USA Custom Guitars Jazz Bass Neck

'62 J contour, modern radius ebony fretboard, pearloid dots, top adjust truss rod, graphite support rods, drilled for hipshot ultralight tuners, satin finish, USA logo and gloss finish on the headstock. Significantly lighter than the Warmoth I had purchased previously and replaced. Custom, and perfect IMHO.

Sounds just fine. No issues. Folks say ebony is bright (my other basses have rosewood boards), and maybe so, but only marginally.

Beautifully done. First rate work. The satin finish was an especially nice surprise. I was expecting something similar to the finish on my Mike Lull custom jazz bass, but this is even softer. I need to go back to Tommy and ask him what he recommends for care and feeding. . . . Also, since I was loathe to cut my own nut, I had a local tech install the neck and do a set up. He did a nice job with the nut (bone, of course), but set the strings too low. A quick twist of the truss rod put everything right.

I think we'll have a long and happy relationship. As noted, the finish on the back of the neck seems surprisingly soft, but it's a dream to play. No reason to think it won't last. We'll see.

Tommy was great. We exchanged a bunch of e-mails, and he always answered my questions promptly. He also hung in there with me as I waffled about whether to go with the hipshot tuners and the ebony finger board.

I'm a mid-life crisis bass player, who can now afford the toys I wanted as a youngster. Other axes include a '71 P bass, a Mike Lull active custom J, a Shen plywood double bass, and a Martin acoustic and Fender telecaster guitars. I ordered this neck to go with a Japanese-made P body, which previously had a Warmoth J-neck on it. Although it was not a cheap proposition to switch these necks (the Warmoth won't bring much on the re-sale market), I am happy to report success! The Warmoth, though solid, was very heavy, and made the bass unbalanced overall. In contrast, with the USA Custom Guitars neck and hipshot tuners, this bass is now a great player, and kind to my old back.

21 fret maple neck with brazilian rosewood fretboard. Vintage radius, top adjust truss rod and cream face dots. I talked to Tommy directly when placing this order so every detail was perfect. I fitted this neck onto a Japanese 3-tone sunburst Fender jazz body with Lindy Fralin pickups (see me review on those!) and a Badass III bridge. The idea behind this bass was a 60's jazz bass on steroids.

I prefer the sound of these necks to Warmoth Fender-style bass necks mostly because USA custom dosent use such a thick fretboard. Warmoth boards are too thick in my opinion and dont allow the actual neck wood to influence the tone. This can be a good or bad thing. Bottom line is that this neck allows the bass to sound the way it should.

The first thing I noticed was how snug the neck fit into the body. This is a big plus for me. The neck had no finish so I cant comment on that. Although I did have some setup problems, but read on to find out more about that.

This thing has already seen a good deal of usage in the few months I have had it and nothing is amiss. Truss rod adjustments never wander.

Ok this is where the BIG points are earned. When I initially setup the bass with this neck I was having some fret buzzing issues. The neck was adjusted properly so relief wasnt a factor. Granted these were very minor buzzing issues, some that probably wouldnt bother other people, but im very picky about these things. So I called up Tommy with whom I had already spoken a few times and he told me to send the neck to him to take a look at it and make sure all was to spec. I decided instead to send my whole bass to him so he could see exactly what the issue was. So when it arrived Tommy told me it simply needed a fret level which he did FOR FREE! He said other than that the neck was perfect. So he did all the fret work and sent the whole thing back to me packed very tightly and now everything is perfect! No more fret buzz issues what so ever! If only every company had this kind of fast and effective customer support.

Overall i'd have to give this neck a 9 because nothing is perfect, but this is damn close. Ive been playing bass for about 6 years and this was my first venture into the world of the jazz bass and I am very glad that I chose USA custom. For a vintage style neck with rock solid stability built to the right specs, you cant beat it!

I ordered this neck Birdeseye maple on Birdseyemaple and had Roxy guitar finish it in vintage gloss and it is beautiful. The neck feels great and plays wonderfully. USA gives you an ample amount of options to choose from.

Sounds great, especially for slap. I thought about what I wanted for a long time before ordering this neck and got it just the way I want. Sounds great.

See Below

So far so Good. I think that it will be around for a long time.

This is really where this company shines. After having the neck for a while I noticed that something was wrong. I couldn't get the action very low without a buzz at certain places of the neck. I called the crew at USA custom and they told me to send the neck in so I did. After they received the neck and fixed the problem Tommy himself called me and explained that probably due to temperature and humidity differences some of the frets started popping up (I live in the deep south). So he basically refreted and gave me a fret job for free and sent it back. With this kind of customer support I don't see how these guys don't have a bigger reputation.

Really could not aske for more in a product or customer support.

Cut to 1962 specs, quarter sawn maple neck with 21 fret Pau Ferro fingerboard and stainless steel frets. Graphite reinforcement rods
and classic truss rod. Super craftsmanship! Utterly perfect woodworking.

This neck has a nice even tone, but I should have chickened out
of the stainless frets! This is IN NO WAY USA Guits fault, they
make a point on the website of how they may be too much edge-wise.
The stainless frets make it SUPER edgey and bite-y it takes some
getting used to...I insisted on the frets, so I will forge on!
I may try half rounds or crush rounds on this baby to mellow it out.
If you want maniacal buzz and clank n' cut the stainless fret
is there for you.

Totally top notch - no flaws.

Built for the duration

Tommy is there for you - very helpful.

I have been playing 30 years and used to work in a "pro shop"
putting together Kubicki and Warmoth parts into guitars in the 80's
so I have handled a ton of necks other than on my own instruments -
the USA Custom Guitars stuff is first rate. Not to say Warmoth isn't
quality but they are just too heavy compared to USA's product.