Velarian

Have you managed to get the set up finished on this yet?

Nice! I’m not at all jealous you know. 😉 Those Gotoh tunes are excellent; really good quality.

I completely agree. I’ll use a compass to draw a curve using the volume control centre. Minimal screws holes that match a standard p bass plate is definitely an advantage. I’ll use a cereal box to test some template variations.

I’ve ordered a mirrored pickguard which I’ll cut down in a similar fashion to the Reverb example. Let’s see how that goes.

I’ll keep looking. I may use a temporary solution to make do until I find the right thing.

No, the thought of fettling the body fills me with dread 😂 The pots are full size CTS pots courtesy of KiOgon so that does limit the available adjustment. However, the control plate did come with a cheap wiring loom that has mini pots and even though there was more play with the position it still doesn’t look right. I think I need to stick to a more traditional P-Bass pickguard shape and I did wonder about using a ‘Phil Lynott’ style mirrored plate and cutting that down. It would be made from acrylic so not quite the real deal but it might work. I came across this bass on Reverb which gives some idea, although the red tort in this example doesn’t look good IMHO.

The two pot MM control plate hasn’t worked out too good after all ☹️ it’s alright cutting out bits of paper and shuffling them around to make them fit in a reasonable way, but what I’d totally failed to take account of is that when the pots are mounted, given the tight space in control cavity, this dictates the position with very little movement. I just doesn’t look right unfortunately. Back to the drawing board I think.

Beautiful!

Cute, Great name for a cream coloured puppy 😉

Actually, they do (custom ebony fretless job done in the early eighties) 😉

The serial number is within 5k of my 70s precision and it looks nothing like mine, the logo has no border round the letters. The neck/headstock has no age to it at all and the truss rod adjustment should be at the heel of the neck.

I’ve now got the bridge position marked out. I did it by finding the centre of the neck and extended that to find the centre of the body at the bridge position and marked that. The position from the end of the neck was relatively straight forward in that the front edge of the bridge only just covers the ground wire hole whilst still allowing sufficient adjustment of the saddles. I’d have preferred a couple of mils further back but it will be ok as it is. I did the elastic string thing to check alignment with the neck and the pickup pole pieces and it all looks good. If I’m feeling brave I’ll try drilling the bridge holes tomorrow.

Another great idea! I wouldn’t have thought of that. Thanks.

I’ve just discovered this thread and love the approach; simple clear explanations of useful phrases. Just what I need🙂 Thanks

I totally agree. This is sadly the big flaw in modern retail. Business rates are crippling and not driven by market conditions. Even before Covid many small town high streets were awash with empty shop units and post-Covid even cities are now the same. Little niche shops, especially those selling low cost items have to shift a lot of stock before they can cover rent, rates, insurance, taxes etc., just to break even, let alone earn a decent income.

However, the pickup covers fit snugly in the holes so I think that will be ok for the purposes of aligning the bridge.

I was going to mount the pickups today before working on the bridge position but it turns out the shielding plate on the back is too large for the routing. I’ll need to trim the plate to fit.

So, with a bit of image manipulation and an educated guess about how to scale the picture, I came up with this version of the two pot MM control plate, which I think looks ok. In fact the eBay seller has just confirmed the sizing and if anything, it’s a bit bigger so I think I’ll take a punt on it! 😬

Great job, I bet you’re pleased with how it turned out. It’s distinctive and unique looking. How does it feel/play/sound ?

Awesome! 👏 That headstock graphic looks great, at first glance I thought it was the real deal. Very authentic 70s look.

I’ve tried a full scale paper cut out of a Mustang control plate but unfortunately it’s too small and not curved enough to cover the routing. Thanks for your kind offer though, it’s appreciated.

I may end up with the two pot MM style one if it will fit, just because it will be the easiest to get hold of. I’ve had a quick look online for sheet metal fabricators and chrome plating services and there are some firms locally that might be able to make what I need, but I’ve no idea what the cost would be and it’s just another level of pain to arrange. We shall see 🤔

I’ve tried to mock up what the Music Man plate would look like with two holes and it’s not too bad. If the dimensions of the eBay one turn out to be right it would be the easiest solution. I agree that the P ’comma’ looks the best but I’ve no idea how to achieve that, especially if it would have to be custom made. Is that even possible?

I had a look for a two pot version of the MusicMan and found this on eBay: - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-guitar-control-plate-loaded-wired-panel-music-man-2-pot-type-choose-colour-/194264507947?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 If this is a similar size to the three pot plate It looks like it would work but there are no dimensions. I’ll contact the seller to try and confirm the size and if it’s close I might take a punt on it.

Next up is a MusicMan, again for 3 pots as you would expect: -