JPJ Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 (edited) So a while ago I built a five string version of the Fender Stu Hamm (2xJ + 1xP pickups). I made a few mistakes with the body but enjoyed the process however there is now an expensive assembly of pickups, John East electronics and various premium hardware sitting unused as the mistakes prevent me from enjoying playing it. I was thinking of getting a new body blank and remaking the body trying to avoid making the same mistakes when I spotted these bodies on eBay from G&B Guitar and Bass https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114814090038?_trkparms=aid%3D1110002%26algo%3DSPLICE.SOI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111451%26meid%3D7944b18f16924273a8b5ad44ffc694ef%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D124730139220%26itm%3D114814090038%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DPromotedSellersOtherItemsV2WithMLRv3&_trksid=p2047675.c101196.m2219&amdata=cksum%3A1148140900387944b18f16924273a8b5ad44ffc694ef|enc%3AAQAGAAACAOb76QHAr8sDNZS8Pp4qkZL%2FI1q9IwwmEfIGOEukLv5G910HztGV%2F7kpisKTVrBpywTDSvO%2BBSMmK%2FB34OXUYJ7IKMeo9xqW36%2FRAhx3Ikx0ho5TNfHlYFClKroDFWkYvF%2FHbZKlev0gQRVpzOlrjCv39wTqSmkgbu2SABjVg6yS8eUEGgBT15loEhJaWzofSdlPnJtYdg%2BetsnORfOG1GfwfG7G4%2BLhtRph2Jn68rgoiK8YAobHWrXnQt%2BjYgaM0ZeT6tF4bi1KjIAebI9bq3g%2FY4l8y0yz%2F0C24w2Eh8tkZWf0dYScpVIRetoHRxnQA6JW753RIQz3L%2FC2pOcMD5WhbbhkmToGXsVFuxVUg34nkQ0DhuGOVEtFubtkcv1bb%2BrSDvuHN0WBekBxZywYBGuqHb2cP8HXXUiK4XT%2FeLSp1ICezctPKrtoRU6Cxw%2Ff%2BiTKPQ%2FXlgedkR%2Bnvp9iZdGYzh2W4s4urx0prp7YRrmQdh6YgCQNv27%2Ftvn7dxx0tyKXoASCFeT9EpRIwSWyHRM2OQCk6HhPO8CJQzHyJ1CXJcQiKOuqQYrQeoDAcGMpo9F0e5eLgPeqED%2Fc%2BK%2FwvXq%2FSLcYc8MVOGEGT%2BQ78ylpYch27os8cE9oC%2BYy1LstP6Eh0vO76nKxU9l4n%2FSicGvYo4%2BVJvZhMnDOA2E8354O|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2047675 Looks like an easy way to avoid any router pink torpedo-ups this time but before I pull the trigger, does anyone have any experience of these bodies? Edited December 6, 2021 by JPJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 No. also look at or message... https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/luthierswarehouse seen a rear rout P i am half considering for a budget bitsa... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 I don't have any direct experience, but when I asked the same question here the response was positive, and I looked a lot through their facebook page and you can see they are a solid business. I'm still thinking about getting a body from them. I see they've started to sell necks as well. https://guitarandbassbuilds.com/ https://www.facebook.com/guitarandbassbuild/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted July 20, 2021 Author Share Posted July 20, 2021 Well after much um’ing and ah’ing and a lot of emails back and forward with James, I’ve pulled the trigger on a five string PJ body from a one piece ash blank. To minimise the chance of pink torpedo-ups at my end I’ve also taken the option of having the body finished by them. Delivery is quoted at 3 months but hopefully quicker, but that’ll give me plenty of time to refinish the neck I have here. So, don’t hold your breath but stand-by for further updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted July 31, 2021 Author Share Posted July 31, 2021 So the donor Bass has been stripped and I’ll hopefully get some time tomorrow to begin the refinishing process for the Mighty Mite neck. I’ve also invested in and taken delivery of one of Kiogon’s excellent looms (two stacked vol/tones so the bass will look like a regular P bass but I’ll have full control over the volume and tone of the P & J pickups. My plan is to start off passive, but if this doesn’t work for me, I can always install the excellent John East BT01 and Mid-sweep I’ve taken from the donor Bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 08/07/2021 at 21:51, JPJ said: ger, does anyone have any experience of these bodies Yup. Great quality body. Took a fair old while to make, 5 weeks ish if I remember. I gad to widen some drill holes, then I had to widen the P rout because I bought big eared P pups (Entwistle) and now I've got DiMarzio's in there the P rout looks terrible, but that's my doing. The body is a great piece of wood and I have a lovely and unique bass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 3 minutes ago, uk_lefty said: Yup. Great quality body. Took a fair old while to make, 5 weeks ish if I remember. I gad to widen some drill holes, then I had to widen the P rout because I bought big eared P pups (Entwistle) and now I've got DiMarzio's in there the P rout