Bassfinger Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 (edited) Bought this neck off ebay, second hand but unused. My arriss is it a G&L, although it looks nice. Jazz width, rosewood...its an odd one, cos the frets are nicely done and the fingerboard well finished, but the tuner mounting holes aren't all well spaced and E is well out of line with the corresponding groove on the nut, which I'm not happy about. The pic doesn't show this to good effect. But there you go, can't be too fussy for 13 sovs. Plan is for a jazz type build. I want a sort of relic'd patina look, but I want it to look well used, as if its worn though years of loving use, and not beaten or abused is if it's been in a blender with a pit bull and a breeze block. You know, that warm kind of look that develops through years of handling where the skin on your palm wears things gracefully and makes them shiny. I don't want to spend a fortune. Bass is still early days for me having recently converted from geetar, and I'm saving for a proper Steinberger, and simultaneously trying to pay off the final dregs of my mortgage. Add to that that I have the fine craftsmanship ability of a Glaswegian blacksmith who's half cut on single malt and angry through being forced to work overtime, and you can see that this could be challenging. More pics to follow as this progresses. Edited November 19, 2019 by Bassfinger Wardrobe duck particle 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 £13??? Now there's a great start to a build... Watching this with interest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Me too, that was a bargain ☝️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 19, 2019 Author Share Posted November 19, 2019 (edited) I bought a Jazz body from Ebay. "Maple", they said. "My arriss", I said when I received it. I'm not an expert woodologist [new word, (c) Bassfinger Enterprises 2019] but I suspect its basswood. In any case, it's one piece, no joins or evidence of bookmarking anywhere. It was also infernally cheap at a score, and well shaped and finished. I rubbed it down to smooth it fully, and braved the spiders and startled hobo in the shed to look for unguents to colour it. I have shotguns and air rifles and found half a tin of mahogany tinted danish oil which hadn't congealed solid, so out that same. Further rummaging revealed a can of gloss polyurethane that the hobo hadn't sniffed so I snaffled that too. The danish oil worked fine, but seemed a bit more orangey in hue than I recall. Perhaps it had aged, or maybe the hobo had wee'd in it? No matter, it looks ok so I wiped on 3 coats on the body. I let that dry a day and used 800 grit wet and dry to rub it down wet, almost but not quite rubbing through on the edges, body contours, and bits where high wear might be expected. I then rubbed a final coat all over so the whole thing is done, but the colouring is now noticeably thinner in the high wear areas. Faux wear, tres trendy. 4 coats of spray poly, which is currently still hardening. Once its cured properly I'll buff that to a glossy shine, again with extra attention to the edges etc. Seems to have darken the colouring slightly, which is good. Careworn rather that roadworn. And that's where it's at now. Once the buffing is done I'll post up another pic. I've plumped for a cream scratchplate to go with the aged look, and the vintage style knobs. Undecided as to pick ups or machine heads as yet. I like the look of pickups with rails rather than individual poles on a Jazz, so will keep my eyes peeled. Bridge will be Wilkinson because it's cheap, very neatly finished, and only £8.99. Edited November 19, 2019 by Bassfinger Atom scarf carpet 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Sounds good, looking forward to a few pics bassfinger , I do like a build 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 20, 2019 Author Share Posted November 20, 2019 Thanks for the encouragement team. Here's a pic. The flash kinda flattens out the image a bit and softens the appearance of the "wear" on the edges and contours. The bridge is dead level, but a trick of perspective makes it loom a fraction skewed in the pic. A few more days for the poly to harden and I'll give it a final buff. Interesting times finding a neck plate. The holes on the body were pre drilled, which was a bummer because that seemed to be spaced differently to the norm. Still, after countless hours of Ebay searching I found a plate and screw set in Malaysia with the correct spacing for a whole £2. I fitted the neck earlier that was perhaps wise on a still soft finish, but I wanted the whole lot hi g ul and safely out of harm's way. Pleased that the neck pocket was cut well amd accepted the neck perfectly. Using a 50cm ruler against the side of the neck I was pleased to see a mere 1mm difference in a line extended out to the rear pickup cut out, so that saved me a lot of grief fiddling to get it lined up, Scratchplate due to arrive today according to My Herpes. Assuming it arrives as promised and intact I'll offer it up to get a flavour of how it'll look and to check it fits, but will leave it a few more days before actual fitting. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 20, 2019 Author Share Posted November 20, 2019 Welcome to Jazz club. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 Right, having fitted the scratchplate I've immediately demounted it while the poly cures. It's a waiting game now. Another week or so for the poly to cure so it can have a final rub down. I've some machine heads on the way, and I'm looking at pickups and a control plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 And on Gona set of Alan Entwistle pickups. I went for the ceramic magnets and it surprised me how weighty they are. I did a lot of reading around and the general buzz from testers is that they're decent budget performers and you need to spend proper money on DiMarzios or Duncan's to get an improvement. Well, spending that much on a budget build just was nae gonna happen. