The Electra Forums

I have a (approximately) 1970s Long Necker Bass 2271 that I purchased for $15. The neck appears to be bowed backwards with a twist to the left. How can I straighten it out? I am new to guitar restoration. Also I am looking for a new Electra badge decal (70s style) for the head stock. Can anyone help me? Thanks in advance.

That is a great price on that bass.

The backbow should be pretty easy. If you loosen the truss rod it should go away. The twist is another issue. I would try loosening the rod untill the backbow is gone and let it sit for a few days. Then check if it is still twisted. It may straigten out as the neck goes from backbow into slight relief.

If it doesn't, you may be able to plane the fretboard to get rid of the twist.

There are more extremem methods where people steam the neck and clamp it flat but I have no experience with that.

Yeah, I always wanted to learn to play bass, but could never afford to buy one. I walked into a local pawnshop and the guy showed it to me. It was all in pieces in a box, but all the pieces were there. It needs some work to bring it back to life, but I believe I can do it. Thanks for the information, very much appreciated. I'll give it a shot and see what happens. I found a used (?) neck on ebay that looks identical to mine (without the bend and twist of course) that appears to never been on a guitar (no mounting screw holes in it) for $35.00 plus shipping ($15.79) that needs a little work to clean up. I snagged it. I would like to fix the one that came with it if I can.

Once again, thanks for your help.