custom metal jazz build (not actually made of metal; made for metal!!)

[eightball]

hey all - started a custom jazz bass build a wee while ago. plan is; swamp ash body (trans black), maple neck, black hardware, EMG 35DC x2, EMG BTS.

Body

nice wee slab of swamp ash
[attachment=32415:DSC02142__Large_.JPG]

the body is cut and routed.
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i took a template from my '64 jazz reissue.
[attachment=32417:DSC02156__Large_.JPG]

so far, the arm and belly cuts are done, neck pocket rout, control cavity rout. i decided to use neck ferrules (5 of), offset, allowing for a contour at the heel.
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Neck

pretty cheap 21 fret dr parts neck - frets are all levelled and dressed. came as a p bass neck - yes, the headstock shape does look a wee bit familiar , but i couldn't afford a sadowsky...

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thats about the lot for now. i'll post more when i get a bit more done!

Edited December 17, 2009 by eightball

[EdwardHimself]

Nice bass build mate. I'll keep a looksee on this one

[Dread Bass]

I love trans black finishes and metal therefore I like this already.

[budget bassist]

nice, this should urn out fairly different, looking forward to it

[allighatt0r]

I'm slightly disappointed it's not actually made from metal!

Looks very cool though! Looking forward to the progress!

[BigRedX]

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='594802' date='Sep 10 2009, 03:28 PM']I'm slightly disappointed it's not actually made from metal![/quote]

I'm extremely disappointed it's not made of metal.

In fact I feel conned... :-(

[eightball]

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='594802' date='Sep 10 2009, 03:28 PM']I'm slightly disappointed it's not actually made from metal!

Looks very cool though! Looking forward to the progress![/quote]

if someone is [i]truly[/i] metal, then EVERYTHING they touch is in fact; metal.

[eightball]

seeing as i've upset some folks, here's a wee update

tuners on - schaller BML's (cheers to howard!)
[attachment=32631:08092009...__Large_.jpg]

decided to do a wee bit of lining up the bridge...
[attachment=32632:09092009...__Large_.jpg]

...and fitted the awesome hipshot string retainer while i was there. these things are so cool and satisfying - it's just a cool wee object!
[attachment=32633:09092009...__Large_.jpg]

well, that's about it for now folks - got a bit of grainfilling to do, and some pickups to rout, then it's finishing!

title amended btw!

[budget bassist]

you should get one of those 3 string retainers for the headstock, sometimes you can get issues with the A string being a bit funny, but if you string it correctly it should be ok, just make sure you cut it fairly long when you put the new strings on, in case you didn't know about that one.
Looks cool though, i like black hardware on maple.

[EdwardHimself]

Looks great, love it mate.

[Dread Bass]

[quote name='eightball' post='595746' date='Sep 11 2009, 03:12 PM']if someone is [i]truly[/i] metal, then EVERYTHING they touch is in fact; metal. [/quote]

Never a truer word said.

[matt_citizenbass]

i fricking love maple necked jazz's!

well done lad!

[Metalmoore]

Makes me wish i got black hardware for my jazz project. Looks great and with EMG's its gonna be LOUD!

[Dread Bass]

Any updates on this one eightball?

[eightball]

[quote name='metaltime' post='636374' date='Oct 25 2009, 06:48 PM']Any updates on this one eightball?[/quote]

well it's funny you should ask...

pot mounting holes drilled. had to rout much deeper into the cavity.

[attachment=35531:DSC02239.jpg]

bridge mounted - strung it up just to make sure alignment all good. you can also see the knobs in a trial electronics fit.

[attachment=35532:DSC02230.jpg]

this is a rough layout of the pickup and bridge.

[attachment=35533:DSC02234.jpg]

been busy staining over the past couple of days with mixed results. i'll post up as soon as folks.

[eightball]

annnd fade to black.

stained and grain filled. was a ball ache to be honest; the staining, not the filling. i'm just a bit crap at it i think.

