petetexas

Well, Here she is ..........done two gigs with her , and I am VERY pleased with the result . Nice C shape neck profile ( I have large hands , so feels great ) , a little heavy ( just under 12 pounds ) but did not feel it during gigs , sustain is brilliant . Body and neck from Northwest Guitars , scratchplate , bridge etc from bits lying around and some parts purchased on ebay . Had to do some "tweaking " to get neck at correct angle to body to get a decent action ( put a shim in neck pocket ) even decided to put waterslide Fender Logo on headstock , and gave it 5/6 light coats of satin Laq to seal it . Really enjoyed the whole project .........I would say about £450 in all . I know you can get a secondhand Mex Jazz for about that , but its not half as much fun ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! [url="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/SDC11850_zpsym8725xh.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/SDC11849_zpscwkgpcfy.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/SDC11844_zpsau1sy5bw.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/SDC11847_zps4zskhizl.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/SDC11841_zpsbfgaep9q.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/SDC11840_zps52vzv5or.jpg.html"][/url] Pete

Thanks scrumpymike, As someone has said earlier in the forum, some of the Fenders are made in China , quality aint too bad now . As the project with the Stones Tribute gets nearer the gigging state , I will have to make a decision.......................unless " the boss " gets me one for Christmas ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Looks fab ( excuse the beatles pun ) ! When I worked in the Music shop not far from where I live , we had the Tobacco Sunburst one of these , did not look half as nice as yours . Where is it made , and what does the bottom E sound like ( I have always felt short scale basses lack a little on the bottom E ) ? By the way, keep your eye on the hippo , looks like he might take a bite ! Pete

Hi scrumpymike , what did you get in the end ?

I will shortly be working with a Rolling Stones Tribute band , and thought that this Bass would do the job ( semi , short scale , green burst etc etc ) . I know mr Wyman used a lot of Framus Semi basses ( including one he took the frets out of ) but at the price they are going for , and the baseball bat neck on them , makes me think I should be looking for an alternative . I recon when the project gets going , I`ll get one of these Chowny Basses . Pete

Plate not turned up yet ...............BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! Pete

Still awaiting delivery ( should be this morning ) of the correct control plate ( I ordered the wrong 3 hole instead of 4 hole ) , but wired it up for last nights rehearsal ........................................what a sound and feel ...................be it that the bass weighs in at just under 12 pounds , did not notice the weight at all ! Loads of comments about it from the band ( even the drummer ! ) I have even put a F%"%ER logo on the hedstock , and laq over it . It looks the part. Will get new pics up when the correct plate is installed . Have REALLY enjoyed the "assembly" , and gettting all the parts together . Pete

Thanks for that ........a good read

Hi, Has anyone had any experience of these Basses . I believe they are designed in UK , and made in China . Bass Direct sell them , and have very good demos on their web site . Make a nice companion for my Lakland and Jazz ! Pete

They look good , I decided to go for a colour ( Artic White my fav ) because I have a Lakland Spalted Maple top ( to which I have fitted Nordstrand pups and Glockenklang pre amp ) for a while , but missed the Jazz sound ! Anyhow , here is a pic of the Jazzer next to the Lakland . Jazzer has had the neck aligned / fitted ( had to shim it to get a good action ) and the bridge ( Gotoh ) , with the nut cut and pups added using an old set of strings . Just waiting for the control plate to arrive - have got the CTS pots . Switchcraft Socket and Sprague capacitor already . [URL=http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/SDC11836_zpsaajz2ifz.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag59/petetexas/SDC11836_zpsaajz2ifz.jpg[/IMG][/URL] The strings / bridge look out of line to the pups , but they are not - its just a slight angle of the picture . Pete

Hi Mykesbass, I always use a bradle to firstly mark the center where the hole is to be , then use a hand drill ( about 40 years old - given to me by my late dad ) and take it VERY VERY slow . I always go back after drilling and slightly countersink the top of the hole . Will get the bridge lined up and fitted in position tomorrow - if the screws turn up ! Pete

Hi Guys , I have decided to "build " my own bass , I say " build " as really its an assembly , with a few vey critial holes , alignments etc . Nothwest Guitars manufacture excellent finished bodies ( gloss polyester £150 ) and necks ( satin polyester £110 ) both maple and rosewood fingerboard ALL MADE IN HOUSE . I have just purchased an Artic white Jazz Body ( gloss polyester ) and a vintage ( satin polyester ) one piece Maple Neck . By the time you purchase [u]all[/u] the hardware , pickups etc , it does come out at about £450 ! Expensive , but , something you make to your own requirements . Beware though , aligning neck to body , and drilling for mounting plate etc HAS TO BE DONE WITH CARE . Even drilling holes and mountng m/c heads has to be done with care , as a hole drilled through the headstock or fingerboard can be VERY expensive ! Assembly so far ...................( sorry about the quality of pics , dodgy phone camera ! ) [url="http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/petetexas/media/20151106_172426_zps3fxpbtdi.jpg.html"][/url]

Thanks guys . Quite happy with 250K and .047 for now ( have put a Dimarzio in her ) , when I roll the volume slightly back , it thins the sound out a little ....perfect ! Pete

Thanks ikay, Very interesting..................... Just upgrading to CTS and Sprag at moment , but will try sometime . Pete

Hi , Has anyone tried changing the 250K Vol and Tone pots in a Precision Bass to 500K and increasing the cap to 0.1mf ? I saw this somewhere , it said that it increased the treble , hence the larger cap . Pete

Just bought Mex Precision from Chris . Because he was not able to be around for courier pickup , due to work commitments , he delivered to Coventry from London ! Now thats a Great Guy . Thanks Chris