rubis

Thank you Danuman, a man of impeccable taste as well

Oh you lucky bugger...........................Is it that sinful to covet another man's bass? that's really nice of you to say, thank you

thank you kindly casapete

thank you NikNik

What a nice thing to say, you are a snob and a gentleman, thank you very much sir

that's very kind of you ezbass, thanks

Thank you very much walshy, a man of taste from my part of the world

WOW, I am honestly touched mate, thank you very much indeed, it makes it so much more worthwhile to know that there are other like minded blokes who can appreciate the point of doing it. I would fully recommend something similar, any kind of 'fantasy bass' or something like that, it's very absorbing and therapeutic in an odd sort of way best wishes to you cLepto-bass

Thank you very kindly gary mac

WOW, praise indeed from one in the know, thanks Lozz196

Thanks StevieE

Thank you Doctor J love your profile picture

Thank you kindly SondonBassed, I really appreciate your encouragement and comments, I think I need a lie down now, and let my battered thumb heal!

This morning I finished this build, strung it up and christened it with a blast through "One Step Beyond"...…………...I am a happy lad! I could never justify buying a genuine 1964 bass or even a CS Fender, Limelight basses don't, as far as I can see, seem to offer the laminated fingerboard option, and I am reasonably handy, so why not give it a go? The idea was to build my ideal bass, a sonic blue Precision, and to see if I could make it as close as I could to 1964 spec, in fact to look as if it was made on the day I was born 17th March 1964. Before I go any further, I realise that recently there has been a bit of polarising reaction to relic'd/roadworn/aged (call them what you will) basses, and I completely understand this, in fact up until fairly recently I didn't like them either. But, because this was a hobby build, and not a commercial one, I thought I could pat attention to the 'hidden' details , such as the scratchplate shield and the sunlight fading, and see how far I could take it. Again, I wasn't trying to forge a copy or mislead anyone, so I put in deliberate references to my date of birth, such as the serial number, neck date and the decal on the back of the headstock. This bass is for me, it is my ideal bass, with my favourite parts fitted and it will not be sold. The link to the build diary is here, for those interested enough to want to read further https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326421-17031964-a-day-of-birth-precision-bass-build/ Sorry about the quality of the photo's by the way, photography is not one of my strong points

Well, this is it, pretty much finished now! I made a bone nut, put on some flatwounds and after a little bit of fettling, I christened it with a quick blast through "One Step Beyond" I have to compliment Musikraft on their necks, beautifully made, this one is an absolute beast, the fattest option they offer, which suits the size of my hands perfectly, and yet it's still comfortable to play, and it needed very little truss rod tweaking. I have tried to take some gratuitous, arty shots, but it's not really one of my strong points, so I'm sorry about the quality. Anyway, thank you so much to all those people who have given their expert advice, opinions an encouragement, this would have taken me a lot longer to complete, had it not been for you, I really am grateful.

Thank you very much. I think, if you are interested in how things work, and are made, or if you are of the age where you had a go at making your own 'playthings' (which I don't seem to have grown out of), then this part is as much fun as using it, if you know what I mean. And now it's all but done, I'm already musing over something else! The current Mrs Rubis is very tolerant of my hobby, (she is also very musical, but not very practical) and as long as I don't count how many shoes she has, she doesn't keep a tally of the guitars and paraphernalia around the house 😉

I have now finished the wiring on this bass and added the all the hardware. Not much to talk about really, I had to cut down the screw on the 'hootenanny' strap button, as the screw supplied was obviously intended for the body itself. Looks good now though. I also changed the little jumper wire between the two halves of the pickup, it was black on the Bare Knuckles pickup, but white on all the photo's I have seen, so it was an easy enough job for even a wiring novice, such as I. I had to adjust some of the holes on the aluminium shield, as they didn't all line up with the holes on the Spitfire guard, which is also authentically warped.

I've been doing a little bit more on this build, some things more effective than others. I used the same method of heat and cold to give the neck lacquer a bit of crazing, as I did on the body. I must say I was a bit nervous of damaging or warping the neck, so I went about it quite cautiously. It may be due to the fact that I deliberately put a thinner covering of lacquer on the back of the neck, than I did on the heel and the headstock, but the crazing is very faint. It's most noticeable on the front of the headstock, which I'm quite pleased about, I'll quit while I'm ahead! I also gave the fingerboard a coating of boiled linseed oil and tried to 'miss out' that small area just south of the nut, which I notice doesn't darken as much with sweat and schmunga on fingerboards over time. I did the same thing at the top of the neck where I don't tend to venture much. Again, the effect is subtle, it doesn't get much darker, but it does give it a bit of a shiny, greasy look. I also did the neck plate 'serial number' which came out ok, but you will notice that the number 7 got double stamped, and I have to admit it was operator error with the hammer which was the cause! Believe it or not, my first job when I left school in 1980, was as a blacksmith. I loved it, and it was only thanks to Margaret Thatcher killing off heavy industry in the North East, that I packed it in after 9 years. Anyway, despite gaining those valuable life skills, I can still hit my right thumb with a hammer now and then, and that's exactly what happened when I was stamping the numbers on the neck plate. It hurt like f*** and I tried to re-stamp the number, but it looks a bit obvious. Never mind, I can always replace it later if it bugs me enough. I've began to do some of those little jobs, like adding bits of hardware and beginning on the wiring etc, and it's starting to look like a guitar! I've got mixed feelings about it, if I'm honest, because it's been such fun, I don't want it to come to an end. I know what will happen, I probably talk myself into doing another. IMG_0192.MOV

Very tidy work

+1 Dry coats are your friend Soledad Try and get hold of some tack cloths for a gentle wipe over between coats, it will remove any little fibres that have a habit of sticking to your work best of luck, it will look awesome, it's a great colour

"Maybe have a test go with the router I bought and have no idea how to use. " For gawd's sake be careful with a router if you've never used one before...……..they bite. Enjoy making this with your pa...…..I'm making a Tele with my son, and maybe next we'll make him a P bass! Best of luck

Very nice indeed

Thank you Soledad you're one step ahead of me with the BLO, I was hoping that it would give it a bit of that old, greasy look, as you say, down at the business end. I was planning on putting it on a bit thinner up the dusty end, maybe even not applying any at all under the E and A strings from about the 15th fret upwards. I'll see how it goes. I did a bit of extra rolling on the fingerboard, as it came with just the edges taken off really, so I did it on just the 9th fret downwards, as I don't stray above the octave all that often, and I tend to loosen my grip on the neck a little when I do, if you know what I mean, so I wouldn't rub the edges of the neck up there too much anyway!