Sire-bird, Lull-alike

[d-basser]

More of a mod / assembly job than a true build but thought it may be of interest.

 

This project started with a few questions:

- What do you do when you like the look of Mike Lull's PT/JT basses, with TBird pickups on a Fender-esque body, but you can't justify the cost? 

- How do you make use of your new discovery that Gemini pickups do 5 string chrome thunderbird pickups? 

- How soon after receiving a new bass is it reasonable to take power tools to it? 

- Is it more than 2hrs? 

 

Seriously though, I have always loved the look of chrome thunderbird pickups on a Fender style bass. A good few years back I put together a 4 string Jazz style from an unknown roadworn body, a Squier neck, and some cheapish chrome pickups from eBay. Unfortunately I'm mostly gigging 5 string so it hasn't got much use lately.

 

When I saw Gemini's pickup range, cog's started turning and I started looking at options for basses to mod. First issue what that 4 string and 5 string TBird pickups use the same sized housing, this ruled out using a jazz bass body, as the preexisting pickup cavities would be too wide to cover with the new pickups. Instead I started looking at 5 string P basses. Covering the pick up could be handled with a new scratch plate. I had to find something without a bridge pick up though to avoid the jazz bass issue. I opted for a Sire P5r, and after reading reviews I reckoned it was worth a pop even at full price.

 

 

Had a bit of a mare getting it via DHL so pickups (Gemini Devastators) had already arrived. I was therefore keen to go. Quick play of the bass stock confirmed it was a nice player and good starting platform. ~2hrs after getting it out the cardboard, power tools met wood.

 

 

 

First decided to open out the existed pickup cavity to a regular shape, rather than cutting the TBird shape through the Precision one and leaving a weird hybrid. Also routed it all down to ~3/4" as the original route was very shallow.

 

Then measured out the bridge pup, basing positioning on a) reference Lull basses, B) TBird pickup position and c) what would actually fit.

 

Went down the route of starting out with a forstner bit then routing to shape with a template I laser cut. This left a pretty decent finish if I do say so myself.

 

 

 

 

 

Drilled through to the control cavity and that was about me for the night. Tomorrow I'll drill out a side jack. Hand cut a new scratchplate and start on shielding and wiring.

 

Whilst the bass played well stock I am contemplating new hardware. Whilst it would be pricey I'm thinking of going whole hog with Hipshot ultralite tuners and a style A bridge.

[d-basser]

These are the reference basses I want to emulate 

 

 

And this is my budget 4 string precursor, though it is now graced with a John East pre.

 

Edited Wednesday at 08:09 by d-basser

[d-basser]

Side note on the Gemini pickups. When the arrived the bridge pup had a squint base plate. I gave it a little nudge and the whole bobbin wobbled in the casing. Whilst the base plate was firmly glued to the assembly (squint) the bobbin assembly wasn't fully secured. 

 

Decided not to try to fix the base plate as it's apparently super glued in place. Felt like I was likely to make it worse rather than better. To re-bond the bobbin assembly I warmed the whole thing on a hotplate to ~80C to soften the potting wax. I was then able to centre the bobbins and let it set firm.

 

Obviously a little frustrating to have issues with a something fresh out the box but Mike from Gemini was super quick to reply to messages and help. 

 

 

 

[BassApprentice]

This looks great! Appreciate you not messing about and just getting stuck right in on a brand new bass 😅

 

Jealous you have access to all the right tools to do the job pretty quickly and efficiently! 

[d-basser]

Cheers. Yeah, once I get fixated on an idea it kinda has to get done.

 

I am lucky I've accrued a fair number of tools tinkering with things over the years, combined with working for a tech company, hence the access to lasers and hot plates 

[BassApprentice]

I'm now eyeing up my Bitsa P-bass in the corner...

 

I don't really play that much, but tinkering is fun

[Bigwan]

I've been considering doing something similar with my Vintage Tony Butler signature P for a LONG time...

[d-basser]

Not to influence either of you either way, but I can easier cut spare TBird pup router templates for the price of postage.

[Happy Jack]

As a long time fan of Mike Lull basses, colour me interested.

 

That said, what got me interested in them in the first place was the very light weight of these basses, as alerted to me by @chris_b.

 

Do you plan to match that as well, or just the look of the bass?

 

[d-basser]

14 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

As a long time fan of Mike Lull basses, colour me interested.

