SoundAsAnOldEngineer
Junior Member
- Messages
- 38
Well, this project isn't going to win any prizes for pushing the boundaries of guitar design, but I'm very happy with the result, and there are a few lessons learned that might be of interest to another J-bass builder.
I picked an unpainted Swamp Ash body from the Showcase and had Warmoth finish it in Clear Gloss. The neck was also from the Showcase, with ebony fingerboard, standard profile, birdseye neck and satin finish. The remaining components are Gotoh bridge, Schaller tuners, Warmoth pickguard, CTS pots, and everything else Fender, including CS60 pickups.
The clear finish on the body is really excellent; I'm very pleased with this.
Interesting things about the build process:
The heel of the neck was about 0.03" too wide for the pocket. It might have fitted with a bit more pressure, but I didn't want to risk a crack in the body or in the finish. Ten minutes with 120 grit sandpaper and a square block of wood working on the pocket was enough to create a snug fit. I was careful to avoid sanding the floor of the pocket.
The neck needed a 0.016" shim to get the bridge height adjustment in the right range. This is the second time in succession that I needed this. I used a sheet of Birch from a model shop to make the shim.
The V shape on the control plate did not match the corresponding V on the pickguard by a huge margin. I marked round the control plate onto the pickguard and filed the pickguard to shape. The end result looks okay. I guess I have a bit of customising to do in the future if I ever change the pickguard.
The bass sets up to the standard Fender string height and neck relief without any problems. It sounds okay and plays nicely.
I hoped that it might be flexible enough to replace my earlier Warmoth P-bass, but there's something about the P-bass that makes me want to keep both.
I picked an unpainted Swamp Ash body from the Showcase and had Warmoth finish it in Clear Gloss. The neck was also from the Showcase, with ebony fingerboard, standard profile, birdseye neck and satin finish. The remaining components are Gotoh bridge, Schaller tuners, Warmoth pickguard, CTS pots, and everything else Fender, including CS60 pickups.
The clear finish on the body is really excellent; I'm very pleased with this.
Interesting things about the build process:
The heel of the neck was about 0.03" too wide for the pocket. It might have fitted with a bit more pressure, but I didn't want to risk a crack in the body or in the finish. Ten minutes with 120 grit sandpaper and a square block of wood working on the pocket was enough to create a snug fit. I was careful to avoid sanding the floor of the pocket.
The neck needed a 0.016" shim to get the bridge height adjustment in the right range. This is the second time in succession that I needed this. I used a sheet of Birch from a model shop to make the shim.
The V shape on the control plate did not match the corresponding V on the pickguard by a huge margin. I marked round the control plate onto the pickguard and filed the pickguard to shape. The end result looks okay. I guess I have a bit of customising to do in the future if I ever change the pickguard.
The bass sets up to the standard Fender string height and neck relief without any problems. It sounds okay and plays nicely.
I hoped that it might be flexible enough to replace my earlier Warmoth P-bass, but there's something about the P-bass that makes me want to keep both.