looks terrible, but that's my doing. The body is a great piece of wood and I have a lovely and unique bass. Thanks for the reply. I’m about a week and a half into ‘the wait’ but busying myself so that once the body arrives I’ll be ready to assemble. Did you go for the finished or unfinished option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Just now, JPJ said: Thanks for the reply. I’m about a week and a half into ‘the wait’ but busying myself so that once the body arrives I’ll be ready to assemble. Did you go for the finished or unfinished option? Unfinished. I used crimson Guitars stain and really enjoyed the process. It's the only bit I did enjoy. I'm crap with anything beyond ikea furniture and a quality functioning bitsa was a step too far for my limited skills... Needed a pro to finish the job with the fine tuning of neck shimming, wiring, pot shafts and tuners not fitting etc. A real ball ache! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted August 30, 2021 Author Share Posted August 30, 2021 So being the impatient bugger that I am I couldn’t help contacting James for a progress update. He confirmed my body was fully sanded ready for finishing, so we’re roughly halfway through the wait 🤞 In the meantime, I’ve stripped and sanded the neck ready to refinish it with some of Rothko & Frost’s aged tinted nitro which I’d better get a move on with or the body will be here before the neck is ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted November 6, 2021 Author Share Posted November 6, 2021 So the long wait is over and DHL delivered my finished body today. Got to say it’s rather excellent. It will need the minimal amount of fettling as everything is tight (very tight), but I’d rather it was like this than the other way. Looks like a quality piece of timber and the finish is flawless. Please ignore the gratuitous mock up shot, that’s a standard Fender five string scratch plate that will be used as a template for a custom made BWB scratcher to suit the Bartolini 5 string P pickup. Of course as luck would have it delivery has neatly coincided with a really busy time in the day job so there will be little to no progress with this in the next couple of weeks. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted November 6, 2021 Share Posted November 6, 2021 That’s a lovely lump of wood. One piece, too. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted November 21, 2021 Author Share Posted November 21, 2021 (edited) Finally got a few hours today to get on with assembly. Now you know I said everything was tight, well the neck pocket was 3.76mm too tight to accommodate my MightyMite precision neck. Before I go on, I must mention that the neck pocket fits the replacement Fender scratch plate perfectly so it’s obvious the MightyMite neck heel is wider than the standard Fender neck heel. After puzzling over this for a couple of weeks I decided to adjust the neck rather than the neck pocket on the basis that I’ve already messed on with the neck and it owes me nothing whereas the body is pristine. So today, with the aid of my digital vernier, and some newly sharpened chisels (there’s nothing better than a freshly sharpened and well honed chisel) I set about the neck. Got to say I’m pleased with the results. I also found time to rough out the template for the scratch plate but more of that later. Edited November 21, 2021 by JPJ 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 Good Darts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted November 27, 2021 Author Share Posted November 27, 2021 A little bit of progress tonight. Too cold to venture into the workshop (shed) so I sat with the body on my knee in the office and carved the rebate around the battery box opening by hand. Pleased with the result as the battery box is now flush rather than raised. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Little details make all the difference 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 So had a rare day off today, so despite the freezing temperatures I headed off in the direction of the shed with three layers on and cracked on. Today, I’ve cracked on with the scratch plate which has turned out rather well. Still need to scrape the edges and finish the P pickup cutout but other than that I’m happy. Oh and to get the scratch plate neck pocket right I had to first drill and screw the neck to the body which went well and is aligned to within a hair of gnats chuff 😎 Oh and you might notice that in a spare half hour yesterday I shielded the J pickup and the control cavity. I will do the P pickup as well but only when I’m finished fettling. