mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) Hello world. I have been invited to start a thread about the above. In a few words, I am unexperienced in the subject, but have some experience with wood working, and because I love bass and wood working, I thought to merge the two passions by assembling/building my new bass guitar. Requirements are bulletted following: - Telecaster body (see below, please) - Long scale - I want to install the double humbucker I just bought from a small UK builder that seems to be powerful and chubby as I like, never tried it before, but I hope it will be a nice warming fatty/meaty sound. I know I will have to modify the pocket for the pickup as it is built for a single coil type. I plan to use my manual router to do so. - I have an idea to install a second hand neck from a jazz bass (left handed) bought recently on ebay (see below) which is fretless (meaning the frets have been removed, so there is still the cut on the neck), and I was wondering how much work I need to do to on it or can I install it as it is? Do I need to fill the cavities left on the neck by taking the fret off? Also, I will definitely have to sand off the heel of the neck as it is rounded and not flat as the pocket on the body. Any suggestion on this latter matter ? I plan to use my manual router to do so. - Finish: I would like to leave the wood color on for both the body and the head of the neck. - Hardware: black hardware all over, with possibly a choice between these two bridges (thanks @walshy for the cool one 😉) (please see attached). Also: I have seen loads of videos on YT about how to mount the bridge in order to put it in the right position and to maintain the 34" scale, but is there anything I should be most aware of here? - String: light rounded: I have these Adagio that are brand new and have been donated to me by lovely wife (or Wi-Fi as I call her 🙂) At the end of the day I am trying to make something that could look a bit (very much only a bit) like a Dusty Hill Tele with on a Joe Dart musicman! LoL Main concern (at the top of the others mentioned above 🙂) : - Attacching the neck to the body: I have done that 2 times in my whole life, and it seems I could have done a better job. Any hints on how to achieve the best result here? Thanks gentlepeople for anything you can suggest! Cheers! Edited August 30, 2023 by mrbacco 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 I'll be following this, interested to hear how the pickup sounds as I've been looking at one of these myself to drop into a Stingray copy. Best of luck with the build! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Following... loves a bitsa build... Neck Heel... I don't think you want to square-off your existing neck, as it would try to sit further back in the pocket, although the heel taper might not allow it, and then the bridge will be out. Stick it in and try it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) Don't look at me, I just nails scheiß together and see what sticks Routing the pickup pocket: template, template and template again. Then try it on on scrap first. Fitting the neck: are you using a neck plate? Use that to pre drill the body, I prefer clearance holes so that the neck is drawn into the body by the screws, clamp the neck in place and drill the tapping hole into the neck. That's what I do/would do, YMMV. Edited August 30, 2023 by Si600 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Following. 👍 There will be lots of excellent advice on here but for goodness' sake don't take any of mine!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, Rodders said: I'll be following this, interested to hear how the pickup sounds as I've been looking at one of these myself to drop into a Stingray copy. Best of luck with the build! Thanks, the pickup is interesting, never had one like that, it is actually a bit smaller then the other mini humbucker I have in the other telecaster ... and the price I got it is even more interesting, a fraction of the "regular" ones, let's see ... Edited August 30, 2023 by mrbacco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 5 hours ago, Richard R said: Following. 👍 There will be lots of excellent advice on here but for goodness' sake don't take any of mine!! so .. if I do not have to follow your advice, I should not even follow this one where you told me not to follow your advice! LoL 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 6 hours ago, Rodders said: I'll be following this, interested to hear how the pickup sounds as I've been looking at one of these myself to drop into a Stingray copy. Best of luck with the build! Thanks, I will try to post some recorded sound once I finish the assembly, maybe in 2049 considering my skills? 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 6 hours ago, PaulThePlug said: Following... loves a bitsa build... Neck Heel... I don't think you want to square-off your existing neck, as it would try to sit further back in the pocket, although the heel taper might not allow it, and then the bridge will be out. Stick it in and try it. But would not be ok if I then, after sqaring off the heel, I mount the bridge a backward for the fraction that I took off from the neck? (If you know what I mean)? Just moving everything back a bit (a tiny fraction of an inch I guess) to maintain the length of the scale and therefore the intonation? No? Is this nonsense? 