Frankenfanny Jazz Bass

[Rumple]

I wasn't going to do a build diary for this bass as it's a bitsa and might have been just a case of screwing a few parts together finding I don't like the sum of those parts and giving up, but although it's going to involve a bit more then that I've decided to go ahead with the project, the diary is partly so I can enlist the help of you knowledgeable Basschat folk

It all started with the purchase of a Squier Jazz bass body that I picked up on here, I'm assuming it's from a VM? it came with some Squier hardware and a set of Wilkinson tuners.

I have a J&D Jazz bass, it's heavy is about the only bad thing I can say about it, it's a great 70's style bass, the opportunity to buy a neck from one came up at a very good price due to it possibly having issues, I thought it worth a punt and bought it.

The plan was to get all the bits attached so I could get an idea if it's worth the time and effort going through with the build, the 1st issue I had was that the Wilkinson tuners were too big for the J&D headstock! so back to the 'For Sale' section of BC for some Squier tuners, they fitted perfectly after filling the old screw holes with toothpicks and drilling new ones.

I attached the neck and a bridge to the body using the original holes in each item and strung it up yesterday, a quick bit of setting up and it doesn't play too badly at all, the previous owner of the neck had done some work on the nut and I think it may have been cut too low as the bridge saddle are set quite high to clear the 1st fret, I'll get a new nut and see if it helps.

Next up I noticed the strings aren't quite aligned properly, the E string is a little too near the edge of the neck and the G string to far in, plus the neck doesn't quite meet the body, using all the original mounting holes there is a 3 mm's gap, I could fix the string alignment when I fit the Sandberg I have for it but that wouldn't fix the gap between the body and neck so I may have to refit that using new fixing holes..... or just get a scratchplate made to cover the small gap

Moving on I've plugged it in today and it's a bit weedy sounding and quite odd in the fact that it sound very hollow with both pups turned up, even the bridge pup sounds ballsier solo'd then both pups on! I raised the pick-ups a little which helped a bit with output, so I then took the bell plate off and notive it's got 500k pots instead of the usual 250k and it is a bit of a mess when it comes to wiring and soldering so I'll replace all the electrics when I swap out the pick-ups.

With no knobs or strap pins it weighs 9lbs which is great news.

I don't really like sunburst finishes so if I can get this project to a point where I'm loving the bass from a playing point of view then I'll have a go at spraying it a subtle gold colour and replace the guard for a black one.

Any thoughts, comments, ideas and help would be good.

I'll post a few pics from my phone in a mo'

[Rumple]

Here's a few rubbish snaps from my phone over the last couple of days I promise to take better camera shots going forward

[attachment=180668:IMAG0651 lr.jpg] [attachment=180669:IMAG0654 lr.jpg] [attachment=180670:IMAG0656 lr.jpg] [attachment=180671:IMAG0649 lr.jpg]

[scojack]

Maybe a long shot but are both pups the right way up and or wired properly ....sounds like a phase issue when you have the two pups together ?

Edited January 11, 2015 by scojack

[Rumple]

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1420983364' post='2655760']
Maybe a long shot but are both pups the right way up and or wired properly ....sounds like a phase issue when you have the two pups together ?
[/quote]

I'm pretty sure they are the right way up as they have wording on the covers so it make it easy to check, the wiring is a mess though so I'll redo that from scratch and hopefully that will sort out the phase issue.

[Rumple]

Neck Update:

I replaced the nut today with a new bone one, it took a little sanding to get it to fit into the slot as it was a tad wide for the J&D neck, I also had to sand the bottom of the nut a fair bit so it sat lower in the slot, at the end I realised there is a tiny bump in the base of the nut slot so although the nut sits well on the E string side there is a slight gap on the A string side, I might try and fix that but it's a bit tricky working it such a small area and I'm worried about messing things up. I've now managed to get the action nice and low but buzz free

While I was playing with the neck I took another look at the fit and I think it's as far into the neck socket as it will go without some reshaping, the two corners of the neck meet the body but due to a slight difference in the curve at the heal it leaves a small 1.5mm gap in the middle, I can live with that.

[Rumple]

Update:

Today I fitted the Sandberg bridge, it's a nice looking bit of kit but I must say it's far easier adjusting intonation on a BBOT!

