So Lets Say, Hypothetically,

[skabassist13]

That you wanted to change the profile of a StingRay neck, not that there's anything wrong with it, but just so it's more comfortable for you. Would the factory sell you a new neck(assuming you returned the modified one, and that you wanted the exact same options)?

Also, lets say you have a fretted rosewood neck. You decided to change it to,lets say, a fretless Ebony neck, would the factory sell you the original rosewood neck(once again assuming you returned the modified neck)?

Thanks,
Travis

 

[smallequestrian]

No.

 

[bassmonkeee]

No.

Heh--Steinbeck, you ain't.

 

[bovinehost]

Heh--Steinbeck, you ain't.

It was a dark and stormy night.

Suddenly, a "no" rang out.

 

[Psychicpet]

BP/Dudley, just for the record I had nothing to do with this line of thinking.......

 

[skabassist13]

Really? No? Even if you wanted the same thing and was willing to pay for it? Hmpf. Oh well.

 

[smallequestrian]

Mainly, they are not in the business of making parts. They are in the business of making basses. That and they would rather not see a bunch of MM necks on homemade bodies or vice versa.

 

[phatduckk]

did you mean ... you're gonna take your basses neck, change the profile, change the fretboard and in case you hate it you're gonna try n send the modded neck back to EB for an original replacement?

my guess is that its a longshot to a "maybe" .... if you want the exact specs on that basses work order (exact variety that the serial number has it listed as). it would obviously not be covered under warranty, would cost ya $ and you'd have to send them the old neck ....

You should call customer service since this is all just speculation. they'll let you know what the official word is. 1-800-543-2255

 

[skabassist13]

If this was to occur, which is completely uncertain due to my limited experience with stingrays, I would just sand down the back of the neck to make it thinner. The fretboard part was just curiosity. I would not be at all suprised if EB/MM said no to this. It would make sense to me. And obviously it would make the enitre instrument out of warranty and if i was to get a new neck the cost would come out of my pocket. Have no fear, this is not a sure thing, Im just toying with the idea for one of my current basses(a squier p-bass) and was curios about EB/MM's view on that.

 

[smallequestrian]

What about a Sterling?

 

[skabassist13]

Thought about that, but the body styling doesnt do much for me. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I probably wouldnt have the guts to actually do that anyway.

 

[smallequestrian]

Do you find the Sterling styling that much different than the Stingray? I can easily spot the differences, but they have always seemed fairly similar to me.

 

[skabassist13]

They are similar, yes. The Sterling seems more I guess "petite" which it was designed to be, while the Stingray is bigger. I just prefer the Stingray body for its lack of "sleekness"(comparitively).

 

[Randracula]

As far as EBMM basses go, I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you want a project bass/neck I would look into Warmoth..........

 

[KEVL]

As far as EBMM basses go, I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you want a project bass/neck I would look into Warmoth..........

EBMM purist... I say "PUT CHROME KNOBS ON IT!!!"

I'm not getting why the company wouldn't willingly sell a replacement kneck for one if it's basses. It seems reasonable enough... hey I screwed my neck up.. I need a new one.. you make them.. I have money.. lets make a deal!

I really don't get into all this about the company wanting to keep it's line "pure" gimme a break. It's a bass it's all about self expression. You don't buy a bass to please the company or the other fans of that bass you buy it because it's a vehicle you use to express something of yourself. Hopefully you get to express it to an audience and not just your bedroom door but hey even if you're the only one playing and the only one listening it's still about expressing yourself, possibly worshiping God. What you do with your bass really has nothing to do with EB. They are there to supply you with what you need to do what you want to do, and for a price. That's it.

Give customer service a call. I'm SURE EB would love to sell you a neck to fix whatever problems you have or may create with your mods. These guys are in the money making buisiness and they make money by supplying their customers with products.

Now if you want to change the pickguard then you should get your head examined.... hehehehe

Kev
*edit that would be "purist" not "purest" hehehe though my Bongo does purr.

 

[SteveB]

I think EBMM might sell Travis a new neck, provided the old one was returned.

As for why they wouldn't just sell a neck by itself, I think they are trying to minimize the potential for people passing off sh*t guitars as genuine Music Man instruments. Makes perfectly good business sense to me -- protect your brand.

 

[bassmonkeee]

I'm sure they will sell a neck with the same specs as the serial number dictates provided they got the original back. But, if the bass came with a maple fretboard, for example, you couldn't get the replacement with a rosewood fretboard. If it was originally fretless, you can't get the replacement with frets.

I completely undestand if a company wants to sell replacement parts without requiring the old part back. I also completely understand EB's 1:1 requirement on replacement parts. They are just different business models--kinda like having a custom shop. And, we all know how BP feels about custom shops at large scale manufacturers.

 

[skabassist13]

That's what I would think anyway. If you have Neck A, and you transform it into Neck B, you could only get Neck A back from the factory becuase that is what it said in "The Book". Neck C-Z are out of the question as well. Thanks for the help guys. And for the record, I already have two project basses. Both are Squier P-Basses. I painted one white and swapped electronics, and I'm in the process of refinishing the other. I'll post some pics when I get done with it.

 

[phatduckk]

i dont work there ... so again, just a guess; but one reason not to sell just a neck could do with the production schedule. EB makes stuff when they're ordered so they dont have a pile of necks sitting around bodyless. they're all "spoken for".

to me, making 1 extra neck initially sounded like "no big deal" but when you think about it, it could be a pain. its gonna get wood picked out, machined, fretted, sanded, painted, silk screened etc. now imagine if this happened all the time ... that would get into the "this sucks" territory.

so anywho .. thats a long winded way of me saying that Im guessing that one off parts (necks, bodies etc) could possibly screw up w/ EB's production schedule.

 

[KEVL]

It's not my intention to be rude - honestly it's not.

Is EB such a backwards company that they could be thrown off by having to produce replacement parts for their products???? What happens if I drop my Bongo and I need a new neck, do I then have to buy a whole new bass? not friggen likely. As much as I LOVE the thing, if EB wouldn't sell me a replacement neck they'd have seen the last of my money.

I bet someone just said "but he didn't break it.. he modded it.." There is no difference.. Do you think EB has some claim on my Bongo now that I own it?

The argument that EB doesn't want people producing instruments and passing them off as MM is ridiculous. If I wanted to pass an instrument off as MM and make money the last thing I'd do is buy one of the most expensive parts from the company I'm trying to copy. I'd simply make my own neck and paint EBMM on the headstock...

Why doesn't someone from EB just post here to clear this silly issue up? Or how about the original poster call EB and ask, then post the response?

You guys should read the fan forums for video games. Sometimes the posters here sound exactly like video game "fanbois".

I'm sorry if I offended anyone by posting this. I'm still upset with how people who want to customize their instruments get treated here.