UglyDog Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) Well, as per my post in the Thomann decoration thread, there's really nothing wrong with this other than a bit of slackness in the D string tuner, crap strings and a few rough edges on the pickguard. All of which is easily solved. I have to say, this thing is really lovely -- the woods are nice, fit and finish is great (neck joint is as tight as a gnat's chuff), it sounds good and balances well, I mean it was 28 quid for god's sake. Mrs Dog was all set to rip my nads off for buying another bass until I told her how much it had cost, at which point she decided it was a great idea Immediate plans are 1) replace the tuners with some nice Wilkinson ones from the spares box, 2) fit some Schaller JB6 pups I've had for ages and that I'm dying to finally use in something, and 3) replace the w/b/w pickguard with a b/w/b one I've also had for a while. I [i]might[/i] add a neck ashtray too, still in two minds about that one. I rather like it, but check the mockup pics and gimme some opinions Longer term plan is to make a 2-band EQ for it, cloned from either a Stingray or Sadowsky schematic. Haven't decided which yet. For now I'll leave it passive. [i]Very[/i] happy dog EDIT: another 'at some point' mod will be a decent bridge. I'm not a BBOT fan. [attachment=180740:whole.jpg] [attachment=180739:body white pg.jpg] [attachment=180741:pguard.jpg] [attachment=180742:stamps.jpg] [attachment=180743:body black pg.jpg] [attachment=180744:DSC_0099.JPG] Edited January 12, 2015 by UglyDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 That's looking good UD. And getting the Mrs approval was a added bonus. As for the mods,how cool is that having everything already. Well chuffed for you Sir. Got my deko JB-75 in my hand just now. Didn't we do well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) We certainly did, and I have you to thank for the heads-up Pics of your JB please! Edited January 12, 2015 by UglyDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 @UglyDog - well done on the NBD. I laughed out loud when I saw your tag bargain of the decade Personally I think the black pick guard would work better with a black control plate. @Kodiakblair - didn't you already have a HB JB-75? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I must have missed this - are you saying this is one of those 'for decoration only' basses costing a few quid, but is actually playable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1421062094' post='2656614'] Personally I think the black pick guard would work better with a black control plate. [/quote] Heh -- and as luck would have it, I've got one of those in the spares box too [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1421062353' post='2656621'] I must have missed this - are you saying this is one of those 'for decoration only' basses costing a few quid, but is actually playable? [/quote] Yup [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/227421-thomann-selling-basses-as-decoration-only/"]http://basschat.co.u...ecoration-only/[/url] Edited January 12, 2015 by UglyDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I think I read somewhere that the HB jazz basses will fit a Fender neck, albeit with some new hole drilling. That should make them excellent starting points for various degrees of bitsa creation, I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 [quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1421063056' post='2656634'] I think I read somewhere that the HB jazz basses will fit a Fender neck, albeit with some new hole drilling. That should make them excellent starting points for various degrees of bitsa creation, I would think. [/quote] I'll be taking the neck off mine at some point, when I fit the new tuners. I'll measure the heel & pocket and report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 AT It's the same JB-75 from a few months back. Had it handy as I was checking if it was a photo veneer ( it's not ) for someone on another forum. Think mines was £33 with the 10 euro voucher. Must have posted these before but any old excuse will do [attachment=180755:Jazz Bass (1).jpg][attachment=180756:Jazz Bass (4).jpg] Back photo is reversed for some reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 After much mucking about, I decided I couldn't live with the higher-than-I-would-like action so I've fitted my spare neck to my JB20. Alas, my nice big Wilko tuners are too big for the smaller headstock, but I've had the previously slack Harley tuner apart and managed to get it working properly. The black pickguard and ashtray are in place, and so is the black control plate I mentioned in #6 above. If I say so myself, it looks the dog's parts and through headphones it sounds killer, even with the stock pickups. OK so it's a bit "Trigger's broom" with all the replacement bits, but apart from the neck it's just cosmetic preference, and the neck is just me being picky. It was workable as it was, and I already had the parts to hand so it still doesn't owe me anything apart from the original purchase price. Pics coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 As on the other thread, I listened to Thomann's own samples of the JB-20, and thought it sounded pretty good even with the anonymous pickups. It sounds as if it took a bit of work, but you've got a good bass now. I wonder what would happen if you put the deko neck on ebay with a 99p start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I might just stick it on here in the Recycled section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Defretting practice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 [quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1422620141' post='2674673'] I might just stick it on here in the Recycled section [/quote] Neck now up for grabs. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/254590-harley-benton-jb-20-deko-bass-neck/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/254590-harley-benton-jb-20-deko-bass-neck/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cachao Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Do the replacement PUs fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) To be honest I have no idea, I haven't bothered offering the others up because a} the stock ones sound ok and b} I found a wire had come off one of the Schallers thus rendering it (temporarily at least) useless. Pic as promised. Poor quality, sorry, but you get the idea. Done now except for the planned DIY Sadowsk-ish active EQ. Original alongside for comparison. [attachment=182807:nearly finished.JPG] [attachment=182808:whole.jpg] Edited February 3, 2015 by UglyDog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) IMHO it looks much more serious now with the black pickguard and the pickup cover than with the white original. Edited February 3, 2015 by Annoying Twit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Black scratchplate and pickup cover is a huge improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I'm thinking of buying a JB-20 - can you tell me if it's a heavy instrument and is the neck slim like a 60s Fender? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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