Jerry_B Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) As I can't ever see me being able to afford a real fender fretless Precision, I've decided to build a FrankenFender from various bits and bobs. It's still in the early stages at the moment, but thanks to various people here on Basschat I've been able to source some of the more important components. The photos shows how things as they look at the moment. The BC-sourced bits are: neck (wateroftyne), Schaller tuners (mikegatward) and wiring kit (KiOgon). The body and bridge are Fender, sourced from Ebay. Other bits and bobs come from the net. Hopefully in the week ahead everything else I need will be delivered (pickups, neckplate, various screws, string tree, and Telecaster-style knobs)...[attachment=99728:bits#1.jpg] Edited February 11, 2012 by Jerry_B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 The parts all look good, so go and get stuck in Jerry. Hope you enjoy the experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Cheers! At the moment I'm just hoping that everything goes together without too much of a struggle. I've not actually ever tried this sort of project before! Either way, it's good that I was able to source alot of useful parts from various Basschatters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Thats going to look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) At a guess, I'd suspect that the body is actually a factory reject. There was a flat lump at the rear of the neck pocket which I've sanded out, as the neck wasn't sitting flush. The marker pen 'R' may also mean 'reject' - anyone know? You can also see the manufacture date, but I've blanked out the serial number. It's an MIM body. Just around the corner, inside one of the curves of the lower horn was a small very thin scatch through which I could see some of the white primer. That was easily fixed - a quick dab of black permanent marker, leave it for 10 seconds or so, then buff the remaining ink away. No more scratch ;-) Edited February 12, 2012 by Jerry_B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I'm in! More, please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mylkinut Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 This is going to look grand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 I'm hoping to do more updates later in the week. Just to add a bit of detail about the neck. It's any Allparts one, that has had a tinted laquer applied. This isn't too thick, which is how I tend to prefer things. If, once the whole bass is in one piece, the back of the neck seems a bit 'sticky' when playing, what I usually do is some very fine sanding/polishing. The fingerboard is ebony. I've given that a clean and then a very light sanding with very fine wire wool. And I mean very fine sanding! After that, I worked in a coat of Tung oil which has gradually evaporated off. I've helped that along by buffing it with a soft duster. This doesn't leave a glassy, epoxy-like finish but it does make it smooth and shinier to a certain degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Excellent. Allparts necks are the spherical objects. I assume it's a Fender-licensed one? Looking forward to further posts! No pressure, or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Yup, it's a Fender-licensed one. Will post some pics at some later point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 A bunch of bits and bobs arrived in the post today. First thing I had to test fit was the neck plate. It seems okay, maybe a tad askew but I may put a small shim in to nudge it slightly. Not sure yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 That said, it looks pretty snug in terms of the pocket fit overall... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Next to go in was the pups (Fender Originals), just to check that the fit is okay there too. Like I've said, as the body seems to be a reject I just want to check that everything fits! Seems that the pups are okay. There's another cloth-covered wire coming in from the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 A quick check with the bog-standard scratchplate I have. This will be replaced by a b/w/b Mex-fit plate. That hasn't been delivred yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Next is the string tree and bushes for the Schallers. The headstock holes needed a tiny amount of sanding out to ensure that the bushes fitted and were still snug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 So then I move onto installing the tuners and... bugger. The holes for the mounting screws aren't deep enough! So I have to drill those all out a bit more that they all work. That's my next 'to do'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) [size=4]Very good! Loving that Type 'C' decal. [size=4]Your bass is going to be [/size][i]very [/i][size=4]black![/size] [size=4]I found a Scotchbrite pad gives good control when making a sticky neck 'satin'.[/size][/size] Edited February 14, 2012 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Yeah, they're good for that. To start with I tend to use very fine (0000) steel wool, just to see if that makes a small difference to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Turns out that the mounting screws I bought aren't chunky enough. Nevermind, I ordered another more suitable batch. Typical that the tiniest bit is what slows up the whole process... ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Schallers go on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Here's a shot of the fingerboard. With the coat of Tung oil it's a bit more glossy than it was before, without being too glassy or epoxy-like. Akk I'm waiting for now is the new scratchplate. I'm hoping that'll arrive tomorrow or Saturday. Once I have that, the bass can go together and I can set it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 One other thing - the MIM bridge that came with it has to go. The screw holes are too near to the bend (through which the strings and saddles go), so when the bridge is screwed on it tends to roll up near there and thus doesn't sit flush with the body... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Sooo... well, I decided to bite bullet and work around the current batch of problems (i.e. waiting for the last bits to arrive in the post). I've also decided to put on a hi-mass Gotoh-like bridge (this comes from an ESP P/J I have in bits). Here's some pics of me setting up the bridge area, a shot of the bridge in place with the KiOgon Industries wiring kit on board (note the PIO cap), and then a shot of the whole lot waiting for other bits to get attached (strings, knobs, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Here's how it all looks once it's together. Tasty, I reckon ;-) That said, the scratchplate is just a stand-in for now until the MIM one turns up. The fit isn't ideal. The strings are some LaBellas, also a stand-in - D'Addario Chromes of a slightly lower guage will be going on in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Here it is alongside my other fretlesses. What's it like to play? Seems pretty marvellous so far, even with some old strings. The neck is just perfect! The ebony fingerboard really gives a nice flavour to the tone. Overall, the bass isn't heavy and is easy to play. The neck seems pretty fast. I put in a slight amount of relief and there are no dead spots. All the electrics seem fine, so I don't think I'll need to add any extra shielding bar some on the back of the scratchplate. Once the new scratchplate turns up and goes on, I'll put on the Chromes and give the bass a proper test run I'm going to be gigging with it so I need to make sure is stands up to prolonged playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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