Chopthebass

Finished! My friend wanted Ernie Ball Cobalt Flatwounds and they are right when they say they sound like rounds! Very impressed with those. I need to do some setting up, as I left the nut slots a little high. Overall I couldn’t be happier with the sound and look!

I had to extend some wires on the Noll preamp. A super tight fit but got it squeezed in on the pickguard.

Update on the 83 Elite inspired bass. lacquer has been on for 5 weeks. Sanded and buffed last night. I just need to run over with swirl remover and wax then I’m calling it done! I couldn’t resist mocking it up. Assembly will be very soon...

Very nice.!

Thanks everyone. 😉

This has come up for sale locally pretty cheap. He says made in Mexico, but the serial number looks odd. I thought they started with MX? Also the first digits are bold font. Looks weird, but I’m not an expert on fenders.

Wow this is a mega thread! I am waiting on a newly ordered BBNE2, in white of course. I haven't gone through all 171 pages to see if this bass has been discussed! Its a great sounding bass with superb build quality. I should get it just before xmas!

I am planning a headless version, because unless you wear a strap, neck dive is an issue!

Thanks Ped. Next time I will better plan where the battery box is so the pickup isn't slightly offset! Being 19.75" scale makes it a little easier to play than say a Cali.

I have one and it is amazing for the money. Two pups and piezo. Doesn't get much better. Super low action.

I’ve only ever done ebony and rosewood fretless, but wenge is still pretty hard so should work well. I agree it is grainier so I would probably use grain filler and tru oil. That oil is polymerized so is pretty hard.

It’s quick once you have templates! What are you building?

I found a nice 2 piece body blank in my workshop that I totally forgot about! so decided to make myself a 24 fret five string. I’m kinda modelling the look after an Ibanez Adam Nitti 5 string, red with maple neck and black blocks. I cut the body and made all routs. Applied sealer and grain filler. Red pigment was added to the clear coat and I finally got the red I wanted. Now shooting clear coats.

It’s looking really good

No truss rod! Looks great

I bet it balances well.

No worries about hijacking! Your car looks like a lot of fun. It probably weighs nothing, so a 500cc engine I imaging pulls fine. Just worked out my engine is 14 times the size of yours! Jeez. Good job gas prices are cheaper here!

Nice! Reminds me of Jaydee.

Ha ha! I threw on a mix of strings and the D is a rotosound. And your right, the red wrap and reflection looks like a flame. this was a good exercise because the rotosound is the only string that sounds good. Much higher output and more tone than the other 4. yup it’s a Cobra replica from Factory Five in the states. They make the best most authentic replica. I did one in the UK using the Dax kit from Harlow. This one however is less of a kit! Body chassis windshield and a few other parts. Transport Canada have restrictions about what can be imported. Got there in the end!

I haven’t got to putting strap buttons on it yet! It weight 8.4 pounds. It should balance perfectly. I’ll find out shortly! I haven’t recorded how much I spent but I can tell you the big ticket items are ETS and East. Pickups were reasonable.

As requested by Spondonbassed here are some pics of the bass that appeared in the background of the ‘83 Élite I’m building. specs are body-ash, zebrano, black walnut. black sycamore. And maple top. neck- flame maple, black walnut , plain maple birdseye bound fingerboard, 35”, abalone dots Bass Culture DC5 pickups East Uni Pre with mini toggle for each pickup (series, split, parallel) ETS headless hardware.

Agreed. I only assumed it is flush with the underside of the board. If they buried it deeper, then its a bit risky.