Walnut and Elm Jazz Bass

[Silky999]

Initial cutting and routing done on this beauty, just need to shape in the front and back.

 

 

[Silky999]

Front and back flattened and one side shaped. 
 

 

[Silky999]

Shaped, sanded, black grain filler and first coat of Liberon Finishing Oil. 
 

 

Edited December 26, 2025 by Silky999

[JPJ]

Oof 😍 that looks beautiful. The circular grain on the back is stunning.

[BassTool]

Absolutely superb, that looks mint! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👌🏼

[Silky999]

Thanks Folks, it’s coming on a treat. The Liberon is now curing for 7 days before a couple of coats of shellac and starting the nitro clear coat. 

[HeadlessBassist]

@Silky999 You're becoming the single piece body artiste, my friend! That is seriously lovely... 

[potato bass]

On 24/12/2025 at 19:50, Silky999 said:

Shaped, sanded, black grain filler and first coat of Liberon Finishing Oil. 
 

 

How did it end ??

[Silky999]

Shellac is on and Nitro clearcoat starting today….

[JPJ]

9 hours ago, Silky999 said:

Shellac is on and Nitro clearcoat starting today….

I hope you have a warm and well ventilated workshop / spray booth?

[Silky999]

12 hours ago, JPJ said:

I hope you have a warm and well ventilated workshop / spray booth?

Yeah, I am on my second mdf spray booth in the workshop as the first one was a bit small. It has a 6” Vortex Pro extractor , led strip lights and a spraying jig. The extractor is ducted to outside and I wear a half face VOC respirator. I only spray 1k or nitro as 2k needs positive air fed respirator. The workshop(garage lol) has some fan and ceramic heaters which keeps its reasonable. 

[Andyjr1515]

I like this very much    Excellent choice of timbers and well executed carve 👍

[gary mac]

Impressive work.🙂

[potato bass]

On 03/01/2026 at 11:12, JPJ said:

I hope you have a warm and well ventilated workshop / spray booth?

I would Love to see a Basschat. all walnut (neck and body)  club/ tribute site. + a, same for all natural Jazz Bass

 

Edited January 5 by potato bass

[Silky999]

Thanks for all the lovely comments. 

[potato bass]

Im very excited to follow your build !

[Silky999]

First coats of nitro are on…

[tauzero]

Absolutely stunning.

[Silky999]

Coats are starting to build now. A couple more sessions and then the waiting game to cure before sanding and buffing.

[Silky999]

Spent this morning flattening, cutting back and polishing the walnut and elm body that’s been in nitro for a while now. Always that slightly tense moment when you move from “looks alright” to “don’t mess this up now” 😅

 

It’s come up really nicely overall. There is a bit of grain sink in places, but nothing dramatic — and honestly on an open-pored wood like this, I think it just adds a bit of character rather than looking like a mistake. It still feels smooth to the touch and the gloss has settled well.

 

This one’s very much in the nitro doing nitro things category: natural, slightly imperfect, and already starting to look like an instrument rather than a project. I’d rather that than bury the wood under half a gallon of plastic.

 

It’ll be paired with a roasted maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, Guyker tuners, Fender Pure Vintage ’66 pickups, and a Hipshot bridge. The neck is already finished and set up, with the tuners installed, so it’s just waiting to be bolted on once the body’s had a bit more time to behave itself.

 

Next job is letting it sit and behave itself before assembly. No rushing, 

 

Does this build make you feel “fizzy”?…..it doesn’t have a home yet……

 

This one is going to be a stunner and if it sounds and plays as well as previous builds, it will be immense.

 

MGCS – made to play, built to last.

Edited February 7 by Silky999

[Silky999]

Walnut & Elm – Now Assembled (Nearly There…)

 

The walnut and elm build is finally bolted together and strung up.

 

Body’s come up lovely under the clear – the elm grain on the back is doing that topographical-map thing I can’t stop staring at. Front’s got that warm, deep walnut glow that just screams “play me loudly”.

 

Spec as it stands:

 

Roasted maple neck

Rosewood board

Fender Pure Vintage 66 pickups

Hipshot bridge

Bloodstone loom

MGCS plate on the back (because branding obviously adds sustain…)

 

 

Only thing cosmetically left is swapping the brushed control plate for chrome. The brushed one was a “let’s see” moment. Chrome is the right answer. We all know it. Even the bass knows it.

 

Setup-wise… it’s not leaving the workshop yet.

 

Action isn’t where I want it. Saddles are sitting higher than I’m happy with just to keep it buzz-free, even after dropping the neck heel depth slightly. That tells me there’s still something to dial in properly – whether that’s pocket geometry, relief, or a tiny shim rethink.

 

It’ll get sorted.

 

I’m not sending anything out that feels 95% done. Second best isn’t an option. If it leaves here with the MGCS badge on it, it’s right.

 

Back to the bench. 🔧

Edited February 13 by Silky999

[HeadlessBassist]

Wow. Your best work yet..? 😎👍🏻

[Silky999]

5 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Wow. Your best work yet..? 😎👍🏻

Richard, I still think yours is an absolutely beast and sounds phenomenal!! If you fancy changing your bridge, the Hipshot has adjustable spacing so you can line up the strings to the poles. Have you used the walnut/graphite in anger yet?

[HeadlessBassist]

9 hours ago, Silky999 said:

Richard, I still think yours is an absolutely beast and sounds phenomenal!! If you fancy changing your bridge, the Hipshot has adjustable spacing so you can line up the strings to the poles. Have you used the walnut/graphite in anger yet?

 

Hopefully that'll be this weekend. I have two jobs over the next two days, so will be able to give it a proper road test...

 

The engraved neck plate is a nice touch. Looks very OEM  

Edited Saturday at 09:01 by HeadlessBassist

[Silky999]

Walnut & Elm Jazz – Basically Done (Just One Screw To Go…)

 

Just waiting on the Schaller strap button and then I can officially stop fiddling with it and admit it’s finished.

 

Chrome control plate is now on, which sharpens it up nicely and stops me staring at it thinking “does it need something?”. It doesn’t. It’s done. I’m not touching it again. Probably.

 

This one will be looking for a new home shortly.

 

Specs:

 

• Walnut & elm body

• Nitro clearcoat finish

• 9.8lbs (solid, but balances well)

• Roasted maple neck

• Rosewood board

• Guyker tuners

• Fender Pure Vintage ‘66 pickups

• Bloodstone Guitarworks loom

• Hipshot bridge

• Schaller strap buttons

 

Finished in nitro clearcoat so it’s got that proper thin, resonant feel rather than the dipped-in-plastic vibe.

 

Set up properly. Low action, no nonsense.

 

Tone-wise it’s got the proper Jazz thing — warm and woody on the neck, bridge has bite and a bit of honk when you lean into it. No active wizardry. Just good components doing what they should.

 

Looking at around £750–£800 ballpark when it goes up properly.

 

FS thread to follow once the final strap button goes in and I resist the urge to “just tweak one more thing”.

 

MGCS – Made to play. Built to last.