First build - Jazz bass
- Thread starter ghotiphry
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ghotiphry
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RIGHT. LET'S KICK THIS PIG AND MAKE IT SQUEAL.
I started with the bridge. I checked the size and depth of the pre-drilled holes. Size looks good, depth does not, they are a little short. I determined the hole size to be 1/8", but it feels a little weird, like Warmoth finished the body after drilling the holes? (7/64 just dropped into the hole.) I tested a 1/8" hole in scrap wood, yep that's the right size. I wrapped my 1/8 bit with tape to the right depth, took a breath, and drilled. My first hole. No material was removed except for making the hole deeper, so I feel on the right track. Ran a countersink bit to ease the finish around the hole, and a little super glue to hold it down. Won't go into that here, it's nothing new. Lube the screws with beeswax, and run them in. They go in nice and easy, but I can still feel them bite. Too easy? I don't think so, but I was expecting to use a bit more force to screw these in.
Ground it. I'm using GREEN for grounding wire, as it should be. Well, let's say I'm using green because I find it less confusing.
Of course I need to take the bridge apart to get the screws installed. Strip it down to the plate, and screw the mounting screws home. Reassemble the bridge. Done. Way to easy. What the hell?
Personal assessment grade: B
The superglue was a little difficult to control, and I got a little on the finish around the holes. Nothing to worry about, it's hidden, and not affecting the height of the bridge at all. Something to be more aware of in the future. Other than that installation was amazingly smooth and easy.
I started with the bridge. I checked the size and depth of the pre-drilled holes. Size looks good, depth does not, they are a little short. I determined the hole size to be 1/8", but it feels a little weird, like Warmoth finished the body after drilling the holes? (7/64 just dropped into the hole.) I tested a 1/8" hole in scrap wood, yep that's the right size. I wrapped my 1/8 bit with tape to the right depth, took a breath, and drilled. My first hole. No material was removed except for making the hole deeper, so I feel on the right track. Ran a countersink bit to ease the finish around the hole, and a little super glue to hold it down. Won't go into that here, it's nothing new. Lube the screws with beeswax, and run them in. They go in nice and easy, but I can still feel them bite. Too easy? I don't think so, but I was expecting to use a bit more force to screw these in.
Ground it. I'm using GREEN for grounding wire, as it should be. Well, let's say I'm using green because I find it less confusing.
Of course I need to take the bridge apart to get the screws installed. Strip it down to the plate, and screw the mounting screws home. Reassemble the bridge. Done. Way to easy. What the hell?
Personal assessment grade: B
The superglue was a little difficult to control, and I got a little on the finish around the holes. Nothing to worry about, it's hidden, and not affecting the height of the bridge at all. Something to be more aware of in the future. Other than that installation was amazingly smooth and easy.
ghotiphry
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Next job: pickups.
Before anyone says, "Hey, you forgot to shield!", I haven't forgotten to shield. I've actually made a decision NOT to shield. My pickups are actually split coils. Let's call it an experiment. I think I may not have to worry about 60 cycle hum. If not, shielding is an easy retrofit.
Check the screw holes. Size and depth both look good. (Gotta check the depth with a piece of wire.) Cut a section out of an old mouse pad to put under the coils. Lube the screws a little. Screw them in. Just too easy.
A little closer look at the coils.
Done.
Personal assessment grade: A
No issues to report, at all. Um...
Before anyone says, "Hey, you forgot to shield!", I haven't forgotten to shield. I've actually made a decision NOT to shield. My pickups are actually split coils. Let's call it an experiment. I think I may not have to worry about 60 cycle hum. If not, shielding is an easy retrofit.
Check the screw holes. Size and depth both look good. (Gotta check the depth with a piece of wire.) Cut a section out of an old mouse pad to put under the coils. Lube the screws a little. Screw them in. Just too easy.
A little closer look at the coils.
Done.
Personal assessment grade: A
No issues to report, at all. Um...
ghotiphry
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Next job: End pin.
Ok, so I'm going to need to cut some wires here. I'm going to take this opportunity to add some length to the wires. Give me an additional 6 inches of wire.
Black, white, and green again for ground. I've stripped one wire to about a half inch, another to about an inch. Coil the longer around the shorter, and solder.
Finally, a little heat shrink tubing.
With the wiring extensions ready, I rough fit things in place. Ugh. Is it possible that jazz bass body curvatures are more extreme than others? This seems a lot of bending of the football plate to expect those little screws to accomplish.
I took a piece of scrap wood, and a wood shim, and used it as a forge anvil. The wood protected the face of the football plate while i tapped a more significant bend to the plate with a hammer from the back. Test fit, looks better. That's more along the lines of what I would expect from the mounting screws to be able to handle.
