glassmoon

The RAy 5... as requested (a sock picture BTW) The cavity is tiny - but it doesn't need to be a big one, it just needs the J pickup routed with a channel drilled for the wiring.

One thing I am considering... well... two things really... 1. I take my existing 2workingman's bass", a Ray5, and change the pickups to a MM/J config - it will require a qualified tech to route. The immediate issue I see is that the MM pickup is in the "sweet spot" and thus quite a bit closer to the neck than a traditional "bridge" pickup The other is that if I am off by even a millimeter or so, it could radically impact the tone 2. Get my hands on (e.g.) a Cort GB35 and just replace the pickups and EQ They are stunningly well made basses, but lack in the pickup/preamp department IMHO (I've owned one before) Neither of these is technically a DIY build - so it's just playing with gear really... sigh... I have zero DIY skills myself, so this would be a bit of fun with a realistic end goal... but perhaps a bridge too far. Anyone got a GB35 laying about hahahahaha

I will most definitely look more - I used their online contact form, which blitzed on me - but will email my request

Wow - it's been a while since I saw anything new for HB - this is terrific!

Niiiiice... From whence cometh these?

Hey - that's super cool!!! I will contact them and ask specifically whether I can get the neck without block inlays (which I do not like at all) Oh - one thing... these bodies are not painted, but I should be able to do a "tung oil" finish, yes?

Ah, thanks you lot for the terrific insights and ideas. I just want to qualify why this bass appeals... it is the only Lakland style bass that I have found - as in the MM/J config - but I'd be VERY open to other options.... I have a Ray5, which I bunged a Delano pickup and a Seymour Duncan preamp into... and it's my bread n' butter bass.... but I do miss the 2nd (neck) pickup adding the umph, the lower end woomph... Sooooooooooo... I guess the question is... for a Lakland style (as in a sorta, kinda, like a P bass body with MM/J pickup config) ... where do I look? I am not flush with loads of ££££s.... hence the kit route. if I can build up a decent-enough-to-use-in-public bass over 6 to 12 months, I'm a happy camper Oh, and if Harley Benton had a MM/J bass... I would have a Harley Benton hahahaha

Hi all, I'm looking at a DIY kit on Amazon [LINK], that looks decent enough (as in it's not made from MDF and plywood), albeit shockingly badly worded (it lists 6 strings for a 5 string bass). Are these kits worth it? I've no doubt that the pickups and EQ will be shockingly inadequate, but thankfully I have a plan there already. My thinking is that if the wood is decent and the neck is not a complete wreck, then upgrading the pickups and slotting in a half-way decent preamp might net me a pretty good bass. Anyone ever buy one of these and make a go of it? My thanks in advance... Julian

Have delay, will travel

My new board for 2022. EBS Octobass into TC Electronic Spectracomp into Ashdown OriginAL (with cheap as chips tuner in parallel out). I just, today actually, got the Spectracomp, so I think I'm set for the first time in a long, long time. I've fluctuated between smallish to largish boards over the last 15 or so years, and last year I went right down to a Fender Downtown Express....but I love the Ashdown sound so much and now with the final piece being the TCE, I'm happy. Famous lasts words, and all that sort of thing hahahaha