Precision Jazz Stingray lash up.

[Maude]

Well here we go again, welcome to more lockdown inspired shenanigans. 

Having been using the spare time to finish lots of little jobs on builds and generally try to decrease the spare parts bin and increase the bass rack, I've decided to put together a Precision bodied, Jazz necked Stingray. 

I had an SX Precision that I picked up for next to nothing years ago which I intended to use for a project at some point, and a left handed Harley Benton 'deko' Jazz, which was similarly bought for peanuts, mainly for the Wilkinson hardware. 

Then I was reading the thread about Stingray pickup placement, that was hinting that the main thing to get 'that' sound was pickup placement. Yes body, bridge, neck, electrics, etc all play a part but a Stingray pickup in the sweet spot seems to get an unmistakable Stingray tone. Fleabag was praising the Warman pickup, which only costs £20, and my little brain started whirring. 

The P body was already in primer so it will need painting, but as I'm furloughed I can't lay my sticky fingers on any, ahem 'budget' paint. So this will be aerosoled, and if I'm going to aerosol it why not do it black so that it'll show every imperfection like the proverbial sore thumb. 

As the neck is a lovely maple with black blocks and binding I thought the classic black body and black scratchplate would work well. I love a funky colour but I really think just good ole black, black, maple will look great. 

Oh yes, the neck is a lefty so it will be a reverse necked PreJazzRay. 

Here's the main bits and a quick mock up. 

A black scratchplate is on its way, and once all the bits are gathered I can do some careful measuring, drilling and routing. The main thing is to get the pickup in exactly the right spot, regardless of where the rest the hardware is, if I need to make a one off scratchplate then so be it. The neck needs a little reshaping to fit the pocket end and some of the cavity will probably need filling along with some screw holes but it should all be quite straight forwards. Ha famous last words. 

I've flatted the face of the headstock to remove the upside down logo and I'm not sure whether to just re-lacquer it or do it body coloured, any opinions folks? Saying that any thoughts on body and scratchplate colours to go with the neck would be welcome as it doesn't have to be black, I did think a dark silver/graphite grey might be nice. 

[SpondonBassed]

7 minutes ago, Maude said:

I've flatted the face of the headstock to remove the upside down logo and I'm not sure whether to just re-lacquer it or do it body coloured, any opinions folks? Saying that any thoughts on body and scratchplate colours to go with the neck would be welcome as it doesn't have to be black, I did think a dark silver/graphite grey might be nice. 

Since the headstock is currently shaped in a Fenderesque sort of style I'd love to see something graphic and original there.  Please note that I do not necessarily mean vulgar, when I say graphic, although I do not discount the notion.

I agree with the colours you suggest having seen the primed body but equally, it could have been green primer and I'd still have gone - Oo!

[Ricky 4000]

Fascinating!

It'll be interesting to see how good a 'rattle can' paintjob can end up. 👍

Here's a thought -- white spray cans are as cheap as black (from the motorfactors)... and could that headstock be converted to 3+1... ?

Oooo, white, with those black blocks... with an M&Ms logo!

I have other 'ideas', but they're mostly based around an online farting competition... 😬

Edited April 28, 2020 by Ricky 4000

[Maude]

8 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

Since the headstock is currently shaped in a Fenderesque sort of style I'd love to see something graphic and original there.  Please note that I do not necessarily mean vulgar, when I say graphic, although I do not discount the notion.

I agree with the colours you suggest having seen the primed body but equally, it could have been green primer and I'd still have gone - Oo!

Hmm intriguing. I'm not sure I know what you mean about the head. Do you mean a paint design/scheme or an actual picture of some sort? 

If I go with the black colour I did think something like this raven as a logo, either in black against the natural wood, or stuck on, sprayed black and then peel the decal off to leave a natural wood raven against a black background, then lacquered obviously. 

You've also got me thinking about green. A nice dark BRG with cream scratchplate, I kind of Lotus Cortina theme. 

[SpondonBassed]

3 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

an online farting competition...

Words fail me.  I mean... how are the farts authenticated?  That's more a job for wetware than for software...

Linkage or it isn't real and the search for The Brown Note continues.

White could work out well though.  I'm exited to see how @caitlin's kit build turns out if she stays with her idea of a white finish.

[SpondonBassed]

7 minutes ago, Maude said:

Hmm intriguing. I'm not sure I know what you mean about the head. Do you mean a paint design/scheme or an actual picture of some sort? 

Either.  I used the word graphic as it covers a multitude.

I just think that there are enough "branded" copies out there and would therefore take "Fender" or "Musicman" off the shortlist of ideas.  Your raven idea is good.

11 minutes ago, Maude said:

I did think something like this raven as a logo

Did you intend for a graphic to appear with your post?

