Bought or Bitsa?

[miles'tone]

Just feeling the Bitsa bug creeping up on me again. I've tried in the past but found I've usually aborted mission before completion due to lack of time/interest. Well time is something I have presently so I'm just wondering how those bitsas you've put together measure up against the bought ones available (P bass in this case)

Worth the money, time etc? Have they become keepers? Regretted not spending the money on an off the shelf bass in the end?

Do tell... Go!

[hooky_lowdown]

Brought ones will always be better, mainly because if you put it together yourself you'll know if bits etc didn't fit perfectly. I'm not a perfectionist, but that kinda thing bugs me.

Making a bitsa can be fun, but it's definitely not profitable, so expect to lose money going that route.

[Lfalex v1.1]

(I've never done it, but have modified a Jazz a bit)

I wouldn't throw good money after bad on a bitsa, but there's a definite opportunity to learn not only what makes the instrument work, but also what preferences you may have and how to achieve them.

Then, presumably, you get the urge to upgrade!

[Ed_S]

I put one together a few years ago..

White MIM Fender P body from the bay - official spare part that somebody had bought and never got round to using. Mighty Mite licenced P neck with rosewood board also from the bay - seemed to be one that somebody had bought purely to practice applying dodgy decals as it had never been fitted. Tort guard left over from my departed Squier CV 60s P because it was cheaper to use one I had than buy one I liked. Badass II bridge and Schaller straplock buttons from the hardware bits box. Wilkinson tuners, Fender official string tree, neck plate, dome knobs and all screws from various Amazon sellers. A SD quarter pounder, CTS pots, Switchcraft jack, Sprague cap and wire from the electronics bits box.

Couple of hours to knock it all together, a set of strings and a setup, and that was it - essentially a MIM P for about £350 when a proper one would have cost closer to £550. Granted, I was using up some bits I already had so that reduced the cost and perhaps made it more worth the effort. I was also incredibly lucky that the neck was true and the fretwork pretty much perfect.

Since it was built it’s lived at our rehearsal studios and it’s been great - it plays and sounds as it should, it’s been through some hideous changes of temperature in the gear store there and it rarely comes out of the case even needing tuning. It’s taken some dings and, in fact, since I’ve not seen it for 6 months due to current events I guess could even have been nicked by now.. and I’m not overly worried since it’s a cheap bitsa, which was entirely the point.

I say do it if you want to - but probably don’t do it to try and save any money, and certainly do it knowing full well that you could end up with a total waste of time and money!!

[walshy]

I’ve made a few now ( and sold a few too) and really enjoy it. The one on the left is a one I made to ‘62 P type spec, not a cheap build. Handmade Walnut body with nitro CAR relic finish and flamed maple neck rosewood board. CTS pots, Fender CS ‘62 pups, relic black Fender pickguard, GOTOH reverse lollipop tuners and old Fender bridge. Next to my ‘66 and Nate Mendel doesn’t look too shabby and plays killer. 

Edited August 9, 2020 by walshy

[miles'tone]

Thanks for the input guys. Where I'm at is that I have 2 amazing mid 80s Fender Japan basses but with no income, gigs or even a band now, I'm looking at selling them unfortunately.  What I do have is enough P parts knocking around to make my own (only need a neck, pickup and wiring loom - KiOgan obvs 😉)

I'd have to sell before I could buy anything though. Really umming and ahhing about it all though. I'm looking at only playing at home for the foreseeable..

I dunno. Strange times.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I would say, go for it. It’s an opportunity to learn something possibly, so has to be a good thing.

You’re in the same situation I’m in. I have a neck which Fender sent me as a replacement for the one that went wonky on my Flea ‘61. I replaced it with a Status Graphite neck which is staying on it, so this neck needed a body, which I’m waiting to be delivered and will go from there. My first attempt, so will be interesting.

Hats off to you @walshy. They look fab 👏👏👏👏

[miles'tone]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I would say, go for it. It’s an opportunity to learn something possibly, so has to be a good thing.

