Just completed building a Jazz & Precision

[thebrig]

[quote name='reggaemaster' post='1299624' date='Jul 11 2011, 09:22 AM']Whoa! Nice basses dude! The oil finish on the jazz is awesome!

I was thinking of making an MM jazz, as the prices for the parts seem resonable, and everyone seems to love them! My concern with doing it is that I have absolutley no experiance doing this sort of thing, so how difficult is it to make?[/quote]
It's really not that difficult, especially if you are going to use Mighty Mite for the body and the neck, as you know they will fit perfectly.
The holes for the tuners are pre-drilled, and most tuners will fit.
The nut is already installed on the MM neck, the routing for the pickups and electrics is already done too.
Probably the hardest part really, is the bridge alignment, which can be a bit tricky.
Any pickguard or any other parts for that matter designed to fit a modern Fender should be OK, as MM is licensed to replace Fender necks and bodies.
There's a little bit of soldering to do, although the EMG's I used on the Jazz come with push fit connectors, which makes life a bit easier.
Personally, I wouldn't attempt a painted finish, as I don't think I could do the job to my satisfaction, but using Tru-Oil is quite easy and gives good results.
Perhaps if you have a old guitar/bass lying around, try taking it all apart, and then reassemble everything just to get a feel for it, that's what I did to get an understanding of what's involved.

Hope this helps give you the confidence to try it sometime, and if you do, let us all know how you got on.
Good luck.

[Al Heeley]

+1 for mighty mite necks - great quality
+1 for not attepmting paint finish - tru-oil is great stuff, I use for necks too, just 3 or 4 very lilght coats with a rag to penetrate and seal, leaves a silky surface and non-sticky.
I would urge anyone with an interest to have a go at putting together their own instrument, its a pleaseure playing somehting you've designed and built yourself, and you have something pretty unique that will have far better components that a cheap vintage or squier, etc.

[KevB]

I had an old Columbus jazz copy which I revamped with new bits until only the body was original, used a MM neck for that and it was a huge improvement. If I was being picky about your pair I would say that gold tuners on the P when the cover plates and knobs are chrome doesn't look that great, chrome tuners would be better. Other than that good looking basses.

[thebrig]

[quote name='KevB' post='1300110' date='Jul 11 2011, 05:25 PM']I had an old Columbus jazz copy which I revamped with new bits until only the body was original, used a MM neck for that and it was a huge improvement. If I was being picky about your pair I would say that gold tuners on the P when the cover plates and knobs are chrome doesn't look that great, chrome tuners would be better. Other than that good looking basses.[/quote]
All the hardware on the P is chrome, and all the hardware on the jazz is gold.
I think you might be getting confused, as the third photo is of the jazz tuners.
Maybe I will have to delete it, and upload it again.

[thebrig]

[quote name='lobematt' post='1299789' date='Jul 11 2011, 12:09 PM']Love the basses!

If you don't mind me asking what's the ball park figure it set you back to get them put together?[/quote]
[i][b]Jazz Bass[/b][/i]
Mighty Mite Body £120
Mighty Mite Precision Neck with ‘Ebonal’ board £75
No-Name Deluxe Tuners £40
Gotoh 201 Bridge £35
EMG Active Pickups £110
Natural Ash with 'Tru-Oil' (gunstock oil) £8
Total [b]£388[/b]


[i][b]Precision Bass[/b][/i]
Squier VM Body £40
Mighty Mite Jazz Neck with maple board £75
Wilkinson Tuners £24
Gotoh 201 Bridge £35
Wizard Thumper Pickup £50
Tortoiseshell pickguard £15
Total [b] £239[/b]

As you can see, quite a big saving was made on the precision, because I only needed one pickup, and the body only cost me £40. I purchased the Squier Vintage Modified bass for £125 from ebay, I then sold on the neck, tuners, scratchplate and pickups for a total of £85. The body was in great condition, so no paint job was required.

Admittedly, building your own is not that cheap, but you do get the satisfaction of choosing the parts and look, and I must say, for a little over £600, I have myself two very nice basses, that play and sound as good as anything I have tried in the shops, including US Fenders.

[Mal1905]

That JB is edible.

Have never been a fan of gold hardware, but cannot stop drooling at this bad-boy - it's a wonderful-looking bass

Well done on the build - I'm just awaiting a stack-knob control plate to finish off my latest monster...

[davebass66]

What pre amp did you put in the Jazz bass?

[KevB]

[quote name='thebrig' post='1300132' date='Jul 11 2011, 05:54 PM']All the hardware on the P is chrome, and all the hardware on the jazz is gold.
I think you might be getting confused, as the third photo is of the jazz tuners.
Maybe I will have to delete it, and upload it again.[/quote]
Sorry, must have skipped thru the pics wrong. Chrome tuners on P as you say, very nice bass indeed.

