Jerry_B

Yeah, they're good for that. To start with I tend to use very fine (0000) steel wool, just to see if that makes a small difference to start with.

So then I move onto installing the tuners and... bugger. The holes for the mounting screws aren't deep enough! So I have to drill those all out a bit more that they all work. That's my next 'to do'...

Next is the string tree and bushes for the Schallers. The headstock holes needed a tiny amount of sanding out to ensure that the bushes fitted and were still snug.

A quick check with the bog-standard scratchplate I have. This will be replaced by a b/w/b Mex-fit plate. That hasn't been delivred yet.

Next to go in was the pups (Fender Originals), just to check that the fit is okay there too. Like I've said, as the body seems to be a reject I just want to check that everything fits! Seems that the pups are okay. There's another cloth-covered wire coming in from the bridge.

That said, it looks pretty snug in terms of the pocket fit overall...

A bunch of bits and bobs arrived in the post today. First thing I had to test fit was the neck plate. It seems okay, maybe a tad askew but I may put a small shim in to nudge it slightly. Not sure yet.

Then again, it might not be too hard to source a black body that fits the bill. That way you always have the option of going back to the blue body if you change you mind. Or you can sell it to cover the costs of what you spent on the black body.

Wizard Hammers may also be worth a try. I put a set in my fretless Jazz and they definitely improved things tone-wise.

I tend to like it for the reasons you had to rein it in, but that's just personal taste for you But maybe the fact that I use it with a fretless and a plectrum might be skewing that to some extent.

Do what steve Albini and others used to do: ignore promoters and middle-men. Do all of that yourself. And not give two hoots about what the commercial side of the music industry/scene/etc thing is the way to do things.

I personally prefer the Fender 'Original' Pbass pickup nowadays. Bit more pricey than a Trad tho', but not by much.

Try a Boss HM-2 if you can find one of the older ones. The newer ones sound too tinny and thin, IMHO. IIRC, such a pedal was used by Godflesh, Codeine, and a few others.

Wizard Thumper?

It's just a generational thing. And a taste thing. I imagine that there's a fair few people of the same age who [i]do[/i] know who he is. I imagine there's quite a few people who are older than they are who aren't sure who he is. There may even be a few people who wish they didn't know who he was (and I don't mean his recent ex-wife). Not everyone likes the Beatles you know (and yes, I'm on that list)...

Yup, it's a Fender-licensed one. Will post some pics at some later point.

I'm hoping to do more updates later in the week. Just to add a bit of detail about the neck. It's any Allparts one, that has had a tinted laquer applied. This isn't too thick, which is how I tend to prefer things. If, once the whole bass is in one piece, the back of the neck seems a bit 'sticky' when playing, what I usually do is some very fine sanding/polishing. The fingerboard is ebony. I've given that a clean and then a very light sanding with very fine wire wool. And I mean very fine sanding! After that, I worked in a coat of Tung oil which has gradually evaporated off. I've helped that along by buffing it with a soft duster. This doesn't leave a glassy, epoxy-like finish but it does make it smooth and shinier to a certain degree.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1329073853' post='1536837'] I`m very impressed with my recent purchase of a Tokai Hardpuncher. PJ configuration as well, though most Hardpunchers just have the traditional P pickup. [/quote] Yeah - that sounds like a tasty mix!

I too tend to think that Yamaha BBs do the trick. That said, in terms of aesthetics I tend to prefer the slightly older 414s - I think it's the matching body and headstock colour that does it. Aside from that, they sound bloody good, they're very well made and extremely playable.

At a guess, I'd suspect that the body is actually a factory reject. There was a flat lump at the rear of the neck pocket which I've sanded out, as the neck wasn't sitting flush. The marker pen 'R' may also mean 'reject' - anyone know? You can also see the manufacture date, but I've blanked out the serial number. It's an MIM body. Just around the corner, inside one of the curves of the lower horn was a small very thin scatch through which I could see some of the white primer. That was easily fixed - a quick dab of black permanent marker, leave it for 10 seconds or so, then buff the remaining ink away. No more scratch ;-)

Cheers! At the moment I'm just hoping that everything goes together without too much of a struggle. I've not actually ever tried this sort of project before! Either way, it's good that I was able to source alot of useful parts from various Basschatters

As I can't ever see me being able to afford a real fender fretless Precision, I've decided to build a FrankenFender from various bits and bobs. It's still in the early stages at the moment, but thanks to various people here on Basschat I've been able to source some of the more important components. The photos shows how things as they look at the moment. The BC-sourced bits are: neck (wateroftyne), Schaller tuners (mikegatward) and wiring kit (KiOgon). The body and bridge are Fender, sourced from Ebay. Other bits and bobs come from the net. Hopefully in the week ahead everything else I need will be delivered (pickups, neckplate, various screws, string tree, and Telecaster-style knobs)...[attachment=99728:bits#1.jpg]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBS2ovIlMw0[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xnUUaFajXw[/media]

I bought some Schaller tuners from Mike, which were sent along to me very quickly. Great stuff!