You’re in the same situation I’m in. I have a neck which Fender sent me as a replacement for the one that went wonky on my Flea ‘61. I replaced it with a Status Graphite neck which is staying on it, so this neck needed a body, which I’m waiting to be delivered and will go from there. My first attempt, so will be interesting.

Hats off to you @walshy. They look fab 👏👏👏👏

Yes I remember following your neck story as it unfolded. 

Mmm.... Status graphite... Now there's a thought!

Good luck yourself with the new build.

[LukeFRC]

1 hour ago, miles'tone said:

Where I'm at is that I have 2 amazing mid 80s Fender Japan basses

I've made a few bitsas down the years... every so many years I get the urge. Last time making the body myself. 
The place I always get to is good, but not great, when I compare them to my other bases. 
If you've got two amazing basses and a pile of parts, why not flog one bass and the pile of parts. You can garuntee you will have an amazing bass at the end that way.

[Pea Turgh]

45 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

I've made a few bitsas down the years... every so many years I get the urge. Last time making the body myself. 
The place I always get to is good, but not great, when I compare them to my other bases. 
If you've got two amazing basses and a pile of parts, why not flog one bass and the pile of parts. You can garuntee you will have an amazing bass at the end that way.

This^^.
I love tinkering, but my bitsa bass isn’t as good as my JV.  I only started it because a mate gave be a Squire with a duff neck.  £200 later and it’s pretty good, but I doubt I’d get that back if I sold it.  I know this is basschat heresy, but you only really need one bass!  (Ducks for cover).

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

This^^.
I love tinkering, but my bitsa bass isn’t as good as my JV.  I only started it because a mate gave be a Squire with a duff neck.  £200 later and it’s pretty good, but I doubt I’d get that back if I sold it.  I know this is basschat heresy, but you only really need one bass!  (Ducks for cover).

Burn the heretic! 🔥😂

[Pea Turgh]

Still own four though!😂😂

[LukeFRC]

7 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

This^^.
I love tinkering, but my bitsa bass isn’t as good as my JV.  I only started it because a mate gave be a Squire with a duff neck.  £200 later and it’s pretty good, but I doubt I’d get that back if I sold it.  I know this is basschat heresy, but you only really need one bass!  (Ducks for cover).

Oh that's the other thing I was going to say... you tend to loose money on it. 

[Ed_S]

I reckon if I were in the same situation I’d buy the cheapest reasonable neck going, see if I could scrounge a pickup and some wiring components from the many overflowing bits boxes that must be out there, have some fun making the bitsa so I’d done it and scratched the itch for as little extra outlay as possible, and then sell it as a whole instrument for as much as possible! Then sell one of the Japanese P’s and keep the other.

[Cuzzie]

I’d put my bitsa’s against bought basses any day of the week.

Are they perfect? No

Is every bought bass perfect? No

What you can do if frugal and be prepared to wait and pounce at the right time is pick up what you want/need second hand, or even new but unused.

First one I did was the white one with the status neck - I was very specific about what I wanted for this, so some bits were new - Totalled all up, would still be competitive with a Fender Standard/player series and defo cheaper than the Mex Nate Mendel.

Second was the Gold - done from blank, paint job relic according to where I wear the bass and play it - this was defo under a  new Mex P.

Third is orange - body shaped by me personally with fonts where I wanted them to rest my hands - all in all cheaper than a second hand Mex.

 

I could parts them out and recoup most of what I paid.

It can be done

 

[miles'tone]

5 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

I’d put my bitsa’s against bought basses any day of the week.

Are they perfect? No

Is every bought bass perfect? No

What you can do if frugal and be prepared to wait and pounce at the right time is pick up what you want/need second hand, or even new but unused.

First one I did was the white one with the status neck - I was very specific about what I wanted for this, so some bits were new - Totalled all up, would still be competitive with a Fender Standard/player series and defo cheaper than the Mex Nate Mendel.

