P bass with a J neck

[Infamous007]

I was wondering if this would be a good kit idea. Over here in America, you are starting to see more and more bass players wanting the simplicity and versatility (gig or studio or easy to cut through a mix) of a p bass but can not handle the ergonomic clunkyness of a p neck.

One very popular mod for die hard fender guys is the p body mated to the geddy lee cij jazz neck with the black pearloid fret markers. The d and g strings are slightly brighter than a traditional p bass but not as bright as a jazz bass. The e and a strings are slightly less boomier than a traditional p bass but no where close to a jazz bass.

[wazkelly]

Hi Infamous007 and welcome to the forum.

Geddy's maple fret boarded neck would have a lot more influence on the sound than anything else and by just fitting a maple fret board on a P Bass that would also brighten things up considerably. On my J Bass kit the neck has a maple fret board but looks and feels more like a P Bass one but there is such a small difference that it is barely noticeable and still plays great.

If you don't like the profile on the standard kit necks the choices are to look on eBay or other aftermarket manufacturer sites or simply sand down the bits you want to remove which works out much cheaper.

[Simon Barden]

Does anyone know from experience if there's much/any difference between the size and shape of the PBG P and J kit necks? They look very similar in the photos.

Fender have changed the shape of the P-bass neck quite a lot over the years. Some are baseball-bat types, whilst some have been almost like a Jazz neck, but just slightly thicker at the nut.

[wazkelly]

Sorry guys, mine was a kit from a supplier that was going out of business but reckon it was probably sourced from the same factory as they all look alike. Thankfully not one of the 'half a baseball bat' variety as is quite common with a lot of Fender copied type stuff. From what I know now after doing a few builds it would be no trouble at all to thin down an overly fat neck, just need to be sensible and not over do things and end up weakening it.

[fender3x]

I am with infamous on this one. I am thinking about retiring my '74 P-bass. It sounds great, but it's getting to be worth something which makes me reluctant to do much with it. I have been thinking about a p-bass kit, but ever since I got my G&L ASAT I have wanted it with a jazz neck.

When I asked about this before, none of the Pitbull basses had J profile neck. All of them have p-bass nut widths, right? It would be nice if there were an option to have j-necks at least on the ones with a fender style neck pocket. I see them on ebay all the time...

[fender3x]

Is there a current option to get a 38mm at the nut, J-bass style neck on any Pittbull kit? There didn't used to be, but things change....

[Simon Barden]

Doesn't appear to be. Still all the same necks on Ps and Js.

[adam]

Is there a current option to get a 38mm at the nut, J-bass style neck on any Pittbull kit? There didn't used to be, but things change....

Yes, we can custom order a JB or PB neck with 38mm nut width. Same price, but custom order waiting time applies.

[adam]

Yes, our JB and PB necks are exactly the same. The factory doesn't offer different profile necks, they are all Modern C Profile

[fender3x]

That is a very good thing to know! I like the C profile...it's the thinner width I am really looking for.