First Two Builds: 72 P bass, and a Jazz bass Wal hybrid

[fauxtoe]

Hello everyone!

EDIT- I changed the title of this thread to reflect that I will have two builds going now that I found a suitable neck to use on the 72 P bass. Enjoy!!


I think this is my first post on this forum, but I want to thank you all for your wealth of information I have been sifting through the past few months. I go by the same username on TalkBass and some of you may have already seen my posts about this.

What you're probably thinking from the title is, "What the heck is that?!"

So I had this bright idea to do a Warmoth build...then I had another bright idea to semi-abandon that idea after it was already ordered (and will be here soon) and come up with a new bright idea...and here we are.

New bright idea: How to make a bass sound like a Wal without paying the Wal price. I know, there is no REAL substitute, but I also don't have $10k set aside for a single bass - new OR used. I'm a big fan of anything played with a Wal bass (Geddy, Flea, Justin Chancellor, etc,- it's a big list). So my take on this is two parts Geddy (played a Wal and a Jazz), part JC (natural finish Wal), and the rest is me.

1. Pickups - (2) Rautia multicoil humbuckers set into a MM Stingray sized case. They have 8 poles each, with each pole having their own individual coil, wired in series of two rows of 4. Capable of running series, parallel, and single. Pickup rout channels will be as close to Wal placement as possible - 3.685" from the neck pocket edge to pickup edge for the neck, and 7.25" from the neck pocket edge to pickup edge for the bridge. These will be routed by Warmoth and it was a small up-charge to have them placed where I wanted.

2. Preamp - Lusithand Dual NFP - This is a dual low pass filter preamp with similar options found in Wal's electronics. It will be Volume/Blend/Filter/Filter and a on/on/on switch per pickup to control coil tapping.

3. Neck - 1-1/2" width wenge/wenge with pearl blocks, slim taper, no finish, 20 frets, steel rods, black Tusq nut, black Hipshot hardware, SS6150 frets

4. Body - Solid mahogany core with a unique choice quilted maple top, dark wood accent line, satin finish. Routed for the MM sized pickups and no control holes drilled since I'll do that later.

5. Bridge - Black aluminum Hipshot Type A FM1 (Fender hole spacing)

6. Knobs - Kilo model code SC-75-2-5. They are black 3/4" aluminum knobs with a numbered skirt. Their placement location is purely speculative at the moment since I do not know yet where everything from the preamp will fit.

Using the photo of the unique top I purchased, attached to this post is what I think it will turn out to be, but that's up to Warmoth to find what looks best.

 

[stratamania]

Welcome to the forum.

It looks like it should look good if it ends up similar to the mock up.

 

[fauxtoe]

Welcome to the forum.

It looks like it should look good if it ends up similar to the mock up.

I’m sure hoping so! The amount of renderings I made to even put me in the ballpark of how I think it will look was extensive.

From this point I’m about 3 months from having it complete due to waiting for the body and the pickups. The neck was placed in the original order and should be here anytime at this point.

 

[fauxtoe]

My first bright idea that I described in the original post is a go again. I managed to source another Warmoth neck for it at a fair price, loaded, and ready to go with the specs I probably should have built it with in the first place. That one is a 72 P bass build as seen in my rendering below -

Specs -

72 P bass
Alder body
White Pearl gloss finish
Matte black single ply .09" pickguard
Fender Hi-Mass bridge
DiMarzio Relentless pickups in nickel (chrome)
500k Volume, 250k Tone, and I might add a push-pull pot to change between a couple capacitors
Van DykeHarms Stainless Ultra Grip knobs with black inlay
Electrosocket Jack

 

[fauxtoe]

The neck for my 72 P bass arrived today and it's a real beauty! It's used, but it's pretty much in mint condition with the exception of having been mounted to a body at some point. I can't find a speck of fret or other wear on it. It came with installed Hipshot USA Ultralite tuners and the string tree. If the person who sold it to me happens to be on here, thank you again!

Specs -

J Bass
1-1/2" width
Maple
Indian Rosewood fretboard
Slim Taper
20 frets (6150)
Graphite rods
White Binding
White pearloid blocks
Black side dots
17.5mm tuner holes
White TUSQ nut
Vintage tint satin finish

 

[BeagJon]

Hope you love it! Post some sound examples when she's done. I narrowly purchased Nordstrand's JC setup instead of Rautias but i'm interested all the same.. i could always build another lol

 

[fauxtoe]

Hope you love it! Post some sound examples when she's done. I narrowly purchased Nordstrand's JC setup instead of Rautias but i'm interested all the same.. i could always build another lol

I briefly researched the Nordstrand's and I decided that if I was going to go the "Wal" route that I should get some pickups as close to their design as possible. I love Nordstrand though, and I use their Starlifter preamp with my in-ears pedalboard rig. It gets the job done better than anything I've used to date. They are also a local company to me and I've had several friends who have had work done personally by Carey. There's always a possibility I don't like the Rautia's and it's why the body is being routed for MM sized/shaped pickups to have that flexibility. Their placement is the most important part and I think the measurements I went with should be pretty close.

 

[BeagJon]

Hope you love it! Post some sound examples when she's done. I narrowly purchased Nordstrand's JC setup instead of Rautias but i'm interested all the same.. i could always build another lol

if I was going to go the "Wal" route that I should get some pickups as close to their design as possible

And you did make the right decision. Nordstrand's product description changed 3 or 4 times between placing my order and receiving them so I wasn't certain what I was in for. They're a great pickup/pre that targets those sounds really well, but they do not have the Wal magic smoke.

 

[fauxtoe]

Well...this happened. 20 weeks after I ordered the 72 P bass it showed up today, but with a pretty bad finish flaw in the actual paint under the clear. The paint itself started peeling/cracking before the clear was applied and it's pretty noticeable in person. It's about a 3" x 3" section to the left of the bridge area and right at the edge of where the forearm contour starts. In the last photo I managed to find the right light so you can really see how big of an area is affected. Had it been on the back I would likely let it go, but this is front and center and the paint color is way too nice to accept it as-is. Customer service has been emailed and I'm awaiting their response.

 

[fauxtoe]

A little update to this thread -

1. Warmoth sent me a return label for the 72 P bass and they received it back at their headquarters last week. After what I'm sure was a quick inspection I received a notification of a new order that will either refinish or replace this body. No matter to me as long as it comes back looking good! Spike was a great help getting this resolved.

2. The Jazz-Wal hybrid body should be here in the next day or so. UPS seems to be running a little ahead of schedule with shipments going from north to south and vice versa. I plan to get started with this bass ASAP since I need to take some measurements for pickup pole spacing for the Rautia pickups before they are made.

 

[fauxtoe]

The jazz bass body has entered the building!

 

[triodecr]

Both basses look awesome but I applaud your wood choices for the Jazz. Stunning! 

 

[fauxtoe]

I just received an email that the multi coil pickups for the Jazz have been completed and will be on their way from Finland. Exciting times!