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My First Assembly - '76' Jazz Bass


discreet
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My First Assembly - '76' Jazz Bass

Sound Clip

As a committed P-bass man of more than 40 years, I have a long-standing love/hate relationship with Jazz basses. I like how they look (mostly), I like how they sound (sort of) and I like how they play (up to a point). And yet… when I don’t have one I want one, and when I have one, I’m always looking to move it on… WHY??

My most recent GAS was for an aged Oly White late 70s-type Jazz with a black guard and maple neck - you know the vibe - but without blocks and binding... I don’t like blocks and binding. So I put one together, or at least as close as I could get. This is the first time I’ve ever assembled a bass from bits and the first time I’ve finished a body and neck from the raw wood.

I’m fairly pleased with the results, given I’m a complete noob and it was all done with rattle cans. It’s not perfect, but the next one will be better. I learned a lot about the nature of nitro lacquer and the processes of sanding and wet-sanding …and how a bass goes together. Constantly learn new stuff folks, it keeps dementia at bay! Now… what did I come in here for again..? o.O

Specifications

  • Paulownia lightweight Jazz body, vintage white
  • Canadian rock maple Jazz neck with maple cap, amber tint
  • Black 3-ply pickguard
  • Alan Entwistle JBX Jazz pickups
  • Schaller BMFL-C 70s tuners
  • Kluson 70s Jazz bridge with slotted-screw saddles
  • Fender CIJ 62 RI control plate, knobs and electrics
  • Fender ‘F’ stamp neck plate with black cushion
  • Fender string tree
  • Fender strap buttons
  • Fender 1969-1976 Type ‘C’ decal
  • D'Addario NYXL 45100 roundwound strings
  • Weight: 7lbs 7oz (very light!)


I couldn't decide which pickups to fit. Fralins? Lollars? DiMarzios? To be honest, I was running out of cash so I bought a pair of Alan Entwistle’s JBX pickups, having read some good reviews here and elsewhere. I planned to substitute them with something more prestigious as funds allowed. But! When I soldered them in and fired them up, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought they’d be OK, but they're better than good, they're great. So I'm keeping 'em.

What I didn't expect was for the bass to be so light. In fact, the Schallers make it a little neck-heavy, so I may just get some of those licensed Hipshot Ultralites for maximum calorie-loss, in which case the bass will weigh in at around 7lbs. Very rare for a Jazz bass, especially when you consider some of the old 70s examples were real boat anchors.

The first to point out what's missing wins half a biro. Good luck!

Full.jpg

Body34.jpg

Body.jpg

da5Schallers.jpg

Bridge.jpg

StockFront2.jpg

FStamp.jpg

Pickups.jpg

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1509361225' post='3398251']
Strap buttons! Are those still in the post?
[/quote]

We have a winner already! No, I've got 'em... just haven't fitted 'em yet. :rolleyes:
PM an address and I'll get your half a biro in the post. :)

Edited by discreet
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Nice job discreet! Really nice job :)

I can't believe you don't like blocks & binding on a Jazz neck
But I have to say, I like the look of the neck on this more than I thought I would

Entwistle pickups are indeed great. For the money, in fact.... they're brilliant
Nice build
PS. When are you selling it? Tomorrow? Day after? lol ;)

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[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1509362390' post='3398265']
When are you selling it? Tomorrow? Day after? lol ;)
[/quote]

Offers should be made via PM only. :D

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1509362390' post='3398265']
Entwistle pickups are indeed great. For the money, in fact.... they're brilliant.
[/quote]

They're excellent, regardless of cost. The fact that they're affordable could actually work against them. The marketing concept that something can only be good if it's expensive stalks the land like a... stalking thing. I think Entwistle would sell a lot more pickups if they were four times the price!

Edited by discreet
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As a committed P-bass man of more than 40 years, I have a long-standing love/hate relationship with Jazz basses. I like how they look (mostly), I like how they sound (sort of) and I like how they play (up to a point). And yet… when I don’t have one I want one, and when I have one, I’m always looking to move it on… WHY??

Mark, these could be words uttered by me as well, and I`m yet to work it out. I`ve had some great Jazz basses but always moved them on.

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[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1509384210' post='3398506']
Mark, these could be words uttered by me as well, and I`m yet to work it out.
[/quote]

It's definitely one for Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious Universe and no mistake! :D

Strap buttons fitted... there is a little neck dive, but overall the bass is so light it's not a big problem. I still may go with the Ultralites, purely to see if I can get the bass down to around 7lbs.