🙂 Also: what do you mean by the heel taper might not allow it Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 6 hours ago, PaulThePlug said: Following... loves a bitsa build... Neck Heel... I don't think you want to square-off your existing neck, as it would try to sit further back in the pocket, although the heel taper might not allow it, and then the bridge will be out. Stick it in and try it. But would not be ok if I then, after sqaring off the heel, I mount the bridge a backward for the fraction that I took off from the neck? (If you know what I mean)? Just moving everything back a bit (a tiny fraction of an inch I guess) to maintain the length of the scale and therefore the intonation? No? Is this nonsense? 🙂 Also: what do you mean by the heel taper might not allow it Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 9 minutes ago, mrbacco said: so .. if I do not have to follow your advice, I should not even follow this one where you told me not to follow your advice! LoL 🙂 You'll fit right in here! 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 6 hours ago, Si600 said: Don't look at me, I just nails scheiß together and see what sticks Routing the pickup pocket: template, template and template again. Then try it on on scrap first. Fitting the neck: are you using a neck plate? Use that to pre drill the body, I prefer clearance holes so that the neck is drawn into the body by the screws, clamp the neck in place and drill the tapping hole into the neck. That's what I do/would do, YMMV. yeah ... the routing .. I am a bit worried, but I have some pine wood and other wood I can use as guinea pig. I did not think of using a neck plate, I don't even know what it is for, to be honest, I might have missed a point here. I was thinking to either screw the neck in once I pre drilled the body, or to install the bolts in the neck first and then install it on the body so that the screws will screw into the bolts. I think someone here, sorry of I forgot, did not suggested the bolt solution as it does not provide any advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 5 hours ago, Richard R said: Following. 👍 There will be lots of excellent advice on here but for goodness' sake don't take any of mine!! Yep don’t listen to him, it’ll be donkey 😛 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 6 hours ago, mrbacco said: I want to install the double humbucker I just bought from a small UK builder Both me and my pal over in Kenya have those Warman Quad coil HBs. Pal is a big fan of Warman pickups, his current build is an EB-1 with one of Josi's Jazzbars at the neck. You made a great decision there 🙂 I'll double check but I'm pretty sure the Quad coil is standard humbucker dimensions, template can be made from web downloads. 6 hours ago, mrbacco said: Do I need to fill the cavities left on the neck by taking the fret off? Aye. Simple task, just glue strips of veneer in the fret slots then trim/sand smooth. 6 hours ago, mrbacco said: I will definitely have to sand off the heel of the neck as it is rounded and not flat as the pocket on the body. Any suggestion on this latter matter ? I plan to use my manual router to do so. Another simple task. You can either square the heel of the neck or round the pocket, I've done both plenty of times. Squaring the heel is just a case of making a temple from the pocket, transferring it to the heel then taking away the excess wood; I normally use a rasp + flat file for that. To round the pocket, you lay the neck on top of the body. You'll need to prop the peghead up thickness of the body and put a 16mm block in the pocket to give the heel something to rest on. Slide the neck down until the corners of the heel meet the corners of the pocket; mark the tip of the rounded heel on the body. You'll also want to extend the neck lines down the body. If you have centre line down the body you can keep everything is in line with 2 straight edges running down each side of the neck and measuring across. Since I do this fairly often I knocked up a jig but anything straight will do. You'll follow those lines with your router. Lastly shape a stop block following the rounded heel. Clamp 2 straight edges to the body, placed on the extended lines, the rounded stop goes where you made the first mark. The attached PDF has the 51 centre line, print it out and transfer it to your body. 51Body.PDF 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) ^ shows the neck taper, heel and same as pocket... its not 'square in' By squaring the heel, moving it up in the pocket.. you will get a gap L and R... Edited August 30, 2023 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 46 minutes ago, kodiakblair said: Both me and my pal over in Kenya have those Warman Quad coil HBs. Pal is a big fan of Warman pickups, his current build is an EB-1 with one of Josi's Jazzbars at the neck. You made a great decision there 🙂 I'll double check but I'm pretty sure the Quad coil is standard humbucker dimensions, template can be made from web downloads. Aye. Simple task, just glue strips of veneer in the fret slots then trim/sand smooth. Another simple task. You can either square the heel of the neck or round the pocket, I've done both plenty of times. Squaring the heel is just a case of making a temple from the pocket, transferring it to the heel then taking away the excess wood; I normally use a rasp + flat file for that. To round the pocket, you lay the neck on top of the body. You'll need to prop the peghead