NoXX wrote:
Dumb question... slightly off topic (sorry)... doesn't leaving the bass without strings do bad things to the neck, especially on an older instrument?
In my experience and opinion, yes, it's very bad if you leave a neck without string for a long period of time and you don't relieve the tension from the truss rod. Ideally, a neck should always be straight or almost straight, strings or not. It's equally bad to leave a neck with a bow (for example, a back bow from the high tension of heavy gauge strings) for a long period of time. Wood develops memory over time. Unfortunately I've come across a few Fenders that were left with back bows for too much time, and the truss rod just won't set the neck straight after a few years -- even after trying several techniques that luthiers apply in thoese cases. This is typical of vintage Fenders that have not been setup properly through their lives, and the reason why I gave up buying or even considering older Fenders unless I can play them first.
Although in that particular '90s P-Bass, those necks have graphite reinforcement, so they are stronger and could be okay. Oh, yes, that eBay seller is tripping.
