Thinning a thick ?

[Thomas Erickson]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

A bass neck usually breaks at its weakest point. That would be just under the scroll at the end of the fingerboard for the most part. Graphite wont help as it's IN the neck and not at the break point.

The two basses that I have seen that received a hit (after a rod was installed) enough to do damage, one the neck had a small crack, the other came loose at the button and on the sides of the heel slightly-both were very minor repairs.

Seems to me like in the case of a good strong neck joint then that the brunt of an impact is going to be focused on the point of the neck where it's already weakest. Does anybody think that maybe a neck without graphite, one that can absorb and evenly distribute shock, might actually be safer in the case of an otherwise well made and healthy bass?

And as for the stiffness, if the neck is thick enough, isn't it going to be stiff enough to not deflect under tension

I don't mean to be negative about it or anything, I just tend to have my doubts about graphite being able to improve a nice thick neck made from good maple; I can certainly see how it would be nice in a bass guitar neck though!