epic576 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Hey guys, Just spitballing here but I'm considering adding a J pickup to my MIJ P-bass. I've looked at different topics and the most common wiring suggested is V/V/T with double stacked knobs to avoid making another hole. For reference I'm basically making a Duff bass (coincidentally same colour body and neck (see attached)) so thusly I'm not too worried about carving it up as the bass itself only cost me £100 and have no intention of offloading it anytime soon. [attachment=201000:Duff.jpg] Does anyone have any idea of price if the pickup is £50 (SD Basssline) Cheers AJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Pm ki0gon of this parish he will make you a loom up for s very good price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epic576 Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 I'll bear that in mind thanks. Loom aside, the cavity would have to be routed and I have nowhere near the skill set to even make a decent attempt. Would it be easier to go to a guitar shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 [quote name='epic576' timestamp='1442753404' post='2869204'] I'll bear that in mind thanks. Loom aside, the cavity would have to be routed and I have nowhere near the skill set to even make a decent attempt. Would it be easier to go to a guitar shop? [/quote] Yes but would cost a bit if routing for the pup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 (edited) [quote name='epic576' timestamp='1442753404' post='2869204'] I'll bear that in mind thanks. Loom aside, the cavity would have to be routed and I have nowhere near the skill set to even make a decent attempt. Would it be easier to go to a guitar shop? [/quote] There's a high chance that a guitar shop won't do the work. They would probably send it out to a Luthier to do it. The tone you will get from the pup will be determined by the position of the routing for the pup. The shop also may not discuss this with you. You would be far better if you cut out the shop and find a luthier. You will also, presumably need to think about the finishing of the body. The router will leave the rout as bear natural wood. Do you want the body resprayed? I don't know how expensive this bass is, but the whole cost could be as much as that of buying a second bass with a PJ set already fitted. Edited September 21, 2015 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 You could always keep the bass you have and hunt out an Ibanez RB650. Terrific basses, adjustable pole pieces (giving a precise level for each string on each pick-up, a la Di Marzio) and the blend on them is gradual - not either on or off, as some are, great neck and in my opinion, one of the best P/J basses out there. Honest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 £100 for an MIJ? Sounds to me like a bargain, and I'd have thought the bass would be worth a fair bit more. If you are going to have to pay for routing, respray, pick-up etc., wouldn't it be better selling the P as is and with the money you get for it and the money you would be putting into the mods you should have enough for a nice PJ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epic576 Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 It was £100 with a trade in and I had to barter down to that. It wasn't anywhere near in the best of nick, advertised at £300. I've found a luthier relatively near me (Bristol area ish) charging £25 not including pickup for routing and wiring. Like I said before, I have no intention of selling this bass so the 'butchery' some may call it isn't too much of an issue about the resell value. About the respray, I don't think I'll bother if it's just the route that'll be bare wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 [quote name='epic576' timestamp='1442836507' post='2869820'] It was £100 with a trade in and I had to barter down to that. It wasn't anywhere near in the best of nick, advertised at £300. I've found a luthier relatively near me (Bristol area ish) charging £25 not including pickup for routing and wiring. Like I said before, I have no intention of selling this bass so the 'butchery' some may call it isn't too much of an issue about the resell value. About the respray, I don't think I'll bother if it's just the route that'll be bare wood. [/quote] Fair enough - sorry, from your first post it almost sounded like you were doing this as it was only a cheap bass rather than it being a keeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 That sounds like a great price for the rout! I'd grab that. It's a nice looking bass you have. Apologies for any misunderstanding. I know none of us here meant to be down on you, or the idea. Good luck, I hope it all works out well. We'd love to hear how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epic576 Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 No offence taken. I could have made the first post clearer. Thanks for the advice, really appreciated. Of course I'll keep everyone updated if and when it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 For adding a J pickup to a P, it has been my experience to place it either in the closer '70's position to the bridge in order to bring out a tad more contrast with the P pickup, or a least slightly closer to the bridge than the '60's position. The strings will also align to the poles of the J pickup better. Since you don't want to refinish the bass, I would consult a qualified luthier who will use a proper template and router, since the J pickup will not have any pickguard to hide anything routed out of profile to the pickup. This is what I did for my custom half-fanned fret P/J, where the pickups also needed to be rotated to match the fanning of the frets. I have a thread about the build somewhere on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epic576 Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Thanks for the advice, I'll try and find the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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