Darkstrike Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Lookin' beautiful so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 [quote name='Delberthot' post='281267' date='Sep 10 2008, 05:18 PM']I did drill pilot holes for the screws but they still managed to break.[/quote] Hmph, that's pretty poor quality screws then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Hmm, can't find a website for Gotoh nor a distributor of any kind. Bit strange for one of the largest manufacturers of guitar parts in the world. I've emailed the place I bought them from to see if they can point me in the right direction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 [quote name='Delberthot' post='281252' date='Sep 10 2008, 04:52 PM']As i mentioned, the holes for the pots were too small so I enlarged them. [/quote] I'm not taking the piss or being sarcastic, but do you know something, the above picture is just genius. If I'd have been trying to enlarge the holes, I'd have clamped the metal to something, or hand held it to drill it (during which time it would have spun round wildly and probably ruined it as well). I would never have thought to actually screw the plate to a piece of wood, then drill it. Genius. P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangepeelneil Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Fantastic looking bass, and curious to know how it all sounds-I’ve looked at those warmouth US parts myself. If it any conciliation I bought some Gotoh GB-2N replacement tuners, and I found even with a generous pilot hole sa few screws snapped off. So I used Hipshot and Schaller tuners instead to upgrade my other basses.Does seem like soft metal. Cheers, Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) Its not the first time I've had to enlarge the holes on a control plate. What I do is after I have screwed the plate to the piece of wood I drill a pilot hole right in the middle of each hole then get one of those drill bits that are meant for wood. I don't remember what they're called but they are really wide at the end with a pointy bit protruding. I find that the pointy bit helps the drill stay in the pilot hole so that I get a good cut. I drill kneeling down with one foot on the plate to keep it steady leaving both hands free to drill with. The metal is a bit rough around the edges but the trick is just to attach the pots as it flattens the rough edge out slightly and effectively becomes like another washer to keep everything in place Edited September 10, 2008 by Delberthot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 This is my second Warmoth build and as of yet I have to find another bass that sounds or plays anywhere near as good as my first one. It is really important to get the right parts for what you want. With my gold one the body was mahogany so I just used standard Schaller machines like you would find on any US Fender or Rickenbacker but this one is ash and a lot lighter so I wanted to eliminate any possible neckdive. That is why i went for the lightweight tuners on this one. My gold one has a Quarter Pounder, 500k CTS pots and standard cap as I wanted a powerful sound whereas this one has a Lollar pickup, 250k pots, paper in oil cap and cloth covered wiring as I am looking for something a bit mellower and closer to the original. I've used Gotoh 201 bridges on both basses really just down to money. I can get these direct from Warmoth for about £15 each whereas a standard Fender one I think comes in at about twice that. The Gotoh bridges are also very easy to setup. Actually, the second best bass I ever played was my 2 tone sunburst '51 reissue and the basis for both of my Warmoth's as I just loved the sound and playability of the thing. The only thing I disliked and the main reason for selling was the lack of body contouring hence me going for the '54 style instead. One thing that i will always say is that if you get one made and you don't like it, you will get washers for it as they aren't that widely known in the grand scheme of things and considered as merely parts basses. This is why it is very important to make sure that you are getting exactly what you want. It took a long time to weigh up different components, read books on basses, ask questions on Forums such as this one and probably the most important part of the whole thing for me was to buy, play and then sell about 50 different basses to find what it was that I wanted. An example would be that it took me about a month to decide on the colour. There were only 2 colours widely available at the time - Blonde and 2 tone sunburst. I'm still contemplating getting a white scratchplate for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 At last my new bass is now complete and can reveal all. Other parts that went on after the last series of pictures fitted pretty easily. I used a Tusq nut whch just went straight in - in fact I didn't actually have to file it down at all. The pickup and bridge covers were straight forward as well except the top mounting ear of the bridge one which has some air beteen it and the body due to the body routing as these were designed for the slab bodied '51. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 To say I'm happy would be the understatement of a lifetime. It looks absolutely fantastic and better than I even hoped it would be. I am so looking forward to tonight's gig now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 Can't remember is I mentioned this or not but I am using Optima chrome plated strings, same gauge as the gold ones I use. I had to adjust the truss rod as there was buzzing up at the top frets and thought at first I had the wrong sized allen key but in fact the nut as loostened all the way out and was just freewheeling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Look very nice grats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Looks excellent. All it needs now is the little Warmoth turtle/tortoise character Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 looks so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Little tip for screwing in machinehead screws, or any that are tight, put the tip of the screw into some wax, then screw away. Tip two, put a very hot soldering iron on to the stump of the screw and leave it there for 10 secs, this will make it expand and when it cools, it will have left a tiny space around