70s Jazz Repro build

[Grangur]

I've recently been chatting with one of our BC brethren, who has a desire to build, or have built a Repro of a 1970s Fender Jazz. Regrettably he's not blessed with the reddies for the real thing right now due to family commitments - with children come family needs. So he's wanting to capture the spirit of the 70s and have one built as near to the real thing as we can.

I've been downloading pictures of the real thing and looking at the level of relicing on REAL 70s basses, not the ones that look like they've been fire-bombed or dragged behind a car for a fortnight, but real basses that have been loved and played.

Well, this isn't a massively involved build, so it won't go on for weeks, but I thought others might like to see a reasonably simple build; which is what I expect this to be.

Well, earlier this week the excitement at Grangur Towers started with the arrival of a small box from Allparts. This contained a control bell-plate, knobs, 1 strap-button.

Yesterday, Mrs G arrived back from the Ma-in-L's with 2 boxes. These generally broke down into 3 packages:


So all in all I've got pretty much all the parts I need now. So today the work began.

I started with the neck and checking the fit in the pocket. I'd already been told it didn't fit, so I wondered how big an issue it was.

I also wanted to make sure it ran in a straight line from the bridge, straight forward. I didn't want to find it veers off up or down.
Drawing a pencil line on the body from the centre of the bridge through the centre of the neck pup this gave a rough guide that I could project on down the neck. It is rough, but it looked OK when I offered up the neck.



T'was true the neck didn't fit in the pocket the right way round. Yet I found that if I turned the neck over; so the binding was face down, the neck did fit in the pocket a good way in.

My original thought had been to sand body, to widen the pocket. Yet with learning that the neck isn't parallel from top to bottom of the heel, I changed the plan and sanded the heel of the neck. After a bit of sanding with course paper laid on the bench (dining table) and sliding the neck back and forth over the edge of the paper - avoiding sanding the binding. The job was done and we now have a neck that fits tightly in the pocket.

[ahpook]

Very nice, I like the neck...inlays 'n all.

Good job on taking the time for a good neck fit.

[MoonBassAlpha]

If it's a tight fit that'll end up nothing like a real fender...

[JimBobTTD]

Where are all the parts from?

[Grangur]

The fit in the pocket is important. This helps with the sound as it resonates through the bass.

As you can see in the pic above; the body is, largely finished, the neck is in the raw.

What I'm not sure about is if I've left it too tight as I'm going to be spraying the neck with nitro lacquer. So I need to allow space for the nitro, but not have the neck flopping in the pocket.

Further work on the neck;
I cleaned out the nut slot and checked the brass nut in the slot. It's too tight, so I used a sharp blade and cleaned the slot some more. All the scraping I did was on the headstock side of the slot and the ends. No scraping to the neck-side as I don't want to shorten the scale length.

The neck has binding on both sides of the nut-slot. So I cut shoulders in the ends of the nut - so the nut will sit on the bottom of the slot, but over-hang the binding. Careful cutting and filing here as I also don't want ugly gaps. - [i]No pic of this yet - i'l take one later.[/i]

As you can also see the neck is virgin-white. This looks naff with the body and out of character for a neck that's meant to be 40 years old. So we need to think about the colour.



Looking at the neck colour and samples of other necks I've done. Here you can see how anemic the new neck looks. BTW this is a good quality neck from Japan. the TR adjustment is in the heel and it's generally smooth.

Thinking of staining the neck to look right - but how dark. How much stain to use?
Even clear lacquer does make it darker, to some degree. In the above pic you can see the "naked", new neck. In the pic below you can see the neck I've damped down.


By wiping the headstock with a damp cloth you can see a rough idea of what colour the headstock would be if I don't stain it, but simply spray with clear lacquer.
So It's looking like it would be similar to the "Patricia Lucile" headstock here. (Patricia Lucile? Who the f...? That's another story)



IMHO - and I'm open to thoughts here; I recon I need something between the 2 colours here.

[Grangur]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1469895302' post='3101872']
Where are all the parts from?
[/quote]
I don't know too much about the neck [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]the eBay seller claimed it came from the Japanese all parts factory but was a B stock due to the binding finish on the first fret not being totally perfect. I've taken a look at the binding and I can't see anything that I'd say is "wrong", but it cost about £160 with the import charges...so not entirely sure if it was a great deal or not. It feels good though.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The body comes from MJT this body was "sold" to our friend "naked" and sprayed and reliced.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Here's the body initially:[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'd have left it naked, but what do I know? I even like Warwicks!![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Here's another pic that shows the relicing[/font][/color]



[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That's not THE control plate, but I laid it in there with the pup covers to get a look at what it would look like - thinking about the neck colour again.[/font][/color]

[gary mac]

Body looks pretty authentic Rich, I particularly like the bottom edge, looks just like one of the old J basses that I had.

will look forward to seeing your progress.

