P/MM Bass

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

My pickups arrived.  Seymour Duncan Basslines, Quarter Pounder P and Alnico Music Man.

The loose fit for the visual.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

For ferrule install, I opted for the soldering iron trick.  They practically fell in this time.

Also, I played with the camera's white balance adjustment.  This is Warmoth's Candy Turquoise, it looks greener in person and bluer in photos.  Hopefully the green and sparkle can be seen.  Coincidentally, the ferrules are chrome.  The gold color is most likely reflection of things in the room,

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I wasn't quite ready for the neck to be installed yet, but I felt it necessary to install the pickups and neck to act as a guide for screw locations of the pickguard.  I found it best to let the hardware and not the eyeballs choose where it rests, instead of file pickguards to fit later.  One subtle detail is that the route for the bridge pickup and edge of the pickguard make for a nice parallel balance for the OCD types.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I neglected to opt for a truss trench route on the pickguard when ordering.  Some say it's an eye sore, but I'd rather have it there than need a full over haul for a tiny neck adjustment, especially during setup.  My other 2 pickguarded basses are J basses.  Neither has a truss trench route, but they aren't necessary, as nothing is mounted to the pickguard, so pickguard removal is no big deal.  On a P-Bass however, all the controls are mounted on it.  String removal, as well as snaking pickguard mounted pots out of a cavity as the pickguard slides out from under the fretboard overhang and raised off the body around the pickups simultaneously.  No thanks, I'll take the eye sore.

This forum has been encouraging enough that I'm going to tackle cutting the route in the pickguard myself.

Here is the template taken from the body I will be transposing to the pickguard.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Something I've stopped doing as I began to know what I was doing and wondered why certain things keep getting repeated, is soldering to pots for grounds.  We go round and round about what a pot is made for, what it can take, why it's a big deal, and why it's no big deal.  I don't care or want the conversation, I just know I'm not doing it.  What I have started doing on pickguard mounted controls and rear routed guitars and basses is make a metal buss that is grounded.  It's no different than the piece of foil or shielding on pickguards, except it is.  It won't tear when a pot gets tightened.  It's like a hiden J-Bass or Tele control plate.

Well, I'll have to make that too, and unlike the past ones I've made, this one has to be very size and shape specific.  Here's the rough size and shape of what it has to fit in, in relation to the control cavity, pickguard and pot locations.  I will be transposing that to metal.

 

[JaySwear]

Good idea on the grounding. Just curious, what color is that body?

 

[AutoBat]

Good idea on the grounding. Just curious, what color is that body?

This is Warmoth's Candy Turquoise, it looks greener in person and bluer in photos.

 

[JaySwear]

Thank you! Looks like ocean turquoise to me. I love it

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I had box-o-hardware come in today.

Looks good, but one control knob is back ordered.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The tuners are Hipshot 3/8" Ultralites.  Most places will let you specify whether you want treble or bass side orientation.  This place didn't, but the tuners are reversible.  So that's what I did.  I'm right handed, play right handed, but have an unhealthy infatuation with reverse headstock basses.

Factory supplied, 4 in-line, bass side, right handed.

Take it apart and give it the ol switcharoo.

Done.  Rinse and repeat 3 more times.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Now that's done, next is the install.

Put a straight edge on them, mark them, remove them, drill them, install them.

I did toy with this idea for all of about 5 seconds.  Not on this bass.  May have worked on the Iceman.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

The next thing I tackled was cutting in truss rod access through the pickguard to the truss trench routed in the body.

It's almost there, but not quite.  A bit more filing to make it look pretty.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Like I mentioned in my "Just out of the box thread", there is no sidejack option for the Standard P-Bass though it exists in nature.  A simple V-T-Jack in the pickguard wasn't going to cut it.  This thing already has 2 pickups (one of them multi conductor), by the time mini toggles and extra volume knobs or concentric knobs start getting added, it becomes a fluster-cluck with the jack in the pickguard.  Solution, drill your own.  I used a 7/8" Forstner bit and will be using an electrosocket for the jack.  My concern was the location because the cable could collide with the pots if it's in the wrong the place.  My final control layout uses the stock locations for neck volume, bridge volume, and master tone.  The tone knob is push/pull for series/parallel of the Music Man bridge pickup.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Here's the metal plate I'll be mounting under the pickguard.  It allows me to ground it instead of soldering to the pots.  Because the pots are mechanically attached, they are grounded by default.


The template.

I cut it out of an electrical junction box cover.  It's been rough cut, and am checking for any clearance issues.  Seeing none, it's marked for drilling.

Drilled and filed.

This is how it will look under the pickguard.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

This is what I will tackle tomorrow.  The neck binding is thicker than the fretboard.  This isn't an aesthetic issue so much as a clearance issue.  If the neck were to be mounted now, the gap between the body and fretboard overhang is smaller than the pickguard.  If I screwed the neck on with pickguard mounted, it could concievably push the fretboard up.  Normally, I'd consider this a warranty issue, but I don't want to deal with the hassle of phone calls, shipping, and turn around time for what basically consists of sanding a piece of plastic.  My other bound neck didn't have this.  In fact, there's a small enough gap to slide a few sheets of paper in there.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Here's a somewhat finished pic.  Nothing is bolted together yet, nothing is wired.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Body is finished!  Got it all wired and ran an electric razor over the pickups through an amp to check each volume, master tone, and series/parallel push pull.  No worries.  I've got a little bit of sanding to do on the neck underneath the fretboard overhang, wait for a back ordered control knob, and Doug is doing me up a tasty neckplate.  Once I get all that stuff, I'll mount the neck, string it up, install the string tee, and begin the setup.  The next time you see it will probably be in the finished P-Bass section.

 

[Updown]

:blob7:  Great work STDC  :headbang:

Glad to see it only has 4 strings  :icon_thumright:

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Thanks.  So far this has been the most work I've put into a build.  It better sound good. 

I haven't got a lot of feedback so far.  I'm assuming it's because of the red pearl pickguard and "if you can't say anything nice" mindset.  I'm not crazy about the red.  Line6man has told me privately it needs a white pearl guard.  Mrs. STDC hates the red.  I'm going for loud contrast.

 

[JimBeed]

Loud is good... Loud is your friend... Seriously nice bass  ccasion14:
I come  back to the forum after an absence and find this piece of lovelyness waiting on my return. You guys never disappoint.

However, You just made me want a P/MM Iceman once again so DAMN YOU!

(Secretly THANK YOU!)

The pickguard Doesn't need changing