Second was the Gold - done from blank, paint job relic according to where I wear the bass and play it - this was defo under a  new Mex P.

Third is orange - body shaped by me personally with fonts where I wanted them to rest my hands - all in all cheaper than a second hand Mex.

 

I could parts them out and recoup most of what I paid.

It can be done

 

Good work!! They look fantastic! 👍

[Cuzzie]

1 hour ago, miles'tone said:

Good work!! They look fantastic! 👍

Thanks

The only ‘bought my bases I have are ones I defo can’t make (Yet hopefully!), or are a bit special/not easily available like a Hamer 12 string, or Hohner B2AD and my Sandberg MarloweDK old shape.

The key to self builds carving or not carving is the neck - that is where you invest your quality. When I can make a neck very well - the potential for me buying is even less.

You have to remember companies like Cataldo (I am still not sure if they do necks) and Nash are really only bitsa companies - I am pretty sure Nash did their own bodies but imported necks and did a relic job. I don’t know the answer to this as to how much luthiering they do, but wasn’t Leo Fenders objective time basically build a big company offering bitsa Basses?

[Cuzzie]

The other thing to bear in mind is also that even from the factory from a good manufacturer there will be alterations - some basses leave with a shim on the neck - tolerance on CNC machines means that it won’t be perfect every time so a bit of pocket work is necessary. It’s no different in bitsa’s, you can switch a nut on a neck to have a reverse headstock whatever handed the bass is, pockets can be built up, necks can be shaved - as long as you keep your scale lengths correct, these minor tolerances are fixable, then the parts do fit 

Edited August 10, 2020 by Cuzzie
Sausage thumbs

[Bassfinger]

14 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Brought ones will always be better, mainly because if you put it together yourself you'll know if bits etc didn't fit perfectly. I'm not a perfectionist, but that kinda thing bugs me.

Making a bitsa can be fun, but it's definitely not profitable, so expect to lose money going that route.

I would only agree with that to a point.  Buying parts online can mean an imperfect fit, or at least a fit that may require fettling.

However, that isn't automatically the case.  With a big dose of luck the neck on my latest bitsa fitted my new ash body with absolute surgical precision.  I nearly cried tears of joy, it was that neat and close a fit in the neck pocket. The neck itself is also superb, with even and well finished frets - I've not had to do any tinkering with fret dressing etc. I've played relatively expensive instruments with necks that weren't prepared as tidily.

 It cost me about a hundred quid to build and I'm confident in tone, feel and playability it would not embarrass itself in the company of any P bass from any manufacturer costing 10 times that. 

And whatever happens, it'll never, ever be worth less than it cost me to build, so straight away it has an edge over most cooking Fender models. Do it properly and you're in reality far less likely to lose money than you would buying something from a production line.

So you can get lucky and components can fit to a high degree of precision.  If not, care, patience and moderate hand tool skills can make them fit - after all, that's all they do in the factory. You can make a rough old dog, but to be fair you have to either be completely inept or lazy to end up with one that bad.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Bassfinger

[miles'tone]

1 minute ago, Bassfinger said:

I would only agree with that to a point.  Buying parts online can mean an imperfect fit, or at least a fit that may require fettling.

However, that isn't automatically the case.  With a big dose of luck the neck fitted my new ash body with absolute surgical precision.  The neck itself is also superb, with even and we'll finished frets - I've not had to do any tinkering with fret dressing etc.  It cost me about a hundred quid to build and I'm confident in tone, feel and playability it would not embarrass itself in the company of any P bass from any manufacturer costing 10 times that. 

And whatever happens, it'll never, ever be wortj less than it cost me to build, so straight away it has an edge over most cooking Fender models.

So you can get lucky and components can fit to a high degree of precision.  If not, care, patience and moderate hand tool skills can make them fit - after all, that's all they do in the factory. You can make a rough old dog, but to be fair you have to either be completely inept or lazy to end up with one.

