Building question

[MaxKincaide]

Ok, so I never really go to the bass forum that much, as I'm not a bassist, but I have a bass question, so here I am...

 

Anywho...

 

I have these 2 bass guitars...one is an Ibanez G10 4 string and the other is an Ibanez TR75 5 string. Neither of them are anything stellar...I got the G10 from a guy for $15 and a pair of old shoes, and the TR75 I bought from a local music store for $20 because they couldn't lower the action to a suitable level.

 

Neither bass has great action, but I really have never tried to tweak with it too much until now. My original plan was to use the TR75 for parts to repair the G10, but the TR75 has a better sound, due to the pickup configuration and better (slightly) pickups.

 

My question is can I put the neck from the G10 (4 string) on the body of the TR75 (5 string)? The reason I ask is I'm not a good enough bassist to play a 5 string, and the neck of the 4 string is in better condition. I'm just wondering because I'm not sure if the 5 string body will accomodate the 4 string neck or not, and even though both basses cost me a grand total of $35, they are the only basses that I own. I don't want to put myself into a position that I'm going to screw myself out of both guitars, but I would like to do the repair myself.

 

Something to note is that I have done guitar work before, as far as rewiring and some minor body work. But that was on a guitar...which, of course, is smaller.

 

So, I know this is a pretty dumb question, but does anyone here think it can be done? Just hoping to get some feedback before I attempt it. And I do plan on getting a better bass in the future, but I'd rather spend my money on other stuff at the moment....like bills.

[bassman1956]

2 big questions:

Will the 4-string neck fit snugly in the 5-string pocket?

And, which electronics do you want, because the poles of 4-string and 5-string pickups don't usually line up.

[MaxKincaide]

 

Will the 4-string neck fit snugly in the 5-string pocket?

 

 

Not sure on this one...I haven't removed either of the necks yet. I was going to wait until I could figure out what the best solution would be before doing anything major. Should I go ahead and try that?

 

 

And, which electronics do you want, because the poles of 4-string and 5-string pickups don't usually line up.

 

 

I'm wanting to keep the electronics out of the 5 string body. I'm not sure what the name of the configuration is, but the pickups are basically spaced the same as an electric using humbuckers...meaning there are 2 bar pickups that are in a neck/bridge position. It has a volume for each pickup and tone control for both, but I could always wire something else up if I wanted more control over each.

 

What do you think? Doable?

[BigPigPeaches]

Do some quick measuring and there should be your answer. Without having them in front of me, I'd have to say probably not, but I don't know for sure. The neck will probably fit in the pocket but with significant gap. At the very least, I doubt the screw holes would align, and the scale would probably be off because the location of the neck pocket will be slightly different in relation to the bridge.

[Rowka]

Not to mention, I think those G10 basses are short scale.

 

I'd start with working on the 5 string neck. Set the truss rod for minimal relief, determine if the neck can/should be shimmed. Level the frets.

 

Unless there is a structural defect in the neck (broken truss rod, s-warp, etc) it should be fixable.