neck pocket gap

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ahpook

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hmmm...now, this is odd.

i've just noticed a gap in the neck pocket of my newly-acquired '94 fortress.

it's on the E-string side, between the side of the neck and the upper bout of the body.

should i be concerned ? i think there may be a tiny bit of give in the neck too, even though the mounting screws are tight.


i d hope it's nothing major...
 
If the screws are tight & the neck doesnt move & it stays in tune it should be fine mate.
 
Greg said:
If the screws are tight & the neck doesnt move & it stays in tune it should be fine mate.
Click to expand...

that's what i'm hoping...just surprised there's a gap, given warwick's usual attention to detail.
 
ahpook said:
that's what i'm hoping...just surprised there's a gap, given warwick's usual attention to detail.
Click to expand...

1994->2010

This is much longer than the average lifetime of a car:-)

However if the gap is large the neck most likely has been replaced by one that
does not fit as it should

cheers
 
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schlobodan said:
1994->2010

This is much longer than the average lifetime of a car:-)

However if the gap is large the neck most likely has been replaced by one that
does not fitt as it should

cheers
Click to expand...

hmmm. i was hoping that wasn't the case.

is there and easy way to find out ? the neck dates the bass as a '94 - is there a way of dating the body ?
 
I'm not sure but I think when you get a replacement neck they don't stamp the orignal serial# back on the new neck.

movement of the neck is possible with any play in the pocket. if it has not moved yet then I wouldn't worry about. but time will tell.

it you want to sure up the fit of the neck pocket, its easy enough to do !! first do a real time test to see if it really is going to be a problem... first shine a flashlight in there, can you see the bottom of the pocket??? if so skip the next part and fix it..

next test
remove strings and the neck screws, lay the bass face up on a towel and just lift up on the head stock lightly and slowly, you should be able to lift the bass by the head without the neck popping out. I'm not talking about picking the bass up, just lift it a foot to see if the neck joint is tight.
what I'm getting at here is, your checking to see if the pocket was cut square or not. I've seen gaps like this but the pocket was still tight because the pocket was cut with a little taper angle. so you might just have a gap at the top of the pocket and a nice tight fit at the bottom still..


the cheapo fix
"window screening" does the job nicely if the gap is small! as it is rigid on both sides it will grab the wood of the neck and the body equally. cut a peice to fit just what you want. cut it a hair short on the top side so it does not show any. remove neck and fit the screening in. this can be a pita at times

if the gap is huge its a little more labor and time intensive, but the fix is the same with the addition of some epoxie. I personal like this fix better because you can fit the neck the way it should be, tight.
remove neck, ruff up the area in the pocket to be worked on with 320 grit sand paper, add screening and apply layer of clear epoxie over it where the gap is. let dry for 24 hours and sand pocket to fit the neck! get it to fit tight enough so you have to tap the neck into the pocket..
 
ahpook said:
hmmm. i was hoping that wasn't the case.

is there and easy way to find out ? the neck dates the bass as a '94 - is there a way of dating the body ?
Click to expand...

none that I know of sorry
 
thanks for the (very exhaustive - gonzosc1 !!) advice folks

i'll have a look when i get home tonight !
 
You could get a very thin wood venner that matchs the wood of the bass and is slightly thicker then the gap,glue it to the side of the neck pocket where the gap is and sand it down till the neck fits perfect.I have done this before and it works great.
 
right...i've been very busy recently and haven't had the time to try my fortress....but i'm sad to say that the wobble in the neck has possibly become more pronounced :(

i think it's time to take it to a luthier...i tried the old 'matches in the screw holes' trick and although it seemed fine with the strings off, as soon as i strung it up the wobble was back as before. (i don't know where to get 'window screening' so i've not been able to try this fix)

oh well...looks like it's going to be a while before the fortress is up to gigging strength.

sadly i'm beginning to worry i've bought a lemon.
 
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don't worry you don't have a lemon the neck pocket can be fixed i tightened up the pocket on my streamer std and now its as tight as can be,just took me a little time.the fortress is a cool bass and worth the time to fix up.
 
james brunnning said:
don't worry you don't have a lemon the neck pocket can be fixed i tightened up the pocket on my streamer std and now its as tight as can be,just took me a little time.the fortress is a cool bass and worth the time to fix up.
Click to expand...

thanks james...it may be a week or so before i can drop it off at the shop, so a bit of support is much appreciated !
 
ahpook said:
right...i've been very busy recently and haven't had the time to try my fortress....but i'm sad to say that the wobble in the neck has possibly become more pronounced :(

i think it's time to take it to a luthier...i tried the old 'matches in the screw holes' trick and although it seemed fine with the strings off, as soon as i strung it up the wobble was back as before. (i don't know where to get 'window screening' so i've not been able to try this fix)

oh well...looks like it's going to be a while before the fortress is up to gigging strength.

sadly i'm beginning to worry i've bought a lemon.
Click to expand...


You glued match sticks in the holes that the neck screws go into?
I could've sworn that their's supposed to be metal inserts for the neck screws to go into.Similar to the inserts the pickups screws go into.
 
on my bass the neck screws go right in to the neck wood.i have seen a kit to fit machine bolts instead of wood screws haven't tried one out yet though.ihave swapped some warwick necks around and some fit perfect and some need the neck pocket built up and sanded down for a perfect fit.i like the fortress body shape it balances real nice .
 
Greg said:
I could've sworn that their's supposed to be metal inserts for the neck screws to go into.Similar to the inserts the pickups screws go into.
Click to expand...

hi greg - there's no inserts in the neck for the screws to go into...the screws bite straight into the wood in the neck
 
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