Mikey R

My bass collection also has 2.5mm on the E, 2.0mm on the G. The bass is clank free, but that may well be due to the 7 year old strings. The home brew birch bass has around 2mm on the B and 1.5mm on the G - but theres all kinds of buzzes waiting to be dressed out when I tidy up the frets. Good thread - its got us all thinking objectively about action hight.

Just got the confirmation email from Jon for the spec, Ive got to say he's a top bloke! Ive updated the initial post with the revised spec. 2 1/2 weeks and counting!

I just spoke to Jon about the course, he said that for my bass we'll be using satin polyurethane laquer, which drys in 20 minutes. Assuming your bass will have a similar finish, you should be good to go!

[quote name='ateyercheese' post='529582' date='Jul 1 2009, 01:50 PM']Cheers dude, That's actually quite old material from a previous line up (including the bass (oops!)). We're working on a new album now and I've done some live recordings to put up. I've actually got a gig on the Friday we finish the course in Sheffield, if you wanna check us out? I'm wondering whether the build will be cured enough to christen....[/quote] Now playing your new bass on stage the day its finished, that would be cool! Wheres the gig?

off topic, just checked out your band, excelent! I see youre a bit of a rock fan too EDIT: Ok, Im hearing some other influences there too

[quote name='ateyercheese' post='528395' date='Jun 30 2009, 10:07 AM']Hey, yeah, maybe halfway between the two. There's no top veneer, but the colours good. That first one looks great, without the guard and control plate. I'm heading towards the Seymour Duncan SJBs and STC3 pre/EQ but that naked is pushing me towards the natural finish... 3 weeks and counting![/quote] Hey Chris, are you getting the pickups and preamp from Jon, or do you have them already?

Could I suggest you have a look at the Nordy super Jazz basses, with the big split pickups - they are so much more than your average Jazz bass and I got a nice range of tones from the one I tried at last years Bassday. Also, +1 to the custom option - take the best bits of the Wick and Jazz and put them together

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='524998' date='Jun 26 2009, 04:47 PM']A proper rubber mask is required( not a gimp one!), that seals around the nose and has special filters on to strip out the solvents as you breath: [url="http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/paint-safety.htm"]http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/paint-safety.htm[/url] You also absorb some through the skin too, I've been spraying a lot over the last few weeks and it's essential to have a proper extraction system in place in your booth too. Mind, as has been said earlier, Poly is even more dangerous![/quote] Hi Keith, do you have a spray booth? How easy was it to put it all together?

You might want to try a wipe on finsh for the neck - either oil, or a wipe on polyurethane (spelling?) varnish. I think General Finishes do one. [url="http://www.generalfinishes.co.uk/index.cfm?page=store&CID=18"]http://www.generalfinishes.co.uk/index.cfm...tore&CID=18[/url] If you do, let us know how you like it! I used Rustins water based Worktop Oil, Im not entirely convinved by it yet, but it might get better with some wire wool treatment.

[quote name='teaser360' post='523256' date='Jun 25 2009, 07:51 AM']im thinking about starting a jazz project, i have a richwood jazz copy and have learned that its got a real wood body, unsure what wood though, good basis for a start, what im after is stripping and taking it down to bear wood and oil or stain it and fit a maple neck, seymour duncan hot pups, and a decent bridge. i will start stripping and sanding the body next week and start posting pics, would love to get the wood back to something like this pic of steves franken p. could someone tell me what basswood is, what sort of finish could i acheive from basswood? This is my first project and if all goes well will do another.[/quote] If your bass is made from basswood, then you definately wont get it to look like a bass made from ash! Basswood is kinda bland and iniform, it doesnt have much in the way of grain at all - most basswood instruments are painted. Basswood sands to a nice uniform flatness, unlike ash which needs to be filled to get a good flat finish, so is easier to paint. EDIT: Doh - Neepheid got in there just before me!

Just out of interest, what does it say on the can for safety precautions?

Try here too - [url="http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishing/Colors,_stains/a-blueguitar.html"]http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishing/...blueguitar.html[/url] Just substitute your chosen colour for blue

[quote name='Skywalker83' post='515563' date='Jun 16 2009, 06:17 PM']Its taken me quite a while to decide on the body woods, i went through a whole array of really fancy woods before settling for two very simple woods, which look great together! and will give a nice sort of MTD tone.[/quote] Walnut doesnt need to be simple!