[fender73]

Both look great, good job!

[thebrig]

[quote name='davebass66' post='1301029' date='Jul 12 2011, 01:54 PM']What pre amp did you put in the Jazz bass?[/quote]
Each pickup has a built-in preamp, and they came complete with everything included.

[b]Package Includes[/b]: EMG's exclusive Quik-Connect™ cables (2), prewired control set including 2 volume controls, master tone control, output jack, battery clip, and adjustment screws.

[b]Internal Preamp[/b]
The preamplifier used inside each EMG Pickup is no ordinary preamp. Built directly into each pickup, the preamp is an integral part of the pickup design assuring quality of sound performance, incredible noise reduction, and simplicity in installation. It provides a variety of benefits for us as the designer and for you as the player. A natural by-product of the preamp is gain. It allows us to design a pickup for its particular tone without concern for the pickup's output. After the coils have been modeled, any amount of output needed is available from the preamp.

Here’s a link to EMG site.

[url="http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/60/25/2"]http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/60/25/2[/url]

Edited July 12, 2011 by thebrig

[reggaemaster]

That tru oil really gives a great looking finish, I may well do the same thing. Did you find that the gotoh bridge meant you couldn't have a really low action? I know this a problem some people have with some jazz basses and these bridges.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-Style-Bass-2-piece-Ash-Alder-body-/250853259431?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D1299141584357843458"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-Style-Bass-2-pi...141584357843458[/url]

I was thinking of using this body as the holes for the bridge are already drilled and the routing is done in such a way that I can leave the pickguard off. Combined with a MM maple neck, it should be dead simple to screw together this bass. Also ash or alder body? I think ash is lighter maybe? Sorry to ask so many questions, but I have never done anything like this before and just want to make sure I don't make any stupid mistakes.

[lobematt]

[quote name='thebrig' post='1300232' date='Jul 11 2011, 07:50 PM'][i][b]Jazz Bass[/b][/i]
Mighty Mite Body £120
Mighty Mite Precision Neck with ‘Ebonal’ board £75
No-Name Deluxe Tuners £40
Gotoh 201 Bridge £35
EMG Active Pickups £110
Natural Ash with 'Tru-Oil' (gunstock oil) £8
Total [b]£388[/b]


[i][b]Precision Bass[/b][/i]
Squier VM Body £40
Mighty Mite Jazz Neck with maple board £75
Wilkinson Tuners £24
Gotoh 201 Bridge £35
Wizard Thumper Pickup £50
Tortoiseshell pickguard £15
Total [b] £239[/b]

As you can see, quite a big saving was made on the precision, because I only needed one pickup, and the body only cost me £40. I purchased the Squier Vintage Modified bass for £125 from ebay, I then sold on the neck, tuners, scratchplate and pickups for a total of £85. The body was in great condition, so no paint job was required.

Admittedly, building your own is not that cheap, but you do get the satisfaction of choosing the parts and look, and I must say, for a little over £600, I have myself two very nice basses, that play and sound as good as anything I have tried in the shops, including US Fenders.[/quote]

Thanks! I've been after a fretless P for a while and I think your price list may have just sold me!

[thebrig]

[quote name='lobematt' post='1302703' date='Jul 13 2011, 06:40 PM']Thanks! I've been after a fretless P for a while and I think your price list may have just sold me![/quote]
Good luck with it.

You will get great satisfaction in building your own bass.
I was proud just taking my own bass to rehearsal, now I can't wait to use it at a gig!

[thebrig]

[quote name='reggaemaster' post='1301760' date='Jul 12 2011, 11:47 PM']That tru oil really gives a great looking finish, I may well do the same thing. Did you find that the gotoh bridge meant you couldn't have a really low action? I know this a problem some people have with some jazz basses and these bridges.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-Style-Bass-2-piece-Ash-Alder-body-/250853259431?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D1299141584357843458"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-Style-Bass-2-pi...141584357843458[/url]

I was thinking of using this body as the holes for the bridge are already drilled and the routing is done in such a way that I can leave the pickguard off. Combined with a MM maple neck, it should be dead simple to screw together this bass. Also ash or alder body? I think ash is lighter maybe? Sorry to ask so many questions, but I have never done anything like this before and just want to make sure I don't make any stupid mistakes.[/quote]
I've got a very low action with the Gotoh 201 bridge on the J and the P, and could go even lower if needed, it's a great bridge for the money IMO.

I don't think there is much difference between ash and alder, as far as weight is concerned, although two identical bodies made from the same wood, can vary quite a bit in weight.
If you are going to have a natural finish, then ash would be the better choice as it has a much nicer grain.

Hope this helps, and good luck with the project.

PS: Show us the pics when you've completed it.

[Evil Undead]

The precision is beautiful