kevin_lindsay Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 (edited) I was bored, so I bought a body and neck, plus the hardware, to create a new P-Bass for my collection. P-Bass body and neck (with a fantastic neck pocket join. Gotoh "lollipop" tuners EMG active P-Bass pickup. Gotoh battery box Fender '58 True Vintage bridge Off-white pickguard Nitrocellulose lacquer: white primer, Seafoam Green colour coat, clear gloss topcoat for body and neck. I spent an evening sanding the neck to a super smooth finish, scraped the fingerboard to get it really smooth to the touch, rolled the fingerboard edges, and smoothed off the fret ends so that the neck feels really comfortable in my hand when playing. Grain filling the body wood was a real pain, but it's worth it to ensure that the colour finish is super smooth. EMG active pickups - did you know that they don't utilise an earth wire from the bridge as happens with passive pickups? I installed an earth wire anyhow, but just left the wire in the control cavity (so that it's there if I ever decide to change the pickup). Edited March 24, 2022 by kevin_lindsay 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Really nice job Kevin, love that colour 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Thanks mate. I've already started on another project, but this next one is gonna be a real labour of love (and expensive!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 2 minutes ago, kevin_lindsay said: Thanks mate. I've already started on another project, but this next one is gonna be a real labour of love (and expensive!) I’ll look forward to seeing that 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 As an aside, I spent hours doing the fretwork on the neck. When the neck arrived, the fret ends were filed at a 45 degree angle, with sharp edges. I did a light fretstone to level the playing surface. I then smoothed off the fret ends, and got rid of all the sharp points. I also rolled the fingerboard edges. The fingerboard was the nourishes with lemon oil, and left overnight. It was then buffed to a smooth feel. The end result is a really comfortable neck to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTB Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 This looks really cool Kevin! Can I ask where you got the body & neck from please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 That's a lovely looking bass, great colour. I bet it sounds good too. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 Thanks. It sounds really cool. And, it's very light so it'll be comfortable over a gig length set. In regards to the sound: when I assembled the bass and plugged in to my amp for the first time, I turned the volume and tone up full, and hit a note....... Silence!! Aaagh!! I was preparing myself for the inevitable disassembling, and troubleshooting. Then I realised that I hadn't put the 9v battery into the battery compartment on the rear of the Bass! I corrected this, and the bass rang out loud and clear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 (edited) I've just received delivery of a tortoiseshell plate, so I swapped it for the ivory white plate that was originally on there. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Edited March 24, 2022 by kevin_lindsay 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Excellent - looks like a couple of my (sadly now departed) Japanese Fenders: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 It's not a colour scheme that works for me but it does look the business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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