DocTrucker

Thanks, will look into the suggestions. As far as I could see the Indonesian Vintage Jazz Modifieds were well recieved, maple bodies and necks with reasonable hardware. What would I be gaining from a more expensive model? I expect the spend to be about £60-70.

Fairly certain my bass is a Squire Vintage Modified in natural (lacquered finish) with Duncan Designed pickups. I've got a bit of noise on this when plugged un and considering adding some shielding (something I did for my P bass, that wants a bit more work) and swapping out the pickups for some Entwistle JBXN pickups at the same time. Is it worth looking at a high mass bridge at the same time, or is that really just an aesthetic choice until your a real Bass wizzard?

Hello! Been 'learning' the bass far too slowly for many years! Was taking lessons at a local music school, but had to rest that due to redudancy in 2018. Just before the C19 lock down they called me up wondering if I was up for joining one of their bands, and managed to get one practice session in before the lock down - I was re-hooked! My gear is a stock Squire Jazz Bass, and a BC Rich Warlock Bronze that I gutted and rebuild with new electronics and Warman pickups. Like tinkering and aiming for a kit build for a 5 string H-H bass this new year. Amp wise just a Laney Combo practice amp and a Scarlett Solo USB interface with the computer. Knuckling down now to fill in a few scale shaped holes in my knowledge!

I've found a few more companies supplying the kit (or variations thereof - reverb and fretwire) and the original manufacturer's website. Minimum order of 10 units, so not a route to a cheaper unit but nice to see the full catalogue! I had spotted a pre built one that had been left in natural finish on ebay, but the seller had treated the wood with petroleum jelly. As one of the UK suppliers offer the kit for ~£115 I decided £75 was my limit for something that wanted stripping and a lot of work before I could lacquer, which is also a lot of work! As you may have guess I missed it, it went for 76, implying someone had put in a bid higher still than that. I'll browse the whole catalogue and see if these UK suppliers are willing to add a specific model to their next order when I'm ready to go - or just go with the same one discussed on this thread. http://www.byguitars.com/

Great read that thanks. I was airing towards grain filling, maybe stain and lacquer. How has your finish aged? If this build goes ahead the spec and build is something I enjoy. To date I've fingered alsorts of bass lines on my Squire Jazz, and rebuilt BC Rich. Recently took the opertunity to join an 'adult' group at my local music school and it has resparked my enjoyment, but equally showed my knowledge of scales is left wanting. This build is both for the pleasure of the build and as a consolation for the hard slog needed to drop back to the begining of a learn bass book to slowly fill in my gaps!

Found the pitbull forum thanks. https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/ Next step for me is to find the VW/Skoda level manufacturer of hardware rather than the Bentley/Mclaren! 🙂

Great, thanks @StuartD is that community on here or a forum from their website? @Mottlefeeder Good spot. I had spotted that the rear cover is not the same. Bad phrasing on my behalf. Different iterations of the same kit rather than identical. I've found somene showng pictures of a kit from Guitar Fabric with the same rear cover from the pitbull.

Here were the kits I thought looked identical (edit; look like itterations on the same kit rather than identical): https://kitbuiltguitars.co.uk/guitar-kits/5-string-bass-sr-style-diy-build-your-own-bass-guitar-kit-kbg-5sr-a/ https://guitarkitfabric.co.uk/bass-guitar-kit-ibanez-sr-premium-ash-7141269525286-en.html https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/guitars/pit-bull-guitars-ib-5-electric-5-string-bass-guitar-kit/

I did try a quick scan of Aliexpress and Banggood. As far as I can see the kits from the UK sites are the same as the Pitbull ones. If Pitbull was the original source I would have been tempted to order from them but the UK resellers save on import hastles and can take technical quiries, but that said I guess UK or Australia makes little difference on responding to emails! Good to hear posative things about the kit though. Are the pickups reasonable or worth droppong in some Warman or Alan Entwistle pickups from the start?

Hi all, I've seen what looks like identical kits from tha above retailers (pitbull being Australian, the others UK) and I wondered who is the original manufacturer? Interested in these as a project around new year. I will now go away and do forum searches on the above names to see what mines of information can be found on them here. Thanks!