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1509363011' post='3398271']
Offers should be made via PM only. :D



They're excellent, regardless of cost. The fact that they're affordable could actually work against them. The marketing concept that something can only be good if it's expensive stalks the land like a... stalking thing. I think Entwistle would sell a lot more pickups if they were four times the price!
[/quote]

I think you've hot the nail on the head here. Maybe a lot of players think they can't possibly sound as good as "brand" X or "Brand Y" - because x & y are 3 times the price.....
Mind you, I don't want Mr Entwistle to hike the price of his pickups - because those of us in the know are quite happy with the prices as they are ;)
To anyone doubting the quality of Entwistles..... go out & buy a set now! You may be pleasantly surprised.... heck if enough people bought them, the price might come down even more :o

The more I look at this bass Mr Discreet - the more I like it. But if it were mine, I'd have to put those stick-on blocks on the fretboard ;)

EDIT: I meant to add; nice playing in that clip too

Edited by Marc S
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[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1509439504' post='3398829']...I don't want Mr Entwistle to hike the price of his pickups - because those of us in the know are quite happy with the prices as they are...[/quote]

I'm happy too! It's just that thing of 'expensive = good' - as we know, it doesn't always follow.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1509439504' post='3398829']...if it were mine, I'd have to put those stick-on blocks on the fretboard...[/quote]

I can do you one with proper blocks and binding, if that's what you want... :)

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[quote name='petebassist' timestamp='1509449323' post='3398957']
Love the sound clip, funky as hell, and great playing... what's the track? How did you put together the other drum and guitar parts ?
[/quote]

Thanks, though having listened to it again this morning I'm kind of wishing I'd tuned the bass up first... :rolleyes: The track is one of the many backing tracks available on YouTube for the purposes of noodling along with your bass. There are loads of 'em.

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Where did you get enough balsa wood to build a sub-8lb Jazz?

I did have one that light, a Gherson:

[URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20SOLD/Gherson%20Jazz%201970s%20SOLD/CIMG0536.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20SOLD/Gherson%20Jazz%201970s%20SOLD/CIMG0536.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Neckdive to make a Thunderbird blush ...

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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1509451072' post='3398979']
Where did you get enough balsa wood to build a sub-8lb Jazz?
[/quote]

Paulownia is similar to balsa in a lot of ways. It's not quite as fragile as balsa, but it is very light and any little knock will ding it. It's difficult to avoid over-sanding it, even with light papers. I think it's worth persevering with though, just because of the huge weight advantage.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Why would you fit a component to your bass that's going to make it heavier? Especially when there's no obvious benefit to your 'tone'? Well... you have to agree that the Hipshot Kickass bridge looks pretty cool, if nothing else. And it is well-engineered. And the lateral adjustment for string spacing is more than useful. And if you have a [i]little[/i] neck dive (like I have) then adding more weight near the bottom strap button can only be good. Can't it?

Fact is, the Kickass weighs around 7-1/2oz ( 212g), so it's not exactly light. Which is the whole idea of a 'high mass' bridge. But subtract the weight of the BBOT that was already fitted, i.e. 3-1/4oz (92g) and you have a net addition of 4-1/4oz (120g). About the same as a small bar of soap, or a spoon. Hmm. Was it worth it? I'll let you know. While the strings were off I took the opportunity to shim the neck, so the bass is playing better anyway.

To be honest, my main reason for fitting this Hipshot is because (in my opinion) a KickAss looks much better on a Jazz than it does on a Precision. So now I can use the Kluson 70s bridge I took off the Jazz for my upcoming 70s P Bass build...

Thing is, as suspected, I still have a [i]bit[/i] of neck dive, so I bought some Hipshot Ultralites, which I'll be fitting in due course. Then I can use the current Schallers on the Jazz for my upcoming 70s P Bass build... see a pattern emerging, yet? :)

However, they're not a straight swap as the Ultralights have narrower tuner posts than the Schallers. There's a whole raft of threads on TB about the implications of this, and various solutions, but I have my own ideas about it. Involving [i]PVC tubing[/i]...







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After quite some messing about I FINALLY got the Hipshot Ultralites fitted - with the KickAss also fitted (a relatively heavy bridge), the bass now weighs a total of 7-1/2 pounds. And more importantly, it balances really well on the strap. I tried to hide the screw holes made for the previous Schaller tuners, but you can still see the headstock has been Swiss-cheesed somewhat.

I filled the holes with Milliput (white) which stood out like white standy-out things, so when dry I coloured them in with an orange crayon, then a brown crayon, then used a pencil to try and incorporate them into the grain a bit more. Then I gave the whole stock a couple of light coats of dark yellow nitro. The result is more or less acceptable given the weight advantage (1/2lb), but ideally if you're going to use Hipshot Ultralites it would be a lot better to fit them to a virgin headstock that has had no previous tuners fitted. Or get a proper luthier to cut plugs and do an invisible repair.

The Ultralites are really good. These are the Licensed versions which can be got for £13 each. They're exactly the same as the USA-produced versions, but they're made in the far east. They do need bushes to make them fit a standard Fender-type headstock, but these can be got direct from the company.

Finally all done! Very pleased with this bass, it's light, resonant, the Entwistles sound really great, it looks good and it's currently my go-to instrument. Result. The trouble is, any other bass I pick up now seems ridiculously heavy. O.o

HipLites.jpg

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