[quote name='Skywalker83' post='515369' date='Jun 16 2009, 03:21 PM']The current spec of the bass is: Fodera Imperial elite shaped sigle cut 6 string thru neck 33" scale Ash or Alder body with a crotch or Figured Walnut top Wenge Neck Birdseye maple fingerboard with abalone block inlays 18mm spaced Gotoh bridge Gotoh tuners flush mount strap locks birdseye maple pickup covers Walnut Ramp[/quote] Sounds like a fine choice of woods! I like walnut over ash, but thats just me. Did you find a source for your birdseye maple? I love the idea of matching fingerboard and pickup covers! Is 18mm bridge spacing on a 6 string going to be rather wide? 17mm or 17.5mm could be options too.

Hey, When I strung my fanned 5 up, I found that the longer scale length made a great tight B and the standard scale made a sweet and playable G. The scale length is 35 1/2" on the B and 34" on the G. If your luthier is able to do fanned frets, then you could ask for a 35" B and 33" G - that gets the best of both worlds, and wouldnt lead to any extreme fret angles like on a Novax. The cost would be more though, as fanned frets add a few complexities to the design. More than scale length, I found that action made the greatest effect on playablilty - I really struggle to play a 34" instrument if the action is high, but have no problems with a 35 1/2" scale instrument with good low action. (Need to fix that buzing though! ).

Something a bit like this?

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='513274' date='Jun 14 2009, 01:09 PM'](aka one at Jazz position + one at Ray position = too close)[/quote] Not necessarily - but its all what you want. If you want a scooped sound then I would experiment with putting the neck pickup as far forward as you can. [quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='513281' date='Jun 14 2009, 01:21 PM'][*]substantial Fender replica 5string bridge from aforementioned custom bass, set further back to give it a better scale length[/quote] Is it a fretless? If its fretted, then you cant just move the bridge - if you do you wont be able to intonate it properly. Sounds like you'll have fun with this one! I love project basses!

[quote name='Merton' post='512410' date='Jun 12 2009, 08:11 PM']Liking that - you building me one of these too? [/quote] Taking orders for 2017 delivery - Im a fast worker.

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='512294' date='Jun 12 2009, 05:02 PM']How do I find the 'sweet spots' for the p'ups? I'm looking for a jazz pup (or similar) to be placed to get the great honky cut-thru-the-mix tones, and probably a big 'bucker for some big deep low-end, but as I've got a single pup musicman I don't know how to go about working out which pup i need, or where it needs to go![/quote] I just get pictures of basses I like the look and sound of, then measure the plecement of the pickups and scale up based on the scale lenght. I think the whole sweet spot thing is a bit of a myth, its really more to do with their placement relative to each other that causes phase cancellations. A Jazz sounds scooped because the pickups are quite far apart, put them closer together and you'll start to get more mids and less highs, more like a Ray. I think - you might want to get someone else to check that. [quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='512294' date='Jun 12 2009, 05:02 PM']Also, whats the easiest way to fill in the old routings so i can re-cut for the new pups?[/quote] I would guess, just plug them with wood Maybe a strategically placed scratch / control plate or pickup surrounds will hide most of the damage.

[quote name='sifi2112' post='510472' date='Jun 10 2009, 06:18 PM']also I'd consider the Nordstrand Big Singles (got them in EMG 35 size) ....[/quote] That would be cool! I had a play on a Nordy at the 2008 BassDay, it had either Big Splits or Fat Stacks, and the tone was awesome. I specially liked the huge sounds with the bridge pickup solod.

The results are in: P pickguard got 4 votes, Tele control plate got 3 votes, No pickguard got 1 vote. So, Ive modified the design a little to keep the offset waist but to make it look more like a P and less like a J:

[quote name='Sibob' post='511877' date='Jun 12 2009, 10:04 AM']You're going for a more sweeping organic body, and the original precision pickguard compliments it I think, the tele plate is a bit to straight and stark compared to the modified body![/quote] Cheers Si, I think I agree. I'm going to have another sketch of the option 2 this evening, and see if I can make the tale end of the bass a bit more square and Tele-like, whilst keeping the slated Jazz style waist.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='511668' date='Jun 11 2009, 10:39 PM']Never bought anything from Stewmac, my meagre salary does not support such extravagence. I got my binding from Touchstone tonewoods when I was buying the fingerboard and some fretwire.[/quote] Cheers Al! I'll see what they've got...

Hey everyone, Ive updated the first post with two possible designs. I like them both, so I'd appreciate what everyone else thinks! EDIT: Heres what Ive come up with for the design. Theres two options, both with 24 frets and a Jazz style offset waist on a basic Precision shape. Sorry about the fuzziness of the pictures, I'll draw them up full size at the weekend. Option 1: The classic P type pickguard: Option 2: A Tele style control plate: Whatcha think?

Hi Al, where did you buy the binding from? Stewmac? Cheers!