JimBobTTD Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 Poor Dave...I keep adding things to this. We are in discussions about a scratchplate now. The idea was that he would send one which I could use as a template, but due to my recent move, I am not in a position to do anything like that at all. The two scratchplates he has used as props in the pics in this thread - the brown/red tort and the red tort - are in poor nick, so that's them out. I would also like to point out that Dave kindly offered to send me his nut files so I could sort the nut out and also to wire it up for me if I sent my pickups. What a gent! There was no need for either, as I brought my soldering iron and nut files with me [Aug 2013-Jan 2014: living out of a couple of suitcases]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzybass Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 Looks so classy, amazing work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 Hold on, ladies and gentlemen... The bass is ready. Dave is waiting for some scratchplate screws to arrive and will have the whole kit and caboodle in the post next weekend. No new photos, so this will have to do for now: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 Dave has sent me some cracking photos of the COMPLETED BASS. More info when it arrives. It will take time, but I can handle it. Luckily, I am out travelling all over Scandinavia next week, so I won't have a moment to think about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 I've had the bass in my possession for about a week now. I am now finally finding the time to put it together. What I have done so far is just fiddling - I put my Warmoth neck on Dave's body (perfect fit) and had a play. What needs to be done: Attach tuners to the new fretless neck Put the string retainers on too Attach the neck to my Warmoth Jazz body File nut And, on the body: Take off scratchplate to access thumb rest and misc bits and bobs that are being stored in the cavity Shielding tape for the cavities Mounting foam for the pickups (on order…I foolishly left some behind) Wire it all up What has to be said - and I think I said it when doing the last project - Hipshot's tuners are great but they really are not adjustable. They claim to be left or right handed; all you need to do is unscrew the bolt thing. Easy as 1-2-3!!! Except this is not the case. The bolt takes an Allen key (the smallest one known to mankind), is made of amazingly soft metal and has been monster-tightened so it is nigh impossible to get it out. I have the tuner in the freezer in an attempt to shrink the metal a little bit so I can unscrew it easier. It worked last time, so... Many, many photos to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Look forward to seeing the end product. Great bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 [quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1384023944' post='2272096'] [size=4]What needs to be done:[/size] Attach tuners to the new fretless neck Put the string retainers on too Attach the neck to my Warmoth Jazz body File nut And, on the body: Take off scratchplate to access thumb rest and misc bits and bobs that are being stored in the cavity Shielding tape for the cavities Mounting foam for the pickups (on order…I foolishly left some behind) Wire it all up [/quote] Right…I have managed to get four of the tuners on. The fifth one has been cross-threaded and needs replacing. How did this happen? Either I did it or it was like that from the factory (a little less likely). The holes were a little too tight for the tuners and I think it may have happened when trying to put it on the fourth hole (for the D string). I widened the D and G holes with a bit of sandpaper and now the tuners go in nicely. I shall order a new Ultralite for the G and curse the mounting costs of this project! But you know what? I shall order it already changed to left-handed. Pardon my French, but "ce n'est pas possible à convertir les Hipshots" so I shall only order from somewhere that will change it [i]before[/i] sending it out! Still lots of photos on the way. The body is full-on luscious. I shall get to shielding it this week coming up. I'm away for a couple of days but I should have it done before the week is over so I do all the wiring next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Progress has been a bit slower than I would have liked. This evening, I shielded the P body. Here it is with the scratchplate taken off. The scratchplate seems to have bonded with a few patches of finish, but it's all under the plate so no bother. And here it is with the shielding tape on: And the back of the scratchplate: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Finally found some time today for a bit more fiddling. Not good news, though…the John East U-Retro will not fit in the cavity and will instead be placed in my Jazz. This is not necessarily bad news, as I always wanted a preamp in there. But now I'm not sure what to put in the P…suggestions? A blend is a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 That's a shame, is it because the East is on a long rectangular circuit board and a P has a curved cavity? You could always try it out passive first? you might like the sound and save a few pounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 Yep, it's because of the preamp's shape. Bummer. But did I check first? No. Who is to blame? Ahem... I shall have to try it out passive first. I really want to take it to band practise on Sunday, but I'm unsure I shall have time this week to complete the electronics and set-up. I'm off again tomorrow evening and won't be back before Thursday or Friday evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Alan at ACG has used a P Retro with two pickups on a few of his basses, by adding a rotary pickup selector switch, would surely work with a pan/blend too, perhaps you could try something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 The P Retro sounds like a good idea. You might be able to cram a Bartolini? I couldn't find any actual dimensions on their site though. http://www.bartolini.net/information/harnesses/hr_3_3.