[Maude]

@Ricky 4000, For some reason I can't explain, vintage white is pretty much my favourite colour for a bass but I don't like white Stingrays. I'm not a fan of modern white basses and for some reason a stingray always seems like a modern bass to me, I know it isn't but I never claimed my brain worked properly. Maybe it's the big pickup, I don't know. I'm having a bit of a run on retro pastel shades at the mo, my bass rack looks like an Italian ice cream parlour, but I don't think that style suits a stingray. I do have some of the duck egg blue BMW Mini paint in the shed I could use but I'm not sure about it.

Regarding the 3+1 head, it work be some major-ish work because just removing one tuner from the side totally unbalances the look. All four would need plugging and redrilling. All the screw holes on the back would need filling so the back of the head would then need painting, along with the rest of the neck if an unsightly line is to be avoided. 

The HB head is remarkable similar in profile to that Stingray one you posted though, I hadn't noticed that before. 

[Maude]

11 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

Did you intend for a graphic to appear with your post?

Erm, maybe 

Something simple like this silhouette. 

[Maude]

31 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Oooo, white, with those black blocks... 

Does black blocks and white paint work? 

Off to study images. 

[Ricky 4000]

46 minutes ago, Maude said:

Does black blocks and white paint work? 

Off to study images. 

Personally I think it would, with or without painted headstock (with = more MMish, without = more Fenderish?). But, could end up looking too much like the Squier VM:

 

 

Then there's green...

😍

[Maude]

Yeah, see it looks alright on a Jazz. Maybe I just don't like the look of the Ray scratchplate on the body, which doesn't bode well for this build. 

 

[Ricky 4000]

41 minutes ago, Maude said:

Yeah, see it looks alright on a Jazz. Maybe I just don't like the look of the Ray scratchplate on the body, which doesn't bode well for this build. 

 

Aye, black is gotta be the 'safest' choice, with a black PG... it's gonna look bitchin' with the reverse headstock, whatever you do! 🤞

Edited April 28, 2020 by Ricky 4000

[Maude]

9 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Aye, black is gotta be the 'safest' choice, with a black PG... it's gonna look bitchin' with the reverse headstock, whatever you do! 🤞

You've just hit the nail square on the head! 

I know I like a black body and PG Jazz with a black block maple neck, and I know I like a black body and PG Stingray (not seen one with blocks), so I know I'll like this all black with the block neck. 

But it is just so damn 'safe' when there's a world of funky colours out there. 

[Maude]

This is very, very nice. It's a a limited edition colour called Luke Blue. Modern enough to get away from my retro ice cream colour fetish for a minute. It's so annoying not having access to mixing paint at work at the mo, I'd just use a nice coarse dark silver with a splash of smokey blue and black in it and voila, a one off very similar to Luke Blue. 

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/140487/

 

[Ricky 4000]

That's a nice colour... though it's a shame you can't do the MM 3+1 (reverse) headstock, but I see what you mean about all the holes, especially on the back side...

 

37 minutes ago, Maude said:

[black] But it is just so damn 'safe' when there's a world of funky colours out there. 

So, Lotus Cortina ivory, with the sage green PG ! 😍

Edited April 28, 2020 by Ricky 4000

[Ricky 4000]

Don't let me be the thread killer here?! 😬

@Maude -- a painting question if I may? How do the pros get rid of the nasty ridge when joining 2 colours etc?

Do you flatten the ridge at all before clearcoating, or just after? 👍

[Reggaebass]

On 28/04/2020 at 18:40, Maude said:

This is very, very nice. It's a a limited edition colour called Luke Blue. Modern enough to get away from my retro ice cream colour fetish for a minute. It's so annoying not having access to mixing paint at work at the mo, I'd just use a nice coarse dark silver with a splash of smokey blue and black in it and voila, a one off very similar to Luke Blue. 

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/140487/

 

Wow ,them Rays look nice 👍 

[Maude]

2 hours ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Don't let me be the thread killer here?! 😬

@Maude -- a painting question if I may? How do the pros get rid of the nasty ridge when joining 2 colours etc?

Do you flatten the ridge at all before clearcoating, or just after? 👍

As usual there's a few ways and none are right or wrong as long as they work, it also depends on what type of paint you're using. In general there's two types of colour coat, basecoat which dries matt and needs lacquering, and topcoat (or solid colour, different folks call it different things) which dries gloss and needs no further lacquering. There's a lot less build with basecoat so less of an edge to worry about, but masking onto basecoat that hasn't been lacquered can leave marks so if using basecoat I'd first basecoat and lacquer the first colour, not masking an edge, let it dry, prep the entire thing again, mask for second colour using fine line tape (I'll get to that in a minute) and spray basecoat, whilst still wet peel the fine line tape off, let the basecoat dry enough to lacquer and de mask the rest, then lacquer over the whole thing sealing in both colours. 

