Maple on maple with walnut lines...oh yeah!
The neck, the soul of a bass! For this bass I’m going with a maple neck and a walnut lined maple fingerboard. I like the brightness of the maple and the crazy glue epoxy finish (more on that in another section). Normally, a maple neck tends to get all gunked up with finger oil and dirt because maple tends to soil easily, however with an epoxy finish I will not need to worry about that. Again like the body, you want to make the neck smooth and supple! A 400 grit rub down with the grain works great but make sure (and I can’t stress this enough) to not press hard. I order my necks unfinished so I can color and finish it anyway I want (which we will in this tutorial with Tru-Oil) plus it’s way cheaper (about $50 to $80 dollars more) which really makes a huge difference especially when you are on a budget and who’s not these days!
Just like the body it is important to let the neck hang between coats in a well ventilated area. You will finish the neck much like the body. Use a rag and rub in small circles with the finish covering the sections of the neck. Let the neck dry an hour at a time and buff lightly with with steel wool. Again you are aiming for about 10 to 15 coats. Like on the body,
Bass neck hanging in my closet to dry.
it will gain a nice luster that will polish nicely with the wool. It is also important to remember that the neck needs to have a good amount of finish on it. This is because the neck is under constant pressure and any moisture can compromise the strength of the wood that leads to warpage. ( There are some woods that cant even take coats of like most of the African woods because they are too oily or waxy already.) I find that Tru-Oil needs a good day or two to cure which is why I always try to finish the body and the neck staggered one after the other. That way I’m always working on one of them and they are both done around the same time. Its also good to add a coat right before you are on the way out to school, the store or work, that way it gets a nice long
The heel after 4 coats...mmmmm glossy!
undisturbed drying session. Once everything is sealed, buffed and drilled, assemble the neck. I will go into further finer drilling and adjustment in another section as I know some of you will have a neck with no holes drilled, but this is a very easy extra step! After the tuners, and string trees are mounted the final step is the string nut. I have found that it is best to take this to a professional because it takes practice and a skilled hand to file the nut blank. If you mess up you have to buy another nut and uncool it off the finger board and that’s a waste of time and money. It may cost a little bread but the tech can slap on a nice new custom nut and have the bass growling with new strings the same day, which is always a nice ending to a custom job well done! I would also encourage you to watch (if you can) the tech install everything and learn all you can. I know after a few questions and watching, I was able to nail this delicate step, but take your time!
