kodiakblair Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 I do love a P-bass but not the everyday models. With too many 51 singles and a couple of Modern Player/Telecasters it was time for something different. Always fancied a Cabronita but I missed the boat on them. Bought one a few month back,seller got a better offer and cancelled the sale. Undeterred I reckoned I should just build one. This is my story 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 It starts with a blank. £35 slab of sapele from Reid Timber in Glasgow. Had a bearing fail on a cutter and 1 tear out but ended up with this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 Couple of paddle necks from ebay. After I reshaped the one on the right I checked it against my MIJ 51 Paisley,needed to knock 6mm off it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) Cut the neck pocket then things ground to a halt as I waited on a TV Jones pickup coming from Spain. Looks well off centre there 😲 Edited November 3, 2019 by kodiakblair 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 Pickup arrived and the tears started to flow 😭 The 2 saddle Squier bridge I intended to use was a tad too wide. Spent ages moving it about so I had an even reveal down the neck. Had the damn thing angled so it would work only to look with horror how it clashed with the pickup. String spacing was too wide as well. Enter the Fender Deluxe. Took a few days to arrive but solved a few problems. Smaller footprint/tighter string spacing improved the reveal and strings would sit inside the pickup blades😎 One quite big difference between the Fender and Squier bridges is the screw mount holes,farther apart on the Squier, Keep that in mind if you fancy swapping them. With the bridge and pickup I felt confident to take next step. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 Used some amber nitro to take the edge of the peelie wallie neck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 No long shaft 500k pots to hand so a mock up while I wait on them. Scratchplate is just paper but I do think it needs one,also help get position for the knobs. Pots will be rear mounted,chrome control plate is optional. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Looking pretty good so far 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 4 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: Looking pretty good so far Cheers Andy. The scratchplate and control plate are staying 👍 Kind of felt it was going to look a bit plain. I know a few folk who are big slab body fans and the word from them was "keep the bloody plates !!" These convinced me it was the right choice. 3 ply black and dark tort should be here Thursday 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Looking lovely mate! IMHO you’ve made the right choice (except for the tort pickguard!🤮) Are you going to do the pin stripping as well?...........😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 2 hours ago, Jimothey said: Are you going to do the pin stripping as well?...........😀 No chance Jim ,those were hand painted 😃 That kind of skill is well beyond my capabilities 👍 I love the bridges on those basses, they were machined by Dan's (2saddleslab) old man 😎 While back I bought some brass rod with a thought towards compensated saddles,never moved beyond the "thought" stage. 2 scratch plates arrived this morning,just waiting on another cover plate now. Before changing his mind for a control plate this eejit drilled the pot centres 🤬 Fingers crossed I've a bit scrap I can use as veneer on the cover plate. Might get a chance to use that Noll preamp 😲 Nothing much done today. Holes drilled for pickup and ground wires,bored out for jack socket cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 8, 2019 Author Share Posted November 8, 2019 3 days and still no cover plate 🤬 Crap idea any way 😃 Needed to hide those 2 holes. Thought of optons. Option 1 was rip a strip from he scrap then router a channel for it,glue the strip in and plane flat. With the angle of the holes the strip would need to be 200mm long and 60mm wide. Option 2, cover plate from scrap. Took option 2 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 8, 2019 Author Share Posted November 8, 2019 Chiseled out a space for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 8, 2019 Author Share Posted November 8, 2019 Time for sanding. A lot of sanding 🤬 Started with 80 and ended with 2500. On with the tung oil. I'll leave it overnight then rub another coat with wet/dry paper first thing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 That's come up nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Cheers Andy. Just gave it 2nd coat. Spending the time to sand it properly was a good idea. The camera flash makes it appear lighter so I'll see about better photos later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 I wasn't wrong about the sanding,came up trumps 😀 These photos give a better idea of the colour. Over the next few days I'll iron out a couple of teething problems. TV Jones sounds brilliant but there's a ground issue. Need to get pickup height set properly too. Think I'd run into trouble had I went for another pickup,finding the blade version over in Spain saved the day. Time to clean up the workshop (kitchen) and have a wee rest. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Beautiful 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 Cheers Andy 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 That’s a looker, that! How’s the output on the E & G strings? They look close to the edges of the pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted November 12, 2019 Author Share Posted November 12, 2019 7 hours ago, Pea Turgh said: That’s a looker, that! How’s the output on the E & G strings? They look close to the edges of the pickup. Angle of the photo ,the blades extend 5mm passed E & G. Plenty of output 🙂 That said, I was bricking it when routing out the pickup 🤣Had lines drawn all ways to find the position. It's a very small pickup,only 71mm long,If I'd kept the 2 saddle bridge and it's 20mm string spacing E & G would've missed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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