J-BASS build

[lynxpilot]

Fairly standard components.  Warmoth swamp ash J-Bass body, standard J-Bass rout, Fender noiseless J-Bass pickups, Gotoh 201 chrome bridge, standard tuners.  This one's for my daughter, who is very musically inclined but never stringed instruments.  She's got my fretboard theory book and is studying.  I got her a modest amp and external eq for once the build is done.  Hope this one's not too boring.  I'll try one pic and see if it fits, then post others as they happen.

this should show the parts as received from Warmoth (immaculate as usual).

 

[lynxpilot]

Intent is metallic 'apple' looking finish.  I base-coated with red.  Vinyl sanding sealer followed by nitro all the way.

 

[lynxpilot]

I'll cover with green on front and back, then follow with a darker red than base coat for trim, so end product should be a sort of metallic apple burst.

 

[lynxpilot]

Front just about done.  You can barely see the red between green flake (right where I wanted to stop).

 

[JimBeed]

Nice looking build, Always good to get more bass builds up on here  :icon_thumright:
Nice paintjob,
The guys here are appreciative of self finished projects just as much as fancy looking instruments.
What amp and eq did you get her in the end to go with it?

 

[lynxpilot]

Amp is a GK MB115 (box pictured behind the body and neck in the first photo).  EQ is a Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum Bass.

 

[JimBeed]

Cool that should last quite a while usefulness wise, i just recently upgraded to a 307W Ashdown,
This is making me want to finish my online kit bass back at home already  :sad1: :laughing7:

 

[line6man]

Looks good, but you really should tape off the neck pocket. The neck is not going to fit with all that paint in the pocket.
The paint also stands in the way of good wood-to-wood contact.

 

[lynxpilot]

The neck pocket is totally masked.  I just didn't have it on when I took the 'as received' photo.

 

[line6man]

The neck pocket is totally masked.  I just didn't have it on when I took the 'as received' photo.

Ah! Cool. Nevermind my previous comment. :blob7:

 

[blueruins]

Very creative...never heard of an "apple-burst" before...anything that reminds me of the Beatles makes me smile :icon_thumright:

 

[Jack Michaelson]

Looking good.

 

[lynxpilot]

Finished the flake coats.  Photo doesn't do it justice.  I think the flash washed out the red.  In any event, I did red on the sides and blended it in on the front and back near the sides.  Now I have to clear coat until the flake is no longer sticking out from the surface.

 

[lynxpilot]

Toying around with waterslide.  I've never used it before.  First one, I printed and soaked and the printer ink dissolved.  Second one, I coated with lacquer, then repeated the process.  Seems like it worked OK.

 

[lynxpilot]

And here's the apple.  Just about finished with clear coat.  The large flake takes a lot of clearcoat before the texture disappears underneath.  It looks a lot better with some depth to it.  I'm sure it's not apparent on the photo, but it looks real nice in the real world.  Can't wait to add some hardware.  Too bad nitro takes so long to cure.

 

[Corey P.]

Cool project, but won't your headstock logo be underneath the string retainer?

 

[lynxpilot]

Not going to use one until it appears she needs it.  If she does, I'll just move the label and refinish the headstock.

 

[lynxpilot]

Pretty much done.  Thanks for the warning about the string retainer.  I didn't realize what an issue it was until I put strings on (I've never touched a bass before this one).  I'll probably use the Hipshot type retainer for the high 3 strings and mount it fairly close to the nut.  Setup was interesting.  I'm still working on truss rod adjustment.  Not sure how action is supposed to be compared to a 6-string standard guitar, but this one seems to have a lot of neck relief that doesn't want to move a lot with truss rod turns.  Anyhow, here she is:

 

[Corey P.]

Very nice to see it whole!

Re: the strings, it looks like you have the ends of the strings outside of the posts - they should actually be inserted into the string holes in the tuning posts - I personally wind my strings around the posts about 2.5 times (give or take, err on the side of having too much) and trim the excess.  Occasionally I'll leave a bit more to get a steeper angle coming off of the nut, particularly if it's a string that doesn't have a tree (I don't have one on my E or A strings).

Let us know how she likes the bass!

 

[lynxpilot]

Corey,

Appreciate the responses.  As for strings, I left them slack and laid them across the slots in the post to allow about 2 full wraps and change, then wound them.  I just now went and looked and figured out what you were talking about and had to come back and re-write my posting.  Big DUH!  I did, however, buy an extra set of strings, so all is not lost (just $20 or so).

Figured out the truss rod.  I'll keep the problem a secret for now, but in any event it is adjusted for a straight neck, bridge for no buzz.  I fretted all strings all frets and no buzz.  Action is actually quite low over the entire fretboard.  Warmoth supplied the nut cut just right as far as I'm concerned (pretty gutsy for them).

I'll probably drop the rig off for my daughter this week.  Hopefully she'll stick to it.