LukeFRC

Part 5 - Thoughts on construction. What makes a good bass? I have no idea. I've bought cheap things and they have been amazing, and played expensive things and they have been awful. I've played basses that felt alive and reverberant, and others designed to decouple that resonance and sounded great. I can buy a load of pre made parts from a supplier and put them together - or I could buy essentially the same parts put together by someone else.... and sometimes theres a massive difference - and sometimes you can build something brilliant. One thing I have always found to be important is how tight the neck is bolted on.... and stealing an idea from far far highly skilled luthiers based a few miles from me (Alpher) I wanted to use bolts on the neck. Body on the workbench... Threaded insert ready to thready.... Drill depth gauge bigger holes drilled and inserts installed.... and the neck bolted on as tight as a tight thing There was a wee lip on them inserts but a wee bit of work with a chisel in the neck pocket and it's super flat good.

Part 4 why this is taking so long and what I'm trying to do. In april we bought a house. I've always had wee projects and things on the go, then I got married and moved into a tiny little flat and couldn't - I missed that part of my life, the tinkering side of me. Anyway this bass was bought and sat there for ages - I could sink loads of money on this and find out the woodwork isn't great - or it could bolt together into the greatest thing ever - I have no way of knowing. So it's got to be cheap. and then we lifted our hallway carpet and found and are restoring this... ... early victorian floor... anyway - what finish? I spent ages over this, swatch books, a Photoshop file where I could retint them. I loved Jim Ryan's blue glitter finish and would like a sparkly bass. I would;t mind a british racing green bass. Sparkles would be good.... argh so much indecision! Apart from my indecision with glitter finishes I've had one idea in my head from the start.... There's a busker on Glasgow's Byres Road who plays a very old shell pink jazz master - its one of the sexiest old things I've ever seen. It looks amazing. It's got tort guard and the rosewood fb and this aged yellowed battered shell pink flesh tone finish. Now ideally I would build a jaguar bass and do that in those colours... but I don't have a jaguar bass. So I decided on the shell pink. More aged fender tone than the light pink sweetshop pink the stingray classics used for a short period. Oh and a matching headstock - just because.

Part 3. The one where I Improvise to strip the body.... So paint stripper... is rubbish - it hardly ever seems to do ouwt. And I have fundamental problems with the idea that sanding is the best way to get a finish off a bass body - you've got something finished relatively well and painted, and to get the paint off you're going to take heavy grit paper and rub the thing for hours - taking off the original paint - oh and that smooth finish to the wood - and possibly re shaping bits of it... and suddenly the whole thing gets a bit wobbly... anyway heat gun is the way forward - easy stripping of paint Except I don't own one. If you turn your head sideways and see the world differently... a gas hob is a little bit like a heat gun isn't it? Even got a fume extractor built in! So that's how I stripped, with a scraper and holding it upside down over the cooker! It got a wee bit singed on the edges but that doesn't matter. If Earnie ball can do roasted maple necks - I call this griddled ash body - improves the tone 13.224% This is what I ended up with. The red patch is a wee bit of paint I stuck on and wiped off. Its 3 bits of ash - two halts and a random bit on the corner. Grain wasn't sealed so it's still stained with the paint finish - that and the random corner mean we're going for a solid finish. coming up ... Part 4 ... why this is taking so long and finish quandaries...

risk of trigger's broom here...

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1440182502' post='2848976'] Another 75 Jazz arrived today. OK first things first... I've come to expect these deckos to be pretty much flawless, my last three even turned up in tune. Out of the box, this one was actually unplayable. back bow in the neck which choked the strings. So I assumed that the truss rod must be knackered... but it wasn't. Took three full turns and I had to lower the saddles about a centimeter afterwards but it now has a fantastic action. Routing is a bit rough around the edges but again... it sounds great. [/quote] that looks great! How much was it again

Im building a similar bitsa - ive gone for a push pull switch on the volume that will give me both but will default on whatever the standard stingray goes for.

