Neck Shaping MMB-4

[Peter H]

Need some help, Has anyone shape a neck on a MMB-4? After playing mine for a while it’s a bit like playing a 4x4 compared to my other basses. So I was thinking about shaving it down a bit. Does anyone have any advice on this.

[DanMade]

Hi peter. It shouldn't be to much of a task to shave a bit off the neck.
If you don't want to remove to much thickness but more so want to adjust the profile and soften the shoulders, just hit it with some sand paper (180g, 220g).

If you want to take a little more off, you will probably need a file. I would use something like a 2nd cut file or something on the smooth side. I could be easy to over do it with a rasp file or similar. Plus using a 2nd cut file will leave you with less sanding to do and won't take to much effort to remove what you need to.

The main Area's to watch are around the heel and headstock. You want to avoid touching the flat sections so the transitions keep a sharp line.
When sanding and filing the back of the neck you want to work the full length of the neck and equally on both sides to keep it uniform and avoid any low spots.

It's just sandpaper and wood, what can go wrong.

[Fretworn]

Sandpaper and patience

[Scott J.]

Personally I go for a cabinet scraper with a nice sharp edge on it ... they might take just a little bit of practice to get used to using to their best (though their pretty easy to use) but I find that they provide a lot more control for evenly removing material especially over long stretches (like a neck) ... and leave an absolutely smooth finish (no fur) that you wont get with sandpaper ... and they come in a range of profiles (straight, convex, concave, etc.)

Only down side is that they're not easy to source - generally only available through specialist cabinet maker's supplies, ... but having said that if you've got an old carpenter's hand-saw (cross-cut, rip, etc) you can make excellent scrapers from them as they're the just the right gauge and hardness steel ... the trickiest part is getting just the right burr on the cutting edge (but YouBoob has instructional films on everything! )

[Rob L]

Sandpaper and patience

For sure. I tend to wanna shape my necks to how I play which means my necks tend to tad lopsided. I start with like 80 grit, hold it in my hand and sand up and down the neck holding it the same way I play.
Tedious, boring but it gives me the best results.

But if you want to remove a lot of the thickness I'd have to agree with Scott. A good cabinet scraper.