davebass66

Well....here it is!! It's finished! got the last bits done on Friday and set it up on saturday. gigged saturday night and I was pleasantly suprised at how good it sounded and well it played! It has exactly the tone I was hoping for from the stack knobs; a little darker. The back pickup has that beautiful smooth Jaco tone (thanks to the excellent Wizard 64's in there) and the 2 together have that classic scooped passive jazz tone! The pickups are not noisy at all...except in my garage!..no problem with the Mighty mite neck, it is fast, comfortable and in tune! The bass will have her first studio session on thursday, so that will be a real test. Will report back! Big thanks to the Bass doc for making me the suitable pickguard pretty much using nothing but his good judgement for measurements! (it fit's perfectly after a tiny bit of sanding). Also big thanks to Mr. Fingers for the hugely in depth advice and knowledge. I have to say I'm quite proud of myself and hopefully will gig and record the bass a lot!....I reckon the total cost came to about £630 as I had to re order one or two little parts. But I don't believe I would have been able to get the bass I was after without spending over a grand somewhere. Here are some pics, haven't had a chance to take decent ones yet but you get the idea! Anyway, as always all thoughts and opinions are appreciated, I hope you like her!... ps. Thinking I might just leave the headstock blank for the time being.

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Thought I'd post a few pics of the bass as it comes along....As I say, I was really chuffed when I managed to get it making noise....Think I will stick some copper shielding in the cavities to try and quell the buzz.... Also getting quite a hum (60 cycle??) from the solo'd pickups, although my garage is right next to a train line so hard to tell how bad it actually is until I test it somewhere else. Are there any wiring tricks could do to ease this? I know I could put some split singles in there (I have some NJS4V's in another jazz) but to be honest I prefer the sound and tone of the wizard 64's I'm using! Anyway...some pics for your enjoyment![attachment=116898:IMG_1413.JPG][attachment=116899:IMG_1414.JPG]

Big news!...... I wired everything in today......and it works!! This may seem fairly trivial but I feel quite a sense of accomplishment!....First time as well - no re soldering required! Decided to ground it using the modern technique, still gonna put the brass strip on for effect though! I have been having a few trials and tribulations through the process, including having to re drill certain holes! Also had an unfortunate accident which left a small mark on the body near the plate which is a real shame, but hey ho! Just stuck an old E string on it to test and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the stack knob config, sounds really sweet (though the pots need a bit of a clean I think...bit crackly)...Bit of a buzz when not being played but as soon as you put your fingers on it the buzz stops (I think this is usual for passive basses)? Will stick a few pics up later on! Thanks for your advice so far guys (especially Mr Fingers), You have been making it a lot more manageable! Should have the pickguard middle of next week (courtesy of the Bass Doc) and I am waiting on the correct string retainer which should also be with me this week or next....I am hugely excited to get this finished and setup!

OK, interesting, are there any advantages to either way of grounding? is one more effective than the other?!

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1345420262' post='1777405'] I notice your Warmoth body has been routed for this grounding wire so if you don't wish to go the whole hog, with the brass plates under the pickups soldered to the old style brass grounding strip, you don't need to. [/quote] If I was to do this do you have any idea which pot I would connect the ground wire to?

[quote name='The Bass Doc' timestamp='1345403760' post='1777167'] I have some thin brass sheet from which I can make the strip you may require as long as you have the brass grounding plates with the pickups. Can include it with the scratchplate I'm doing for you - no extra charge. [/quote] You are an utter legend! That would be massively appreciated!

That is some awesome info! thanks Fingers!!! Do you know whether this method would work using copper tape rather than a brass plate?

