Fender Jazz Bass neck shaping .

[Len Biglin]

Hi everyone , Ive been asked to shave the back of the neck on a US Jazz bass , its the type with carbon fibre stiffening , and the owner finds its a but too round and full in his hand . does anybody know how much wood I've got to play with before I find the truss rod or CF ? its a beautiful thing and Id hate to trash it ha ha .

[scott gannon]

I vote for a new neck and preserve the original.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

I accept the too round, but too full in the hand doesn't say Jazz Bass to me.

It might be smart to have your customer find a neck he likes, if only to have a better idea of what he wants. Its easy to take wood off but...

[Walter W Wright]

me too!

that looks like an expensive custom shop piece (matching headstock, block inlays), it would be a shame to ruin it like this.

[Robbie Collins]

If too round, then it seems to me he wants a vee. You can do a vee without cutting into the crown and the crown is where the truss rod is found. Joshua's suggestion to have your customer find a neck he likes is a good one.

As for stiffener location, perhaps you could pull a fret and drill into the fret slot as though you were drilling to steam a neck off, looking for black carbon fiber shavings. I'd guess they would flank the truss rod.

[Len Biglin]

The customer wants a shallower neck , so more D than C shape , I've had it x-rayed and it shows 6mm or 1/4" of wood behind the rod ( in the pic the metal of the truss rod and E string are the bright parts , you must look carefully to see the wood below the truss rod . No CF is visible . I need to contact the owner but he is out of the country for a while .

[Mike Kolb]

That's pretty cool, Len!  Did you take it to a nearby dentist or a veterinarian?  Interesting to know what the going rate is for that service, if you don't mind telling.

Pic below with some questions, as I'm not certain I'm "reading" it right.  Good work!

[Len Biglin]

Hi Mike , I have a customer who is a radiographer and is also a good guy , he is ok with helping me out sometimes . In the image you show , at the top the white stripe is the E string , next the frets with an inlay , your red arrows are just the edge of the board , the curious mark might be something from the background showing through the film , below that is the strong white line of the truss rod with a gentle curve , then looking carefully you can see a grey stripe below truss , thats the wood at the back of the neck . I hope to remove about 2mm at the centre , rounding out the deep curve it has now .

[Mike Kolb]

OK, got it, thanks for that.  Yeah, I missed seeing the bottom edge of the wood itself... thanks for the "roadmap"!  

PS: and it's gotta' be cool to have a radiographer friend :)