Fully non original non Fender non 60's non Jazz Bass non Flea non Custom Shop, but real Bitsa, the only real Fender part being the strings retainer !

[Hellzero]

Here is my fully non original non Fender non 60's non Jazz Bass non Flea non Custom Shop, but real Bitsa, the only real Fender part being the strings retainer  !

 

Long story short : I bought a "Flea kit" from Chris aka @Beedster, except the fake Fender decals, strings, pickups, pots, knobs, capacitor, stereo output jack (for secure grounding), pickguard screws, tuners screws, serialised neck plate (and screws).

I decided to go for an all maple neck (Chris was selling the "Flea kit" with a maple Squier rosewood fingerboard neck) that I bought brand new.

The body was already reliced in this Shell Pink as you can see it, but had absolutely no holes drilled, so had never been used.

I did all the work, including the full copper shielding and decided to go for a copper to the bridge grounding like the original Jazz Basses.

The neck is really very very tightly fitted in its pocket and doesn't move at all.

I sharpied the neck and neck pocket with the imaginary serial number and my initial to avoid any fakery (who knows).

The decals are not period correct at all and as fake as can be (thick home printed by an eBay guy in the U.K.).

I eventually opted for ToneRider pickups which, to me, are as good as any boutique ones.

I put a TAD Mustard 22 nF PIO capacitor and used cloth wire, with fully copper shielding.

The knobs are Sadowsky-like from Sivcak.

The strings are the Ernie Ball Super Slinky 45~105 and are a real good match.

The action is a bit lower than my usual 1.5 to 2 mm at the 12th fret.

The neck is dead straight with no default.

I only had to put a bone nut as the original plasticised cardboard one was real dire.

Add the massive Schaller bridge to the equation and you get a longer sustain than the usual all maple neck Jazz Bass.

The Sadowsky knobs add the final touch to this really good sounding and resonant Jazz Bass (the light alder body is also part of the sound here).

I put a brand new set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Bass (45 - 65 -85 -105) that really serves this Bitsa.

I then fully set it up professionally (used to be my job in the past century).

As I said to a friend of mine, it's 4.080 kilos of amazing sounding bass.

 

And before anyone asks, the decals are just there for the fun as they are absolutely fake and it's more than obvious !!! 

 

Here are the specifications :

Body  : 3 pieces light alder

Neck : bolt-on maple

Fingerboard : maple

Frets : 21 small (with fretboard extension)

Headstock : 4 in-line

Pickups : 2 x ToneRider Jazz Bass in 60's position

Controls : volume, volume, tone (TAD Mustard PIO)

Tuners : Schaller BMF

Bridge : Schaller 3D-4

Strings spacing at bridge : 21 mm

Nut : real bone

Strings spacing at nut : 9 mm

Knobs : Sadowsky-like

Scale : 34 inches

Hardware colour : chrome

Truss rod : one double action

Finish : shell pink reliced satin finish on the body and high gloss vintage on the neck

Land of craftsmanship : worldwide

Serial number : 62188

Year : assembled in May 2021

Weight : 4.080 kilos

Action : a bit under 1.5 mm under the G string to a bit under 2 mm under the E string at 12th position (can go way lower, but is perfect for me)

 

Now, here is some work in progress and my usual photos on the more than 400 years old oak floor.

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Hellzero
Phrasing

[Beedster]

FANTASTIC, great job Tony, what a lovely bass  

[benh]

Looks great! Love the colour

[TheGreek]

This is the first bass which I thought the red tort plate actually worked aesthetically.

[fiatcoupe432]

Beautiful Tony

Well done

Looks great

[Reggaebass]

Top job Hz, really nice work 👍

[itu]

I do have to say that I like that floor and how it looks!

[Chienmortbb]

Nice work although the tone has little to do with the wood species used for the body. Mass of wood can vary enormously between samples of the same species. 
 

The neck wood has more influence than the body, obvious when you realise how much more neck is under the string than the body.

[Hellzero]

Thanks, @Chienmortbb, but don't start this sterile written debate about wood, especially here as it was not the point.

If you believe that wood makes no difference, it's fine, but no need to yell it everywhere.

As I wrote, lutherie was my job in the past century and I can tell you that any part, and especially on a bass as it's the most acoustic instrument of the electric range, has an influence on the final sound.

I've owned and played over 300 different basses and set up thousands, assembled a lot and built some too with attention to every detail, including the choice of wood taking into account the thickness, shape and sound by tapping it, to get a precisely decided final tone.

Pickups and preamps can't turn an unplugged bad sounding instrument into a terrific sounding one when plugged.

If the base is dull, the end result will be dull.

Maybe you can't hear any difference, but it's not because you don't that there is none.

I can hear the difference between two woods of the same species because of their obvious inherent differences as I can also hear the difference between two different CD players. But I'm no extraterrestrial, I simply have very well trained ears, that's all and still today as my ears are still excellent (yearly test by a specialist).

That's what made me hear the bad original nut by simply tapping with my nail on it, but to prove I was right the first time, I let it on the neck and only changed it afterwards : the difference in tone was just amazing as said the friend who was there when I made the new nut and put it on.

Maybe you don't know it, but when building or assembling an instrument, you have to make the right choices to get the final tone you want : not that complicated when you know the interaction between the different elements.

On this assembly, I chose every component with a specific tone in mind, that's why it took me some time to finalise it.

So please, as it's only your opinion, don't present it as the only true one.

Remember that for a long time the earth was flat, and for some still is, even if it's been proven that it's not.

Edited July 3, 2021 by Hellzero
Spelling

[Waddo Soqable]

The bass is great, I love it...apart from the colour ! I've always hated pink since I was a kid ! 

[Lord Sausage]

Looks fantastic.

 

One question.

 

What's a 'flea kit' ?

[Hellzero]

A "Flea kit" is a second hand reliced shell pink jazz bass body and a rosewood fingerboard maple jazz bass neck. 😉

[Lord Sausage]

2 hours ago, Hellzero said:

A "Flea kit" is a second hand reliced shell pink jazz bass body and a rosewood fingerboard maple jazz bass neck. 😉

Thanks for clearing that up!