Bass builds: My own & for clients (friends)

[ThaCoast]

I’ve been pondering that myself. The ‘ol collection has rather built up and I should get rid of stuff but what?

Those i'm keeping either have sentimental value to em, or are dime a dozen (as my 75 grabber, or my logical rickenbacker clone).

On my chopblock, im sure ill end with some lifelong gear of mine thatll choose to either pass on or keep fundamentally. None get more play time than others, in my mind thats not a deciding factor. If i could, i'd love to see how many songs/riffs ive writen on each bass. Who ranks higher as my main one xD.

In a different perspective, i've made a checklist in terms of feel, sound, & how comfortable it is both sitting & standing for long hours. If i'm good with them in long stretches of Gigs or recording, they get a pass. That's always been the most important thing overall in music instrument acquisitions.

First on the chopblock is the Deluxe Precision bass. Just got done setting it up, & filling the fret ends. While it plays great & sounds superb, the neck is wider than my comfort levels can handle/tolerate for a long stretch. & even if i kept this as a laid back playing style, it's fatiguing to hold the neck up for any long duration. Short bursts, sure. But i don't think it would last a full hour long set in a gig. I'm sure other basses will join in being chopped, as of right now - i need to sort a few things on most before making a final decision.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Those i'm keeping either have sentimental value to em, or are dime a dozen (as my 75 grabber, or my logical rickenbacker clone).

On my chopblock, im sure ill end with some lifelong gear of mine thatll choose to either pass on or keep fundamentally. None get more play time than others, in my mind thats not a deciding factor. If i could, i'd love to see how many songs/riffs ive writen on each bass. Who ranks higher as my main one xD.

In a different perspective, i've made a checklist in terms of feel, sound, & how comfortable it is both sitting & standing for long hours. If i'm good with them in long stretches of Gigs or recording, they get a pass. That's always been the most important thing overall in music instrument acquisitions.

First on the chopblock is the Deluxe Precision bass. Just got done setting it up, & filling the fret ends. While it plays great & sounds superb, the neck is wider than my comfort levels can handle/tolerate for a long stretch. & even if i kept this as a laid back playing style, it's fatiguing to hold the neck up for any long duration. Short bursts, sure. But i don't think it would last a full hour long set in a gig. I'm sure other basses will join in being chopped, as of right now - i need to sort a few things on most before making a final decision.

Andii, it’s like you’re a new person! I barely recognise you!





Sorry, a probably poor attempt at humor.

 

[ThaCoast]

Andii, it’s like you’re a new person! I barely recognise you!





Sorry, a probably poor attempt at humor.

xD I quite enjoy this change, whatever it is

If someone would tell 14 year old me, that i'd have a collection of gear, i'd be thrilled! If they also told me, i'd be selling some of it off due to comfort levels & for overall keeping what's more valued to me, i think i'd still be ok with that knowledge x) After having built for 10 years, modding since for over 15 years, & always being a tinkerer from a young age, it's only fitting that my thirties see a "less is more" for instruments that i may not have much attachment too. All the better for whoever will own such instruments of mine, they'll have playtime, & learning ahead to be enjoyed

 

[Matt Liebenau]

xD I quite enjoy this change, whatever it is

If someone would tell 14 year old me, that i'd have a collection of gear, i'd be thrilled! If they also told me, i'd be selling some of it off due to comfort levels & for overall keeping what's more valued to me, i think i'd still be ok with that knowledge x) After having built for 10 years, modding since for over 15 years, & always being a tinkerer from a young age, it's only fitting that my thirties see a "less is more" for instruments that i may not have much attachment too. All the better for whoever will own such instruments of mine, they'll have playtime, & learning ahead to be enjoyed

That’s part of my issue. Almost everything I have I’ve built or modified so I’m attached.

 

[ThaCoast]

That’s part of my issue. Almost everything I have I’ve built or modified so I’m attached.

Most, if not all, my builds are staying with me 100%. Then there's those i've pieced together/modified, some are in the chopblock, others are kept because they've a useful factor in my recording/song writing. Those which are dead stock (in some ways), are left to being sentimental (firsts or passed on from my Dad).

