J-Bass neck felt odd

[DeepEnd]

I filled in for our bass player Sunday and I noticed the neck on the church's Mexi J-Bass felt--idunno--off when I played notes at the 1st fret, like there was some source of strain. Never noticed it before but I also don't recall playing any notes at the 1st fret. Anyway, is it something to do with the shape of the neck at that point or just me?

[isaac42]

Maybe the neck. Maybe the nut was too high?

[daddymack]

Jazz necks are narrower than P-bass necks, especially noticeable at the first few frets...maybe that threw you off?

Nut width on J-bass is 1.5", P-bass and Rick 4001 are 1.625", Hofner violin bass 1.65", Rick 4003 is 1.6875...

[DeepEnd]

The neck on this particular bass gets thicker--as in the back of the neck to the fretboard--at about the first fret. I was curious if that bothered anyone else. The neck on the bass I have for practice/noodling, an Alvarez "Villain" bass, doesn't do that.

[Axee-o-matic]

My two MiM J-basses (20-ish year-old 5 string and new 4 string fretless) have the slight thickening going toward the headstock just ahead of the nut. I never really thought about it much until I read this post and I had to go check. I guess I don't position my thumb that far down for it to effect my playing.

My Warmoth P-bass neck has a similar thickening, but it's just behind the nut instead of just ahead.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Axee-o-matic

[lug]

My Ric does this. 

[isaac42]

I think it's called the volute, and is intended to strengthen the neck-to-headstock transition. Not all instruments have it.

[DeepEnd]

On 1/1/2023 at 11:03 AM, isaac42 said:

I think it's called the volute, and is intended to strengthen the neck-to-headstock transition. Not all instruments have it.

True. My Alvarez has no volute. I'd simply expect it to be farther up the neck. That's what I get for playing cheap gear. 😉

[evan47]

My Spector Coda was really skinny at the first fret nut on moving down to the second and third frets the depth of its neck really thickened up. 

[nethanpaul]

The first fret on a bass can feel odd for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the nut, which separates the strings from the fretboard, is slightly higher than the frets themselves. This is to ensure proper string intonation (playing notes in tune) higher up the neck. This slight height difference can be more noticeable when first playing at the first fret.

Secondly, the J-Bass neck has a classic "C" shaped profile. This curvature might feel unfamiliar compared to a flatter neck profile you might be used to.  It can take some adjustment to play comfortably in the first few frets on a C-shaped neck.