HeadlessBassist

As I've said in previous build threads, get your MGCS Basses orders in soon. He's not only getting a bit good at this bass-making game, but every example I've played so far turns out to be much more than the sum of it's parts. There's nothing to apologize for here, just a great sounding and playing bass. And don't forget, if you've been toying with the idea of one of @Kiwi's AUROK™️ Graphite Necks, go for it. They're great!

So this all started in the heat of last Summer when I picked up a prototype Nitro Jazz bass in Daphne Blue by @Silky999 while I was on my way to a gig in Torquay. Quite soon after, I added some Fender Pure Vintage 66 pickups and an uprated tone pot capacitor. This bass, having grown beyond the sum of it's parts, basically showed that Silky999 was definitely onto something... Again, soon afterwards, I signed up for one of @Kiwi's first batch of Jazz bass graphite necks which he was soon to be putting into production in China. The initial intention was to put the graphite neck onto Silky's Nitro Jazz prototype, but it had already become a very good bass as it was. A few weeks later, I noticed that Silky had started work on his own common shape bodies, and he was in the middle of a Walnut Jazz Bass build. Swiftly adding 1 + 1 together, I came up with the concept for this bass - a sort of homage to my no.1 bass, a 2007 Walnut Status S2-Classic that I've owned for 19 years - so we'd build a sort of Vintage-Modern Jazz with Fender Pure Vintage pickups from the American Vintage II series basses, as well as black Gotoh '66 Lollipop Tuners and other nice Gotoh hardware, but with one of the first Kiwi-produced "Aurok" graphite necks for a modern twist to both the look and the sound. The neck arrived on these shores about two weeks ago, delivered directly to Silky and the build has been completed in two weeks. He's definitely put a HUGE amount of work into this bass during that time, overcoming several teething issues, not to mention learning to drill the inserts into graphite for the first time, but we've got there. It's not perfect, but gawd, does it sound fantastic?! I was originally going to get a John East J-Tone preamp plate for it, but it honestly doesn't need it. The 500k pots and more than ample copper shielding have made this a very quiet, yet shouty and clear instrument! Sound-wise, it's actually turned out better than I'd hoped, with a deep, growly tone & a lovely clear top end, with that unmistakable graphite 'shimmer' underpinning the sound. My errors? Well, the first was in the ordering of the lovely Gotoh Lollipop Tuners from Thomann - they're sold as either "4R" or "4L" sets - which I logically deduced would be RH and LH orientation. Er, nope. They're actually labelled for the direction in which they physically turn. Duh. Anyway, I've now accidentally got another bass with "vintage reverse tuners". Yep, we ended up putting them on backwards. I blame the Japanese, personally. Secondly, I ordered a really nice black Gotoh bridge which is seemingly set up for 19mm spacing, as opposed to the usual Fender-style 20mm, so the strings slightly miss the pole pieces, but it still plays and sounds amazing. It can be easily fixed later with a different bridge with adjustable string spacing. I also really liked the wheeled string tree on my GB Spitfire, so added one of those to the tally of parts, as well as a cheeky black "F" logo neck plate - after all, Fender did design the Jazz Bass, so they should deserve a little credit. So it just remains for me to thank both @Silky999 & @Kiwi again for all their hard work. The bass sounds literally amazing - even better than the Status T-Bass I recently played at Andy Baxter's showroom. No, I'm not kidding. Sound Clips to follow...

Coming soon (probably tomorrow) to a Kiwi near you - I'll just say that you're going to be mightily impressed! (PM coming this evening too...)

Many thanks to both @Silky999 & @Kiwi for all their hard work on this - it's the culmination of about a year of developing ideas which started off with my reserving one of Kiwi's first batch of Jazz necks, and originally planning to put it on Silky999's Nitro Prototype Daphne Blue Jazz, and then I happened to spot his Walnut Jazz body thread. What followed was a long haul wait for the neck to be developed and shipped, followed by lots of shopping for parts. I decided not to cheap out, so we've got Fender Pure Vintage 66 Pickups, Gotoh Lollipop Tuners and a high mass Gotoh Bridge, amongst lots of other nice bits. The last stage will be to decide whether to put a John East J-Tone preamp plate into it. Thanks again both of you for all your amazing hard work! @HeadlessBassist

Well, I seem to have fallen into the world of the short scale again... I took this lovely & unique little beast as a part exchange the other day and after a little work to get it set up properly, it's coming on very nicely. Oh, and apologies if this bass has been featured on this thread before. I got bored after scanning through more than 20 pages back. So what is it? It's a Maruszczyk 'Mr.Tee', a 30" scale 5-string hollow body Telebass with a Tele-style floating single coil pickup and a Piezo Bridge. This is all backed up by a powerful three-band preamp with sweepable mid frequency. The body is Alder with a Buckeye Poplar Veneer, and the neck is made from Flamed Maple with a Macassar Ebony fingerboard. The bass was originally built as a 5-string short scale fretless, but someone had it professionally fretted by a luthier. They did a very nice job, too. The original flat wound strings (tuned E-C) had way too much tension, so I ordered a set of 40-95 Ernie Ball flats with a 35 gauge C string from Rotosound. Had to fight a little with the truss rod before realizing that it's a two way affair which tightens backwards. Anyway, enjoy!

Now we're talking. That looks great! Bet it plays like a demon too. I have an unused red tort Jazz guard lying around. If you want it, let me know.

Fantastic playing, Joe! Even on one pickup, a Series 2/S2 will cut through anything and everything.