It's just trying to ween out which are die hards & will always be played for the better part of the year, to those which are rarely picked up, or thought about. Again, being comfortable with them is a big one. So my process of elimination may take a good solid year of filtering & keeping "score", at the end of it all, i'll have kept what matters most to me & my music 100%

 

[ThaCoast]

I'll start with a few minor mods to a couple of epiphones.

This les paul special used to be my dads, passed onto me. Which in turn i had given to a friend of mine. Its been played for sure, & i had asked if she wanted a pickup swap. Choosing an epiphone pickup out of a les paul jr (which my dad has, swapped his for a duncan pearly gates). Anyway, this special has some guts now.

Onto my thunderbird: new gotoh gb707 in black. The economy keys i had on it for the last 9 years i'd say, have held up nicely. The gotohs are however better built, & they look the part with the rest of the bass. Am replacing its stainless steel sit strings for plain nickel (stainless doesnt suit the bass much, & they feel stiff even after many play hours.)

The gotoh posts are also larger than the economy Y keys. I dig em.

 

[ThaCoast]

Onto the new project of mine.

^^^stagg xb300 bass. 34" scale, 24 frets on rosewood board/maple neck. Alder body, single J & dual J hum l, master vol, 3 way toggle, master tone, output jack. Very much neck diving, tone is alright, weird combo of pickups.

Paint lift, fretboard lift. fretboard is fixed, & i checked the truss rod it does turn in both directions.

Now, due to the dive of this bass, i've decided to separate both parts (body & neck) into two projects of their own. The neck will have a new mahogany body made in the style of Alembic Spoiler bass. New electronics & pickups, i've got a chrome bridge & tuners on hand. Will just need some strap pins, neck plate, & output jack + plate for it.

The body will have a new short scale 30" 24 fret neck (to counter the dive). & have its body reshaped.

^^^this is the new design: based on Gene Simmons Valdez Skull/bat bass. Used on promos only, never live. So getting the shape as accurate going off of black on black images. Least its symmetrical, & though im positive his original was 34", i'm inclined to go shorter scale with it & have it balance better & be easy to play.

Projects for overtime, i'm currently in works of fixing/setting up all of my instruments over the next few months. Getting them all in working/playable condition. & will also be basis of, which stays around til my end of time, & those who depart in the following year. + it'll help me focus on just the builds afterwards such as the Stingray bass, triple pup jazzmaster guitar, hiwatt custom 50 build, & peavey 5150 redesign/build.

 

[ThaCoast]

A while has passed, & i figured i'd bombard today. Starting with this old friend of mine, the Goya 76 Studio Pbass copy.

^^^New black hardware (chosen by my friend Amber who owns the bass for the last 7 years). Switching out the chrome i had used for it. Needed to tweak the headstock a bit to fit everything, but it looks infinitely better currently, than with the chrome (as did the Tigerbird a couple years back when given to my friend). We also decided to lower string gauge (from 50-105 to 45-100), the bass feels better as such, & will also be easier to play for her. She loves it, & i couldn't be happier!

More pictures of different projects to come later today!

 

[ThaCoast]

^^^original chrome hardware. Tuners were pretty tight, even to turn...

^^^due to the holes not being drilled through. Posts would rub against the wooden dowel. Not great for fluid tuning.

^^^front veneer, & drilling to 11/16" through. Now the keys turn flawlessly, & fit perfect.

 

[ThaCoast]

Last night, this one's departed my household.

^^^the Deluxe precision as i called it. 2002 Squier Pbass body (possibly alder), all squier electronics (aside from the pickups which i had swapped out). Maple neck w/rosewood board. White binding, & block inlayed. Generic chrome clover keys, & original squier bent plate bridge. It played, & sounded good, but the neck was a tad too wide for my liking in comparison to my other precision basses. So this one, saw the chopblock.

Over the course of this coming year, i'll be putting all my gear to the test. & see which ones get the boot (if any).

