Dom in Dorset Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) Ok, here's the reasons why: I'm looking for the perfect fretless (for me) I suspect that it's going to be a Jazz. I'd like to spend a bit of time with one , rehearse with it etc to be certain. I don't have much cash , so, if I borrow the fretless neck of my twin, put on a pair of pickups that I found for £10 on ebay , make my own bridge and... use a grotty old bit of plywood for the body I can make a test bed bass for (so far) £25 (including a wiring loom , also from ebay) The idea of reversing the body came from playing in a pit band sitting down, I didn't find the Jazz that comfortable , but if I flipped the bass over it sat in just the right place for my hand to fall into my preferred playing position. Also when standing I can flop may fore arm over the back end Entwistle style , I used to have and Epi Tbird and found that very comfortable. The idea is to refine the design and up-grade parts as required. I may make some radical changes and end up with something completely different, but this is where I'm starting. Everyone I've told about this has said , for one reason or another "It'll never work"- well lets see. I hope to get her going in time for a rehearsal on Wednesday. I've been harboring romantic notions of finding a piece of driftwood on a Cornish beach at dawn to make the body. I did find a picture of Dusty Hill with a "Reverse Jazz", so nothing new really. Fretted Jazz .....Fretless Zzaj Exotic tonewood... Built for posing. Edited June 1, 2013 by Dom in Somerset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d4tux Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Nice protoype... I love the idea of a driftwood body. It would be really light and I'm intrigued as to how it would sound. Looking forward to seeing the finished article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I did something similar a while ago and can vouch for the 'flip-over' design to be comfortable. Brings to mind Mosrite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 I hope to get her wired up tonight, I don't have my amp at home so I won't be able to do any testing until Wednesday morning.... when I will meet up with two of my doubters! I'll either be vindicated or humiliated! If all goes well I'll take it to rehearsal on Wednesday night, it's a pitty it won't fit in my Fender case, I can't wait to see their faces when i produce this masterpiece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) IMO you need to do something with the lower cutaway. The Fender Body shape and neck joint is already fairly poor for upper neck access so you don't want to make it any harder. Edited March 5, 2012 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) Ok , all wired she's up. The strings pass through a brass plate on the back and the earth is connected to that. The box that houses the controls was folded from aluminium sheet to proved screening. I've plugged it into my four track and the initial results are promising , there was a slight problem with the wiring (I bough a pre-wired harness off ebay, it was wrong! the tone acted as a master volume! It's now sorted.) Acoustically it sounds fine, one of my doubters thought that there would be no sustain, it's not like my Fender but then it's surprisingly good for a bit of damp plywood from the garden with a wooden bridge. I will be modifying the lower horn and pssibly moving the neck up the body to allow more room for playing at the dusty end. Tomorrow is the big day... Edited March 6, 2012 by Dom in Somerset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 It works, very nicely in fact. One doubter was left speechless! You can make a bass guitar body from 18mm plywood. I used it in rehearsal last night (I told them I paid £300+ my Fender for it) , fretless jazz (or Zzaj) is for me. We did record a few songs live, if they are alright I'll post the results here , in the next few weeks I'll record a solo demo of this and other basses for comparrison. I am impressed with the Lindo pickups, they are closed style I think they use them on their "Red Tiger" bass rather than the standard jazz. I'm not sure if the tone they give would be that pure on a fretted bass with roundwound strings but ,fretless with tapewound they are fine. I'm half tempted to get a Lindo (£67.99) to de-fret as stop gap until I can afford something better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Nice and simple logic Just did it sitting down myself (phnaaarr) and its more balanced. If you unreverse the cut outs for the neck and scollops in the body I think your onto something. Basically offsetting it the otherway. As for necks. CH Guitars on ebay do a nice fretless jazz neck. Ive got one and its a very nice smooth play for not alot. Again it looks like someone has taken a razorblade to a photo and cut the shape out!! And again it just goes to show that theres not alot in guitars really. Just a hell of alot of diminishing returns. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 I spent some time today messing about with cardboard body shapes. I tried reversing the back end but leaving the front as a regular Jazz but it looked a bit lumpy and lopsided. The most important part of the design was to move the arch on the underside of the body forward so that it say more comfortably when playing in a sitting position- soooo, I went back to the traditional jazz shape, moved the lower arch forwards , re-drew the back end making the upper-rear horn smaller, then smaller still until the whole thing looked like a well balanced shape, stood back and... I'd reinvented the precision body. So, I've just bought a wreck off ebay, now I'm off to play the waiting game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 This chunk of exotic tonewood (thicker plywood) arrived yesterday: It's got an appointment with my router coming soon. I may try and refresh the finish too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Version two is nearly ready, she's known as Miss Pbody. I'm pretty certain that everything you see here will go eventually except the Lindo pickups! They were quite a find, nice powerful output and exactly the tone I was after. We did some live recordings the other night , if they clean up ok I'll post them here. I've taken a step nearer getting my driftwood body by booking a family holiday (bass body finding trip) in Cornwall this year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Aha! A wood scratch plate. Man after my own heart You realy rating those Lindo pickups then? A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 (ply) Wooden scratch plate - I was planning on stripping the body out of curiosity but when I discovered that it was also ply I went for the wood effect plate in stead. Yes , so far I love the pickups, I was getting exactly the sound I was after, the bass does have a brighter sound acoustically with this body and I won't know how it will sound until I plug her in on wednesday. I'm working on the "Trigger's broom" principal, the neck and body will both be replaced eventually when suitable replacements turn up, but I'm not in a hurry now, it could be some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 (edited) Well, the waters of Sennen Cove failed to yield a suitable driftwood bass body but On a trip to Yandles sawmill to buy ebony I found this piece of spalted beach: A bit of bandsawing: (I also ran a router over the surface to reduce the thickness. Further refinement: You can't see from the picture but there are more worm holes than an entire series of Star Trek , I'm going to dowse it in wood hardener to firm up any porous areas and hopefully kill or at least p1ss off any remaining wood worm. I don't know why the earlier pictures have gone, I'll re-post if anyone is interested. Edited October 26, 2012 by Dom in Somerset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 £7.50 ?..you was robbed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Spalted beech usually sells for £40-60 per cubic foot, I reckon that I had about 1/2 cubic foot and the worms were extra! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Love a bit of Spalted Beech and Yandels is a few hours off your life too One thing though. Isnt it going to be a bit on the heavy side being Beech?? A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 At the moment it weighs in at 5lb, which is what about Fender Strat body weighs according to a discussion on a Fender Guitars forum. I don't know how much a Fender jazz (or P) body weighs but my Jazz is quite a heavy bass. I'm confidant of losing another 1/2lb by routing and contouring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Routing. So far... The dark satins are from the wood hardener, they won't be visible at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 (edited) I've spent a bit of time sanding the body and I think it's starting to look quite sexy. It will be a lot darker once I've oiled the wood. I also realized that I didn't rout out the pickup holes properly, I still need to do the rounded bits for the mounting screws. The weight is now 4 1/2lb (2.2kg) I'm planning on at least re-boarding a neck (might even make the whole thing) possibly use boxwood to make the board. Edited November 10, 2012 by Dom in Somerset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 I've oiled the body and been shopping. I've got bird's eye maple for the neck, black hardware and in an attempt to find some pickups like the ones I used on the previous incarnation I've spent £8(including postage!) on some dodgy chinese pickups , if they are total sh1te I won't have wasted too much.. Not sure what I'll use for the board, I could use some of the maple , I also have boxwood, damson, laburnum. So far I've spent about £70, the only parts I need are pots , knobs, jack, strings and strap buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nugget Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 [quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1354962847' post='1892343'] Not sure what I'll use for the board, I could use some of the maple , I also have boxwood, damson, laburnum. [/quote] I cut down a big damson tree in the summer thats drying out for use on a bass one day, it's stunning - amazing colour. It's denser that hard rock maple and has a higher MOE so it's stiffer. Perfect for necks and fretboards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 11, 2012 Author Share Posted December 11, 2012 I use damson for bagpipe making, I get it from another maker, it came from the Wilkins of Tiptree marmalade company's damson orchard. It's all beautiful straight grained stuff but I'm not sure if there is anything long enough. I'm going for a gnarly look so I'm keepinmg my eyes open for something more rustic. I have a load of logs to process in the next few weeks , something may turn up. I'd love to use blackthorn, like damson gone mad but prove to warping , splitting, rotting , it does look beautiful though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 The fingerboard is now boxwood, it's very tough, tight grained and dense , it's also beautiful close up. I'll try and get a close up of the it when the light is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 I found some time to rout out the neck for the truss rod. I was getting very excited about it until I realized that I've run out of wood glue, oh well tomorrow I glue... PS I'm thinking of a tele head stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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