# Conklin GTBD7 neck specs



## bass9864 (Jul 15, 2007)

I have searched everywhere for specs on the Conklin GTBD7 neck such as width at the nut and width at the 24th fret. I have several Peavey Cirrus 6 string basses and love the shape of the neck. How does the neck on the Conklin compare to the Cirrus 6? I would be interested in any comments owners have on the Conklin. Also I understand that the scale is 34" compared to 35" on the Cirrus. How is the B string on this bass? I hate a floppy non-defined B!
Thanks


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## Variant (Jul 27, 2007)

bass9864 said:


> I have searched everywhere for specs on the Conklin GTBD7 neck such as width at the nut and width at the 24th fret. I have several Peavey Cirrus 6 string basses and love the shape of the neck. How does the neck on the Conklin compare to the Cirrus 6? I would be interested in any comments owners have on the Conklin. Also I understand that the scale is 34" compared to 35" on the Cirrus. How is the B string on this bass? I hate a floppy non-defined B!
> Thanks



Mine measures *2 1/4"* at the nut, and *4 1/16"* at the 24th fret. I've never played the Cirrus model, but I can say the Conklin neck is probably thinner and the GTBD7 through-neck joint superior.  Conklin necks are the "Wizard" necks of the bass world, some of the thinnest and most properly radiused.

As for the sound, the B sounds fantastic, the tone is great, punchy and tight. Mine is set up with a Low F# in lieu of the high C, and that's a bit floppy (I'm going to try the S.I.T. .195 here soon, and maybe detune the whole thing to E00) but the B is fine! The extra 1" on a bass doesn't make that much difference in the tension, I'd worry more about playability, tone, electronics, and features before going +1" on the neck.  Guys go as low as C#00 on 34" necks, and gads of five and six string basses that are 34" have decent low B strings.


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## bass9864 (Aug 15, 2007)

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate your input. I am new to this forum and after no one posted for awhile I quit checking in. Is this forum supposed to send you an email to let you know that someone has responded to your question? Also, I read that the string spacing on the GTBD7 is pretty tight. Is slapping on this bass an issue?


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## Variant (Aug 21, 2007)

bass9864 said:


> Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate your input. I am new to this forum and after no one posted for awhile I quit checking in. Is this forum supposed to send you an email to let you know that someone has responded to your question? Also, I read that the string spacing on the GTBD7 is pretty tight. Is slapping on this bass an issue?



The sting spacing is fine, especially if you've got small hands. If you look at the specs, it's slightly closer spaced at the nut, and wide at the bridge. There's a little bit of fudge room if you want to go a bit wider (I've seen guys swap the so-so one-piece bridge for individual string bridges and plus the spacing a bit) as the 1st and 7th strings have a bit of room between themselves and the edges of the fingerboard. I honestly can't tell the difference between it and good sixer, though.


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## Suho (Aug 26, 2007)

I know you weren't asking about the other GT-7, which I have (not a neck through), but I have to echo the sentiments here anyway. I picked up my 7 string last summer before I had all my wisdom teeth yanked (my goal was to play around with it while I took a few days off from work). 

Man oh man, the Conklins are set up sweet. Mine was advertised as having the low F#, and I was curious about that, but as it turned out it was a low B. I was just as happy with that. The neck is pretty wide, but what could you expect for seven bass strings, right? 

The best part was that Bill Conklin is super responsive to questions. He replies personally (and quite promptly) to all e-mail inquiries. I had a question about adjusting the double truss rods, but he answered it pronto, despite the fact that this was a used bass. Pretty damn good service. 

So, I guess my secondary point was that if you have questions you could probably e-mail him directly (see his web site) and ask him any questions you might have about modifying the string width or specs. 

Good Luck.


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## Variant (Aug 26, 2007)

Suho said:


> The best part was that Bill Conklin is super responsive to questions. He replies personally (and quite promptly) to all e-mail inquiries. I had a question about adjusting the double truss rods, but he answered it pronto, despite the fact that this was a used bass. Pretty damn good service.
> 
> Good Luck.



What'd he say? I had to adjust mine when I came from Arizona here to Upstate New York. I ended up taking all the tension out of them (they're one-way) and the neck went "perfect" in about 24 hours.


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## Suho (Aug 26, 2007)

The following is Bill Conklin's response to my question about adjusting the double truss rods in their 7 string basses:

"Thank you for your email. We are pleased to learn that you are
thoroughly enjoying your GT-7. I'm glad you were able to correct the intonation, 

The truss rods are fairly simple to adjust. Just think of them as one
rod; whatever you do to one, do the same to the other. If the strings are
slightly rattling on the frets then it sounds to me like the truss rods
need to be let out (loosened) just a hair. Looking down the neck from the
headstock end simply turn the truss rod wrench to the left
(counterclockwise) about 1/4 turn on each rod. That should do it.

Retune the strings and play it for a few hours to let it acclimate. If it is still
buzzing you can give them another 1/4 turn. If you ever need to tighten
the truss rods we recommend loosening the strings first so you are not
fighting the tension which could damage or break the rod."

Hope that helps.


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## The Omega Cluster (May 25, 2016)

Are those truss rods simple or double action on the GTBD-7? I've got two guys here telling me both. I'm having a problem right now as the neck is too straight so the strings rattle, but the truss rods are at the end of their reach, what should I do?


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## Suho (Jul 6, 2016)

I haven't had mine in years, but you can email Bill Conklin directly and he will answer your question.


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## olejason (Jul 7, 2016)

They're double action from what I remember but yeah I'd email Bill.


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