 

[ThaCoast]

As I wait for some parts to start the Stagg bass projects, i'd been pondering about jazz basses, & what i'd do to build my own (potential keep, possible sell in the end). I think dominantly playing pbasses for the most part, makes designing this kinda easy. Considering i was fond of the Dimension series basses (enough to gift one to my gf at the time, now ex), i figured that's the perfect offset J, for a Pbass player. So my specs would be as follows:

- Mahogany body, Dimension shape
- Maple neck w/rose fretboard (or alternative), dot inlays, 21 frets
- 70's Spaced J pickups "vintage" output
- Sadowsky 2 band preamp w/Vintage Tone Control. Possibly a push pull on the volume for series/parallel pickup config.
- High mass bridge (hipshot or fender)
- Clover keys
- neck ferrules rather than a plate.
- Side mounted output jack
- 1.5" nut width.

Mahogany body wood, as i enjoyed the beefiness of the ibanez black eagle i had played years ago (& passed on getting for myself). But all the above, would suit pretty much all J bass needs for what would be my ultimate Jbass. My ultimate pbass, is having multiples with some slight variances xD

in other potential builds, i'm slowly budgeting a gibson G3 tribute/replica. As a way to kinda celebrate me building for 10 years (though i'd be building in the 11th year, shh xD). Would be the most expensive due to pickups (unless i found an alternative that could be built by a pro to somewhat similar specs). But this would be amber finished/tinted, over all maple body/neck/fretboard. & since i have a real Grabber bass, i'll replicate its neck profile close enough.

 

[ThaCoast]

After forever, trying to get it right to no avail. I've finally fixed/re-wired the Pumpkin King's TBX tone control. Now from 0-center it's a gradual tone control from bassy to bright. center-10 yields a brighter sound. So now, i can truly call this one done, & get to Duff's sound with ease! I missed playing this bass because the tbx was miswired, but having followed multitude of diagrams online, just confusing.

EDIT: In new gear news; i've purchased myself a Squier Dimension "deluxe" V bass. IDK why fender decided to call it deluxe, but regardless it's my first 5 string bass, of a series i truly did enjoy (given i had gifted one to my girlfriend at the time some 7 years back), & really these are sleeper basses. For the value of components in them, to their price, it's a great thing! However, being me, not 30 mins after purchase, i've implemented its first mod: removing both string trees (holding the E-A, & D-G), to simply use one holding the A-D strings. Reason for it, is because the tuner post for both the G & E strings are far away enough, & also their curved post creates enough down pressure to not have the string pop/buzz open from the nut. Where the A-D are further down, & would benefit from a string tree. & prior to doing the mod, i did test if the E & G absolutely needed to be restrained, or if i could do without either or. I'm happy to say, both are tree free, & ring perfectly true.

A few other mods/upgrades are in order potentially:

- New narrow bridge spacing: either fender high mass narrow spaced, or just hipshot Kick4$$ V (which will need extra holes drilled). TBD after testing more playability over a few months. It's more a question of strings close to the edge of the board.

- Testing the pickup in two ways: See how it sounds through a passive circuit or volume & tone control. & also, see it in both series & parallel configuration. If it's usable in both configs of series/parallel, then i'll implement a switch for it. If i enjoy the sound of the pickup in passive form, i'll install an active/passive switch. Though the latter i'll have to see if it'll work with the preamp on board & how that looks under the guard. Which, i would also swap for a dark pearl red. My dimension is a transparent Crimson red, with maple/maple neck. Stupidly awesome! & 400$ CAD, i'm pretty thrilled.

- Strings; need to see if i go slightly heavier, or lighter in gauge on this bass.

 

[ThaCoast]

Here's some before & after, of my new Squier Dimension Bass V

Prior to mods

^^^pictures from the sales post by former owner. All stock, with some stickers added.

Post mods

^^^had tested when both trees were on, just unhooked the E & G strings, see if they had enough down pressure to ring true. & seeing as they did, opted to ditch one, & move the other to a stingray 5 position. Looks better overall too. However, i will be upgrading it to a gotoh tall tree, as it doesnt have the grooves to hold the strings, which i prefer.

Strings are 45-130. I may opt for a 45-135 on this, or go 45-125.

I will most likely upgrade the bridge to a hipshot kick4$$ V for tighter string spacing, & will test the pickup sound passive w/series-parallel switching, & how useful overall the tone is.

