oh...it's_a_squier Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I know I'm far from alone in having a couple of health issues which make playing heavy instruments a problem, so I won't bang on about them here. Long story short, I had to give up my precision when I started gigging again about 18 months ago and have since been playing a Yamaha which weighed a lot less (not hard as the precision was close to 12lbs ). As nice as the Yamaha is, I never really clicked with it, so when I saw a Swamp Ash P body on guitarbuild.co.uk with an advertised weight of 1.7kgs I couldn't resist. The next few months were a process of slowly applying tru oil and buying bits and bobs as money allowed (ie, very slowly indeed), until I could finally put her together. I went with a Mighty Mite neck, Schaller BM Light F-type tuners, wilkinson BBOT bridge and some skanky old SDQP pickups I had in a drawer. I realise the Fender logo is not cool, but it was there when I bought the neck and is under lacquer, so I decided "sod it". If it helps, I used a Squier engraved neck plate to ensure it's not going to fool anyone if it gets nicked and taken to a pawn shop.... This bass, no jokes,[size=5][u] weighs under 7.5 lbs [/u][/size]all in. Closer to 7.3 but I don't have super accurate scales and don't want to exaggerate. No neck dive either. (Please excuse dreadful photos- I only have a crap phone camera) [attachment=192409:IMG_20150520_133503.jpg] [attachment=192410:IMG_20150520_133548.jpg] [attachment=192411:IMG_20150520_133703.jpg] I literally only strung her up 30 minutes ago, so there's still a lot of setting up to be done, but so far I'm pretty happy. To be honest, I'm still euphoric from the fact it didn't explode when tuned up to tension (I was very careful when putting her together but have never drilled a neck before, so was pretty scared). No obvious dead spots, good sustain and nice feeling neck. Excited to see how she plays with a truss rod tweak and full setup. I know it will never be a boutique beauty, and I'm sure it lacks the sublime tone of many of the fantastic basses I love to drool over on this forum, but this bass is my creation and I love it more than anything I could have bought it a store. I will gig it until one of us breaks! If any of you have dreams of building a bitsa-bass but never have, I strongly recommend it. It's really good fun and at the end of it you have something you can call your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 That's great. Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) Very nice! Edit: while wondering what that weight was in kg, I stumbled upon this: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/19925/how-long-should-i-slow-roast-a-large-7-5lb-3-5kg-chicken-for. So now you know how to roast it too! Edited May 20, 2015 by ras52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 There's great satisfaction to be had from putting a bitsa together and it turns out great! sometimes they just don't work and other times you end up with a real gem that you feel an attachment to, that gamble is part of the fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) I used to wonder why people mentioned the weight of a bass But as the years advance, I now fully understand I used to own an old Fender P, and it weighed a ton (well, not literally, of course!) Comfort is all part of playing, and if you have a bass you've enjoyed putting together and more importantly, it doesn't give you back ache - great and don't worry about it being a Squier - there are some great Squiers around My VM series P/J is really lightweight, and a fab bass I have a bitsa which has a MIghty Mite neck on (last owner put a Fender Logo on that too) Like me, you'd obviously never try to pass it off as genuine when / if selling, and I think that's important I'm impressed with the Mighty Mite neck on my bass It's quite lightweight, very playable, and has a nice feel to it You've done a nice job there Love the grain of the wood Looks great Edited May 20, 2015 by Marc S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Good work. You've got the bass you want and need and I like to see a bit of grain, whether stained or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number6 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 That's a good looking bass and it's tempting me to start a self build 😯 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckman67 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The bass looks great hope when you finish the setup, it's everything you'd hoped that it would be . For my 21st birthday my Dad bought me a secondhand Peavey T-40 (stolen years ago ), often thought about replacing it but the weight of it was heavy then I'm 48 now don't think I could wear it for long . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Congrats! - Play it well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobiewharton Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 This is great! All the best with it. Tobie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Cool! Now colour it sea foam green..or yellow ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Nice one, bet that's lovely to play on. Fantastic grain too. Welcome to the light P Bass club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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