 

That said, what got me interested in them in the first place was the very light weight of these basses, as alerted to me by @chris_b.

 

Do you plan to match that as well, or just the look of the bass?

 

 

Don't think I'll get all the way there, and if I want a really light bass I'll grab my D Roc. My hope is that increasing the route in the body and opting for Ultralite tuners will do a little weight relief. Any thoughts on what I could do beyond that? Not sure I could achieve more without somehow chambering the body

[Happy Jack]

What's the starting point? How much did/does the original bass weigh?

[d-basser]

Was too quick in there with the power tools and didn't get a starting weight. Will weigh it when it's reassembled later in the week. I'd say qualitatively it was a little on the heavy side but not hugely, more that it was head heavy and slightly unbalanced rather than being particularly heavy overall.

 

Should have Hipshot parts arriving tomorrow so hopefully have it all assembled by end of Friday 

[AlexDelores]

Really enjoyed reading that! Looking forward to the end result, looks great so far 🙌

[itu]

Have to say you are brave to heat the magnet, but as the temp was low, all good.

 

After the Curie temperature the material loses its magnetic force. This varies a lot from material to another, but usually several hundred degrees Celsius in iron based magnets.

[d-basser]

2 hours ago, itu said:

Have to say you are brave to heat the magnet, but as the temp was low, all good.

 

After the Curie temperature the material loses its magnetic force. This varies a lot from material to another, but usually several hundred degrees Celsius in iron based magnets.

 

Yeah, I work with piezos on a daily basis so we'll accustomed with Curie temps. Was more concerned with the super glue, it would have burned off 100-120C, that was why I went with a well controlled hot plate.

Edited Wednesday at 23:53 by d-basser

[d-basser]

Today's progress. Jack socket drilled out

 

 

 

 

Decided to try out a full contact socket, looks like a nice design.

 

 

Tuners removed and screw holes filled with bamboo cocktail sticks. Tricky to hide with the roasted neck, used a little acrylic wash to tone them down but may stain them in future. Ready to fit the Ultralites.

 

Cavities copper taped. Now working on cutting a new scratchplate. Taking time as I'm doing it by hand. Used a coping saw and file to get it to shape, now to bevel it with a Stanley blade.

 

 

 

[itu]

6 hours ago, d-basser said:

Yeah, I work with piezos on a daily basis...

What are good books/lectures about piezos that are hopefully available, too? I understand basics, but a deeper dive would be of interest.

[d-basser]

1 hour ago, itu said:

What are good books/lectures about piezos that are hopefully available, too? I understand basics, but a deeper dive would be of interest.

 

I would need to check, I mostly learned on the job. Most of what I have access to though is going to be specific to ultrasound transducer design

[Hellzero]

10 hours ago, d-basser said:

Cavities copper taped.

Don't forget to ground them otherwise what you did is useless. 😉

[d-basser]

Very true, will be making sure there are one or more contact points from shielding to ground, between cavities and to the scratch plate.

[d-basser]

This evening has been one of fettling and fine adjustments.

 

First off, the tuner holes were 'nearly' 18mm, this makes the new Ultralites a tight fit. Used this rather terrifying looking auger bit to widen them a little. Obviously didn't use a power drill as I wanted to still have a headstock afterwards, so clamped it and turned by hand.

 

 

Once done the tuners fit nicely with the 18mm adapters I purchased. Really happy with the decision to go for lollipop keys.

 

rt

 

 

 

Then to test fit the bridge. Turns out the Fender fit Style A does line up reasonably well with the through body stringing holes from the original, but doesn't cover the mounting screw holes at the front. I decided to move it a mm or two towards the neck since I'm drilling new mounting holes for it any way. To ensure it still lined up ok with the through body holes I reamed them out at the top end with a stepped bit. This brought the top portion of the hole out to 8mm with a bit of a chamfer, giving me wiggle room for placement.

 

 

Took a lot of time on bridge placement. Not convinced by the accuracy of the spacing of the previous drill holes so I took reference measures from the the last fret at each end.

 

 

 

Overall it's coming together nicely, spent a fair bit of time fettling the scratchplate. I cut it by hand and bevelled it with a Stanley blade so it isn't perfect, but I made a simple tooling jig to hold the blade at 45deg so I'm pretty happy with it for now.

 

Tomorrow evening should be wiring and set up, then if all goes to plan I can try it in anger at band practice on Saturday