Jabba_the_gut

If you stick to a bolt on for your first build, if anything goes seriously wrong you only lose a neck or a body not both. 
 

Nice purple! Looks great

Welcome to the the world of building! I’m sure you’ll really enjoy making this bass - it really is satisfying to play something that you made.

I like the design - my only comment would be to ensure the neck pocket is long enough. It possibly looks a little short to me from the drawing by the time you curve the top horn to the lower horn (if that makes sense!) but it isn’t always easy to tell when you’re viewing it on a phone!!

I stuck a passive Bartolini pickup in a bass recently with a switch for single / series / parallel and you can get a decent range of tones from that. EMG TW pickups are also pretty decent to switch between coils.

Make sure you keep posting pictures - look forward to seeing this progress.

Cheers

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

You forgot about a cupboard: large house.

Yes, it was in the east wing which I only use in the summer months..... honest. 

It’s only a cheap copy that I was given a couple of years ago that has been at the back of a cupboard behind other stuff since we moved. If I’d remembered about it then I would have used it as a template for the short scale Tele bass I’m making rather than have hunted round the web for a plan!!! Doh!

Should have the Telebass ready for this bash.

Very nice indeed. The fret board up to the pickup looks like the right choice to me.

I bought a pair of the Delano Xtender pickups a while back that I haven’t used yet. There’s something about them being a different shape that gives a build like this a completely different look. And they’re supposed to sound pretty decent too! Looking forward to seeing this build complete. Will you post some sound files when done?

Cheers
 

1 hour ago, SpondonBassed said:

Not belittling the guitar thing as many of us play that also, 

Traitor 

(damn - just found a Telecaster in a cupboard that I’d forgotten about so I’ll have to include myself in that statement!)

16 minutes ago, jebroad said:

Should we attempt to accommodate our thin gauge-six string counterparts? 

I think it was well attended with just basses last time without bags of room to spare. You can’t invite the others as they’ll cover the floor with pedals and complain they can’t be heard......

I’m up for this Bash - be nice to catch up with everyone again.

@jebroad let us know if you need any contributions for a deposit or hire of the hall. 

Be nice to get something in the calendar to look forward to.

Cheers

I've used the StewMac Fret Calculator for 889mm (35") and 839.102 (33.036"). 33.036" is 35" less the distance to the first fret - just calculated this for both to show that the fret distances are the same on the 35" scale fret 2 onward as it is on the 33.036" scale.

5 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

You are absolutely right, Jez...      Great thought! 

It would make it 33.036", that is, less than a mm longer.  

I’ve got a 35” and 34” slotting template and by skipping the first or second frets you can get very close to 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35” scales. 

I’ve a feeling using a 35” slotting template and skipping the first fret will give you very near to 33” scale. I’ll have a look later and let you know.

11 hours ago, 3below said:

Just to encourage you

I am that bass player in 1975 aged 16 at the time with my 'home built' short scale tele bass.  Constructed with hand tools and done by eye, there were no telecasters in the rural Herefordshire boonies to template from hence the tele flavour rather than accuracy. Your 2020/21 version is rather more professional, I do not understand why Fender have not built a decent USA tele bass yet.

 

 

That's a great photo and a great memory. Must have been great to have a bass that was very much different at the time. Do you still have the bass?

3 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

We were starting to think you were slacking, Jez...😉😉

We need more build threads to follow..👍👍

I know, poor show isn't it?!! I must try harder..

I've got some more timber on order so things should start happening in the next few weeks.

On 31/01/2021 at 19:27, Pea Turgh said:

Love it.  Are you going for hard edges on the body, or rounding over?

I'm going to round the edges just a little. As the top is a veneer, I've only got the equivalent of the thickness of the binding for the radius of the edge to make sure I don't sand through it and expose the body wood beneath.

It's been a few weeks since I managed to get on with any bass building but I managed to get back to this one today.

When I last put it down, I had fitted the binding but wasn't happy with it. It took a few hours to put it on but minutes to remove it again with the router!! So today I fitted some new binding using several layers of veneer using Titebond rather than superglue. This gave me enough time to get the veneer in the correct position before the glue set. Much happier with the result this time which has given e the incentive to get this finished.

The mark on the side is where I've got to drill the hole for the jack socket. I got a nice recessed plate with some parts I bought recently which will look the part on this build.

With the weather getting a bit warmer and some welcome time off work on the horizon, I'm hoping to get this complete in the near future. I need to as I've got a few builds stacking up behind this - the 27" 5 string I've already started, 25" 4 string shorty, a 5 string short scale headless and another 4 string semi hollow. It's going to get busy!!

2 hours ago, DarkHeart said:

If it`s still there I`ll have it.

Still here!

12 minutes ago, Sharkfinger said:

Superb pickup, I used to have one. The Vintage V80 bass has one and our very own Dan Veal reviewed it.  Check it out on YouTube, sounds great.

I haven't tried this pickup but I like the idea of the flexibility. I have a Delano hybrid in one bass which is a similar principle and that is superb. I'll have a look for this on YouTube - cheers!

Seymour Duncan Basslines STC-2P 2 band EQ for passive pickups. Volume knob has a pull switch for a slap contour. Never been fitted and has all the bits in the box - jack socket and knobs.

£55 posted in the UK.

Fishman Pro EQ 2. Really good condition and got all the bits in the box like the belt clip and instructions. 

£45 posted in the UK

Bought this off here a couple of years ago but didn't use it in the end.

It's a Wilkinson WJM MM pickup with a four wire cable so it can be wired to switch between a jazz pickup or MM pickup I believe. I don't have a wiring diagram for it but it shouldn't be too difficult to work out (he says....!!). It's in pretty good condition but does have a small scratch near the single mounting lug (as can be seen in the photo). The cable is about 30cm - it's just folded behind the pickup in the photo.

£20 posted to the UK

Cheers

WD Music Mexican Jazz Bass Scratch Plate.

It's a bit thinner that some scratch plates (approx. 1.5mm thick) single ply and still has the protective film on it. It's been out the packaging a few times but I don't think it has ever been fitted. It's a kind of printed carbon weave pattern - I'll try and get a better picture.

I was thinking about buying a black jazz bass to fit this to but never did (thought about buying lots of different basses over the years and never did!!).

£15 posted in the UK.

Cheers

Yep - have come across these. I think as you say they might be older ones with the 12mm bushing - I've got a set of these that I'm using on a build at the moment but they are used/vintage:

They seem to be more common with the screw lug in a different position with the 12mm bushing (I have an old Overwater bass that has this style fitted):

They do a new version of these but that has a 14mm bushing M4 90 (Light) | Machine Heads | Schaller Webshop

Does this help?? Found on Wal pro 1 e neck rebuild – Unicornbass

September is fine for me and I think a sensible suggestion for all the reasons you mentioned.

Really looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Cheers

Mr Drill is very versatile!