The Bass Doc Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 [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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 [quote name='davebass66' timestamp='1345418593' post='1777398'] You are an utter legend! That would be massively appreciated! [/quote] As far as I am aware, the grounding strips on the MIA 62 reissue Jazzes, are merely there for cosmetic reasons and are removeable. They are grounded, as todays Jazz basses are, via the wire that goes from the control cavity to under the bridge. 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. Of course you can still get the strip, for the athentic look just like the MIA reissues. The Japanese 62 reissues stick with the older style of grounding. They all have the brass strip and plates in the pickup cavities which are actually connected and ground the bass. I have one and It can be a bit inconvenient if you're trying to fit a larger than stock pickup (as I have found out) as it then protrudes higher above the body than ideal because of the brass plate in the cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 [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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 [quote name='davebass66' timestamp='1345458758' post='1777623'] If I was to do this do you have any idea which pot I would connect the ground wire to? [/quote] I'm assuming the ground wire to the bridge would be connected to the same pot, as shown on the above diagram, provided by MrFingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFingers Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 It doesn't matter to which pot you attach the earthwire, since all of them are connected via the controlplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 OK, interesting, are there any advantages to either way of grounding? is one more effective than the other?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFingers Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 grounding is grounding... Fender did the brass strip thing because it was easy (just bend a piece of brass, instead of carefully drill a hole in the body in the good hope you'd come out in the control cavity). But Leo found out that many players got rid of the covers on the bass (they were intended to be kept on the bass) while playing, and then you'd see a cheap, ugly piece of brass plating coming from the bridgepickup (it was a thin piece, and it wasn't placed nicely straight and flat on the body, it was just slammed on there), and even he found that it looked cheap and lazy, so he got rid of that and used an ordinary earth wire, even if that meant that it meant drilling a new hole. For vintage correctness I would go for the brass plate, but if you're not fond of that, just an earth wire will do (or you can do both if you want to). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) Your bass probably needs some electro magnetic shielding to get rid of the buzz you have. I notice your bass body didn't have any cavity shielding when you got it from Warmoth. I used this paint (link below) and it certainly made a big difference on my Jazz. It's similiar to the stuff Fender coat their cavities with and it will eliminate that irritating, electro magnetic, buzz that stops when you touch the strings. You can also shield the cavities with copper tape or foil (I also bought a sheet of adhesive copper foil, which is also a good way to shield a bass but once I'd used the paint I found the buzz had gone and I didn't need it). [url="http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/guitar-paint-and-lacquer/conductive-paint/conductive-shielding-paint.html"]http://www.tonetechl...ding-paint.html[/url] Edited August 27, 2012 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 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] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 ... [attachment=116900:IMG_1416.jpg] [attachment=116901:IMG_1417.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 (edited) [quote name='davebass66' timestamp='1346188414' post='1786394'] 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] [/quote] Unless you get noiseless pickups you won't get rid of the hum when the pickups are solo. Edited August 30, 2012 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pobrien_ie Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 It looks fantastic....congrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Very very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Bolton Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFingers Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 As my avatar would say: NICE! Now slap some chrome covers over the pickups, string it up with flatwounds and add the spring mutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwYoi9G67DU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebass66 Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 So....a little update...... The bass is sounding great. I had it in a studio session for a couple of days and was told by the engineer that it was one of the quietest basses he had heard (signal noise wise) zero hum!...He was also digging the sound of it. He was shocked when I told him i'd done it myself!...... Something that made me smile the other day....the neck plate I bought for it was an allparts one, nothing special. However I noticed it had numbers engraved on it. I decided to do a random check on the Fender serial no. dater and it turned out that by some weird coincidence it is the serial no. for a 1960-61 Fender Jazz bass!! How freaky is that?! Do allparts always put serial no.'s on the back or is this just a weird happening? Can't believe it is the right era for my bass!! D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFingers Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Seems odd, I didn't even know that allparts put numbers on neckplates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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