Guest Brockyman Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 (edited) Hello all, I am new to this forum. My son is building a bass as a school exam project and all is going well so far but we (sorry - he ) are (is) almost ready to assemble the bass. However his teacher took a measurement from a Squier bass body for the pocket and it is too deep, after sanding etc we are left with about 18mm which sets the neck too low so that the strings will sit on the top of the pickups. Has anybody any advice to offer about maybe shimming the pocket, or any other alternative? The pickups could probably do with being a bit deeper but the body was cnc routed and cannot now be redone. This is a bit of a blow as the bass has to be ready in about 4 weeks. The neck is a Japanese AXS which we bought on ebay, but it does seem to have standard Precision measurements. The body is Ash but we don't have a piece left which is large enough to fill the pocket. Any help appreciated! Ian Brockbank. P.s. I was going to add a picture of the body but can't work out how to do it, is it possible? Edited February 15, 2005 by Brockyman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 To route the pickups deeper just use a pattern bit, with ball bearings on top of the cutting surface. The bearings will ride against the pre-routed cavity walls and you'll have a perfect repeat of the original route, only deeper. Your bigger question is whether or not you'll be too high at the bridge. If that's the case, then you'd have to shim the neck or route an angle into the pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joej Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 However his teacher took a measurement from a Squier bass body for the pocket and it is too deep, after sanding etc we are left with about 18mm which sets the neck too low so that the strings will sit on the top of the pickups. ← background note ... I've only had 1 pocket too deep on an electric (by a wee bit), to which I worried about: (1) getting the neck back up to the right height, and (2) ensuring the connection between the neck + body would be good for vibration transfer. So, I laminated a contrasting wood to the "bottom" of the neck -- (i.e., ebony faceplate veneer). I shaped this to match the curve of the back/bottom of the neck & pocket profile. So, it looked like it was meant to be that way. The surfaces were mated well, clamped/glued well. The neck was a bolt/insert mechanical connection, so I was less worried about vibration transfer loss. my thoughts ... 18 mm seems like a lot to me ... so you may have to consider a couple approaches in concert (lower pickups a bit, raise pocket with shim, etc.) Hopefully, someone more experienced may point you at some concerns I'm missing (weakness due to depth? etc.) --joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brockyman Posted February 15, 2005 Report Share Posted February 15, 2005 Thanks chaps, some good points there, especially about the bridge height which we haven't checked yet. I haven't actually got a router but have been looking for an excuse to buy one, all the routing was done at school where thay have a big computer controlled setup. I think a combination of both pickup depth and neck shimming is the most likely outcome. One problem is that we have stained the body and made a really nice job of it, shouldn't be too big a problem though as any mods will be hidden. Thanks again Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Would it be possible to lower the pickups a bit and shim the neck just enough with a neck angle producing shim? I've seen someone (I think it was Alex maybe) who modded his strat by routing the pocket deeper and adding a neck angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 In this case you "could" try a neck angle, but I strongly suggest that you just make a shim from the ash used to make the body and shape it just like the neck heel, but the necesary thickness to bring the neck up to were you neeed it, and then glue it, if it turns out to tall, you can always rout it to the correct depth this time, Shouldn't bee too hard, and I rather do this than just deepen the pups rout. you could have a problem with the bridge also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 after sanding etc we are left with about 18mm The body is Ash but we don't have a piece left which is large enough to fill the pocket. Any help appreciated! Ian Brockbank. P.s. I was going to add a picture of the body but can't work out how to do it, is it possible? ← First, you're saying that the total depth of the pocket is 18mm or it's too deep by that amount? And you've already tried to fasten the neck to see the fit? (Just making sure) I have some scrap pieces of ash here, you want some? For the photos, go to a hosting service like Photobucket and then just paste the IMG link directly into your post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 The solution of lowering the pu's and bridge is not good at all. You want the strings to be AT LEAST 10mm above the body, otherwise picking the strings is quite uncomfortable and thus the bass will always play shitty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brockyman Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Hello all, Thanks for all the responses so far. I've just got home from work so haven't done any checking yet but after tea we are going to do some serious headscratching. The neck pocket depth is 18mm overall which doesn't leave much of the neck protruding from the body, I still think the pickups need lowering as they are only adjustable (so far) down to the same height as the fingerboard. I have signed up to photobucket and placed a picture of the body before it was stained, I will add more later. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/Bro...ct/a6fbaa0c.jpg Cheers Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 As long as you have a good wood to wood fit on a shim you shouldn't have any trouble. Don't try to use glue as a filler in the joint between the shim and body. Make sure your fit is tight and use the same type of wood. Use some of the scrap if you have it. Neck angles are adjusted this way all of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brockyman Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Hello all, I've now got 4 pictures of the body on Photobucket. See them at http://photobucket.com/albums/v706/Brockym...itar%20Project/ Cheers Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Im sorry but that Ash just begged to be shaped or carved, that grain orientation is beautiful. it would have been amazing, kinda like the driskill guitars. http://www.driskillguitars.com/inlays%20and%20pictures2.htm the green one in the center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brockyman Posted February 16, 2005 Report Share Posted February 16, 2005 Im sorry but that Ash just begged to be shaped or carved, that grain orientation is beautiful. it would have been amazing, kinda like the driskill guitars. http://www.driskillguitars.com/inlays%20and%20pictures2.htm the green one in the center. ← If you like the front you'd love the back (picture will be added in about 10 minutes). It is a lovely piece of wood yes, there is a join in there too. It cost under £14 from my local woodturners. What we have to bear in mind though is that it is my 15 year old son who made this, I just offer a bit of advice now and then (not that he ever listens!). We have done a bit of measuring tonight and have decided that we probably won't need to deepen the pickup cavities but will definitely need to shim the neck by 2 or 3 mm. I have again taken pics which I will add to Photobucket in a few mins (they're doing maintenance at the moment). I compared it to my 1980 precision and was surprised how little neck stands from the pocket on that, it does only have a 16mm pocket though as I suspected it would. Thanks for all the interest and help by the way. Cheers Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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