertain quality

http://cgi.ebay.com/fender-precision-bass-neck-1971-fretless_W0QQitemZ130217798510QQihZ003QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and a MIM  J neck:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FENDER-JAZZ-BASS-FRETLESS-fast-action-ROSEWOOD-J-neck_W0QQitemZ110247749911QQihZ001QQcategoryZ41423QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262


Thanks!

Uwe

[Dave W]

A 70s fretless P neck would be the most commonly found although maple doesn't fit with a '62 RI. I'd avoid that particular one.

The fretless MIM J necks are really very nice, but not if you have to have an MIA neck.

[eb2]

That ain't maple, that is a disaster!  I would avoid any neck that has been disassembled and had the truss rod yanked, if only because the guy is selling as is.  Who knows what went on there, but I would not be surprised if it had worse inherent neck-twisting than what you have now.

I agree that maple fretless board on 60s vibe P basses is aesthetically wrong.  I would want a 70s TV logo'ed B neck on there.  If I were out to for something exotic I would look for the early to mid 80s Fender Japan fretless Jazz necks, which had a cooler vintage look to them, as long as the Jazz Bass decal didn't bug you.  They show up on the ebay often enough, and to be completely honest they are a great bass in total.  If you found a nice one of those, sell the RI body and make more cash.  Certainly a sleeper on the market, as is all 80s Fender Japan bass stuff.  Ok, not the Bullets and 32" scale P basses.  But in terms of bang for the buck and intense outsider cred, 80s Fender Japan is the Gibson bass of Fender.

I am sure the fretless Fender Mexican stuff is fine, but like fretless US necks of the past few years, cheater lines are for kids.

[uwe]

A 70s fretless P neck would be the most commonly found although maple doesn't fit with a '62 RI. I'd avoid that particular one.

The fretless MIM J necks are really very nice, but not if you have to have an MIA neck.

I didn't know that the seventies fretless P Bass necks had maple boards? The one in the auction has a rosewood (or ebony?) board, it has just been removed.

I wouldn't dream of a maple board for a 62 RI, especially with this body fin (warpie is at the left, I always wonder is that fiesta red ore some kind of orange the name escapes me?):



 

[eb2]

That is the Fiesta Red.  I have a Jazz RI body in that.  Looks like Tomato soup mixed with candy.

The 70s Fender fretless necks came in both rosewood and maple.  Maple boards scream 70s, and I think they look best with an Antigua finish.

[Chris P.]

My Fiesta Red maple necked MIM P is orange in artificial light and pink in normal daylight. At the Fender site it's... ...red!

Entwistle calls his Fiesta Explorerbird and P 'Salmon Pink' which fits better, IMHO.

Good luck with the neck. Ever thought of a LED-lighted carbon neck? Sorry, I have to drag myself out of this Buzzard-phase.

[godofthunder]

 To bad about the neck Uwe, quite  a few of the 80's MIJ RIs have that problem, is yours MIA or MIJ ? I got lucky a while ago at the local GC. A 70's Fender fretless neck with original  tuners mated to a suspect body, sounds great though. ebay is probably your best bet unless your luthier can maybe find something. Allparts makes good stuff for the dough if you can't find a real Fender neck.

[uwe]

"Too bad about the neck Uwe, quite  a few of the 80's MIJ RIs have that problem, is yours MIA or MIJ?"

Silly question, but how would I know? I thought all these eighties RIs were yank as opposed to Jap. Mine has a silly little green booklet from 1983 (but I only bought it in 1989) in true sixties look with it that gives the impression of it being produced in the US of A without stating it explicitly. Not that it matters to me. While I wouldn't want a MIM neck on it (unless I really, really have to), I'd be fine with a MIJ one.

I coerced my luthier in giving the neck another try. He'll take off the board, hone what needs to be honed off the warped neck, install a new truss rod and compensate the loss of maple with a thicker rosewood board (I thought rosewood as a fretless board is more sixties than ebony would be). Wait we must.

You're probably asking why I'm going through all this trouble with it. I bought that bass for a Texas wedding of my best friend (who worked in Dallas at the time but has relocated to Germany in the nineties) after we decided ad hoc to have a reunion gig of our old band at his wedding. So into the next Dallas music store I went and bought this thing because it sounded better than all the other Ps in that shop (with necks that would probably not have warped!). I've grown attached to it over the years, it has a very warm full sound with flats (I can't even remember how it used to sound with rounds, it's too long ago I had those on) and I always wondered that it would make a darn good fretless.

Uwe

[eb2]

Fender Japan started doing the reissues at the same time.  They have JV serial numbers on the neck plate unless somebody messed with them.  There are other fairly minor differences and if you go to a Fender MIJ JV/Squier website you can check.  A lot of the electronics were US to boot.  But the early Japan reissues are pretty dang good.  Unless the neck warped.

I like the idea of working the old neck with a new board.

[ilan]

70's fretless P necks are not rare on eBay. I bought one about a year ago just because my first good bass (Hofners and Kliras are not good basses, right?) was a blank plank Fender P. Got it for $197. It's on my '75 P now and is a joy to play.

[edmonstg]

uwe...for a Gibsonite, you've got a nice collection of other stuff.

At any rate, several comments:

(1) Is there a date penciled on the butt end of the neck? The body should also have a date, probably in the neck pocket. Looking at your group shot, with the bass in question some distance from the camera, it appears to me the straight-across cut of the tip end of the rosewood board above the nut indicates it was made after 1986.

(2) Original Fiesta Red finishes from American-made 1980s reissues are rare. From 1982-1984, Fender P-basses in Fiesta with rosewood boards (62 AVS reissues) are very rare.

(3) You may have already done this, but I've been very impressed with the necks coming out of MIM, so you may want to go out and put your hands on a few before making a final decision about using one as a replacement. I have a Classic 50s P and I love the cut and feel of the neck. It's my understanding that MIM necks begin life in the USA and are sent rough-cut to MIM for finishing.

George

[Chris P.]

uwe...for a Gibsonite, you've got a nice collection of other stuff.

You'll learn a lot about Uwe's collection if you stay here long enough!

[eb2]

Hofners and Kliras are not good basses, right?

Bite your keyboard!

[Dave W]

You'll learn a lot about Uwe's collection if you stay here long enough!

George was a member at DP v.2. I think he knows Uwe's Gibson collection. It's just that Uwe isn't real forthcoming about his other basses.    For example, Uwe would be mortified if it became known that he actually bought a Gene Simmons Punisher....ooops! 

[uwe]

I have no issue with owning up to ze Punisher at all, that is a souped up Ripper made of maho basically, I could have done without Herr Simmons outsize signature on it, not because I don't like Herr Simmons, but because I don't like outsize signatures on instruments, period. I guess my Dean Owners of America Flying V is more embarrassing. Or my Italia Mondial. I even have a Bongo and a Parker Fly Bass!!! And four Icemans!

If I'm honest, I don't think there is a bass brand or type I would not play, you can get a decent or at least an original sound out of most anything if you work at it.

Uwe