I think I may have sanded the nut down a little too much the other day as I realised today that the saddles on the bridge had to be set very high to get a decent set-up, I slid a tiny bit of card under the nut and that has helped so I'll have to get a replacement at some point.

Some CTS pots arrived today, I bought them on Ebay and they arrived very quickly, I realised why when I looked at the post mark and found the company is based in Penge which is about a mile or two away

I've ordered a BWB scratchplate, it's coming from China so it might take a month to turn up, I don't need it in a rush so it made financial sense to get a cheap one.

[attachment=181180:IMAG0666 lr.jpg] [attachment=181181:IMAG0667 lr.jpg]

Edited January 24, 2015 by Rumple

[Rumple]

Today I swapped out the Duncan Design pups for some from a J&D, I like their pups as they have quite a strong output, while I was at it I sorted out the wiring temporarily, the bass now sounds a lot better and there's no volume drop with both pups on. The J&D pups had rubber on the bottom of them which is handy as I discovered some blue kitchen sponge under the Duncan's

While I had the bass out I gently filed the ends of some of the frets with rough edges, it's an improvement but I probably have to do a little more at some point.

I'm pretty pleased with how this is turning out so I'll in the spring I'll have a go a spraying it, I'm wondering if it's at all possible to do that without totally removing the Poly finish that's on there now?

[Rumple]

Just ordered a side mounting jack socket plate as I've decided to add a 4th pot (rotary) to the control plate for a series/parallel option, I had this on a 5 Jazz once and really liked the series tone.

I've also ordered a Switchcraft jack socket, I've gone for a stereo one as I have heard they grip the jack plug a bit better.

To round the shopping spree off I've bought some car filler/primer.

[Rumple]

Ordered a 4P4T pot from China instead and will now stay with 3 pots, so Volume - Rotary switch - Tone.

[Rumple]

Black scratchplate and filler primer have arrived, I've done a tiny bit of filling on the dings on the body, next step will be to strip everything off of the body again so I can sand and prime it.

[Rumple]

Hmmm.... 4P4T is massive! it doesn't even come close to fitting in the control cavity time for a rethink.

[Rumple]

The 4P4T rotary switches will now be used in the 5 string bass I'm having made for me.

This morning I quickly wired the Jazz up in series and I liked what I heard, quite an aggressive and loud mid heavy sound, probably more like a Stingray then a P or J, the J&D pups are quite powerful anyway and series wiring has magnified that, so I've ordered a 3 hole control plate and will have just one volume instead of two as the other would be redundant when the pups are in series anyway.

[Rumple]

Last update on this one for a while as the next job is to spray over the sunburst and as that mostly involves working in the garden I'll save that job until the spring.

I weighed the bass yesterday and it a very respectable 9lbs on the nose that's without trap buttons and all the screws in the plates but they shouldn't add a lot of mass.

[Rumple]

Well the weather is starting to improve so I've ordered a heat gun and a scraper so I can have a go at removing the old finish.

[Andyjr1515]

Great stuff - what's your thoughts about finish/ colour?

[Rumple]

I'm a bit new to all this so I'm not sure the best way to go to make my 1st attempt as easy as possible, I was thinking modern car paint rather then Nitro? I probably need to do some research! feel free to chip in with advice

I quite like the idea of a dark gold/copper colour or a kinda warm metallic brown-ish, I think it needs to be a dark colour look right.

[JPJ]

For ease of application, I'd go with modern cellulose. Buy the complete system from one source (grain filler, primer, and colour coats). Take your time, the key to a good finish is lots and lots of preparation i.e. once the body is stripped, grain fill and sand to an even 600 grit using a block. Again, after priming, flat sand the primer to 800 grit, again using a sanding block. After the colour coats are on and evenly applied and fully cured, wet sand through the grades (1000, 1500, 2000 grit) again with the sanding block. Take care when wet sanding edges and radius's as its very easy to sand through. Finally buff and polish using good quality buffing compounds and lots of elbow grease.
Personally, I like using Rothko and Frost products based on lots of good experience. I'd recommend one 400ml aerosol primer and 2 400ml aerosol colour coats per body (that should give 3-4 good coats of primer and 6-8 colour coat applications). However, the whole process is quite expensive and you can easily blow £150 on filler, primer, paint, wet n dry, and buffing compounds. Oh and you'll need a decent respirator mask otherwise you'll end up trying to paint the flying pink elephant that's laughing at you

[Rumple]

Thank you for taking the time to pass on that info and guidance, I'm a bit concerned now though as £150 would effectively double what I've spent on the bass I was thinking it was going to be about £50.

