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Warmoth Bodies and Necks
- Thread starter PleyswethSqwerl
- Start date
Or change them into lighter carbon fibre rods, always offered as an option
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In effect I’d gladly buy a neck from Warmoth, even with the steel rods inside, if it could manufactured with a 7.25” radius as I like curved boards .. they offer a nice variety of woods with colour and texture variation even among the same species.
Don’t ask them to finish the neck however as the price will double … the reasons of this will always go beyond d my understanding .. it’s just a neck bit a full body ! I wonder how many hours of work of super-qualified elf-like artisans spraying the back of a neck with a rosewood board may require …
Don’t ask them to finish the neck however as the price will double … the reasons of this will always go beyond d my understanding .. it’s just a neck bit a full body ! I wonder how many hours of work of super-qualified elf-like artisans spraying the back of a neck with a rosewood board may require …
I'm aware of this option, it's a significant upcharge and unnecessary. There are millions of great basses in the world without steel or graphite neck reinforcement. It would be easier and less expensive for them to make necks without reinforcement. They offer this with their guitar necks.
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I was leaning towards those who say that the so-called Posiflex rods inside some of Fender’s basses necks were useless .. however, after having put together a Frankenstein-P with MIA parts including a jazz bass neck with carbon rods, I have to say that the relief of this particular neck is easier to adjust when compared to that of other J basses without rods I had in the past (not that the same can’t be done with the others however …)
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Many of my basses have graphite reinforcement, I'm not against it at all. I just like options. I've had a bunch of steel Warmoth necks, they were all heavy and too bright so I stopped buying them. As the OP said, their bodies are great, but the current necks they offer aren't right for me.
I did buy a short scale bass body and neck from them recently and I'm very happy - no steel rods in the neck!
I did buy a short scale bass body and neck from them recently and I'm very happy - no steel rods in the neck!
Agreed. A Warmoth 7.25 ebony board with vintage small frets would be incredible
!!I'd buy 2 of them!!
The ssb 30” & 32” do not have reinforcement bars. Warmoth simply does not want warped necks in their lifetime so they reinforce the long scale and extended scale necks. The ssb are a little more stout and smaller so it’s not done to those. ime “slim” is pretty darn close to a modern J shape ymmv.
I'm definitely more in the curved board camp than the flat board camp. But the Warmoth 10" radius is quite live-able for me. The steel rods do add weight but I think there may be more at work than pounds and ounces. I don't have to mess with my warmoth necks and I unscientifically attribute that to the rods amongst other things. They are VERY stable and I use the slim taper necks. IIRC Fender uses steel rods in their modern necks too. My favorite bass is a Warmoth and I have a number of good production grade instruments to choose from.
The USACG necks were a quality item for sure but I think their licensing arrangement was quirky. I own one and the HS shape is not quite Fender. It has a hook on it. But IIRC you could order a Fender replica from them at an upcharge. I also remember seeing instructions on how to convert their USACG HS shape to Fender shape with some trimming of said hook. It was a weird sidestep of the Fender licensing thing IMO.
I have also noticed that my Warmoth bodies are thicker than my Fender bodies. So licensing IMO is not cart blanche for a company to sell exact copies. If you lay a Fender Jazz Bass next to a Warmoth build, you notice subtle differences in the basic components. But at the end of the day Warmoth and Fender wood parts interchange well and that is one of the main goals.
Allparts Jazz Bass necks are are chunkier than modern Fender necks IME. I own one and it is definitely 'C' profile and is not a replica of anything Fender that I own in feel. It is a great neck but not a favorite of someone who likes skinny necks.
If you want a vintage style neck you go to MusiKraft. Period. That's what they do.
The USACG necks were a quality item for sure but I think their licensing arrangement was quirky. I own one and the HS shape is not quite Fender. It has a hook on it. But IIRC you could order a Fender replica from them at an upcharge. I also remember seeing instructions on how to convert their USACG HS shape to Fender shape with some trimming of said hook. It was a weird sidestep of the Fender licensing thing IMO.
I have also noticed that my Warmoth bodies are thicker than my Fender bodies. So licensing IMO is not cart blanche for a company to sell exact copies. If you lay a Fender Jazz Bass next to a Warmoth build, you notice subtle differences in the basic components. But at the end of the day Warmoth and Fender wood parts interchange well and that is one of the main goals.
Allparts Jazz Bass necks are are chunkier than modern Fender necks IME. I own one and it is definitely 'C' profile and is not a replica of anything Fender that I own in feel. It is a great neck but not a favorite of someone who likes skinny necks.
