Peejay

Bought a lovely PJ bass body from Geoff. Great condition and carefully packaged. As others have said, a top BC'er and a pleasure to deal with.

Yeah, my '78 one is as heavy as a small planet. They have a sound all their own, with shades of Thunderbird but brighter somehow. Noticed your comments about the differences in frets - mine needed replacing a couple of years ago, but can't complain for an instrument that's well over 40 years old. Considering putting some Cobalt flats on for a change. Have always used rounds on all my basses (explains why the frets wore out!) but some flats are nearly as bright as played in rounds so will see how it goes. I really like the RD but there are always naysayers as you point out. Put a Hipshot bridge on mine as it's easier to intonate than the three point Gibson version. nice set of basses you have there mate, just the problem of which one when you gig!

Nice. What differences do you note between older and newer?

I know. 😀

That guide is brilliant. Thanks so much for uploading it. Tru Oil, Liberon and options from Crimson Guitars are all being considered and ideally, I'd like to stick with just the oiled finish and not add a gloss coat. Maybe just do a final finish with a wax. Just bought a gazillion sheets of numerous grades of wet and dry, plus similar for my Black & Decker mouse sander, which should save some time. Just getting the neck and bridge sorted so that I can put the whole thing together once the body is finished. Got a solderless Jass Bass harness (I'm useless at soldering) for the Aerodyne PJ pickups and have three neck options (cheapo Chinese maple/maple which is amazing for £60, standard '95 Mex Rosewood neck, or a Jazz profile maple/maple which is one the of older Northwest Guitars necks that still retains the Fender profile (newer ones differ), so will see which one works best with the finished body. Going to shield the cavities with copper tape so as soon as get the body and neck back from the tech guy I'll get started. Cheers

Thanks guys I'll get everything ready parts-wise and then start on the body. Will report back once this is sorted. Really appreciate all the recommendations. Cheers Paul

Spoke with the guys at Crimson Guitars today (thanks @Chienmortbb) and they were brilliant. Very helpful and not salesy at all. Think I've made a step forward with this. Will post a proper build thread once things start moving.

Hello mate Yes, I also got these from @Aidan63. But appreciate your kind offer. Got some covers with no pole pieces visible for a different look. I'm going to fully shield everything to reduce noise but might try the DiMarzio option if the finished bass is really good. Thanks very much for the heads up. 👍 I'd also thought about Barts but they cost more than a good bass! I've already got a PJ bass (Squier) with standard Squier pickups but a harness with a Sprague orange tone capacitor and that sounds amazingly good in both P and J formats, but blended it's even better (about 25% P and 75% J). There's no weak J pickup at all. It weighs in at under 9lbs and sustains for days. It also has one of the older Northwest Guitars maple necks on it (43mm nut width and one piece rather than separate fretboard) and I don't care what anyone thinks, I love it. With this build it's more initially about getting the look right, but I'm happy to mod. I've got a Ray 34 with Nordy 42 pickup, Schaller tuners and an East preamp and that sounds incredible. I also put together a fretless Jazz using an old Chinese Squier body and a used Mex fretless (lined) neck. It's lovely. My (Mex) P Bass has a Tonerider pickup, Gotoh reverse tuners and Hipshot bridge. That sounds as good as any P Bass I've played. I wouldn't go to town on a rare or really expensive instrument, but I just get things the way I like them. Just need to learn how to play better now! 😂 Cheers

This is what I'm starting with. Thanks again @Aidan63

Thanks guys. I'm going to get everything ready to assemble the bass then do the body. I'm fitting a rosewood neck from a '95 Mex P bass, pre-CBS Gotoh tuners, Fender hi-mass bridge, Aerodyne PJ pickups and just using chrome knobs as the control cavity is rear routed. I've got a solderless Jazz bass harness as I'm useless at soldering! Once I have things more organised I'll start a build thread. Cheers Paul

How do all I've just got hold of a really nice German made Adler PJ body from @Aidan63 (top guy) that I plan on using as my first bass build. There isn't a massive amount of grain in the wood but enough for me not to want to cover it with paint, so I'd planned on an oiled finish. I've never done this before (or built a bass either) and don't want to screw it up so would welcome any advice that's available. Having read lots of articles there seem to be several alternatives - Tru Oil, Tung Oil and others - and I'd rather not have to apply nitro lacquer on top if at all possible, so I'd greatly appreciate guidance, whatever is available. Also, what other materials will I need, including grades of sandpaper? Cheers Paul

Bought a lovely PJ body plus Aerodyne PJ pickups from Aidan. Not only was the price great but his comms were impeccable. Everything arrived next day and it was carefully packaged in bubble wrap/sturdy box. What a top guy and a real credit to the Basschat community. Thank you.

Do you have enough CDs? 🤨 Those RDs are lovely. They're in way better condition than mine.

Aww my gawd Two RD Artists! Awesome.

Gotohs really are very good and some stock tuners just aren't, which is how they keep the price of basses competitive I guess. I've experienced a similar dilemma to you in the past and I try to avoid drilling if possible but have filled holes on headstocks with wooden cocktail sticks/toothpicks or shaved match stalks and superglued them in, then just cut them flat with a sharp knife. They set hard (possibly harder than the surrounding wood) so are a stable base on which you can drill new holes. It works even better if the new tuner base is bigger than the old one as it covers your handiwork up. You could always use a decent wood filler too but it's a little more difficult to get all the way into the holes left by the old screws. If it's super rare or valuable instrument I'd leave it to a pro though. Hope this helps.

Have to admit that you're right. 😁

Indeed. But it's fully shielded and looks the part, if you like CAR that is. 😊 It is what it is I guess. I'd have been interested but Mrs PJ has warned me that another bass in the house would be bad for my health! I tried "the optimum number is what you have plus one" approach. She's having none of that. Two road bikes, lots of golf clubs and ten basses already. You know how it is...

Hi all Anyone building a P Bass as a project may well be interested in this. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/136410388638?itmmeta=01K4827H0686DTRKEVSZ9X7FFW&hash=item1fc2b1589e:g:VBcAAeSwcQ5ouFgg I bought a North West Guitars P Bass neck off this guy and his gear is absolutely top notch. Not cheap but really high quality. Cheers PJ

Welcome mate Ex-Sheffield person here. Just a little further up the A1 near Selby.

Like these that much that I've ordered a set for my Ric 4003. 45-105 because I really can't be a***d with the hassle of setting up the bridge again! Thanks for the heads up J-LP 👍

Just installed a set of Cobalts (45-105) on my EBMM Stingray Classic. Really like them and they were brighter than I had expected. Not shrill like stainless rounds and maybe more akin to nickels that have been played a couple of times. Just hope they last longer than standard Slinkys, which in my experience are pretty much dead within a few days. May try a lighter set next time if these hold up OK. Cheers

Might need two sets then!😁

Thanks mate. I've ordered a set (45-105) and will see how they sound. Guess it also depends which bass I put them on! Thinking P Bass or Stingray.

Hi all I've always used roundwound strings and prefer them when they've lost some of their brightness, but not when they've really gone dead (they sound duller than flats then to me at that point). I should probably just bite the bullet and try a set, but wondered what opinions others have of EB Cobalts. And is there a big variation between Slinkys and Super Slinkys? Comments welcomed. Cheers