Warped neck on bass

[dmc777]

What's up guys. I'm looking into purchasing my first bass and found a nice one on ebay that I'd like. It's a nice one for cheap but the seller says the neck is warped and the strings are sitting on the frets stating it will need work before it is played. Is this a big deal? Is it fixable? thanks for the help

 

[orksnork]

generally a warped neck is something that can be fixed, mind you, by someone who knows exactly what they are doing with a trussrod and hanging it...

but unless this is like your long sought out piece of vintage bass gear that you've been dreaming of night and day...i dont really see any reason to buy something that is iffy at best.

move along.

 

[Gnash5150]

Sounds like a scam to me! Man, I would skip it! I've seen some pretty badly warped necks, working at "Musician's Friend". The ones you cannot fix! You're taking a risk without seeing it. If someone is selling a bass, and doesn't know how to set it up, then the seller obviously knows NOTHING about a bass! Go to "Guitar Center" instead!

 

[hellshock]

not worth taking a chance and spending more money on (if its even fixable) when you can get a decent Ibanez starter at a OK price, GSR 5 stringer is really nice and still under $300 at MF or GC

 

[dmc777]

This is not a vintage item. The seller is Mhzstudio8 and has a 99.5% positive out of 6618 transactions. The company sells used to slightly damaged equipment. I emailed them asking how easily it can be fixed and why the seller doesn't fix it.

 

[ScreamingHead69]

At least he's honest about it! If the strings are sitting on the neck, the only sounds you're going to get out of it is fret buzz. How much is he selling it for? If it's around $200 like most cheep guitars and basses go for, just go down to Samash and pick up a low end Ibanez SGR. Their cheep, but they don't play like their cheep, you'll thank me later!

 

[ggunn]

What's up guys. I'm looking into purchasing my first bass and found a nice one on ebay that I'd like. It's a nice one for cheap but the seller says the neck is warped and the strings are sitting on the frets stating it will need work before it is played. Is this a big deal? Is it fixable? thanks for the help

It really depends. For example, if it's a single rod neck and the neck is twisted, then it may be a difficult/expensive job to fix and may cost more than the bass is worth. If it's just a simple truss rod adjustment, then it's no big deal, but why hasn't the seller done that himself to make it sell for more?

I would pass on it. There are plenty of good deals around on decent entry level basses; why saddle yourself with a problem before you even get started?

 

[Light]

Without seeing it, I can't say for sure. The thing is, ANYTHING can be fixed, the only question is how much it will cost. A warped neck may or may not be reasonable, but basses have special problems when it comes to neck. They have a whole heck of a lot of tension on a really skinny piece of wood.

My guess, it probably needs a truss rod adjustment at best (free, in my shop), or a refret at worst ($350-600 in my shop). It is possible it would need a new neck, in which case you are basically fucked, but I would be surprised if that was the case.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[dave.....]

good deal on a bass ??

hey if its your first bass then you dont want any trouble.... i will only hurt your learning.. buy a new one there are plenty of low cost bass guitars out there that play and sound great.. check out rondomusic.com ive bought a few bass guitars from them and a few guitars from them.. never had ant trouble w/ any of there stuff.. good luck

 

[stetto]

At least you don't have my problem--My Spector NS-2A has a neck with a cross-grain--It's a neck-through and the grain runs just ever-so-slightly diagonal to the north-south axis...My guitar tech in Fargo tells me that it WILL eventually twist to an unplayable state and is unfixable, short of a total replacement...Of course he couldn't say if the bass would be unplayable in 1 or 50 years, as it is smooth as butter right now...And I've had it since '88...Played hard and put up wet...

Eric

 

[dmc777]

Just wanted to let you guys no I went with another bass and got a pretty good deal. http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--FEN136860 Got it for 350 shipping and all. Came from a guitar player that never gigged with the bass and never left the house. Mint condition. What do you bass players think?

 

[orksnork]

i love fender american jazz basses...but looking at this price...is this japanese?? a little steep for mexican, but a little cheap for american

 

[dmc777]

Check the link. It is a Mexican but it's deluxe with upgraded hardware. has noiseless pickups. Specs are in the link.

 

[orksnork]

i gave it the ol' quick looking over before...

what ive found are good for the price...but can't recall if they are mexican, or japanese....are the getty lee (sp?) signatures...

bassist of my old band got one as a backup...got it custom painted with some camo bullshit...played it a few times at practice, and put away the american jazz for that...

really good quality/dollar ratio