If you want a vintage style neck you go to MusiKraft. Period. That's what they do.
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I agree with all of this for the most part. Except that I’m not a huge fan of warmoth necks. They just don’t have that feel like fender. Which feel is the most important component.
Fender’s using graphite rods glued to the neck which they call “Posiflex” rods.
I had a look at the Musikraft’s site .. there are no bass necks of whatsoever make ready for delivery.
One of the things I like best with Warmoth is that they always have something you can buy on the fly and there are items to choose from.
At the moment (since a couple of months I should say) there’s a quarter-sawn maple P-bass neck which Fender only (and not always) install on their CS instruments.
The price is interesting although the radius is the usual 10”.
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I don’t like the 10 radius and them referring to it as a “replacement neck” {emphasis added}. This would suggest that they are “direct” replacements and fender almost if ever uses a 10” radius or non C or U shaped necks.
Good to know, but I was speaking very specifically about Warmoth.
"Should"? Well, that would be nice, but just because FMIC has a contract with one company doesn't mean their contracts with other companies have the same details baked in. No one contract is necessarily the same as the next. Ask anyone who's done contract law and/or negotiations...the Devil is in the details.
Every time I check out their necks, be they on their website or another third-party seller, the first things I look for are the nut-width and radius, and every time, I'm disappointed. But, like I said, if you can show me an example, please-oh-please prove me wrong. I've heard they make quality gear, so it would really cool to get a neck from them that agrees with my fretting hand.
Big picture; it would be great if all Fender-licensed producers of replacement parts made them to our desired specs. Unfortunately, they do not. Since wishing they did won't make it happen, our only option is to spend our money where we each and every one of us think it's best given. "Y'all want our money? Make stuff we like. If not, we'll look for someone who does."
For this reason, I’ve mostly chosen neck woods that don’t require a finish e.g. roasted maple, wenge, bubinga. I did finish a couple of maple necks myself, one with poly and one with Tru-Oil.
I'm going to go out on a limb here. Based on all or most of Fender's (non-vintage reissue/custom shop) basses employing 9.5" radius necks along with Lakland and many of the boutique Fender knockoff companies using 10" radius necks, I'm guessing that the flatter radius necks are more popular in the marketplace. Warmoth's reason for being is to make money. It's probably more profitable for them to limit the options they offer in order to streamline their operations.
That said, I have a bunch of basses with Warmoth standard contour, steel reinforced Jazz necks that I really like. Short of them not having a 7.25" radius, they are the closest thing I know of to the rare and highly sought after Fender Precision "A" necks that were available in the 70's. While they were 1.5" wide at the nut, they were noticeably chunkier than their standard Jazz necks.
That said, I have a bunch of basses with Warmoth standard contour, steel reinforced Jazz necks that I really like. Short of them not having a 7.25" radius, they are the closest thing I know of to the rare and highly sought after Fender Precision "A" necks that were available in the 70's. While they were 1.5" wide at the nut, they were noticeably chunkier than their standard Jazz necks.
What is bad about the steel rods in the neck? None of my basses have the reinforcements so I don't know what is good or bad with them...
An investment into updating their process would go a long way. To be able to custom cut (for a cost) a neck to for an oddly shaped neck pocket would be great. To change a neck pocket on an existing body shape they have (like expanding the Jag 4 pocket to got a 5 string neck) would also be great. More options for routing odd pickup configurations... There’s a lot of opportunity there imo
I don’t believe that getting a slab of rosewood to have a slightly different radius will imply a huge investment, if any investment at all, for the company .. it may be a nice option to have though …likely there’s not enough demand ..
I see. You missed the point because you fundamentally misunderstand the matter.
The terms, stemming from a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Fender, and defended by a consortium of established replacement neck makers, in the mid-'90s, pertaining to the headstock shape, are by a court ruling. The terms apply equally to all makers the same whether its Musikraft, Warmoth, Allparts, Wildwood, USAG, so on and so forth. If "Fender-licensed" were in fact relevant to this specific detail of fretboard radiuses, if Musikraft can do it then so can Warmoth.
However, there is no trademark for neck profiles, widths, front-to-back dimensions, and fretboard radiuses. Fender-licensed is irrelevant in this regard. Warmoth can make whatever radius of fretboards they wish.
If you want far more options to choose from for a made-to-order high quality Fender-licensed neck than what Warmoth offers, order from Musikraft.
