JohnDaBass

That's a real nice personal touch, love it. Yes your absolutely right that you never ever make you money back on a Bitsa bass, but I'm like you I build something I fancy which I know I would never be able to find in the real world. It's just a passion I suppose. Have you any experience of Herrick Pups? Originally I planned to use another Jess Loureiro split '51 P Pup simply wired in series, but I had trouble contacting Jess, no email response, no website response, I know he's a one-man-band and the Lockdown in Spain hasn't helped but it was just radio silence, so I just ordered the Lindy Fralin direct from USA and it arrived in 4 days😎. The duty and handling is a very expensive pain🤐.

That looks great, how did you find the Lindy Fralin Pup? It that walnut, it's got lovely grain.

I have placed this Bitsa build here as I don't feel it warrants a place in Build Diaries as it is basically an "Assembly" with a bit of body finishing. I wanted a Year of Birth Bass but not a '51 P slab so I thought of a '54 P contoured body with a minimalist Pup and control panel with no pickguard or Pup covers, so here's how it went. Last year I bought a really lovely '51 P neck off a Chinese seller on Flea Bay. It had a Jazz width bound neck with block MoP inlays. Over the following few months I acquired all the other components for the build. I bought a mahogany '54 P body from Guitar Build and opted for the "view & select" option and selected a handsome 3 piece blank. The body arrived and thanks to the experience of @honza992 and @Andyjr1515 shared on this forum I started to finish the body with Tru oil. On a previous Bitsa build ( '51.75 P) I used, very successfully, a Jess Loureiro hand wound '51 P slit Pup with a @KiOgon loom which included a "series / parallel" switch. This time I bought direct from the USA a Lindy Fralin '51 P split Pup as I wanted something different and the various forums contained a number of positive reviews. It's a bit more expensive than the Jess Loureiro once you add on the shipping and duty but it does offer something different. The bridge had previously been taken from my 90's USA Fender P Deluxe which had installed a BADASS 3 thro body bridge. The Loom , as always , was supplied by @KiOgon CTS V & T, Switchcraft jack socket. The sound and tone of the Lindy Fralin is very bright and clean. It does not have an option for "series / parallel", it is wired in parallel. A number of years ago I had a new Fender '51 P Re-issue and the Fralin sounds very similar but much "cleaner" more powerful somehow and of course noiseless. The Fralin is not as mellow as the Loureiro when it's in it's series position but very similar when it's in it's parallel position, but the Fralin just seems brighter and cleaner ( not brittle at all). I really like the '51.75 P Loureiro darker tone but the Fralin seems to provide a fantastic starting point to use the amps EQ to tailor the final tone. All in all I am very pleased with the out come of a very handsome, sweet sounding easy to play, fast glossy neck and low action, YOB bass. As always, thanks to all the Forum contributors who generously share their Build expertise for novices like me to follow.

Well these look interesting. https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2020/04/25/sire-announces-the-u5-passive-short-scale-bass/ Seem to be a nice alternative.

Handsome, congratulations on finding such a good looking, sounding bass.😎

Yup, I am a DiMarzio Split P Fanboi. I find they have a wider more powerful response. They are effectively two humbucking pickups and consequently provide much higher gain but are easily controlled. Great sound. Very versatile can emulate from Fender CS 60s to 70s and right through to modern hi fi.

That looks great any chance of doing a build diary with some dimensions?

Yup , me too. During my time at Uni in Cardiff I had a part-time job in Sound Centre who happened to be the franchise dealer for HH. Started with a HH head driving 2 x Hiwatt 4x12 and a HH Slave driving a Marshall 1x18 sound bouncer. Absolutely awesome thunderous rig. When the HH 2x15 started shipping I replaced the Hiwatt & Marshall cabs with 2x HH 2x15 cabs. Huge sound and easily transported as the HH 2x15 cabs had clip-on protective front panels. Can't quite recall which speakers HH used but they had aluminium looking centre dust dome covers, similar in appearance to JBL K range drivers. Happy days 😎

But beware of the "crackerly pots". A bit frightening with headphones on. Early Rumble 500s had a noisey pot issue.

@Andyjr1515, @Bassassin, & @honza992, what sort of quantities of Tru Oil did you consume in achieving the finishes shown? I've just ordered a mahogany P body for a 51P build and I was planning to attempt to adopt your approach to the finish so do I buy the 3oz or 8oz size bottle of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil for the project? I'm an avid fan of the projects you Guys have posted, they are a real joy to read & follow. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us mere mortals!!

I get the feeling that we're only a week or so away from a formal "Lockdown" so the postponement decision may well be made for us by the Government. If so @scrumpymike you may be able to be in a better position to discuss the options with the hall trustees.

Mesa Boogie D800 as main amp and Fender Rumble 800HD as backup. Mesa D800 a multi voiced powerhouse with built in HPF, great for a wide variety musical styles. Fender Rumble 800HD powerful clean Fender tone with three distinct voicing presets offering a broad sim of some classic amps.

Yer me too, I put Fender on my Bitsabass builds after my kids FENton and DERry.😂

+1 for Tech21 VT Bass DI, or if money is tight try a Zoom B1 Four. I don't think you need to change your current rig..

I'd love a 32 ins maple neck & fret board please.

+1

+1 Phil you have expressed the mindset of many of us.Well done and thank you!

I tried the VT Bass 200 combo but returned it. A neat form factor and a great sounding amp but sadly let down by the speaker & cab. The speaker simply couldn't handle lows very well at all, even with a HPF in front of the amp. The cab was not lined with any acoustic lining and sounded quite 'hollow'. I'm ra eal Tech 21 Fanboy and use a VT Bass DI Deluxe and VT Bass DI on both my pedal boards. I would be inclined to suggest getting the VT Bass 500 head and a smallish cab. Maybe BF One10 would provide a similar form factor with better bottom end and if you needed to be louder a second cab.