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 Wilkinson Tuners. Well priced, look good, very little slop. What's not to like? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 I really rate Wilkinson stuff; got their pups on all of my basses, I think I’ve got a couple of their bridges too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Isn't basswood's main charecteristic no grain? That looks far too interesting to me, but I'm not an expert. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 I'm not entirely sure what it is,other than I'm fairly sure it isn't the maple it was sold as. It's fairly light, fairly soft, but that's all I really know. It does have some nice grain in places. Not bad for a cheapie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 58 minutes ago, Bassfinger said: I'm not entirely sure what it is,other than I'm fairly sure it isn't the maple it was sold as. It's fairly light, fairly soft, but that's all I really know. It does have some nice grain in places. Not bad for a cheapie. Possibly Paulowina? Lots of cheap bass bodies made from this being sold. Very light, but very soft, so prone to dents. Looks nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 (edited) Thank you! The photos don't show it, but as the poly has cured its sunk into the grain slightly. This has given a shiny but slightly textured finish which looks fantastic. Edited November 28, 2019 by Bassfinger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted December 9, 2019 Author Share Posted December 9, 2019 (edited) Nothing exciting, and certainly not worthy of a photo...but Gotoh string tree and bronze nut fitted. The nut in particular is quite lovely and very nicely finished. The nut necessitated very, very carefully opening up the slot on the fingerboard by 0.5mm to fit, and it was so snug it took a few taps with a plastic mallet to get it properly seated. Nevertheless, a little bit of Loctite dabbed in place with a cocktail stick was also deployed. Control panel, locking strap nuts (Dunlop style) and strings and she'll be done. Mulling whether or not to go for bridge and pickup covers too, but I'll wait until everything else is done so I can eyeball the finished product and make the decision then. Edited December 9, 2019 by Bassfinger 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 500k pots, control plate, and vintage style knobs ordered. Also have some Dunlop style strap buttons heading my way. Once that's lots done then all that remains is a tasty set of flatwound and she's ready for action. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 Looking good 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted December 24, 2019 Author Share Posted December 24, 2019 (edited) Olympia flat wounds have arrived. Slapped them on, set the intonation. Lovely. Action is ok, slight truss rod adjustment might be required but I'll let it hang with the strings in tension for a day before fiddling. Either way it's actually pretty decent already. And unplugged it sounds great. Quite loud, with a fantastic warm tone. I can't wait for the electrics to arrive so I can finish the job and amp it up. Edited December 24, 2019 by Bassfinger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted December 24, 2019 Author Share Posted December 24, 2019 I've just noticed that the lower picture makes the strings look out of alignment with the neck. In a panic I've just revisited with a pair of verniers and the difference is only a fraction over 1mm, so I guess the angle makes it loom odder than it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 She's finished. 500k logarithmic pots have finally arrived. All soldered together, hands trembling with excitement...and she sounds absolutely fantastic! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 And the cherry on top went on today...a rosewood tug bar. Can't rest my precious pinkies on piece of mere plastic, eh? And she plays great. The supposed G&L neck is very nice and true, and the frets well finished. The bronze nut is maybe 0.5mm too high, not enough to bother doing anything with until it next needs new strings. Capable of a low, buzz free action but I like it cranked a fraction higher. The pickups are something else. If the company slapped up some slick advertising they could charge 50 quid apiece for these and no one would feel short changed. A warm, but very punchy tone, precise and articulate - a sort of hybrid vintage tone with modern edges. Not potted, but not at all microphonic like many cheapo pickups. I run them on my other rig and still they impress me greatly. Being a big lad I appreciate the slightly larger Jazz body, and the offset waist makes it very nice for playing sitting down. I just intend to play it as much as possible now to get some real patina to go with the minor fake wrinkles I bestowed upon it, and I'm sure it won't be a hardship at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Looking good bassfinger , it’s nice when a build comes together ☝️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Nice one 🙂 4 hours ago, Bassfinger said: And the cherry on top went on today...a rosewood tug bar. I've scavenged all the black keys off a piano. Cut in half and bevelled/polished on the cut end that's, err... lots of posh 'tug bars'. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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