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Righty, I'm back from a week's holiday on the Devon coast (lovely) and ready to put the finishing touches on this project. In my time away, the lacquer has had time to fully cure. So the first thing to do was the both tedious and nerve-wracking process of wet-dry sanding the bass to get rid of all the brush marks and runs. This is always a fairly scary process, as you just have to keep sanding (constantly checking things) and trust that you applied the finish thickly enough to be able to smooth out all the imperfections before you go all the way through the clearcoat somwhere. If you blow through it, particularly if its in a very visible spot, you essentially have to just throw up your hands, do a lot of swearing and start the whole process again, which can take a week or two to cure. It's maddening, but I've gotten pretty good now. No issues with this job. Here's what the bass looks like now – I've sanded and polished and polished and polished and polished and polished. I then applied the shielding foil to the control cavity and added the ground wire before attaching the bridge (with thurst bearings fitted now, thanks for @PaulThePlug for the recommendation). I boiled the strings and gave it a rough set-up for intonation and action. No electronics yet. One of the great advantages of headless basses (especially double-ball end ones) is that you can string them up and de-string them over and over again without any problems. I've just spent the last half an hour or so playing it unamplified and it seems pretty damn good. No fret buzzes, and it's really surprisingly loud even with just the wood for resonance. One thing that has thrown me a little is just how chunky the neck is – I'd taken measurements and so I knew in theory that it was a big boy, but I was still a little taken aback when I got it in my hands. It feels more like my dad's 70's EB3 than the jazz and stingray style necks on my custom basses. I'm assuming I'll get used to it in time. Even with the chunky frets, the action could probably go lower than its current position (with the saddles decked on the G and D strings decked) with no fret buzz. Not that it isn't playable now, probably low enough for most players, but I'm picky. I think I can file the bridge saddles down a smidge without problems. Tomorrow I'll prep the 3D printed components from @Jackroadkill and put the electronics together. My plan is to put a basic vol-blend-tone circuit in it for now, and then replace it with something esoteric, filter-based and active down the line if I like the general sound and playability.

Just bought a pedalboard from Daniel. It is in great condition, was well packaged and dispatched very quickly Thanks Daniel

If we are on trousers length, then the daft fashion for deliberately short trousers. It seems to be on the wane, thankfully. I like a jazzy sock as much as the next man and a small viewing window is fine but these things that look like they shrank in the wash make me unnecessarily irritated.

I realised that I never use a volume on the bass so didn't bother!

Great stuff Thanks

Yeah, I agree - I'm reshaping the pickguard and will probably have to rout the cavity a wee bit so I think I can fit three pots while keeping the input jack where it is. I'm just not convinced about the VVT approach. I'd like to have some blend so I'm exploring my options now.

These are Jazz bass alternatives rather than P bass ones?

Starting now on BBC2 - Iron Maiden Live in Concert, followed at 10pm by Iron Maiden Flight 666.

V7 isn’t - Theres a green one in marketplace take a look

Well, if it's some consolation: the bass he's playing is a USA Joe Osborn. I've owned both the Skyline 55-60 and the USA JO5 (still own that) and although they're both great basses, the USA is something else. It might be the best 5 string Jazz I've ever played, and I've played dozens. The Skyline is véry very good, especially for the price. But it's not a USA.

Once it’s done it’ll be blend/tone with a series/parallel switch on the tone pot. I’ll probably favour the bridge pickup on the fretless so it’s good that the DiMarzio J pickups are hum cancelling. I wanted to keep the jack on the front of the bass to match the Mustang but three pots is also a good option 👍🏼

Boasting again Douglas?

The P7 has the P pickup if Sire is an option. They will still feel wider than the Warwick however.

Beautiful combo! I just bought a squire Bronco and I'm replacing the stock p'up with two jazz pickups like yours. I was going to go for full-fat jazz bass wiring (volume, volume, tone) but I see you've just got two pots. What's the wiring setup?

The “Ashtray” bridge cover would also conceal the ground strip

Excellent lesson, thanks Greg.

Sire v7 5 i have stopped playing anything else. Gets very low action with narrow spacing it is jazz-ish but you can get a p sound in passive mode if you fiddle

I think the built-in chorus and octaver are surplus to requirements. The distortion/overdrive, power amp character switching, etc - all good since they’re actual “amp” functions, but the other stuff should probably get ditched for the next revision. I doubt all that many people use them anyway. I know Ashdown heads have had the built-in octaver since forever, but I’ve never met an Ashdown user who’s actually used it!

In the last band I was in in the UK, about 9 years ago, the band’s main guy (guitarist/songwriter) didn’t drive and relied on his long-suffering girlfriend to drive him everywhere, including to gigs a long way from home! It’s not because he couldn’t, or that he had a driving ban or anything like that, he had a valid, clean licence, but he just didn’t own a car and didn’t want one. Back in the dim and distant past, I was in a band where three of us, including myself, didn’t drive, and the only one who had a vehicle (drummer, natch) had a van. We also had a semi-permanent rehearsal space where we could leave amps and other gear safely. When we had gigs, we just piled the stuff in the back of the drummer’s van and made sure to chip in for petrol money.

Just got in after an excellent, but LOUD, gig with Katy Hurt at the Hogs Back Brewery Hop Harvest festival. Weather was changeable and literally 15 minutes before we were due on the heavens opened, but thankfully the rain stopped and the sun shone for our entire hour set. The lineup was eclectic but cool, naturally there was great beer, the crowd was superb, and the sound (onstage at least) was great, (except for the loud bit 😆). We played well on the whole, my ACG/Elf/Two10 rig was sounding mint, Gab played a blinder and Katy was in fine voice. Really enjoyed it, just wish I’d put my earplugs in…

Gah - yes. 😂 Edited my post.