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted November 30, 2021 Author Share Posted November 30, 2021 In the ‘slow but steady’ progress club, today I found time to finalise the P Pickup cutout in the scratch plate, shield the P Pickup cavity, shield the back of the scratch plate, and trial assemble the stack knob vol & tone setup from KiOgon of this parish, a piece of work so fine it deserves its own photo. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted December 1, 2021 Share Posted December 1, 2021 Looking good! I love that stacked knob configuration. I see why you had to shave the neck to fit in the pocket now - 5 string! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted December 1, 2021 Author Share Posted December 1, 2021 1 hour ago, bloke_zero said: I see why you had to shave the neck to fit in the pocket now - 5 string! The body was ordered as a five string but the MightyMite neck I have is wider than the standard Fender five string neck but I didn’t realise this until I received the body 🤦♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted December 2, 2021 Author Share Posted December 2, 2021 Today was a two steps forward, three steps back sort of day. First, I completed the shielding job by running earth wires from each pickup cavity to the control cavity, adding the bridge earth and then terminating them all together. A quick resistance check showed a good connection so hopefully she’ll be a quiet one. Then I mounted the bridge, then moved onto the pickups. All went swimming well until two of the J pickup screws snapped, and one of the P pickup screw heads rounded out😤 An hour later and two and a half screws removed. The only way to get the remaining half of the screw out will be to drill around it until I can wiggle it free and then fit a dowel in the mess that’s left behind before redrilling for the pickup screw. As the best way to do this will be in the drill press, and as I need to wet sand and polish the neck I thought “Ok I’ll whip the neck off” and cue one of the neck screws also snapping (fortunately just the head) 😤😤 Moral of the story, don’t reuse screws! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted December 2, 2021 Share Posted December 2, 2021 (edited) Have you used candle wax to lubricate the screw threads? It helps a lot. Edited December 2, 2021 by SpondonBassed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted December 2, 2021 Share Posted December 2, 2021 (edited) Pilot hole of the correct size n depth... Candle wax or Dry soap bar for lube... Bit of plastic bag between scredriver tip n screw to protect screw head finish if black I always run the screw in and out the hole to thread the wood before mounting a component... Edited December 2, 2021 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted December 2, 2021 Author Share Posted December 2, 2021 Thanks guys for the tips. In the case of the neck screw I definitely hadn’t drilled the pilot hole deep enough as it was locked tight in the neck, but when the pilot drill starts turning up rosewood swarf you kind of want to stop drilling 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted December 4, 2021 Author Share Posted December 4, 2021 More slow but steady progress. Last night I wet sanded the neck which I refinished using a combination of tinted and clear nitro rattle cans from Dartfords. Like many here, my workshop (shed) is unheated so spraying at this time of year is ill advised and sure enough, I’d suffered from a milky finish with the final coat. So I had to carefully wet sand to remove that whilst flatting the finish. I was aiming for a satin ‘well worn’ vintage look and feel and I’m very happy with the result and the lacquer cracks caused by the water getting in through the existing screw holes and tuner post holes has added to that vintage vibe - hey people pay fortunes for this type of relic’ing 😂 Sorry the photos aren’t the greatest but it’s difficult to photo the finish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted December 6, 2021 Author Share Posted December 6, 2021 More slow progress. So having successfully removed all the bits of broken screws and fitted dowels where needed, I got a couple of hours yesterday to press ahead with final assembly. Taking on board all the excellent advice, clearance holes were re drilled to precise depths, and screws lubricated with candle wax and hey presto, everything went together like a dream. Just final wiring and stringing to go and then we’ll find out if the whole process has been worth it or not 😉 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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