[Grangur]

As you'll notice the screening in the cavities isn't complete. So something else I've done today is adding to this.



The "supplied" screen is copper, but I used what I have which is aluminium. It seems to work OK, as much as I can tell. I've also checked the continuity and seems to be ok.

Carrying on with the body, today I've also done the electrics. The pups are Fender American Vintage 74 Jazz pups.
They come with some neat brass plates with sponges stuck to them. The brass plates also have earth-wires soldered to them. These layed in the bottom of the routs were a tight fit - just what the Doc ordered!

I fed the wires through to the control cavity and terminated all the earth-wires together in a small screw block connector.


Today I also changed the earth-wire to the bridge as the one supplied was a bare wire. I don't like those as they can short against other components. I'll put about that in the next post - later.

[Grangur]

The bridge was interesting. It's great in that it looks really weathered. The screws that hold it in place were suitably aged too, but to satisfy my wish for a new earth-wire, it had to come off. I noticed the centre screw had already broken off. This is unfortunate, to say the least. It was also an omen for the removal of the other screws. 3 came out without too much hassle. The tops weren't too bad even though they're a bit chewed up.

The 3rd wasn't moving. The top was getting even more chewed.


As you can see there's not a lot to be using to turn that. To get this out I used a trick from my old days when I used to take out engines from cars - Impact screwdriver. I have long since ditched the Impact -screwdriver so I went round to a neighbour - no joy.

OK, last resort - I dug out a screwdriver with a metal end to the handle and hit that with a hammer, and tried to turn the screw at the same time as hitting it - UREKA! I actually moved! Having taken the bridge off I could then replace the wire and could see the bridge had, at some time, been painted black - so that's a good way to get the weathered look.


I then re-fitted the bridge with new screws. I never like to take a risk with old screws - sorry if you like the rust-ic look, but I really don't like the idea of having screws terminally in place.

[discreet]

Who did the relic work? There is some very realistic checking going on! It really looks like a 70s Olympic White body that's gone creamy over time, like they do...

[discreet]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1469899296' post='3101906']
I never like to take a risk with old screws - sorry if you like the rust-ic look, but I really don't like the idea of having screws terminally in place.
[/quote]

70s Fenders very rarely have much rust on them. I bought a tug bar for my Road Worn P, both the screws and tug bar were very new and shiny, so I gave them a going over with a Scotchbrite pad, then put a drop of blue Loctite in the screw slots. This looks black when dry. They blend in really well with the existing screws now and look like they've always been on the bass. Not too overdone, methinks?

Of course the existing screws have been 'road worn' by Fender anyway - it's a 2011 bass!

Edited July 30, 2016 by discreet

[Grangur]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1469902693' post='3101924']
Who did the relic work? There is some very realistic checking going on! It really looks like a 70s Olympic White body that's gone creamy over time, like they do...
[/quote] Thanks for the comments and info. That's interesting about the rust and corrosion.

All the relic work, as far as I know, was done by MJT. Some of it was a bit jagged to the touch to my opinion, so I've rubbed some down with 0000 gauge wire-wool. So now it's a bit smoother to the touch, but the look hasn't changed much.

[JimBobTTD]

Thanks for that. I had not heard of MJT before. The body looks tasty.

[Grangur]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1469908233' post='3101972']
Thanks for that. I had not heard of MJT before. The body looks tasty.
[/quote]

http://mjtagedfinishes.com/

[Grangur]

Over the last couple of days the project has moved slowly. I've been working on the neck mostly.

I've rounded the ends of the frets and added a smidgen of mojo (dings) to the neck. This is mostly on the headstock and a couple on the FB. Nothing on the back of the neck or and dings to the binding as I don't want anything rough becoming an irritation to playing. Besides, I want someone to really gel with this bass.



Here you can see how I reduced the width of the back of the nut. In hindsight could have left this section wider; not cutting off as much, but the nut is seriously tight in the slot, so when in place aligned with the sides of the neck, it won't go anywhere out of line in a hurry.



And there it is, with the nut in place. I wasn't happy with the angle of the slots in the nut, so I've filed those a bit. Not lowered the slots, but just improving the break angle.

[discreet]

Nice work. Are you going to tint the neck?

[Grangur]

Things I've been working on today have been the body; improving the relicing.
MJT did a great job in some things, but the dings have been bothering me. I know this bass isn't mine, but I want it to look cherished and played to death. I don't see the attraction in a bass that looks like it's been used as a shovel in the back yard.

So I got out some sandpaper and 0000 grade wire wool and got to work on it. I've not gone mad at it and changed much, but the back had no wear-through white. The front had it, but not here - where it would rub against your body.





The pg was also to "new" so that's now mildly distressed.

