Peatbog

Beech tends to be fairly co-operative in being worked...for a hardwood of relatively low cost.

It is definitely heavier than I'd like, though. Gonna need a big fat strap.

Yes that was my intent with the switch. This was because I've got two other passive VVT basses, one with a switch and one without, and I prefer the switched one.

I understand that you could call the switch redundant...I guess I'm just used to having it there.

Edit: Also, apologies for the typo in the topic title. I only just noticed it, and it's perhaps misleading. My bad.

Cheers for the welcome, and the fast replies.

@ahpook - Tapping on the pickups with various metallic items (keys, screwdrivers etc.) seems to cause more of a sound from the bridge pickup, specifically at the B string end of the pickup. I'll be honest though, I'm not dead certain what I'm listening for. The body shape is just a jazz really. Expanded at the pocket to fit the five-string neck, and then biggered a little bit all round, but thanks.

@HowieBass - I wired this up a while ago, and can't find the material I worked from. What I do remember is that I used a few sources - probably too many. Your diagram looks much cleaner than what I recall. And yes, the plan is to make some nice veneer surrounds for the pickups at work (probably also a bit of veneer decor beneath the bridge to hide the "oh sh*t I can't get the intonation right with the bridge there" holes) and to shield the cavities. I've been holding off on such jobs thus far, as I've been expecting to make a terminal mistake and have to make a whole new body.

It's been a fun learning experience, and I figure if it all goes wrong then I can reuse the pickups and the bridge in another project.

Good morning,

I've been a lurker for a while, and thought I'd sign up to ask a bit of advice. Hope that's okay?

Long story short, I'm having a crack at building my own 5-string. I got a peavey neck, and got the body made on a CNC machine.
The body is beech, which I gather isn't a typical choice...but there was a lot of it at work and I could get it for free.
My lovely wife gifted me a 5-string hipshop bridge, and a pair of Kent Armstrong Claymore pickups.

I'm at the point where it's all together for testing, before I gut it and think about prettying it up, and I've got a couple of questions about the electronics.
I've gone for a 2 Volume, 1 tone, passive setup. Wired the pups in series (or tried to).
This is my first real soldering job, so I've probably a couple of things wrong:

1. Whilst I really like the tone of the bass when it's plugged in, I can't hear any difference (apart from a volume difference, depending on the pot position) between the two pickups. I'm wondering if it's a wiring mistake, or if I've just positioned the pickups badly. Though one is specified neck and the other bridge, so I would expect (perhaps wrongly?) a different sound from them even in the same position.

2. No matter how far I turn the volume pots down I am always getting a signal through.

I apologise for my crap soldering. I know it's probably offensive to look at

Cheers for your time,

Pete.

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