[quote name='2elliot' timestamp='1433448590' post='2791234'] Wow, what a stroke of luck. A 2024x is still on my hit list, but for now my early 80s BB3000 fills that void perfectly. In fact, I havent used my Warwick Thumb for nearly a year. [/quote] to put it into context.... it's been ok for 12 months or so... ! I've got a thumb from 1985 and a BB1200 from 1977 and they are chalk and cheese in sound and in playing position.... and life is better for having both.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1439851170' post='2846309'] The same things always come out, "They colour the tone, they have a mid hump etc". IMO/FMP they sound better in a rock band with a valve head pushing it then a supposed 'neutral' sounding cabinet. [/quote] is that the old ones with the angled baffles or the new ones?

I usually get a variation: "oh LukeFRC you're a designer aren't you, I saw something you've done and liked it" -Cheers "I was wondering my business/charity/mum really would like a flyer/poster/logo is that the kinda thing you do?" -well yes "Well what it is is this [proceeds to explain]" - so what you're saying is you would like me to create a whole advertising and publicity campaign for you "well if it's not too much bother" - why don't you email me all this and I'll get back to you with my rates and an estimate on how long it will take for you "oh.... er rates? We don't actually have anything in the budget for design, we thought you might like to just help out..... " - ...... !

love to hear some unto date reviews comparing their new cabs to the current crop

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1439757978' post='2845587'] I'm not a trendsetter. I just like finding out about great stuff that's a bit off-the-radar (Limelight, Maruszczyk, TKS). And then I enthuse about it (or not, if I don't like it). [/quote] I dunno, I think if you hadn't raved about a walkabout for years I wouldn't have gone to find one to listen too (and buy) Mind you I think Warwickhunts love of thunderfunk led me to want one of them... years later when I did buy one I hated it! (luckily Warwickhunt had sold his so I could sell him mine.... )

man I've just realised I recognise you from facebookland - you're not joking - you change basses more often than some folk bath!

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1439451754' post='2842888'] The problem is you don't know what you really want. [/quote] +1

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1439659537' post='2844779'] How come there are so many Limelights for sale when the owners say `its the best bass ive owned` thats always baffled me. [/quote] To an extent that always happens - a few people like the thing, big it up give a buzz about something and then folk sell them on when they realise they aren't the be all and end all of stuff. I always try and gauge the amount of hype - the amount of buyers - the amount that go up for sale - how quickly the sell and then if they come up again. Purely based on that Limelight seem not to be that loved comparatively, we'll see how Maruzczyk does in the future.

actually seeing the big baby has been mentioned.... Ditch the amps and have your POD/wireless system box driving a couple of them Barefaced powered PA cabs things...add as many as you need to get loud enough

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1439031985' post='2839502'] Just make the rig as modular as possible by having stackable self contained units that can be added as your stage size increases. A load of Bergantino IP112ER cabs would be the simplest solution. [/quote] good luck finding a load of them!

yes like most rigs either head could blow either cab if you were daft so use your ears/brain

serial numbers are often better ways to work out the age of a jazz bass....

When a bass has had highly figured top wood added to figured fretboard with a few other aaaaaaaa grade woods thrown in the mix... with zero consideration to how the combination works. And us all for being suckers who buy them

[quote name='spiltmilk_2000' timestamp='1439234440' post='2841166'] Think candy apple red might have been added to the list... I thought choosing a custom colour was going to be fun but it's starting to give me sleepless nights! :-) [/quote] you haven't even started to consider sparkle/glitter, or candy finishes yet!

so... this is progressing - and I'm taking lots of photos - but think I might sit and upload them all later as the lacquer is curing rather than now. Just one thing in the update.... I have no idea how good the wood bits of this are - we could be looking at a dog or something better.... so my aim has to be to make this as cheaply as possible... with the exception of tuners where a nice set of schallers are worth investing in.... £50 Body, neck, pickup £9 Paint £30 tuners and a pot (thanks Jimryan) £15 bridge £3 Screws, Bolts and inserts £3 control plate and knobs £5 ish -2x pcb £7 electronic bits and pots £15 scratchplate so the whole thing will come in at around £150. One of the downsides of doing it on a budget is that I'm not buying tools to do things.... so while a sensible person would have got a router for the control cavity, or at least visited my mate Graham-with-the-tools, muggins here hand chiseled out the cavity.... anyway info to follow...