Argh! The temptation is strong with this one - luckily, I've already got an MGCS Basses instrument in the works and almost completed. Phew! I need to say to everyone, @Silky999 is getting very good at this game very quickly. His care, attention to detail and careful research are second to none. You'd all best order one of his basses before he hits the BigTime! (... or should that be 'BassTime'? 🤔)

Not a specific tone, as the Electric Bass was a natural progression from classical Cello & Double Bass, but the early playing tone I really latched onto was John 'Rhino' Edwards' Status-Graphite tone from Status Quo's "Ain't Complaining" album. Later, it was Mark King's glassy tone from his early KingBasses with Trace Elliott rig. Much later, I really got into the richly scooped Jazz Bass sound, from such players as Jaco Pastorius, Will Lee & Marcus Miller.

Lovely to meet you yesterday mate & thanks for the coffee Membury was an easy run for me, as I teach on Thursdays and Fridays in Malmesbury, Wiltshire near the M4. Typically, the run to Rotherham from Derbyshire on Tuesday evening was not an easy one, as an accident had closed the M1, but hey-ho, the mission was accomplished and that's all that matters! It really is the very nicest blue, isn't it? Hope you can get it sorted relatively easily - having seen the lovely home/music room where it was previously located, I'd say that it has probably spent the last few years hung on a wall, which can occasionally cause neck issues, but they're usually sortable as you say. Hope you enjoy "None More Blue"!

That's very, very nice JJ! Congrats

That is a lovely P sound. Quite like the Pure Vintage derived "Coastline" one in my American Professional Classic. Very clean top end, but not too harsh or nasal sounding, and lovely and warm at the bottom.

I'm sure these will be very nice, judging by the constituent parts they've used, but I do find more and more that I prefer the OEM Fender sound (when you get a good one!) I'm sure I've either played or owned most of the alternative Jazzes, from the £63 Ash and Roasted Maple Fazley to Sadowskys and Lulls, and you know what? If you get a good Fender, it just feels and sounds right. I've been setting up an as-new American Professional II Jazz that I took in as a PX the other week, and it's just sublime. Also, I played in the house band at a reopened Jazz Club in Sheffield last night, and played my American Elite Jazz all evening. Pure bliss. My point? Sometimes only the original article will do.

That looks fantastic. Congrats! Looks pretty much like my American Original Fender, but probably at about a third of the price! What's not to like?

Another solid vote here for the Cort Space Bass 5. This is my third one... and it only cost me £420 in as-new condition! They sound fantastic too.

I've honestly never got on with any of my 'dream basses'. Custom orders have never worked out for me for some reason. I've always been a 'try before you buy' kind of player. I bought my main Status bass 19 years ago as a stock bass after buying [and selling off] two custom orders. Most other instruments I've bought second hand and some have become mainstay working basses that I wouldn't sell on, like my 2016 Elite Jazz, GB Spitfire, or my Status Stealth. I would like an Alembic Series 2, but they are all the money these days, so hardly likely. Maybe a Victor Wooten Fodera Monarch Yin-Yang, but I'm never really comfortable playing someone else's signature bass. Apart from that, I'll wait to see what takes my fancy next time... I will say that I'm really enjoying gigging my simple passive American Fenders at the moment and am looking forward to the completion of my Walnut/Graphite Jazz build.

"Ted clearly didn't listen to his bandmates even when they repeatedly told him that a rubber bass was not a good idea in hot climates..."

Brilliant post, Spencer! For me, it's the white/parchment/mint that always looks wrong. They make a nice bass look cheap (unless it's mint on aged white), because that's what the Mexican basses had in the 80's & 90's. A nice dark red or brown tort goes with practically everything, and a black scratch guard solves all colour crimes. I recently put a tasteful dark red tort on a black American Professional II Jazz I took in as a p/x. Looks much better than the OEM mint.

Yes, Happy Birthday - you certainly have a diamond of a partner there And congrats on the arrival of some serious pinkification!

PM'd...

The problem with the Bass Dept. at Andertons (and many other stores) is that they often have nobody to set up the basses, so you end up playing on grotty strings that have been played by all sorts of little Herberts who never wash their hands before playing, and actions created by speedy mass production which leave the strings three nautical miles off the fingerboard. If I go to Andertons, I usually stick some Alun Keys in my back pocket and do a mini setup on the bass I'm trying. That way I can at least feel if it's something like what I'm looking for. Obviously a bass is never going to sound how you want/expect until you get your favourite strings on it and get it set up to your own preferences, but I'm sure they don't mind carefully done small adjustments that make the bass more playable and therefore more saleable even if you don't end up buying it. As for what I'd like to see, I guess I'd like to see more aftermarket Graphite necks on the market, but hopefully Kiwi has that corner of the market covered now with Aurok Composites.

@Silky999 just received the graphite neck today, so now the build starts in earnest. Within a week or two we'll hopefully have a complete instrument. The specs will be: Single piece MGCS Basses Walnut Jazz Body AUROK Graphite Jazz Neck (courtesy of @Kiwi) Fender Pure Vintage 66 Single Coil Pickups Gotoh high mass black vintage bridge Gotoh black lollipop tuners Black control plate/hardware with 500k pots Possible additions will be a John East J-Tone control plate/preamp.

Ah well, they'll have some more made up soon. I'd imagine it's the only way they can get rid of the horrid green ones, anyway. That 'Ford Signal Green' is a heinous colour. It should be illegal!