Or if using solid colour topcoat (ie gloss) paint first colour as above, dry, mask for second colour using fine line, paint second colour and remove fine line whilst still wet, let dry. Then de mask and prep for lacquering (although it doesn't have to be lacquered) and rub the raised edge slightly if needed. Lacquer completely and let dry. 

Now, the fine line tape. It's a thin plastic masking tape, about 3mm wide, that you can shape around curves nicely and gives a much cleaner edge to the paint than normal masking tape. You mask up with normal tape just a smidge back from where you want your edge, and then finish masking with fine line last, so it can be removed without disturbing the rest of the masking. I always peel the fine line off while the paint is still wet as the build up on the edge will flow slightly and you won't be left with as sharp an edge as if you'd let it dry first. Leave the rest of the masking on until dry so you don't get any contamination from it in your wet paint. Then prep the whole thing for lacquer giving the join line a slight flat if needed. You don't want to try and remove the entire edge as there's a risk you'll feather the colour back, just smooth it a little. Then lacquer the whole thing. 

You can then flat the edge back after the lacquer has dried as well but doing the above will reduce the amount you need to, so minimising the risk of rubbing through. 

I hope that all makes sense but any questions just ask away. 

Edited April 29, 2020 by Maude
I missed relacquring on the second one.

[Ricky 4000]

2 hours ago, Maude said:

I hope that all makes sense but any questions just ask away. 

That's fab. Thank you butty. 👍 I didn't even know about fine line tape, plus all the other info is really useful.

I might be brave enough to do a headstock front in satin black now! ...

I see from pictures, that Fender go over the edge by 1 or 2 mm when they paint the fronts at the factory. I suppose that's a neater job than trying to mask right to the edge? 👍

[Maude]

I wonder what the manufacturing process is for fender, I assume the painting is all robotic. I can't imagine anyone sat there masking the headstock face off for painting. I imagine the colour goes over the edge by a couple of mm due to whatever automated process they're using, whether that be ease of masking or the actual paint application. 

Hmm, it would be interesting to know. 

For yours, just mask it however you feel comfortable. If you can get the tape right on the edge then ideal, if not then mask it a mil down the side. It doesn't really matter as long as it's neat.

When I did the Longhorn headstock I applied the colour coat, removed masking and let it dry. Then as I was lacquering the whole neck I used a stanley blade as a scraper to scrape round the sides of the head, holding the blade at 90 degrees to the face to get a perfect edge. 

 

[Maude]

My scratchplate turned up this morning from ebay, I do love a good liar. It was cheap enough so I'm not really bothered but this was listed as being new. It had one poor photo showing not much more than a load of glare from the flash. It said any marks were in the film (being new) and the film was intact. I've had plates before that look terrible but once you pull the film off it's all good, so I went for it. 

It didn't have a film on it and I've got a sneaking suspicion that it might be used. 😁

I'll give it a polish and see what it comes up like as it's not worth returning, but I have messaged the seller to ask him to be a little more honest in future. 

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, Maude said:

I'll give it a polish and see what it comes up like as it's not worth returning, but I have messaged the seller to ask him to be a little more honest in future. 

Glad to hear you've made a measured response.  Sorry to see there are such blatant liars out there.

The trouble seems to be that these folk can't distinguish between exaggeration and deceit.  They have a genuine problem with their moral checklists.

Let's hope you can give the item a new lease of life somehow.

[BruceBass3901]

On 28/04/2020 at 18:40, Maude said:

 

I'm really interested to see how this build pans out, and excited to see the result.

I would also like to take a moment to say that the above colour is absolutely bloody gorgeous!

[Maude]

3 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Glad to hear you've made a measured response.  Sorry to see there are such blatant liars out there.

The trouble seems to be that these folk can't distinguish between exaggeration and deceit.  They have a genuine problem with their moral checklists.

Let's hope you can give the item a new lease of life somehow.

Fair play (ish) to the seller, I let him know the issue but said I'd keep it anyway (I need it for lining stuff up and can replace later). He's refunded me £3, I only paid £3.64 plus 90p p&p, and said he thinks that's fair if I'm keeping it. He says he thought it was new, I don't know, but life's to short to worry about these things. 

[Maude]

3 hours ago, BruceBass3901 said:

I'm really interested to see how this build pans out, and excited to see the result.

I would also like to take a moment to say that the above colour is absolutely bloody gorgeous!

Thanks, and yes that colour really suits those Stingrays doesn't it.