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Do you want to build a sno...bass?


anzoid
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Not sure if this is the right place to put this and not even sure how this works on BC. I have an idea for a bass (a jazz bass) but have the technical skills and aptitude of a squashed hamster when comes to actually putting stuff together (I can do things like change a BBOT bridge to a Gotoh,, replace a passive wiring loom - really basic bits, but anything more than that and my confidence (and ability) dives.

What I'm looking for is a Jazz Bass bitsa...

  • Body - lightweight, sprayed in NYC taxi cab yellow (also seen called Hot Rod Yellow and Graffiti Yellow)
  • Maple neck, maple fretboard.
  • Hipshot Ultralight tuners in black
  • Gotoh 201 bridge in black
  • John East Retro-01 (black plate and knobs)
  • SD Quarter Pounder jazz pickups
  • Schaller strap buttons in black.
  • White pearl scratchplate (or carbon fibre black...) - either way, standard Fender Jazz size/shape.
  • Black neck plate, or, even better, ferrules and metal inserts on the neck for bolts.

So, any thoughts on getting this done. I could put the parts together if everything was pre-drilled with holes in the right places (at a push I could probably install the machineheads from scratch - the bridge... not so much :D)

Are there builders here who would be interested in this and could work with me to do this, or get part of the way there? Ideas as to cost of body painted to spec + neck (all the other bits I've got a rough idea of...)

Thanks :D

Edited by anzoid
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5 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Ade...sound like a confidence issue.

If you have the tools to do the work, have a go. There are plenty of builders here, I'm sure, would be happy to share their skills and knowledge to guide you in the right direction if you're struggling.

You underestimate how absolutely cack-handed I am with a drill :D It is a thing to behold. 

As @BreadBin says - I'm down in Somerset, lovely little town of Frome.

I think the most basic part of the project is getting the body sorted along with the neck with the holes in all the right places for putting it together. I'm guessing the body in NYC cab yellow is going to be the expensive bit :D
I'm confident I can build it if all the guide holes are there - and can source most of the hardware as funds and time allow (this may be a long term project... :)

 

 

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11 hours ago, anzoid said:

You underestimate how absolutely cack-handed I am with a drill :D It is a thing to behold. 

As @BreadBin says - I'm down in Somerset, lovely little town of Frome.

I think the most basic part of the project is getting the body sorted along with the neck with the holes in all the right places for putting it together. I'm guessing the body in NYC cab yellow is going to be the expensive bit :D
I'm confident I can build it if all the guide holes are there - and can source most of the hardware as funds and time allow (this may be a long term project... :)

 

 

As a time served apprentice with qualifications as a fitter I can advise to some extent.

What you are talking about is fitting a collection of parts together to make an assembly.  That assembly will then need adjustments (the set up) in order to make the instrument perform correctly.

Any fitter will tell you that the job is never a case of fitting parts together.  It is always a case of making parts fit.  By your post, I can see that you are aware of this.  It is the same whether sub assembly parts are made by hand or manufactured using CAD and CAM (commonly known as CNC).  Tolerances in current manufacture may be tighter but there will always be a need for some skill during assembly to make the little modifications to individual parts in order for them to fit well together.

That said, many have gone before you and have been surprised by the results they can achieve.

I accept that you may not be as dextrous as you like but it is not always a handicap.

I'd have liked to help but it's a little too far to visit.

My advice is to use the tremendous resource that is Basschat.  Take photos, post, ask questions, ask for local help.  All of those things are freely available to you along with the vast resource that is the Internet itself.  I am optimistic for you.

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Well, you guys have convinced me that I might actually possibly be capable of doing this... and my timing is so bad it's unbelievable... the project seems as though it might be DOA anyway :D Looks like we're going to have a large plumbing bill sometime in the next week. Bath won't drain, I've taken everything apart as far as can go (surprised myself on that one too...) snaked the top of the pip and there's no blockages at the top... will have to check in the garden when the rain stops... and then probably call in a plumber anyway. Such is life :D

 

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I'm not going to be any help at all because anything more than a string change and I take my basses to a luthier. It costs a fortune but I just can't trust myself to get it right without totally f'ing it up. If you manage it I might one day take the plunge and give it a go myself. I watch with interest to see how you get on :)

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2 hours ago, anzoid said:

 Looks like we're going to have a large plumbing bill sometime in the next week. Bath won't drain, I've taken everything apart as far as can go (surprised myself on that one too...) snaked the top of the pip and there's no blockages at the top... will have to check in the garden when the rain stops... and then probably call in a plumber anyway. Such is life :D

 

Know that feeling! Had driers  and dehumidifier in my kitchen for over a week due to a leak that had gone unseen for a long time (years probably..). Entire kitchen is being removed tomorrow and the floor so everything can dry out. Luckily, the garage hasn’t been impacted so I’m trying to finish a bass build at the moment!!

I’ll keep an eye on this thread as I might be able to help with a few things when you pick this project up again.

Cheers

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1 hour ago, 6feet7 said:

If you manage it I might one day take the plunge and give it a go myself. I watch with interest to see how you get on :)

No pressure then.  Heeheehee

Joking aside, you are right.  These Diaries are inspirational because all abilities are represented.

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1 minute ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

Luckily, the garage hasn’t been impacted so I’m trying to finish a bass build at the moment!!

If you are anything like me, the notion of sleeping in the garage during the kitchen works wouldn't be far from your mind.  Just to leave the good lady with a bit of room to swing felines at leisure of course.

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1 hour ago, 6feet7 said:

I'm not going to be any help at all because anything more than a string change and I take my basses to a luthier. It costs a fortune but I just can't trust myself to get it right without totally f'ing it up. If you manage it I might one day take the plunge and give it a go myself. I watch with interest to see how you get on :)

Have a go - you may be surprised!

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1 hour ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

Luckily, the garage hasn’t been impacted

As we know God is a Bass lover...😎😎

I usually rely on friends or local luthiers to set my basses up. With the SGC Nanyo I bought recently I decided to have a go myself. It was nowhere near as difficult as I thought it would be and I got it spot on!!. There's always the thought that you'll break it - not even I could do that. At worst you have to rely on aforementioned friends or pay the local luthier what you would have paid him anyway.

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I may well be asking a lot of questions... anyone know anything about plumbing (just as an aside...)?

Spent some time (between bursts of DIY) costing out my proposed bass... probably should have done that first :D 
Wondering whether the best thing might be to get hold of an already mostly functional jazz bass and mod the heck out of it. I could get 90% of the way to what I'm looking for based on a stock Fender MIM Jazz - and the last step could be sanding down the body and doing my own paint job. Or does that sound dumb?

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Hey @anzoid, if you feel you have zero practical skills, then that's a good way to start.  Buy a fair bass that looks like it needs some lovin' and re-build it.

As a starting place a re-fin of a working bass is what most of us have done.

You can strip the body and spray it with Halfords rattle cans. Then fit it with your choice of parts and you'll be there. 

Keep posting her with pictures and folk will give tips along the road.

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This place is amazing - bass and plumbing advice in the same thread :D

We did try some Mr Muscle but without a lot of success :( It just sat in the trap and came back up through the plughole. Weird thing was even before doing that the trap was clean and I had drained the pipe out and tried to snake it...
There's a plumber working at my parents-in-law's place today just down the road and he's hopefully going to come and have a look. I've written a list of all the things that I've tried to do, so hopefully he'll have an idea.

And on to basses... not seen that eBay thing before - for that money could be worth trying one of those bodies because if I mess it up totally then that's not too much money down the drain (pun mostly intended...)

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