With the assembly in place I marked one screw location. Marked the drill bit with masking tape for depth. I ran the drill backwards to cut through the finish. Lube the screw. Drive it home. Mark the second screw. Unscrew the first one and repeat drilling process. And finish the plate. Something is off. The second is not flush. Unscrew, and the hole is not centered. What happened? It didn't wander on me. Hm. I'm not sure how I cold have done this differently. It's done now, and doesn't look bad, but still not sure why this one is off.
Personal assessment grade: C-
Passing. Barely. Still not sure why that screw hole is out of whack.
Ok, so I'm going to need to cut some wires here. I'm going to take this opportunity to add some length to the wires. Give me an additional 6 inches of wire.
Black, white, and green again for ground. I've stripped one wire to about a half inch, another to about an inch. Coil the longer around the shorter, and solder.
Finally, a little heat shrink tubing.
With the wiring extensions ready, I rough fit things in place. Ugh. Is it possible that jazz bass body curvatures are more extreme than others? This seems a lot of bending of the football plate to expect those little screws to accomplish.
I took a piece of scrap wood, and a wood shim, and used it as a forge anvil. The wood protected the face of the football plate while i tapped a more significant bend to the plate with a hammer from the back. Test fit, looks better. That's more along the lines of what I would expect from the mounting screws to be able to handle.
With the assembly in place I marked one screw location. Marked the drill bit with masking tape for depth. I ran the drill backwards to cut through the finish. Lube the screw. Drive it home. Mark the second screw. Unscrew the first one and repeat drilling process. And finish the plate. Something is off. The second is not flush. Unscrew, and the hole is not centered. What happened? It didn't wander on me. Hm. I'm not sure how I cold have done this differently. It's done now, and doesn't look bad, but still not sure why this one is off.
Personal assessment grade: C-
Passing. Barely. Still not sure why that screw hole is out of whack.
ghotiphry
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So, what's next. Well, let's look at the ground wiring.
I've got this little slip of paper from Nordstrand. Kinda strangely worded, but I get it.
So, the grey wires from the pickups and the bridge. Ok, to the sleeve ground.
I'm giving myself an extra ground in the event I do decide to shield with foil.
Soldered, and shrink wrapped. A few zip ties, and in place.
Personal assessment grade: B
Maybe a little messy, but it doesn't bother me. Connections should be solid.
I've got this little slip of paper from Nordstrand. Kinda strangely worded, but I get it.
So, the grey wires from the pickups and the bridge. Ok, to the sleeve ground.
I'm giving myself an extra ground in the event I do decide to shield with foil.
Soldered, and shrink wrapped. A few zip ties, and in place.
Personal assessment grade: B
Maybe a little messy, but it doesn't bother me. Connections should be solid.
ghotiphry
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I've got an issue to solve. The Audere has a battery. Well, I don't want it to just be rattling around loose. I want a battery clip. Problem is the wood is too thin where I would mount it, no way to attach with screws. Anyone have any advice as to how to affix the clip to the inside of the cavity? Screws would be best, it would allow me to remove it to shield the cavity if I want. Adhesives would hinder that. And, if I do decide to shield, I can't very well just adhere it to the shielding. Removing the battery from the clip would just peel the shielding away. I could probably get away with the shielding paint and using an adhesive to that.
Cagey
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Are those low-impedance pickups? If not, you're going to have a ton of noise from all that unshielded wire running around, and lining the cavities with foil or magic paint isn't going to do anything for you. Does nothing for anybody; it's a feel-good move that's been pointlessly propagated for years. Looks good in pictures, though.
ghotiphry
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Hey Cagey, so you think I need to trim the wires back to just the lengths needed to get from A to B? Or redo with shielded wires? The wires I've done so far are just the grounds, I wouldn't think extra length to the grounds would cause noise.
The pickups are a set of Nordstrand NJ4SV. Obviously the wires from the pickups are not shielded. I've not been able to find information on their impedance.
The pickups are a set of Nordstrand NJ4SV. Obviously the wires from the pickups are not shielded. I've not been able to find information on their impedance.
ghotiphry
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And i should use shielded wires for which connections? The bridge is just a ground wire, no shielding needed. I could do this for the jack wiring, but I'd probably want to replace the jack rather than unsolder what's done. I'm having a problem with the idea of clipping the wires from the pickups... I don't mean to sound confused, but I am. I'm not seeing a lot of jazz basses with shielded wires. Just a lot of talk about copper shielding. I'm with you on that, I don't see much benefit from shielding the cavities.
Cagey
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You only need to shield wires that will carry signal, not including return lines which are also ground. And the reason you don't see many Jazz Basses with shielded cables is that they use single coil pickups, and there's nothing you can do about shielding those. Traditional Strats and Teles are the same way. That's why there's been so much effort over the years to create noiseless pickups that look/sound like single coils.
ghotiphry
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Cagey, I decided that the only way I'd know is to finalize the electrics and see what it sounds like. So, I did that. I did clean up my grounding also, and shortened the wires. I left the battery connections purposefully a little longer. When i plugged it in I'm not hearing any noise, except for when everything is turned up way loud. Then I have a very faint whining. Is that the noise you're referring to? It actually is not bad at all, and so much quieter than my MIM jazz. It's not a 60 cycle hum, that much I do know.
