Blackbird88 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 (edited) I'm going to purchase a Blacktop Jazz in the very near future, I jammed one at Andertons Saturday, and loved the feel, the sound and most of the looks, except for the fact theirs was dinged a little, the wonders of display models. The only thing I'm not in love with is the black on black body/scratch plate combo. I'm not interested in the white chrome version of the bass, just to be clear, i like the black body, just not the scratchplate. Problem is, plates for a blacktop jazz seem to be hard to come by, the only place I've found so far is WDMusic.com (strangely their UK site doesn't have them) and I'm not sure if they deliver internationally (I'd guess not because they have a UK site). The only other option would be having one custom made, but I've no idea where to get one or how much it would cost. Basically does anyone know anywhere that might sell them, or know of someone who could make one for me? I'm open to ideas on the colour/design as well, I'm thinking red pearl, I've always liked red on black, but I'm also considering green pearl/tort. Also, out of interest, can the jack plate be replaced with one that matches the pickguard colour? And where might I find a coloured one? Never owned a bass with a scratch plate before, let alone a Fender, I mostly play Ibanez, so this is all new to me. Any tips on replacing it would also be helpful, I'd assume it's straightforward bolt on bolt off, but then I've heard Strat electronics are mounted on the back of the plate so thought I'd ask in case this is the same. Cheers in advance, Rob Edit: had an idea, if I'm having one made for me, is there any reason I can't have one made to cover the jack plate as well, so it's one continuous scratch plate like on a P Bass? Edited January 15, 2013 by Blackbird88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 If WD Music in the US do them they will send to WD Music in the UK. You can give WD UK a call/email and ask them, they can usually get anything off the US site sent over. I've always found them pretty helpful. I'm sure there are a few people on here who can make scratchplates to order - from a template. Personally I wouldn't go for the all-in-one with the control plate, but thats just me. No reason why you can't except to ensure everything is electrically shielded properly. Often the metal control plate carries the shielding along the controls so you might have to link up the pot cases inside... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird88 Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 Thanks, that's good to know, I've never used them before, but I'll keep that in mind. I thought it might be something like that with the control plate, I'll probably just leave it as is, but it was an idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I think it looks better with the classic metal one to be honest. Fender did do a Jazz bass with a one piece white plastic pickguard/control plate combo for a while in the early 80s - these are the ones where cost cutting reached ridiculous levels and are widely regarded as being mostly utter pants. So I imagine not many people would want to make their bass look like one of those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird88 Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Interesting. I thought it would look better with the all in one, but somehow I think it loses character without a metal control plate, definitely going to leave as is. I've seen a picture of a blacktop somewhere with a red pickguard and the original control plate, it looked awesome. Found it: http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2364/cmfbjb.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Yeah I know its wiers innit? but that red tortie looks cool fella! Be careful ordering those tortie scratchplates though, some are really flat/cheap looking because they are just printed on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 is the P-bass pickup in the same place as it is on aerodyne basses? if it is then you could try looking for aerodyne replacement guards too. Also, Howard (The Bass Doc) on here can make you a pickguard if you send him a template. Try dropping him a message and see he can help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird88 Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1358332270' post='1936997'] Yeah I know its wiers innit? but that red tortie looks cool fella! Be careful ordering those tortie scratchplates though, some are really flat/cheap looking because they are just printed on. [/quote] I've seen those printed on ones when I was trying to find scratchplates for the blacktop, looked pants compared to the real deal, I'll watch out for that, cheers [quote name='jackers' timestamp='1358336309' post='1937105'] is the P-bass pickup in the same place as it is on aerodyne basses? if it is then you could try looking for aerodyne replacement guards too. Also, Howard (The Bass Doc) on here can make you a pickguard if you send him a template. Try dropping him a message and see he can help you out. [/quote] Don't know about the pickup position, when the time comes I'll measure up and check if I have to, it's a good point, hadn't thought of that. I'd assume aerodyne scratchplates would be easier to find as they've been around longer. I'll bear him in mind, any idea how much (ballpark figure) he normally charges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I don't know I'm afraid, it won't be extortionate though If you PM him he will be more than happy to advise you I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 the Bass Doc would be my first port of call, he's currently without a computer but is reachable by Phone, he's based just outside Newcastle upon Tyne but can do post too, if you want his phone number then drop me a PM and i'll ping it back. the last scratchplate he did for me was cheap tortie but i think it looks great. (it was [i]very[/i] cheap as well) he has stocs of differnt materials according to what you actually want, i just wanted a cheap plate to get my bitsa working. Rushbo has just had a red tortie plate made by him so should be able to give you an idea of price. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/190868-the-bass-doc/page__st__80__p__1937090#entry1937090"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/190868-the-bass-doc/page__st__80__p__1937090#entry1937090[/url] Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird88 Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 PM'd. I'll give him a ring nearer the time and inquire about a price, there's no point ringing him this far in advance anyway. Cheers for the advice/help guys, appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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