Silky999

I have used Guyker tuners a few times before and I really rate their stuff. If they bring out a 1/2 lightweight tuner that would be amazing. It’s difficult to get a wide selection of tuners that fit an 18mm hole without some sort of bushing or them being jazz bass type. I have also heard people have used nylon bearings to good effect.

Folks, Just a heads up that the 18mm adapters for USA 1/2” ultralites are getting harder and more expensive to source. I have just bought some tuners from Lozz on here and thought I would get some adapters in as I have before for previous builds. Whether it is Trump’s Tariffs or just supply issues but they are impossible to source in the UK and I was left with two options; direct from USA costing $70 to ship alone or order from Germany at €36 including shipping. Bear in mind that these are normally £5 each from Bassdirect so max of £20-plus shipping. I think I will have to rethink my tuner choices on builds going forward.

I don’t have a csk small enough at moment so will order one

Walnut control plate now made and in process of being sanded and oiled

It was a company called Vinyl Revolution in Oxford. This was in 2020. I had a Quick Look for them now and I have a horrible feeling they might have gone out of business as their website doesn’t work and nothing posted on FB since 2023. https://studio997.co.uk/art-and-objects/vinyl-wrap-a-guitar/ seem to have wrapped a guitar before. It might be worth dropping them an enquiry. I have never used them but they might be a good starting point for an idea of costs and process etc.

I had my SR800 wrapped but it was over the original paint so I would agree that the finish needs to be good. It has been on some about 5 years now and still looks great.

That’s an idea! I will try and make a control plate from an off cut of sapele I have or may some walnut? I was going to use the lower part of a pickguard as a template.

The wenge neck has arrived. I already rolled the fretboard edges and sanded the back of the neck. The frets have been levelled and dressed. It is going to have a cream pickguard, chrome USA Hipshot Ultralites (courtesy of Lozz selling some on here) , chrome GOTOH bridge, Schaller strap lock buttons, Tone Emporium TE18 pickups and Bloodstone Guitar Works P bass electronics with .047uF cap. It will be strung with D’adaddario .45 - .105 EXL If you fancy buying this bass, get in touch, it is going to be around £700-750 mark

This one arrived today, wenge, was ordered on eBay on 29th August. It is very good. Ignore the slight imperfections on the fretboard, that was me experimenting with adding some light wear patina to it and now I am trying to get rid of it. Until I start making my own, I get all my necks from China for my builds

Not the best photo but I had this white pearl one made for my blue burst Tribute L2000 by a chap, earlpilanz who I found on eBay,for about £43. Just in case you wanted another option. I also fitted a Japanese tribute neck that I imported to it as it was more jazz bass nut width than the standard one. Apparently you could order the Japanese premiums (tributes) with a choice of 2 nut widths. https://ebay.us/m/2veGqa

I’d second the Chinese neck option. I have had several and they really have been superb. They sometimes need a slightly proud fret tapped down but I wouldn’t buy necks from elsewhere now

I think the paint should be enough to seal and protect the wood especially if it’s primer then colour?. However, for the sake of a little bit of grain filler, I would do a belt and braces job for peace of mind. The main potential issue is if it is an open grain wood such as mahogany or sapele etc as you won’t want the paint to sink into and therefore the wrap to dimple into any open pores. Closed grained woods like maple and alder don’t generally need grain filler before paint The wrap just needs a flat sealed surface to adhere to.

Starting to get its shine and chatoyance on now. ***UPDATE*** this body has now been reserved by HeadlessBassiest for an upcoming build he is planning.

Thank you

If you want to reserve it? Lol…. It is from a single solid piece of walnut so no joins. This is the slab I cut it from; I managed to cut above the bottom crack but kept some of the knot across the bottom of the body. The top knot and crack I cut most out around the neck pocket and upper horn curve and filled the rest with black epoxy for a little bit of an individual feature It’s getting it final hand sanded oil 1000 grit rub down tomorrow and then a few extra coats of Liberon.

Thanks folks for the lovely comments. So I have filled the knot in the neck pocket today with some black Milliout epoxy to make a feature and stabilise it. There was also a slight splinter that came out on the edge of the pocket so sorted that as well

Is it poly or nitro? If it nitro, then sand and feather the edges with 600-800 grit and respray, the nitro will melt into the existing layers and you will be able to wet sand and spray until you get a flat finish. It’s similar to blending in a water slide decal on a headstock under nitro clear coat. If it’s poly, it’s much more of a nightmare as poly does not melt into the previous coats and whatever you do you are likely to get witness marks where the old and new coats overlap. I had similar where I slipped installing a tuner and scratched a headstock, it was impossible to get it to blend. I had spent ages spraying and sanding back over my logo so couldn’t face stripping and starting again so I sold the bass with money off. I vowed never to use poly instead of nitro again. If you do go blending poly route, it’s a similar process to the nitro. The area appears too large to use CA glue to fill. If Poly, I would be inclined to consider a neck plate to cover most of the obvious part of the repair. You could consider a full strip and refinish if it is a precious bass but it would need to be repainted and then clear coated due to the impossibility of stripping the poly without damaging the paint layer.

First coats of oil….this bass will be for sale when finished so if you fancy it, get in touch.

That is a thing of beauty

So the walnut jazz bass has been started. The knot in the next pocket is a pain but I am going to fill it with black epoxy and make a feature of it. This one is my own shape with a short top horn and a few mm shorter body length that is less curved across the bottom. It will be hand oil sanded and I might put a few coats of gloss nitro clear coat over the oil when it’s cured. I think it might be a stunner!

Body all finished and waxed with Liberon Bison Wax.

For you, Headless, of course!!! some more oil today….

Intrigued???…..

Well if you want a J bass……….keep checking in as I have a piece of walnut and some elm with possibly a curly spalted sycamore drop top earmarked for some Js.

Well that’s the oil sanding finished and just the final coats of Liberon Finishing oil now. The chatoyance on the Sapele is gorgeous and the grain is starting to really come out. The Liberon is such a joy to work with.