Shonks Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) [size=3]NB: Added pix of the pink USA Five String Big Sister of this bass later on in this thread!![/size] this was cheap - and cheerfull it cost me about £260 and an anxious two weeks of screwing...... and varnishing now you know the cost, dont try and offer me £300 for it...haha! - definitely a keeper Its the bestest bass I've owned ... and its all mine...hahahaha!!!...... mine!......hahahah!.........!!! "sorry for the outburst."..hehe! I didn't know how it was gonna turn out till I was finished of course - blimey - its brilliant. This is my main bass now! The neck depth it very thin with a narrow jazz bass profile, just a tad wider than a Fender. The board is virtually flat - kinda reminds me of a Rick' The sound is, well as you can see by the hardware, boutique, and even when switched to passive, it still has that smooth Bartolini jazz sound with no hum on either p'up - oh my...gosh, and to round it all off - just lurve the Surf green and minty scratchplate - looks so .... well you know! and the neck - yeah baby!! that beautiful grained maple!! I'm sure a pro luthier couldn't have give me a better build!! This was pure luck, it could turned out crap - but hey, what d'ya know, it didn't!! I recommend this kinda project to all. Almost finished the 5 string version!!! - it's shaping up pretty good too!!! unknown neck - bound and block mother of pearl -------£30 unknown body - surf green ( looks blue in the pix, and varies in colour depending on the light source)------£25 scratchplate - mint green, came with the body---------------came with the body Bartolini Jazz pups - duel coils - noisless-------------------£60 the pair Badass bridge - pre grooved...................................--...£00 pilfered from a 'Highway One' before a sale Schaller tuners BM1 - as per 'Musicman'...................--...£30 New Old Stock - these keep appearing on eBay Hipshot extender...................................................-.....£30 custom neck plate................................................-......£16 J retro electrics.....................................................-.....£45 gotoh battery box.................................................-......£05 Jim Dunlop Strap buttons.....................................-.......£05 Matching suede strap Edited September 19, 2011 by Shonks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 That's no' bad!! G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Impressive Steve, that looks really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SignsOfDelirium_bassist Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Wow! That's one sexy bass! Especially the neck, looks great in the photos, no doubt looks much better in the flesh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Thing is, if you gave a luthier 2k to build you an identical bass it probably wouldn't sound or more importantly feel the same to you as they can't put in that connection you've made whilst building and developing it. The best basses come about this way. Nice neck plate by the way, is it etched stainless? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmshaw37 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 That looks awesome, and I bet it sounds the mutts nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (henry norton @ Mar 4 2011, 08:07 PM) Thing is, if you gave a luthier 2k to build you an identical bass it probably wouldn't sound or more importantly feel the same to you as they can't put in that connection you've made whilst building and developing it. The best basses come about this way. Nice neck plate by the way, is it etched stainless? saw a guy on eBay who uses regular plates and for £16 puts anything you want on it - even a photo of your mom if you want - I think its Lazar - not sure, but i was pretty chuffed when it was recieved. I sent him the design and it came back pretty faithfull! - cool huh! Edited September 18, 2011 by Shonks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) Everyone should have a bitsa Jazz and yours looks cracking! Mine owes me about £400 and can hold it's own in some very respectable company although yours looks nicer than mine by a mile (mines CAR I'm not keen so a refin may come knocking). Thumbs up mate, all hail the bitsa Picture added in edit, [attachment=73931:Jazz.JPG] I told you your looks better! Edited March 5, 2011 by stingrayPete1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Lovely... more J-Retro action! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalmoore Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Theres another one! Me and Gafbass02 and you must have great tastes in basses. Check his and mine out and youll see what i mean. Gotta say, its amazing looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Very nice bass there Steve. On another topic, looking at your last name, I wonder if we may be distant relatives, as there aren`t too many Shones about. My Mums maiden name was Shone, and her family originate from South East London - Elephant & Castle/Old Kent Road area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 sir, that is not a bass, that is pure XXX pornography! top marks for a beautiful build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 [quote name='Lozz196' post='1152545' date='Mar 7 2011, 02:49 PM']Very nice bass there Steve. On another topic, looking at your last name, I wonder if we may be distant relatives, as there aren`t too many Shones about. My Mums maiden name was Shone, and her family originate from South East London - Elephant & Castle/Old Kent Road area.[/quote] hey, I'm glad I'm a show off now, might have found me a long lost cousin...!! Aint too many of us about, we have to be related!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1149903' date='Mar 4 2011, 08:33 PM']Everyone should have a bitsa Jazz and yours looks cracking! Mine owes me about £400 and can hold it's own in some very respectable company although yours looks nicer than mine by a mile (mines CAR I'm not keen so a refin may come knocking). Thumbs up mate, all hail the bitsa Picture added in edit, [attachment=73931:Jazz.JPG] I told you your looks better![/quote] Well, mine does have the bound n blocks, but your's is pretty hot too!!! Love that colour - ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 [quote name='Matt P' post='1152742' date='Mar 7 2011, 05:59 PM']sir, that is not a bass, that is pure XXX pornography! top marks for a beautiful build.