[attachment=35534:DSC02250.jpg]

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still undecided as to whether to shoot good old halfords acrylic or try some wipe on poly for the top coat. the wipe on appeals a lot, just not sure what sort of results i could get with it.

oh well, next update - well, when there is one!

[Adrenochrome]

Looking good! I approve of the jazz shaped body, 5-bolt neck, trans colour and humbuckers. All good choices IMO.

[gilmour]

[quote name='eightball' post='642738' date='Nov 1 2009, 07:28 PM']still undecided as to whether to shoot good old halfords acrylic or try some wipe on poly for the top coat. the wipe on appeals a lot, just not sure what sort of results i could get with it.[/quote]

If you're using Halfords paint, I've been tempted for a while to try Montana Gold Cans, they're traditionally used for graphic design and street art. It's Nitro based so I don't see why It won't be as good as Halfords, and a bargain at about £5 a can.

[url="http://www.montana-cans.com/products/cans/gold/"]http://www.montana-cans.com/products/cans/gold/[/url]

I've used the Matt lacquer on paintings and it's great, but can't vouch for the quality of the gloss.

[eightball]

[quote name='gilmour' post='643342' date='Nov 2 2009, 12:57 PM']If you're using Halfords paint, I've been tempted for a while to try Montana Gold Cans, they're traditionally used for graphic design and street art. It's Nitro based so I don't see why It won't be as good as Halfords, and a bargain at about £5 a can.

[url="http://www.montana-cans.com/products/cans/gold/"]http://www.montana-cans.com/products/cans/gold/[/url]

I've used the Matt lacquer on paintings and it's great, but can't vouch for the quality of the gloss.[/quote]

ah, good link! i expect this will be mega useful for the trad fender finishes - there seems to be every colour under the sun there!

i used the halfords stuff before, and it's pretty good, but takes a lot of time and effort to get there when using rattle cans. it's acrylic based, so not as hazardous/explosive as nitro.

i was wondering if the wipe on stuff would get a faster/better result without the sanding through the edges/topcoat. not a huge deal on a solid colour, but disasterous with stain. i suppose another alternative is a friendly local bodyshop who can shoot 2K or something - anyone got any idea how much i should be looking at there? anyone in the trade? what would you charge some punter walking off the street?

[Veils]

Lookin forward to this one mate.

From a metal monster such as yourself, I'm expecting it to be heavier than an elephant in lead duds.

[eightball]

[quote name='Veils' post='658890' date='Nov 19 2009, 09:02 AM']Lookin forward to this one mate.

From a metal monster such as yourself, I'm expecting it to be heavier than an elephant in lead duds.[/quote]

haha! here's hoping veils! prob about 3/4 weeks off finishing - just going through the lacquer motions now, hence no interesting updates.

[eightball]

well folks - here we are. all done. the lacquer isn't the best, as it started to sink a wee bit, but i'll prob gig it for a while, then refinish it again in 6 months or so. it sounds awesome - gonna take me a while to figure it out, as it'll obviously sound different in the mix than individually. i wired it for 18v, and it's surprisingly subtle - not as much of a beast as my music man custom.

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[yorick]

Looks great... How's it sound?

[Veils]

Looks sweet man!!!

[eightball]

[quote name='yorick' post='687208' date='Dec 17 2009, 12:15 PM']Looks great... How's it sound?[/quote]

as i said, nowhere near as wild as i was expecting, although recent emg 18v experience has yeilded exactly the opposite result of what i was expecting.

bottom end is solid as hell, without boominess, no matter how much boost. top end is very distict, and not actually too glassy - it's pretty usable.

emg bqc with the sweepable mid makes all the difference - boosted, it gives some nice mid range bark, cut it becomes fieldy esq, with everything else in between.

i was a little bit wary of 2 35 dc's, but it's actually pretty versatile - ultra clean and crisp, but growls nicely with a bit of gain (obviously great for metal); and it does it without a lot of effort - most settings sound good - it's not hard to find usable sounds.

my main weapon right now is mahogany/maple/rosewood with a bart tct (3 band) and a SD alnico MM pup, so quite a different animal!