Jabba_the_gut

EMG Precision and Jazz Pickups on Pre-Loved - look quite cheap too at £30 each. [url="http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/109135124/emg-p-active-bass-pickup.html"]http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/109135124/emg-p-active-bass-pickup.html[/url] [url="http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/109135159/emg-jl5-active-jazz-bass-pickup-4-string.html"]http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/109135159/emg-jl5-active-jazz-bass-pickup-4-string.html[/url]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1379445339' post='2212870'] it was sat in my shed since about mid 80s so has been well seasoned over 25+ years - i took it to local timber merchants who machine planed it flat for me and then i set about drawing up a CAD file to take it off to a local CnC router but alas things took a slightly different turn and as you can see jabba has made a rather nice job of it - and unique too, much more interesting than my plans for another boring old frankenJ [/quote] Must say thanks to Steve for this piece of wood that he put in the ‘Recycled’ section of this site. Elm is something I wouldn’t have considered previously but I think it looks rather nice. I will have another at the finish at some point as I’m not entirely happy with how it looks but I am really chuffed with how it sounds. I didn’t have a Jazz bass before but I do now; it’s a bit different and it plays and sounds really nice!! Cheers

Kev bought a body, neck and other parts from me. Completely hassle free and great communications. Thanks and hope you build something good from it. Cheers

I just made a bass with a swamp ash body - nice wood to work with. As Pete says though, price has soared recently. Be interested to see what you make!!

I'm thinking of building a bass with a thin body maybe 35-37mm thick. This is a fair bit thinner than a standard bass. Is there any reason why this might be a bad idea?? Cheers

I should also say that I'm enjoying playing my 4 string made with some wood from the recycle section on here, some MIM jazz pickups, cheapy bridge, £5 Schaller tuners and old Trace Elliot strings more than I am the 5 string I made with all premium parts (badass bridge Audere pre-amp, Nordstrand pickups, Hipshot tuners, swamp ash body etc.).......

Hi Rubis. It is wenge; a 7mm thick wenge top on a rippled sycamore body. Should contrast really nicely when it's done.

Building your own bass is rewarding but can also be frustrating at first!! I've only built a few but I learn something each time I try something different. Nugget is quite right too - the parts can get expensive and decent wood isn't cheap. But there is real satisfaction in playing something you built yourself. Decent parts do turn up from time to time and you can save a fair chunk that way but you just have to be patient. I’d always say give it a go from my experience but I’ve kind of caught the building bug......

The lacquer is barely dry on my previous efforts but already I'm planning the next build.....this is what I'm thinking this time:

I have to say that it plays really nicely and has a good variation of sound as you'd hope with that may knobs!! The front pickup on it's own has a really nice tone to it. If I was completely honest, I'd say I should have made the neck a little thinner (still might do that) and if I was doing it again I wouldn't use an Audere pre-amp, I'd use an East instead. I almost find the Audere a little aggressive - might just be me not being properly use to it at present but that's my initial feeling. I haven't had as much chance to play as I'd like and my 'Scratch Built Bass#3' is also finished and has been distracting me but should get some time this weekend!! Cheers

Finished! Must say the neck finished much nicer than I expected - really pleased with that. Finish was with water based satin lacquer and it's worked nicely. I'm more pleased with the neck than the body. I used Tru-Oil for the finish in the end and I'm just not that happy with it - it hasn't given the best finish no matter what I tried to do with it. Won't use it again - I'll stick with spraying instead. This project has been about practice and correction. I practised on this whilst I was making ‘scratch built bass #2’ and learned plenty from it. I made mistakes on it but decided to carry on to see what I could correct. The design changed a bit over time due to mistakes:[list] [*]put binding on the fret board to cover an accidental cut with the router where the bearing on the template cutter melted the acrylic template I’d made. This happened twice!! [*]practising with the oil finish and spray finish used. [*]headstock is the opposite hand to planned because someone was too impatient to get it cut....what was that...measure twice, cut once...!!! [/list] It plays nicely so job done. I’m planning on the next bass having a block inlay maple neck so this has been good practice. I'll stick a couple of photos up tomorrow.

They look really good - interesting build diary.

Just looked at the ACG site and the four strings are zero radius and asymmetrical.....mmmm... got me thinking now!!

[quote name='Bloc Riff Nut' timestamp='1375519859' post='2162413'] Hi Jabba, That spalted beech looks fantastic by the way, great job. I was wondering which fretboard radius you chose, if any. My ACG 5'er zero radius fretboard with asymetric neck is easier to play and more natural-feeling than my YamahaTRB 5'er. [/quote] Cheers for the comments. I chose a 12" radius for this fretboard. I posted something on here at the time about flat boards and quite a few folk hadn't heard of them either - I'd only just heard of them after looking at an ACG the Manchester bass show and was curious to what people thought. The ACG I looked at had an asymmetrical neck too and I have to say it did feel really comfortable for the couple of minutes I was playing it. But not wanting to deviate from the norm, I ended up doing a radius and symmetrical neck!! I've got another build (or two...) planned for the near future and I'm quite tempted to try this. The next build will be a 4 string - do you think both the flat board and asymmetrical neck would work for that? Cheers again Jez

a couple of better pictures....