I do dig the transparent crimson red as its called with the maple board. It looks great!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Looks good. If I was going to buy something instead of build the Dimensions would have been up pretty high on the list.

 

[ThaCoast]

Looks good. If I was going to buy something instead of build the Dimensions would have been up pretty high on the list.

They were honestly my favourite bold move fender basses. Coming from precision basses as my preference, & jazz basses not my thing, the dimensions were a good compromise of having an offset body, but compact like the pbasses are.

& speaking of precisions, i've just acquired another squier Affinity series pbass, in black maple/rose neck, 2000's model. Crafted in Indonesia. This is now my 2nd squier in two days, & my 7th squier in my entire life so far xD

- Squier affinity black/rose stratocaster (possibly 00-01 model, indonesian)
- Squier Affinity white/rose Pbass (possibly 04 model, Indonesian)
- Squier Standard P/J bass (Pumpkin King - 08 model, indonesian)
- Squier Mike Dirnt signature pbass white/rose ('16 model, indonesian)
- Squier Affinity Pbass black/rose, now white (04 model, china)
- Squier affinity pbass black/rose (00 model, indonesian)
- Squier Dimension V bass (15 model, indonesian)

I collect early squier affinity precisions, 2000-2004 era, like people collect vintage gibsons/fenders. However i spend less money on mine & to me, they're worth the money.

 

[ThaCoast]

After a few nights of modding& playing the Dimension V, i've come to a few conclusions;

- Passive sounds decent. Is it necessary with this bass to bypass the preamp circuit (& would have the pickup directly to the output jack, since the volume would also be bypassed)? No not really. Is it cool sounding - yeah sure.

- Series/parallel is alright. Parallel sounds really thin & lacks the volume/punch but gains clarity overall, series sounds big & bold. Meat around the muscle. So i wouldn't opt for a switch between both settings. The only way i was able to do this test, was add two wires to one coil of the pickup & having the jumpers between both coils disconnected. With that, the north coil read 8.4K, while south coil read 8.7k, which in all fairness is pretty sweet. How they're originally linked, yields a reading of 4.6k, which leads me to believe the pickup is wired perma parallel, however with the preamp it gets a nice boost overall. I'm tempted to wire the pickup in series with itself, & then send it through the preamp. See how much bigger it can sound.

- I will opt for a hipshot kick bridge, the strings feel way too close to the edge while playing, & do tend to slip (more so the G string vs the low B). One perma upgrade isn't bad. On subject of strings, i've ordered a set of GHS 30-100 high C for 5 string bass. Feel as though having a high C vs a low B will let me create/write more in my style. Currently having "trouble" hearing how i could implement the low B in my writing.

- Preamp; i will further test this, & see if i feel am lacking anything anywhere, or if it sounds too harsh/etc for my taste. Would still lean for a 3 band EQ, by who is left to be seen. Maybe Nordstrand again, or Audere possibly.

 

[ThaCoast]

I will correct my prior post by saying the following:

I've properly tested out series/parallel pickup wiring (vs having each coil act as individuals & have them be wired as jazz pickups in series/parallel). The pickup is wired in parallel stock, & with the preamp it sounds good. It feels & sounds even all across the spectrum (both in the EQ pots & also the range of the fretboard). The mids do get a little nasal/honky if boosted too much, & the treble is buzzy when maxed out. Bass is pretty "wide" & boomy when maxed, so there are sweet spots for each which interact nicely together.

I then wired the pickup itself in series (moving two wires, & removing one jumper). This. Was. BIG! Lots of grunt, power, & very much overloaded the preamp since turning the mid pot to center started to distort the signal itself, & well boosting the mids brought even more dirt. Fun for an onboard drive, but not fun when you want the bass to be strictly clean to start, & sent through dirt effects (at least, in my personal taste). Everything about the preamp which was good with the pickup in parallel, was smashed through a wall with the pickup wired in series. The bass was too much, the treble got a heavy accent (buzz level was the same, but you compared to parallel, the highs felt a little more background than foreground/even).

& so, i wired the pickup back to stock parallel with itself, & that's it. I'll be testing the preamp/tones further over the next months (along with having it strung up with GHS high C 30-100 strings), see if I find the preamp lacking anything in particular, or has something i dislike entirely, that i'd like to change out for another preamp/circuit.