[/quote] i know...I'll get the lube.....hahahah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) I did something similar last year - looks nowhere near as nice as your lovely basses, but plays well and sounds great. Pics to follow. Oh, and I spent £104 in total: body, neck, PUPs, bridge, scratchplate. I went slightly over budget, as I'd set myself a limit of £100, but still, got a new bass for a ton! [attachment=74192:P3070698.JPG] [attachment=74193:P3070700.JPG The body was a Hondo P bass copy from the '80s (which sounded fine) but I'm more of a J player, so I took a chisel to it and 'made room' for the J pickup. There wasn't really room for the wiring for this extra PUP, so it's being run across the body for now. The main thing was de-fretting the Yamato fingerboard - silky smooth now. Edited March 7, 2011 by paul_5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) Thing with mine... it wasn't a project I set out to do. There was no budget, and nothing was deliberate. It started with winning the Bartollins really, I bid ridiculously low and didn't expect to win them. When I saw the neck, it was the same story. I loved the look of it, so beautiful, branded or not but wasn't sure what I was gonna do with it or how good it would perform, and then the body came up the same week, and I won that for a song too. I decided I was gonna look out for all premium components and make a bass to completion, what the hell. I think something or someone up there was watching out for me as everything just came my way, even the matching strap. Think it might have been my late mum - like to think so anyway. After putting on the Badass and then winning the schallers, I screwed the thing together. Except for the neck being a bit chunky, it is beautifully made and the action after tweaking the truss and bridge was as good as any of the boutique basses out there. In fact I used to have an Alembic Omega Series II, and this felt better! I asked a mate who knows about wood, if he thought it was maple as the colour is darker than any I've seen, and it has an unusual grain, but he confirmed it is maple. I sanded the back down to much thinner profile, thinking all the time thinking I'll probably ruin it, but nothing ventured as it were, or easy come easy go, were expressions that came to mind. Eventually when I thought it was about right, I used a very thin layer of cellulose varnish, the kind recommended for brass fittings on your front door - it worked so well. I have very limited skills in DIY, so when this bass was finished and turned out so well I just couldn't believe it, & only cost me £260. I really plays fantastically, and the active sound, well - its hard to describe a sound, but there's nothing out there I'd ever swap it for - and the passive side, well its another bass again. You probably know the J East amps and the Bart pickups so you can guess how this bass performs. & then.... the Hipshot extender came up and that was the cherry on the top!! - thanks mum! so, I have my own signature bass, there's not another like it in the world - I had to put my own logo on it, - waterslide paper for the printer did the job, again from ebay, well, you didn't think I'd let Fender take the glory for this one! Mind you, they do deserve a mention, after all its still a Fender Jazz copy, as are the Sadowsky's Sandbergs, Laklands - in fact every bass out there was born from the Fender legacy, lets face it! That was a long rant - thanks for being patient enough to read it all , but this is Gear Porn after all, and there's nothing like an erotic story to get you off I just got home from a rehearsal - its late - & I'm just waffling while having me cocoa Cheers ! Edited March 8, 2011 by Shonks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojobass Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 that neck is lush!! where did u find it? wish i could find one like that for my jazz build!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 [quote name='mojobass' post='1153384' date='Mar 8 2011, 08:53 AM']that neck is lush!! where did u find it? wish i could find one like that for my jazz build!![/quote] as i said, just lucky, was a one off on eBay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 [quote name='Metalmoore' post='1152482' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:53 PM'] Theres another one! Me and Gafbass02 and you must have great tastes in basses. Check his and mine out and youll see what i mean. Gotta say, its amazing looking[/quote] If you mean cyan coloured maple boarded jazz style basses then I has got one too Yes polishing takes a very long time if you're doing it by hand. It's worth it though (well unless the finish gets f***ed up like what happened to mine ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Shonks, that's a fantastic bass, and it looks lovely. It's very satisfying doing a parts build. I designed and built a bass last year and it came out splendidly, and it's unique. Delighted for you mate! Another J-Retro user too, wickid aren't they! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shonks Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 [quote name='silddx' post='1159406' date='Mar 12 2011, 03:28 PM']Shonks, that's a fantastic bass, and it looks lovely. It's very satisfying doing a parts build. I designed and built a bass last year and it came out splendidly, and it's unique. Delighted for you mate! Another J-Retro user too, wickid aren't they![/quote] love 'em! I got a Marcus Miller Deluxe version pilfered from another bass which I mounted on my USA fender 5 too. I had to site a jack socket on the bottom edge and install a battery box - now I've started I cant finish... Put a badass 5 on too and drilled the string thru holes into the bridge - worked a dream. Now the fiver is like the big ugly brother to my pretty custom!! its mat black and slightly distressed, but i wont bother you all with pix hahaha! its a porn thread, but i dont want to get too pervy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalmoore Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 [quote name='EdwardHimself' post='1158153' date='Mar 11 2011, 03:08 PM']If you mean cyan coloured maple boarded jazz style basses then I has got one too Yes polishing takes a very long time if you're doing it by hand. It's worth it though (well unless the finish gets f***ed up like what happened to mine )[/quote] Perhaps us four should start a club? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwlkr Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 WOW mate that is one beautiful piece of wood, i would deffo pay £300 for that haha. the neck looks awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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