Can I ask, where did you find the neck? New or second hand?

[Bassfinger]

Morning.

Ebay. There are loads for sale but it took about 2 months of patient daily checking before this one showed up from a guy in Ireland at a very nice price of £40 delivered.  It was new and he had a handful of both P and J necks for sale.  I messaged him, and he seemed to know what he was on about so I took a punt.  I was expecting reasonable, but was absolutely blown away, all expectations surpassed. I finished it in Danish oil and then was with 0000 wire wool, which darkened it a bit close to  the colour  of the body than the original near white maple colour.  It's quite an olde fashioned feeling neck with a fairly flat fretboard radius and fairly square edges, but I like the flat tish feel and the edges are very, very neatly finished so the lack of modern rounding off isn't  an issue.

The body is an ash job from Gear4music.  Again, very pleasantly surprised.  It's a (or several) nice piece of wood, very neatly machined with a lovely deep clear poly finish.

The rest is either from my box of scrap or from China, the later after very close scrutiny and comparison of pictures.  I'm particularly pleased with the pots  and wiring loom from China, which are big old things with a lovely smooth, well damped action and a nice logarithmic response.

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by Bassfinger

[miles'tone]

36 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

Morning.

Ebay. There are loads for sale but it took about 2 months of patient daily checking before this one showed up from a guy in Ireland at a very nice price of £40 delivered.  It was new and he had a handful of both P and J necks for sale.  I messaged him, and he seemed to know what he was on about so I took a punt.  I was expecting reasonable, but was absolutely blown away, all expectations surpassed. I finished it in Danish oil and then was with 0000 wire wool, which darkened it a bit close to  the colour  of the body than the original near white maple colour.  It's quite an olde fashioned feeling neck with a fairly flat fretboard radius and fairly square edges, but I like the flat tish feel and the edges are very, very neatly finished so the lack of modern rounding off isn't  an issue.

The body is an ash job from Gear4music.  Again, very pleasantly surprised.  It's a (or several) nice piece of wood, very neatly machined with a lovely deep clear poly finish.

The rest is either from my box of scrap or from China, the later after very close scrutiny and comparison of pictures.  I'm particularly pleased with the pots  and wiring loom from China, which are big old things with a lovely smooth, well damped action and a nice logarithmic response.

 

Cool, well played sir!

[gjones]

My favourite bass is a bitsa I put together with MIJ Fender Jazz Bass parts, I collected on the internet and Basschat. When I put it together it just sounded excellent from the start.

Edited August 10, 2020 by gjones

[hooky_lowdown]

1 hour ago, Bassfinger said:

I would only agree with that to a point.  Buying parts online can mean an imperfect fit, or at least a fit that may require fettling.

That's not what I meant, by being imperfect I was meaning me, not the parts. My tool box isn't extensive, and most hobbyists will be in the same boat, so often not using the right tools for the job, which invariably leads to things not fitting perfectly.

[NickA]

Up to 18 months ago, my bitsa copy jazz bass was the most expensive bass I owned.   Original bass was a Grant jazz copy bought in 1981, got esp pickups a Schaller bridge and an ebony fretless board in 1983, Kent Armstrong pickup rewind in 1986,  then endless iterations of home made electronics.  New hardwood body in 1991, new neck in 1992.  Put away for many years then resurrected in 2016 with passive controls and Delano pickups.  A couple of years back it got east acg-eq-01 electronics, then gotoh tuners and finally a set of decent eb cobalt strings.  Total cost over the years ... About £1000; value ...ermm, not a lot.  Nice bass now.  Has some of the qualities of Jazz bass but brighter, Warwick growl and Wal tone flexibility I was after and does a killer Jaco Turbo sound.  But in the interim I acquired a fretless Wal and a Warwick which tbh do it better, so it doesn't get played much.

Bitsa basses are great fun and you learn a lot, but a professionally built one will be better value in the end. 😞