On the plus side I might get to see flying pink elephants

Would I be wasting my time going down the route of using grain filler followed by car paint aerosols then a clear lacquer? £150 quids worth of materials and I mess it up could make this grown man cry.

[JPJ]

No not at all, but I think you'll still run up quite a bill at Halfords. Depending on the body wood and how particular you are going to be over the finish, you might get away without the grain filler. Halfords do a fine filler which comes in a natty yellow colour in an aerosol and a couple of coats of that might work just as well. Again, depending on how glossy you want the final finish to be, you could just spray the paint and leave it at that. The finish will have a degree of what's known in the trade as 'orange peel' which reduces the reflectivity and hence the mirror shine but that might be ok for you. Personally, I'd have to flat it but that's just because i'm wired that way :-)

[Rumple]

I've spent the best part of my adult life retouching out 'orange peel' paint and a multitude of other imperfections from images of cars for a living, I'm not sure I could live with it in the finish on a bass.
It's all big learning curve for me so I'll strip the body, if that goes well I'll make a decision on paint type, leap in and see what happens. I have some automotive filler primer in the shed, can that be applied straight to bare wood or does it need some sort of barrier?

BTW I've seen your work here on BC and it's an inspiration, I take my hat off to you sir.

[Andyjr1515]

Hi, Rumple

It really depends on what you are after. To go for the full spray-can whack certainly notches up the cost more than any of us would like, but it IS possible to achieve a perfectly decent and effective finish much cheaper than that.

You could go the ink & wiped on Ronseal approach:

Materials - ink £5; Ronseal £7; microfibre cloths £5; white spirit £5; Wet n dry sandpapers £7




Or you could go the spray primer, spray colour, wipe on Ronseal approach:

Halfords Primer £7.50 ; Halfords Colour x2 £15; Ronseal £7; Microfibre cloths £5; Wet n dry sandpapers £7



Or the spray primer, spray paint, spray clear lacquer approach:

Halfords Primer £7.50 ; Halfords Colour x2 £15; Halfords Clear Lacquer x2 £15; Wet n dry sandpapers £7; Autoglym polish £13; microfibre cloths £5

I don't have any shots of that because I always use the wipe-on approach. It takes some practice, and there are some hints and tips, and it won't QUITE make the same quality as a very well applied spray and buffed finish...but it will be better than a badly applied spray and buffed finish.

I'm more than happy to point you to various threads of how to do it...

Andy

[Rumple]

Those look amazing Andy!

I already have some filler/primer so I'll start with that and see how I get on before deciding on the next step.

Can the primer coats be applied straight on to the freshly stripped body?

[JPJ]

No reason why not, just make sure the body is nicely sanded and clean from any residue and dust.

And Andy, I'm going to have to try your finishing method as those two look amazing.

[Andyjr1515]

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1425744873' post='2710293']

And Andy, I'm going to have to try your finishing method as those two look amazing.
[/quote]

It came out of necessity - I don't have a workshop / garage / shed that I can spray in and I knew that furniture makers quite often wipe varnish on...many reckon that however well you clean your brushes, there will always be bits coming off them. The transformation was the introduction of cheap microfibre cloths...they are brilliant for the job.

When I get a moment I'll post some links I've done in the past (poss from other forums) ref some of the tips and tricks to get a pretty decent finish in not much time or effort...and indoors (ensuring good ventilation, of course )

As I always stress - it will never quite match a professional spray job, but for its practicability and cost it is good enough for many projects

Andy

[Andyjr1515]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/244071-fender-precision-lyte-body-refinish/page__fromsearch__1"]This is probably the most relevant thread for you, Rumple[/url]. It was the refurb of Paul S's black Precision Lyte, pictured above.

Hope it helps.

Andy