Edit: Added note, that I just thought of, the overhead lighting is fluorescent. I should have tried it with the lights off!
I'm still puzzling and scheming on shielded wire. It seems to me the wires I need to concern myself with are the black pickup wires, and the solid white from the Audere to the jack. The twisted pair theory of wiring should help a bit with the pup wires. Still not sure how to protect the white output wire. It would mean clipping and replacing the wire on the Audere circuit board uncomfortably close. It would be nice if those wires were screw in connections like the pups. I'm thinking I might be able to shield the wire with copper tape and shrink wrap, and tack a grounding wire from the copper tape to the common ground on the jack. I'm not sure how inflexible that would make the wire. Still thinking. Maybe a test. Edit: just found this product on Amazon, conductive shielding tape. A little expensive, but might be worth a try. I don't know, I might be chasing a problem I don't actually have.
Also, I took another bass and held it close enough to this one to pluck a couple of open strings and sound it out. It sounded really great to me. I mean it sounds better than I expected, especially at this stage in the build.
I think I've decided to not use the battery clip. The battery wants to sit under the bridge pickup wires, creating a type of hold. I also moved the ground wires on top of the battery on the other side. I'll have to try it and see, but I think all's good. I can always add the clip later, but for now I'm going to keep it simple.
Edit: Added note, that I just thought of, the overhead lighting is fluorescent. I should have tried it with the lights off!
I'm still puzzling and scheming on shielded wire. It seems to me the wires I need to concern myself with are the black pickup wires, and the solid white from the Audere to the jack. The twisted pair theory of wiring should help a bit with the pup wires. Still not sure how to protect the white output wire. It would mean clipping and replacing the wire on the Audere circuit board uncomfortably close. It would be nice if those wires were screw in connections like the pups. I'm thinking I might be able to shield the wire with copper tape and shrink wrap, and tack a grounding wire from the copper tape to the common ground on the jack. I'm not sure how inflexible that would make the wire. Still thinking. Maybe a test. Edit: just found this product on Amazon, conductive shielding tape. A little expensive, but might be worth a try. I don't know, I might be chasing a problem I don't actually have.
Also, I took another bass and held it close enough to this one to pluck a couple of open strings and sound it out. It sounded really great to me. I mean it sounds better than I expected, especially at this stage in the build.
I think I've decided to not use the battery clip. The battery wants to sit under the bridge pickup wires, creating a type of hold. I also moved the ground wires on top of the battery on the other side. I'll have to try it and see, but I think all's good. I can always add the clip later, but for now I'm going to keep it simple.
ghotiphry
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A few updates. My neck arrived. It seemed that the neck pocket was a little snug, wasn't able to even test fit the neck. Some careful sanding with a block for about a half hour took care of this issue, mostly on the "meaty" side of the pocket. I was a bit worried about filing down the other side. There's a part of it that already seems really thin to me. Here it is test fitted.
ghotiphry
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Finished pictures on their way, as soon as I play with it it a bit. It sounds fantastic, and plays like it sounds. I've very, very happy. That raw neck is slick, and every time I play it my fretting hand smells of roasted maple. I don't think I'll ever want to play a neck with a finish again. The only thing adjustment outstanding is the action is a bit high at the nut. I don't have a set of nut files, and don't really feel like dropping a hundred on something I don't know I'll use very often. Still mulling this over. I've gone with a set of Ernie Ball flatwounds. I like the flatwounds, but not sure that Ernie Ball was the correct choice. They feel a little rough.
Cagey, I thank you for the advice on shielded wiring, but this thing is dead quiet. I do mean dead quiet. No hum.
I'm getting a nice, meaty, clear tone with zero adjustments to the EQ. I've got sustain for days. I can hold a note for at least 15 seconds. It's almost too much. I've got a lot of playing room with the Audere system, almost too much playing room. I don't quite know what to do with it all. I've already pulled the trigger on a new body and neck. Rear rout this time. I will definitely do another Audere system, but I'm thinking a more classic jazz coil with Audere's noise cancellation system.
Neck plate is on it's way from Doug. Doug, I've taken the liberty of posting the pic you sent me. Thanks!
Cagey, I thank you for the advice on shielded wiring, but this thing is dead quiet. I do mean dead quiet. No hum.
I'm getting a nice, meaty, clear tone with zero adjustments to the EQ. I've got sustain for days. I can hold a note for at least 15 seconds. It's almost too much. I've got a lot of playing room with the Audere system, almost too much playing room. I don't quite know what to do with it all. I've already pulled the trigger on a new body and neck. Rear rout this time. I will definitely do another Audere system, but I'm thinking a more classic jazz coil with Audere's noise cancellation system.
Neck plate is on it's way from Doug. Doug, I've taken the liberty of posting the pic you sent me. Thanks!
