Thread: Neck block work
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Old 04-23-2010, 03:27 AM
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Cool ok..

Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker View Post


This type. This is not the one I'm repairing though. All rubners i have come across have the same neck/rib arrangement with no ledge and decorative strip at the top and thus very thin mortise walls.
Looking over my Basses in the rack earlier I would say many of them are like this originally without any cappings but sunk in about 3/4" to 1" into the Block on average. Some much more but closer to an Inch on average. Personally I don't like the Neck too deep in as it plays easier with less Heel moving into thumb position.

If the Top is off you can do more. Blocks can be beefed up inside and the Neck sunk lower as well. Depending on how deep the Block is you can drop the Neck in a little lower if making a new Neck. If not, then you don't have room without altering the Back Button.

In this case you need to re-build the Block slightly and if need be, repair the Rib meeting the Neck. From the outside things are harder to make look its best but without seeing the actual bass, I can't say much more which way to go. If the Block is good, a slight re-build and a good re-fit should be just fine.

With the cappings you mention on some commercial basses, this is totally decorative. It is the bottom fit mainly with the block sides and Back supporting the fit that holds the Neck. How much platform across the sides of the Block till it meets the Rib has little to do with support. In this case, you need more Block inside the Bass to hold it all together.

Arnold is away this week but I am sure he will chime in on this. On just my basses alone that he has worked on, just about every method I mentioned above was done depending on what the Bass needed.
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