I've also been staining the neck. I've not done a lot, but I'm finding the headstock wood and the back is slowly becoming less like the colour of my legs in winter.
The fingerboard, however, isn't changing much. I've used 2 types of stain and it's darkened in places, but not taking the stain to the level that the headstock is. So I'm stopping on the stain. I was hoping for a real honey colour throughout. Ideally like the bass in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6slbqEMiKsI

What I don't want is "rosewood in reverse". So I'm stopping with it like it is. I'll let it dry and move onto the nitro. Yes, the nitro arrived today.

[Grangur]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1470079042' post='3103149']
Nice work. Are you going to tint the neck?
[/quote]
Yes. Certainly have.
Here's a picture next to the other headstock to show it's getting there.


I'm using a different lacquer on this to the one I've used in the past, so I'm not sure if it will go any darker, but either way will be ok.
From the pics I've seen of 70s headstocks there seems to be a mix of necks that have darkened and those that look like they're brand new. I guess this is going to be a "halfway" one.

[Andyjr1515]

Huge amount of attention to detail here, Grangur. It's going to look absolutely splendid when it's all put together

[Grangur]

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1470379432' post='3105535']
Huge amount of attention to detail here, Grangur. It's going to look absolutely splendid when it's all put together
[/quote] Thanks Andy. I like to get things right. I'm a bit of a perfectionist.


I've been working on this through the week. First I did the water-slide decals. I can't believe I've actually made a fake Fender!!



This went OK. I'd been supplied with 2 sets. I only used one. Following the instructions supplied it went on ok and all looks good.

Having done waterslides myself I knew that the waterslide paper requires a layer of clear lacquer to be sprayed on the decal before it's applied. I didn't know if this had been done. The instructions supplied with them didn't make any reference to this, but I didn't want it to disintegrate in the water, so I did this and sprayed a couple of thin coats.

Following the instructions I soaked the decals for soak for 30-40 seconds. Later in the process I was to be reminded that instead you should soak for 3-4 minutes. The decals won't disintegrate or anything - lacquer sees to this. What this does do is ensures the glue is well soaked and gives a clearer look to the decal. As you can see in the picture above, there's a slight milky look to the decal. This doesn't show until you apply the lacquer. This gave me the choice of should I strip the head and start again?

I slept on it and decided it was ok In the flesh it looks ok.

[Grangur]

Over the rest of the week the neck has had more and more nitro lacquer.

After about 5 coats I used 0000 grade wire-wool round the decal edges to try to reduce the ridge of the edge of the decal. Having done this a few times the edge is almost gone. It's certainly quite small and the decals are looking good.

[Grangur]

Yesterday I took it a step further and worked on the headstock. First I fitted the ferrules.


The genuine Fender ferrules look smart.
(The camera really seems to have brought out the milky look. They look better in the flesh)

After masking the rear of the headstock I used a set-square to check the angle of the tuning heads.


The masking tape allows a punch to be used to mark the hole positions, prior to drilling each hole. The screws for the Fender heads are a bigger size than some I've used in the past. I quite liked them as you can use a decent sized drill, rather than resorting to model makers type drills.

[Grangur]

Fitting the neck was "interesting". The holes in the body are larger than the screw shafts. But the neck is a good fit in the pocket, so I fitted the neck into the pocket, turned the bass over, on a soft surface and drilled the holes; all good for now.



Nice one? Yes, that's what I thought. Looking at the other side of the neck against the longer side of the pocket wasn't so pretty. The neck was fractionally twisted in the pocket. The air was blue.

Because I'd used the correct size drill for the screws, not the body holes, this had allowed the drill to wander and not be in a perfect position to get a good fix.

All came apart. I used PVA and cocktail sticks and rammed the drilled holes with wood and glue. (Cocktail sticks being hard wood)
Left it all to set and started again. Really disappointed at this stage. I'm really determined to do a good job on this.

All dry and set to go again. I rubbed down the neck surfaces, re-laquered and waited for it to dry. Then re-fitted the neck -

Clamping the neck into the right position, this time I wrapped tape round the shaft of the drill-bit. This allowed the tape to centre the drill in the body holes and centre it in the right position on the neck. THIS worked!

All screwed and tightened. We can move on.

Nut fitted and it's time to fit the strings...

[Grangur]

All's looking good... except the strings aren't really seated in the nut. So last night I filed the slots some more and lowered the strings a bit in the nut.

This morning I've set it up again. The action is 2mm at the 20th fret. All the strings have the same action at the 20th, following the curvature of the neck. The pups are 3mm below the G and E strings. I hope the owner likes a low action. There are no buzzes. The E, might be a smidgen high in the nut, but it's not bad.

If the owner is happy I'll get this packed up today and off to him this week.





Edited August 7, 2016 by Grangur

[Andyjr1515]

That looks really nice, Grangur. The owner will be over the moon