TrevorR Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 (edited) Old bass day? New old bass day? But either way I’ve now got an old friend back in my hands... back at the SE Bass Bash last month I was chatting to @cetera about my old Frankenjazz and he asked why I never brought it to the Bass Bashes? I explained that about 7 or 8 years ago I’d loaned it to a producer chum for a project and he loved it so much he kept asking to hold onto it for a bit longer. He really loved it and used it on a lot of projects. Months turned into years and I never had the heart to ask for it back. “But it’s YOUR bass, man!” Was Gary’s comment. Well from then on I kept hankering to get it back... more and more... so the other week I dropped him a line and on Monday we met up and swapped it back. I got the bass off eBay about 12 or more years ago from a web shop called Build-a-bass with the idea that it would be the basis for customising. It was back when you could get 2 dollars to the pound so it really was a steal! The story goes that Goerdt from Build-a-bass bought up a load of bankrupt/lawsuit stock from a small builder in Rhode Island (I think) who was building slightly too good Jazz bass copies back in the early 90s and has since been selling the fully loaded bodies and necks as parts. It all sounds a bit suss but, to be fair, the build quality is really good - including the quality of the ash body, the finish and the maple in the neck. Plus when I popped off the scratch plate the whole cavity was fully copper foil shielded and there was a “Sept 91” QA sticker... The neck isn’t as narrow as some Jazzes at the first fret with a bit more meat - which I really love. I like a “proper” Jazz neck, but I like this more! The plan was to change the tuners which were not the best quality, throw on a Badass II, swap the pickups and add a preamp. Of those I only put on some Hipshot tuners, added some Graphtech saddles and put in an Audere Jazz plate. The pickups sounded great and I never had the feeling I needed to change them. Keeping the BBOT bridge also retained the through body stringing. It’s great to have it back. It still feels and plays great and sounds fabulous to my ears. Can’t wait for an opportunity to properly put it through its paces... Edited November 16, 2019 by TrevorR 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 Yay!!! Happy NOBD! So glad you got it back...... and looks like a beauty :) Enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoire Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 Cracking looking bass, must be great to have it back 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.