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 Thanks for the preamp suggestions, gents. I have an Audere that I shall fish out and consider. It is 4-knob, though, which is something I am rapidly thinking I do not want on this bass. Perhaps I shall have it passive for a while. Right…I have put the PJ together and set it up. I wired the P pickup straight to the jack and left the J unconnected. The Nordstrand P sounds excellent, albeit a touch harsh in its current wiring. I hope and assume that it will be tamed a bit when wired up properly. The bass feels very nice to play and is lightweight and balances well. To recap, this is the body Dave made and the Warmoth neck. The bass has a Fender 62RI scratchplate on it with holes for a thumbrest (under the strings) and pickup cover. I'm unsure what to do with the holes for the thumbrest - I think I shall just leave them as they are. For the pickup cover, though, I wanted to have the screws there. But why not go whole-hog? So I did. I put a cover on and, to my surprise, it does not hamper my playing at all and acts as a nice resting spot for my thumb or, when playing with my thumb further up the neck, for my hand. No more photos of this bass until it is completely done. As it is right now, it looks too much like it will when it is fully done. This will make the final photo's impact less exciting. So there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 You're teasing us now! Out of interest Jim did you buy a 4 string 62RI scratcplate and adapt it for 5 string? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 Yep, it's a 4 string plate. Our mutual friend adapted it for me. I'm off to a recording session with it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 I've been busy recently... Some bad news. The fretless neck that Dave made - that wonderful, beautiful piece of wood - developed a fault and has been returned. Dave, ever the professional, said he would refund. The good news: the P5 is complete. The body Dave made joined perfectly with my Warmoth neck and together have created a bass of joy. Perfect balance, not too heavy at all, excellent sound, as resonant as you could wish…and with flawless finishing too. To trot out the old cliché, the photos don't do it justice. This is for a number of reasons, such as a lack of natural light (it's winter, after all), poor photography skills and the fact that white does not photograph well, I find. I have wired her up so the controls go volume, tone, blend. The space at the end was tight, and the blend pot is a small one, so that was the way it was. I am not happy with the passive blend for its own inherent flaws (the middle position's weakness) and I am going to go active which will also give the bass a bit more oomph. I am in no hurry to do this as the passive sound is utterly excellent. The P on its own sounds massive and the J on its own is none too shabby either. I am very happy with this bass! I have been playing it for a good while now and it makes me grin like a Cheshire cat. A brief summary: BC's own Nugget (Dave) made the body Warmoth Deluxe V neck Hipshot A bridge, Ultralite tuners, string retainers, ferrules Schaller straplocks Nordstrand P5 and NFJ5 pickups Fender neck plate, scratchplate, knobs And here are the photos: Better photos in April! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 What remains now is to get a fretless neck for the Warmoth J body I have. I also saw a photo here (in the Show Your Rig thread) of someone's sunburst Jazz with a bound and blocked neck. I had never known that I fully, 100% needed a sunburst Jazz with a bound and blocked neck before that moment. Something tells me that my next project will be started soon after the fretless neck is done…two or three-tone sunburst, black scratchplate, passive, flamed maple neck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 (edited) [quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1391953726' post='2362905'] What remains now is to get a fretless neck for the Warmoth J body I have. I also saw a photo here (in the Show Your Rig thread) of someone's sunburst Jazz with a bound and blocked neck. I had never known that I fully, 100% needed a sunburst Jazz with a bound and blocked neck before that moment. Something tells me that my next project will be started soon after the fretless neck is done…two or three-tone sunburst, black scratchplate, passive, flamed maple neck... [/quote] Well...a fretless neck from Warmoth has now been purchased and is being sprayed in clear nitro gloss. This will go on the Jazz V body I have had sitting around since I stole the neck off it for the PJ in this thread. Happy days! The sunburst Jazz with a bound and blocked neck is going to happen at some point soon - probably all Warmoth, probably body and neck finished by the chap doing the fretless neck now. Something tells me that I shall have all my bass sounds covered with the PJ, the Jazz fretless, the sunburst Jazz and my trusty Ibanez SR1205 for anything more metallic. More details when the fretless neck is ready and in my hands! Edited May 8, 2015 by JimBobTTD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Gnnnngngngngngn neck has been finished in clear nitro and will soon be making its way to me. The photos are [b]absolutely fantastic[/b]! More info and pics of the neck when it gets here...I would estimate that it will take a week or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Looking forward to seeing this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Sigh...it seems that the courier has misplaced the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 ...but it has now been found. Really unhappy with how the delivery went - the website is still saying that they have received a booking but not collected it yet. Allegedly, someone tried to deliver it to me on the 28th May and then took it back to the depot. No note through the door, tracking not working, no phone call...how am I to know? Terrible. Interparcel using DPD. The neck is lovely. There is a great level of flame without being OTT. I shall let the neck acclimatise overnight and see if I can get it on the body tomorrow. Besides, I'm far too tired to be making decisions at the moment. Next steps: Get the neck on the body Tuners on the headstock String retainers up there too Strings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 It took me a while to get things in order, but it is now almost all done. Neck on the body - I had to sand the neck pocket a tiny bit. I used a thumb rest as a block and a piece of 320 wet&dry (used dry) to take just a smidgen off each side. The rest went on without any bother. Next steps: Wait for the neck to settle Gentle tweak of the truss rod (perhaps only an eighth of a turn) to reduce the relief a bit Lower saddles on the bridge Intonation The bass feels great at the moment. The body had been sat in a cupboard for the best part of two years. Joy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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