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1345116575' post='1773691'] Mmmmm pretty, pretty. I've always liked sonic blue Jazzers since I saw JPJ playing one with Lenny Kravitz. May I ask where are you planning on getting the neck? [/quote] Picked up the neck from a guy on Ebay, it is one of the licensed mighty mite necks. He gets them, sticks a decal on and sells on. I contacted him to get a blank one. It's a very nice neck I have to say, nice grain (with the odd bit of birdseye), clean fretwork etc....this guy.... http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/bluebass320/?_trksid=p4340.l2559 So is the consensus that mint green is the way? I am a little nervous tbh! I have been looking at pics but it's so hard to tell when it's not in right in front of you!....Have got in touch with the Doc who said he'd make me one, just deciding between mint or parchment (which is the colour of the current guard... Again if anyone has a stack knob wiring diagram it would be greatly appreciated! I looked at the one from Fender and it didn't appear to use a ground wire....is that right?! Dave

OK, advice time! I have been looking into connecting the neck today.....Had to do a little sanding on the heel to get it into the pocket, but what I now have is a very tight fit on either side....HOWEVER.....The front is not quite flush on the side of the top horn. DO you think this will be any sort of issue bearing in mind the rest of the fit? pics below....

Will stick up a picture when I get a sec....Also, does anyone have a stack knob wiring diagram to hand?....not sure which part of it to connect the bridge ground wire to!

Thanks for the support guys! Already hit my 1st stumbling block......d'oh! I went ahead and ordered a parchment scratchplate for it (was only a tenner), however, being the fool that i am I didn't realise that the standard jazz scratchplates don't quite 'snug up' to the stack knob control plate!.....balls.....trying to decide whether this is something I can live with or not.....I have just found what calls itself a 62 reissue mint green scratchplate, but it's $47 from the states (plus import/VAT etc)....Also I'm not sure whether mint green works.....

So I dunno if this counts as an official 'build' but hey! I am 'constructing' an early 60's style Jazz bass and thought I'd post some of the updates as they happen in case anyone is interested! Ordered most parts early this week and stuff is starting to arrive!!!! Picked up a stack knob control plate from the gallery yesterday and the sonic blue body arrived from Warmoth this morning (kudos to them for their speed, only ordered on monday afternoon). Got it in Swamp ash, which I know isn't technically correct for the 60's jazzes but it's really light, which is important to me.... Anyway...here is the first pics! Dave

Thanks guys, this is all really helpful! I think I'm going to go for it and fit a stack knob as tbh I have a Jazz deluxe which has been pretty highly modded so if i need a sound with more bite etc I can pick that one up! would be cool to have a nice round vintage tone. Plus, if it doesn't work out you seem to be able to pick up the standard control plates pretty cheap. Almost everything is ordered now! Will post up pics (for those who might care)! when it's finished...I don't think it's gonna be a perfect era specific build, just going with the early 60's vibe........So.Damn.Excited! Thanks again guys! Dave

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1344886534' post='1770709'] I'm very happy with my AV '62 Ri Jazz, no problem with output compared with everything else & plenty of tone variation on both pups. [/quote] Thanks John Do you get any hum/noise when you solo either of the pickups?

Thanks mate, I'll have a read through it!

Hi guys, just wondering if there are any folks out there with experience of using a jazz bass with the stack knob controls? reissue or original of course! I've just started to build a bitsa Jazz (ordered my sonic blue body today)! which is gonna look a lot like the early 60's style and really like the idea of the stack knobs, however I can't find that much info on them from users, and what I have read has involved people reporting problems with low output because of the 2 resistors. Have also read that there is a loud hum if you solo either of the pickups. Is this a standard problem or could it be unique to the owner? Obviously at the end of the day I want the bass to sound as good as possible and if that can only be achieved by using the TTV config then I will, but would definitely like to find out more info on the stacks first! Also I notice that it is a lot more expensive to buy the stack knob config, is this just because they are less commonly used? Thanks in advance!! Dave

Thanks guys, will drop toneworks an email, see if they can do me a sonic blue!...if not I guess it's warmoth, which is actually fairly reasonably prices....now....stack knob or regular?!!