itself. Get the finest Dremel disc and carefully put a slot in the top of the stump, then carefully unscrew with a jewellers screwdriver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 (edited) Thanks I may try that as I will need to take the neck off anyway. I was at a rehearsal with the gold one today and I noticed that the action was completely different to the new one. On the new one, the saddles, on the G string especially, are bottomed out down as low as they will go whereas they are what I would call normal on the gold one. I think that I may have to shim the neck on he new one as the action is still huge towards the top frets. Anyone have any tips or a good site to check out on how to do this? It does seem weird that since they are effectively the same body and neck albeit made from different woods that the fit of the neck to body is so drastically different. As I mentioned before, I thought that it was too much relief causing the buzzing on the higher frets but now think that it is because the neck needs shimming. I had the bass out last night for its first gig bu took the gold one in case it wasn't ready somehow. I ended up using it for the whole gig. This has to be the most amazing bass I have ever played. It has the hugest, fullest sound I have ever heard on a bass. It couldn't be much more different to the gold one: The gold one is extremely tight and well defined making it ideal for getting a clean cut-through sound with the wedding band but this is absolutely dominating. It sounds like an organ. Its the only way I can describe it. It makes a bigger sound than my 12 string made. Its gnarly and dirty and will steal your dinner money to buy cigarettes. It carries a wallet with 'bad mother*&^%$r' branded on it. Can you diggit? It plays faster than the gold one despite the gold one having an unfinished Wenge neck which is meant to be one of the fastest necks hereas this one has a vintage satin laquer finish. I have no idea what makes this one sound so different to the gold one as there are too many variables beteen them. I think it might have a lot to do with the Lollar pickup. I was expecting it not to be as powerful as the uarter pounder but i probably couldn't be any wronger. Edited September 14, 2008 by Delberthot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 After reading up on what and how to shim I decided to use the edging you get for kitchen worktops since I had a load left over after doing the kichen. One piece cut to the shape of the heel and placed right up against the butt did the trick. (no jokes please) Some kind of wood veneer was the best option after reading up on it followed by cutting up an aluminium can and finally thin piece of plastic. You really don't need much to drastically alter the angle of the neck. If I look at the neck pocket from the bottom there is only the slightest of gaps. I've just finished adjusting the height of the strings, intonation and have tightened the truss rod as there was too much relief. I'll leave it now until tomorrow to let it settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 is your gold one 20 frets like this, and also a Gotoh 201? I had a bit of trouble on my Warmoth with the top 21st fret (on the fingerboard overhang) buzzing, so had to file it down slightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkstrike Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Nice bass, is there any hum from the pickup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 My gold one has 21 frets and a gotoh 201 bridge as well. I made a mess of installing the Warwick JAN III on the gold one so had the frets dressed at the same time so don't know if the top fret needed filing down. The pickup is surprisingly quiet. I didn't actually realise this until you mentioned itbut there was no sound at all from it. The quarter pounder on my gold one does buzz. I have them both set exactly the same as well with both volume and tone controls fully on. I'm actually contemplating wiring the pickup directly to the jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkstrike Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Cool, sounds like a perfect P! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Delberthot' post='281439' date='Sep 10 2008, 09:33 PM']I've used Gotoh 201 bridges on both basses really just down to money. I can get these direct from Warmoth for about £15 each whereas a standard Fender one I think comes in at about twice that. The Gotoh bridges are also very easy to setup.[/quote] Fabulous looking bass. Congratulations! This is obviously a bit late (maybe for the next build?) but I wondered if you were aware of the Gotoh 203 bridge. I replaced the Fender bridge on my SX P bass and its a fine piece of kit. It looks like a 1960's Fender bent tin one but has a lot more meat to it - rather like the current Fender one, in fact. I thought it might look a little more in fitting with your 50's style than the chunky cast 201, though with covers on I guess it's mostly irrelevant Looks like this and is typically about £20 Edited September 16, 2008 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 [quote name='Delberthot' post='284488' date='Sep 15 2008, 07:55 PM']I have them both set exactly the same as well with both volume and tone controls fully on. I'm actually contemplating wiring the pickup directly to the jack.[/quote] on my warmoth I used a push-pull vol pot for controls bypass- I wired it so the vol + tone controls work with the pot up, and bypass in the default down position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2wheeler Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 On the subject of duff screws - this week-end I was putting together a flat-packed bookcase. We have another one just like it so it was very easy to repeat the assembly process ... until I came to the self-tapping screws that hold the rear cross bracing in place. With the other bookcase, they all just went in with no pilot holes or anything. With the second one, I had one stripped head and two of them snapped. After that I gave up on their screws and used proper wood screws with pilot holes, which all went in very easily. I just don't understand what was different other than that I had a weak set of screws with the second bookcase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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