In news of bass modding - i'll be slowly modifying the SUB ray4 my pop punk band's vocalist/guitarist owns. It's the first issue/runs with the bold SUB logo (not from the early 2000's, but from 2014-15). Anyway, it has a pretty bad buzz, which they're known for (preamp design issue). It's a 2 band, so testing it overtime will tell me if i'm better to get a straight two band preamp, or go 3 band & either stack knobs, or drill the side of the bass for an output jack. & since it'll be a bass to use in the project, i'm told to make it "mine" (we each have a colour shirt as a way to stand out as a group, I'm Green). So i may end up sploshing neon green paint over the black body/guard, TBD.

 

[ThaCoast]

Lots has been going on in the past few weeks. Mainly an organising of my rooms, making things easier overall in terms of space (floor & storage). & well new build designs as well. In terms of projects, here's a short rundown of what's up:

- Friday afternoon, i stepped into the shop after a long while away, & took the squier precision body for the fretless build, & the walnut jazz body. Both were in need of neck pocket adjustment, & did a bit of routing in the jazz bass control cavity (so the electronics' threads pass a little more). Got the fretless bass neck centered & bolted to the body. I do need to cut a piece of its headstock, glue a blank & trace/cut my headstock shape. Radius its board from 12" to 7.25" for a vintage feel, Paint the headstock face black, & wire up the pickguard/pickup. Once all that done, it'll be completed.

- Subject of the walnut jazz bass, once back home, i wet sanded its finish down because of drips/streaks, & general stickiness at the rear. Will be re-re-clearing it & once done, will assemble & sell off locally.

- For the Stagg xb300 part out, i had received the short scale 24 fret, 30" scale neck. Tested it saturday (though it doesn't fit in the body as is without mods), i've decided to opt for a 32" neck instead. The 30" would have everything be too close, & i wouldn't want that with the new body shape once that's underway. So ordered the neck, i wait for its arrival.

- for the stagg xb300's neck project, spoiler body to be made, will need to order the mahogany blank sometime next year.

With the short scale neck, i've thought of building gene's Axe bass ala kramer short scale he had. However, i may opt to build his Gibson modified 1959 EB-0 instead (albeit with a 24 fret neck instead of 20 as his original). So it may end up feeling a little like his Lobue bass, but will look like the eb-0 100%. Debating doing the string through as his had.

My end of 2024 goals are the following:

- Finish setting up all my gear which are playable.
- Compile all my desktop computer parts for its build.
- Wire, set up, & sell the blackguard/yellow telecaster
- clean up, wire, set up the red strat copy i was given, & sell it off.
- Finish the Walnut Jazz bass, wire, set up, sell off.
- Finish the Bass VI tailpiece, & it as a whole to have it in rotation.
- Move forward with the Hiwatt Custom 50 amp build. Probably get at least half way, if not 3/4 way done. Do need to order a headshell to carry it around properly.
EDIT - Rasta Stratocaster: plug the neck holes, center on its new body, drill new holes. Assemble/wire/set up. Probably going to sell this one off after a while, unsure if i'm keeping it around.

2025 will yield the following projects;

- Stingray Bass: Build the neck, finish the body work, have it painted by my friend Eve. Seal it, wire/assemble/set up.
- Jazzmaster guitar: Build the neck, finish the body work, paint/seal it, drill/route the pickguard for controls/pickups, wire it up, assemble/set up.
- Stagg XB300 neck/Spoiler build: make the body, paint/seal, assemble/wire/set up. Sell off.
- Stagg XB300 body/Valdez bat build: alter the body, paint/seal, assemble/wire/set up. Sell off.
- D.A. plexi bass: Finish building the neck, stain/seal, assemble/set up.

 

[TerribleTim68]

You changed your name and threw me off.

 

[ThaCoast]

You changed your name and threw me off.

Yeah, after 13 years, it was time to for me to drop a name i didn't want anymore xD I joined talkbass near the end of my high school days in 2011, & that was the first name that popped up. But overtime, i got tired of it. ThaCoast is more fitting to me personally