Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	Mag
Experience	20
Review date	January 31 2004
Manufacturer	USA Custom Guitars
Model	USB-2 Bass Neck
Price	255
Item owned for	1-6 months

Bass type	4 string fretted
Neck join	Bolt-On
Neck construction	Maple with graphite reinforcement,vintage truss rod
Fingerboard	20 fret Maple,71/4 Radius,6150 frets
Body	Warmoth 1 pc. Alder
Finish	Tung oil Finish
Pickups	Stock Fender "P"
Hardware	Satin finish
Electronics	Passive Volume and Tone

I contacted Tommy at USA Custom Guitars because I wanted to replace the Warmoth neck on my bass with one that did not have so much metal in it,as I wanted a more \"open\" sound than I was getting out of the instrument(I did get more uniform and consistent notes out of it than with Fender necks). Additionally, when I ordered the Warmoth neck I wanted a thicker profile than the traditional narrow \"C\" shape, such as Fender had for a while in the 70\'s, but was told that they did not do any special contours.Too bad, as that is a very important aspect of a neck. I opted for what they did have-a \"Fatback\" profile that is 1 inch all the way up and down. This was ok but got a bit challenging in first position. The USACG neck took a long time to get to me-about 2/12 months.I had ordered a \"U\" shape profile as USACG actually offers options on its bass neck contours.It looked nice,not as beefy as the Warmoth,the fretwork looked excellent-but how would it sound?I had a local shop put it on and it plays very nice and clean,with a more open sound, more bass,and it still offers consistent notes up and down the neck without the metal reinforcement, just the graphite. Plus, it\'s way lighter than the Warmoth which gives the instrument a better balance.I got what I wanted! Tommy used to work at Warmoth and he is communicative and easy to work with if you can get a hold of him,he seems very busy! When I want to build a new bass, it will be from USACG.

Construction	95%
Appearance	95%
Playability	95%
Sound	98%
Customer Service	98%
Value	85%
($255 is a lot for me,and the prices just went up)
Overall	95%
(You have a good alternative to Warmoth)