My first build- J bass ish

[Dan_Q]

Hi All,

Quick introduction- I'm more a lurker on here than a chatter- GREAT forum folks keep up the hard work, it's rare I don't find an answer just on a search! Says a lot 👍

During lockdown, one of my jobs was to go through all my instrument parts. I'll be honest- i'm self taught and in the lower realms of ability, so i'm prob more of a modder / collector than a player! So one of my covid jobs was to build something from all the bits, and sort out / tidy the rest. 

One of the parts I came across on my clearout was a cheap P neck (i think it's from a P style as its a wide-ish nut) which I had bought for my beloved old encore. My encore P was my only bass for many years, until it developed a rod buzz at a jam. First knee jerk was to buy a cheap neck to replace on ebay, but I ended up getting GAS (don't we all!) and treated myself to a fender!

Here is said neck:

Wind forward to last week, and I see an ad for a pedal I've been after for a while on this very forum. I'm doing the deal then I spot another part for sale on the sellers other threads- an "ebay" J bass body- thanks to @WarPig on this one  I've never played a J bass, and I don't have a bass with a neck J pickup, so I thought what the hell- lets try and put together a bass with these parts.

I thought I'd start a thread to record my progress / parts collecting etc, should be fun! 😀 never done a "new" body before either, so i probably have a lot to learn. Progress is never usually quick on these projects but i'll try and update as I go. Any comments / ideas welcomed, good bad or ugly! 👍

[Reggaebass]

I love a project I’ve done a few myself , and upgraded many of my jazzes over the years , it’s great fun , I look forward to seeing your progress ☝️

[Geek99]

That looks awfully like pawlownia. 

[Dan_Q]

1 hour ago, Reggaebass said:

I love a project I’ve done a few myself , and upgraded many of my jazzes over the years , it’s great fun , I look forward to seeing your progress ☝️

Thanks man! and cheers for the encoragement. I think i'll be reading a lot in here to see how other have tackled it 👍

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

That looks awfully like pawlownia. 

It is indeed- that's what it was advertised as 👍 is that a good thing or a bad thing? I honestly don't know! maybe i should have researched first  

[Geek99]

Oh fcuk. 
see my “Olympic white” build thread ....

imagine putting a litre of spirits in front of Oliver Reed, that’s how it drinks grain filler, sanding sealer, primer, paint ...

 

one thing you must do ASAP is check the back pup routing. Mine had the lug routing locations From the front pickup 

 

clicky ... 

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by Geek99

[Dan_Q]

6 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Oh fcuk. 
see my “Olympic white” build thread ....

imagine putting a litre of spirits in front of Oliver Reed, that’s how it drinks grain filler, sanding sealer, primer, paint ...

 

one thing you must do ASAP is check the back pup routing. Mine had the lug routing locations From the front pickup 

 

clicky ... 

 

Most excellent! Just had a good read of that, many thanks for taking the time to share it, I've learned a lot! And i think it looked great at the end fella 👍 if my one ends up remotely as good at that i'll be happy- will take it all on board

[Geek99]

Ok - come around to my house and take a really good look. I strongly suggest you check your pups in the rear pup cavity. I think nitro paint was a mistake, you need something high-build to counteract the grain and it’s thirst, that you can actually sand flat 

[Dan_Q]

12 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Ok - come around to my house and take a really good look. I strongly suggest you check your pups in the rear pup cavity. I think nitro paint was a mistake, you need something high-build to counteract the grain and it’s thirst, that you can actually sand flat 

That I shall do sir- thanks again for the tips. I have a couple of ideas about finish, but i'l very far away from that yet! I do have plenty of car paint to try with hi-build primers etc, and some lovely old shades of british leyland I think i could rock on an instrument, It'll be a fun (if not frustrating!) experiment! And I do appreciate the guidance chap  

I did find a control plate on another forum, but alas, missed out by a few hours. That's kinda sh!tt!n before my knickers are down anyways, first thing I need to do is open up the neck pocket to accept the neck I guess.

Is it advisable to do this with pickup, even if it's just a cover, a bridge, and high and low strings on, to ensure good alignment?

Anyone know what a stock heel width is for a fender bass? 🤔 Cheers!

[Reggaebass]

I don’t know what parts you’ve got yet Dan, but I’ve got a bridge you can have for free that came off a mim fender jazz, the D screw head has a bit of rust but it works fine,   if it’s any good to you .

[Geek99]

8 hours ago, Dan_Q said:

That I shall do sir- thanks again for the tips. I have a couple of ideas about finish, but i'l very far away from that yet! I do have plenty of car paint to try with hi-build primers etc, and some lovely old shades of british leyland I think i could rock on an instrument, It'll be a fun (if not frustrating!) experiment! And I do appreciate the guidance chap  

I did find a control plate on another forum, but alas, missed out by a few hours. That's kinda sh!tt!n before my knickers are down anyways, first thing I need to do is open up the neck pocket to accept the neck I guess.

Is it advisable to do this with pickup, even if it's just a cover, a bridge, and high and low strings on, to ensure good alignment?

Anyone know what a stock heel width is for a fender bass? 🤔 Cheers!

Yes - and fit the screws once you’ve got it right, so you can get  back to it

I didn’t do that and the neck position walked 

[Dan_Q]

9 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I don’t know what parts you’ve got yet Dan, but I’ve got a bridge you can have for free that came off a mim fender jazz, the D screw head has a bit of rust but it works fine,   if it’s any good to you .

Sir, you’re a gent- PM incoming 👍

[Dan_Q]

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

Yes - and fit the screws once you’ve got it right, so you can get  back to it

I didn’t do that and the neck position walked 

Great tip thanks man 👍

[Dan_Q]

Not real progress, but progress none the less........ i've picked up a bridge (many thanks @Reggaebass  ) a pair of pickup covers and some screws, and I've even dug out some old bass strings I should be able to use for alignment etc.

First I'll see if the bridge pickup (longer one?) will fit in the route, then tackle opening it up if I need to.

Then it'll be things like opening the neck pocket- quite nervous about that!!! For reference, does anyone know off the top of their heads what a fender p / j bass neck heel width usually is? 🤔 

Thanks for reading, hope to make some progress next week all being well!

[Reggaebass]

2 hours ago, Dan_Q said:

does anyone know off the top of their heads what a fender p / j bass neck heel width usually is

Hi dan , I’ve measured 4 of my jazzes and they are 64mm but my P is 63mm, the picture is a jazz neck on a p bass 🙂