Johnny Wishbone

Well, it’s done (kind of). Neck pocket definitely needs a shim as I can’t get the action low enough (and I don’t like a particularly low action either!) or the pickups far enough away from the strings. Tuners are pretty dreadful - the worst (thankfully the G string) is a real pig to turn. I’ve given them a bit of lubrication so we’ll see if that helps. The A and D are OK. Truss rod works fine. Neck relief adjusted (I use really heavy strings so it went very banana-like at first tune-up) and will leave to settle overnight. Might’ve made a mistake with the wiring as the series-parallel mod doesn’t appear to work properly. No matter, I’ll retrace my wiring tomorrow, but I’ve had enough for today. Neck plays and feels pretty great actually. Shame about that tint but I’m sure I can live with it. Just the headstock decal to apply when it arrives. I’ll figure out the actual cost once I’ve worked out the gremlins detailed above, but at a rough guess I think this comes in around £180, not including strings. IIRC correctly the yellow one will come in at slightly less as the body was £15-20 cheaper.

Tuners ahoy! Did this by eye and very pleased how it turned out. Obviously took my time with it but as long as you get the first one right you’re laughing. Might even get it strung up tonight, but not sure how to approach positioning the string tree yet.

PS: All builds will obviously be crowned with appropriate amusing headstock decals in a Fender style. They're on the way.

I was thinking of going that way. The guy I bought my original P bitsa (see start of thread) from has another one he wants rid of. The body is pretty shot but the black hardware on it is worth what he's asking for the bass anyway. Could well be a case of transplanting the black hardware from that onto this yellow Jazz and using the chrome stuff I bought for the Jazz to rebuild the P with the refin'd body I mentioned earlier. Come to think of it, that P also has a light maple neck! This might delay the yellow Jazz for a couple of weeks but I think the result will be worth it!

Pretty sure it won't be this maple neck as the amber tint just looks awful against the yellow. I'll almost certainly be picking up a lighter maple one come payday and using self-adhesive block markers.

Pearloid was the original idea on the yellow, but after a suggestion earlier in the thread I'm leaning towards black or black pearl. The blue body came with a black pickguard and, after a quick trial I may well go down that route. See pic below - what we sayin'?

In all fairness I'm not much of a fan of the colour either, but I just went with what I could pick up on eBay for a reasonable price. I was prepared to refinish anything I didn't like the colour of (the singer in my band is a bit handy with a spray gun) but I can live with the blue. It's red I really can't stand (incidentally I picked up a red Squier P body just before I started this pair of Jazzes - he's already on with the refin so stay tuned for another bitsa thread)!

Good progress this morning. Got the neck on (bit fiddly but using pieces of string as the 1st and 4th strings I was able to get it there or thereabouts). It’s probably not 100% correctly aligned but it’s pretty close. Might need adjustment once the strings are on but we’ll see. Control plate, pickguard, control knobs and strap buttons all fitted. I’m a couple of screws short for the pickguard, which is more annoying just because I had three packs of the buggers last night and now I can’t find them. I’m sure they’ll turn up. Obviously had the inevitable false start with the pickguard where I’d almost got all the screws in then realised I hadn’t peeled the plastic film off. Joy of joys! Tuner ferrules are in so I’ll hopefully get the tuners on today. Need to make sure they’re correctly aligned so will be taking it cautiously from here!

One wiring harness done and pickups in. I’m using the pups that came with the body as they seem OK. They can always be replaced later but at this stage I’m more about getting the basic build done. Pickguard holes filled with cocktail sticks as, unsurprisingly, they’re almost all in the wrong place for the new guard. I was originally set on a tort guard for this one but now it’s arrived I’m not so keen. Kind of prefer the white pearl one I originally bought for the yellow Jazz, but we’ll see. Hopefully get the neck on tomorrow, but the fit in the pocket isn’t as snug as I’d like so I’d better take my time and get it aligned properly before drilling for the neck screws.

I’ve actually got spray paints that are pretty good matches for both bodies. I was just keen to crack on without having to wait for the paint to dry! Might mask it off and do it later so it can dry overnight.

Yes, the ones I’ve seen with the best reviews are about £8 plus postage from the US. I don’t think that’s too bad and when the neck has only cost you £30 you can’t really grumble! The pearloid ones are at least twice that. As for the GAS, I can only apologise!

The good news is that the pots and tuners turned up this morning, so I can really get cracking now!

No gloss thankfully but yes, I would have knocked it back to almost bare wood if there had been. I’ve no idea why anyone still glosses the back of necks anymore! Hard to comment on the feel/dimensions of the necks until the basses are actually playable, but obviously will report in due course. To be honest, the more I look at the necks the more I dislike them - the orange tint is very unnatural looking and a bit “dayglo”, really. Shame as other than that they feel smooth and look great. I guess that’s what happens when you take a punt. I’m half inclined to get a pair of the ones that are on my P bitsa, which are about the same price but a much lighter natural wood colour. They do have dots rather than blocks though, and part of the reason for me doing these builds was to get exactly what I want in terms of “optional extras” and I’m afraid it’s just got to be blocks on a Jazz for me. I’ve seen those self-adhesive block “inlay” stickers and have heard good reports so might be tempted to go down that route. The amber necks I currently have might work in the blue Jazz as a temporary measure at least, but it clashes something rotten with the yellow one!

And there you have it....

Having just sent a bass via courier, mine was 5.5kg or thereabouts in a lightweight hardcase wrapped in cardboard. Can’t remember dimensions though, I’m afraid.

Having now played my P bitsa at a few rehearsals, it’s become apparent my Warwick was spoiling me in terms of access to the upper frets. I can just about get around it by shifting my fretting arm position, but frankly why should I? I’ve picked up a couple of these neck plates (which I think are similar to the ones fitted to US Fenders) and plan to just round off the bottom corner with a jigsaw, sand it smooth and re-drill for the missing screw hole. I doubt I’ll repaint as (a) you won’t really see it from the front (b) matching the colours will be a pain in the backside, and (c) these are purely workhorse instrumentals and I kind of feel like leaving it unfinished reflects that.

Shielding done. Now for a slight modification to the heel shape.

It seems so, yes. Very thin satin lacquer if anything.

They’re painted, actually. And the necks aren’t lacquered (yet).

I think my postman is starting to dislike me. Not a huge fan of the vintage tint but at £29 for a neck with block markers I can deal with it. Still waiting for shielding tape to show up so I can continue work on the bodies.

That’s the one I have. Certainly got my money’s worth out of it!

Yup, tee-nuts are on the way. I definitely won't be using just woodscrews!