up thickness of the body and put a 16mm block in the pocket to give the heel something to rest on. Slide the neck down until the corners of the heel meet the corners of the pocket; mark the tip of the rounded heel on the body. You'll also want to extend the neck lines down the body. If you have centre line down the body you can keep everything is in line with 2 straight edges running down each side of the neck and measuring across. Since I do this fairly often I knocked up a jig but anything straight will do. You'll follow those lines with your router. Lastly shape a stop block following the rounded heel. Clamp 2 straight edges to the body, placed on the extended lines, the rounded stop goes where you made the first mark. The attached PDF has the 51 centre line, print it out and transfer it to your body. 51Body.PDF 32.69 kB · 0 downloads wow ... these are some guidelines, thanks very much ... I cannot say I understood everything, but I will have time to re read it all a few times! I like your workspace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 1 hour ago, kodiakblair said: Pal is a big fan of Warman pickups, his current build is an EB-1 with one of Josi's Jazzbars at the neck. How can these guys build such pickups for a fraction of a price of the competition? In my other telecaster, I bought a ceramic minihumbucker from a custom shop in Italy, and was 4 time the price of the one from Warman ... how do they do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 34 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: ^ shows the neck taper, heel and same as pocket... its not 'square in' By squaring the heel, moving it up in the pocket.. you will get a gap L and R... OP has body with square pocket , he wants to pair it with a rounded heel fretless neck. Body has square pocket. Neck has rounded heel. Slide neck over top of body until rounded corners meet corners in squared pocket. Mark tip of rounded heel. Placed stop block (shaped to fit rounded heel) at mark. Neck is butted up to stop block. Straight edges run down either side of the neck then clamped in place, never took photos of that. Neck is removed, leaving you with Square to Rounded Heel jig. Result after router work. Red arrow points to end of original squared pocket. Yellow arrows point to new rounded pocket end. No gaps L to R. 4mm was removed from squared heel. If the work was being done to a body where the bridge had already been fitted, saddles would need 4mm travel to intonate properly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 48 minutes ago, kodiakblair said: OP has body with square pocket , he wants to pair it with a rounded heel fretless neck. Body has square pocket. Neck has rounded heel. Slide neck over top of body until rounded corners meet corners in squared pocket. Mark tip of rounded heel. Placed stop block (shaped to fit rounded heel) at mark. Neck is butted up to stop block. Straight edges run down either side of the neck then clamped in place, never took photos of that. Neck is removed, leaving you with Square to Rounded Heel jig. Result after router work. Red arrow points to end of original squared pocket. Yellow arrows point to new rounded pocket end. No gaps L to R. 4mm was removed from squared heel. If the work was being done to a body where the bridge had already been fitted, saddles would need 4mm travel to intonate properly. 😉 thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 4 minutes ago, mrbacco said: 😉 thank you! You're welcome. Regarding Warman pickups, Josi charges what he does because pickups are not expensive to build. Take this . https://www.axesrus.co.uk/TeleBASSPUPPARTS-p/51pbasspupkit.htm Add £1 between #44 AWG & hook up wire to end up with this https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Seymour-Duncan-Vintage-P-Bass-SCPB-1-Singlecoil/art-BAS0004029-000 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 Did you deliberately buy a left handed neck and right handed body ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 31, 2023 Author Share Posted August 31, 2023 (edited) 38 minutes ago, fleabag said: Did you deliberately buy a left handed neck and right handed body ? yesSir! Did I complicate my life too much you think? Edited August 31, 2023 by mrbacco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 Not really. Just means the tuners will be underneath, and you'll have to fit a new nut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 31, 2023 Author Share Posted August 31, 2023 1 minute ago, fleabag said: Not really. Just means the tuners will be underneath, and you'll have to fit a new nut. Thanks, that was one of the questions I had to myself that google could not answer; so I did a bit of study and I came to the conclusion that, unless you have a right hand modern c shape neck, there should not be any difference between right to left, (except the 2 you mentioned). Please correct me if I am wrong ... Also: Can I reverse a right handed nut to be used in the left handed neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbacco Posted August 31, 2023 Author Share Posted August 31, 2023 (edited) In addition to the above, I bought that neck cause: #1 it was cheaper than others #2 in love with Dusty Hill reversed necks on his tele (not that I compare myself to him, I am not blasphemous 🙂) Edited August 31, 2023 by mrbacco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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