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Post subject: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:48 pm
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A year ago, I bought a new Miller jazz bass. It was simply the best playing fender I've ever had my hands on, and I've owned several.. Anyhow, right about after I got it, it seemed that like the neck had suicidal tendencies. It just wants to bow. I've been tightening the truss rod every now and then to keep it playable. Well, I guess it has reached it's limit. The truss rod is maxed out and the neck has developed a nice little "ski jump" condition too even though I've made sure the dreaded micro-tilt hasn't been used. The place I bought it from isn't a fender dealer anymore and they pretty much told me that I'm SOL. I also don't live in US and there are no fender service centers out here. A local luthier said that he could fix it for something like 400 usd and guessed that given the history, it would be a temporary fix.

Does anyone know if fender sells replacement necks? Any words of advice?


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:42 pm
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I'm freezing my butt near the arctic circle. In Finland, to be exact.


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:16 am
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Thank you for your help. I took the instrument to a luthier who used to do fender warranty repairs and his opinion was that given the age of the instrument, fender should replace the neck. It could be repaired but as labour is really expensive over here it would insanely expensive.

So I took the bass the store I bought it from and their opinion was "hey, it's a fender, they never have straight necks so quit complaining..." :roll: And better yet, I've lost my receipt and they weren't able to find my warranty information either.

So yeah.. I know this is more ranting than anything, but I bet you know how awful it is to lose the main instrument especially since saving for a new one will take two years for me.
I'm considering a replacement neck from a 3rd party builder, but none of them are exactly like the miller neck which I absolutely love.


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 12:23 pm
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Allparts builds some outstanding Fender bass necks......

http://www.allparts.com/Bass-Necks-s/102.htm

The neck on the Geddy Lee signature is from Allparts.

Best of luck, HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 1:30 pm
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Thanks! I'm looking into the replacement options and trying to solve the situation with the dealership.

The main problem I have is that most of these replacements don't have the original 7,25" fingerboard radius that I absolutely love. In fact, the neck profile of the miller jazz is pretty much why I bought this bass.

I'm currently trying to get a quote from USACG.


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 8:42 am
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Check eBay. There are a few people that get new basses and resell them as parts. I've seen new Marcus Miller necks pop up time to time. Right now there are a couple of bodies for sale....guess the necks sold already.

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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:45 pm
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I recalled Fender sold replacement necks in the past, but these necks were patterned after the vintage reissue series basses.


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:45 pm
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Thank you all for your input, I truly appreciate it.

I got to weight my options and maybe take some time to see if a miller neck pops up on ebay.

I'm also considering the repair option if the maxed out trussrod could be solved with a spacer under the nut.


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:38 pm
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Have you tried e-mailing Fender's consumer relations dept.?

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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:57 pm
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I haven't emailed fender customer support. In fact, I can't find an address for that! Only contact info I found from fender.com is the corporate street address and phone. And the importer, fender scandinavia, doesn't have a public homepage at all and it's in Sweden too.
Contacting someone can be surprisingly difficult even these days..


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:19 pm
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Email for Fender distributor Finland: fenderscandinavia@fender.com
Website: http://www.fender.se/
Fax: +7 49 57 96 92 64

I would look for that receipt a bit harder.

The warranty we enjoy here in the USA and the international warranty can be two very different things.


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:06 am
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Hey!

The warranty information was in fact found on the store computer later on and the bass has been shipped to Sweden where Fender Scandinavia is based. I got the impression that it could easily be month or two before any results though. I'm hoping they change the neck, but I was also told they might replace the whole bass too.

So I'm still pretty worried, it took me almost two years to find one I liked enough to buy..

I'm wondering if I could send them a letter and saying that if they end up sending a completely new bass, could they make it white as that's what I originally wanted..
I know it doesn't work that way though.

In the meantime, I'm completely without a jazz bass and feeling naked and vulnerable. :)


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:23 am
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Hey everyone! Unexpectedly, I got my bass back within a week of sending it for warranty. I don't know if they just put a washer to the truss rod nut. The good news is that it's back to playable action, the bad news is that I tried tightening the truss rod to see how much playroom there was - about 1/8th of a turn. Also the beginning ski jump is still there.

So it's playable, well no, it's almost back to absolutely brilliant, for now, but come next winter I'm afraid I'll be in the same situation.

Atleast I have till then to look out for a new neck. Too bad, since having it a bit straighter again reminded me why I sold all my other jazzes after getting this.


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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 6:50 pm
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Hey bud, sorry about your truss rod, warmoth makes custom necks to fit your needs, but they come kind of pricy, but if you want a reliable neck to fit you bass got to there website and customize one.

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Post subject: Re: Is my miller jazz bass done for?
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:54 pm
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Once you get the 'ski jump' stabilized, i'd look into why you're having the problems. Were you other basses prone to warpage?
You say you're near the Arctic Circle ... how's the lack of humidity up there affect your gear?

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