Parts arrived, Jazz away.

[Zibob]

So I finally got round to ordering the parts for my Jazz Bass and like the title suggests they arrived. The bass is as follows:

1 Swamp Ash body finished by Warmoth in clear satin
1 Flame Maple/Pau Ferro Jazz Neck with Slim Taper profile, 21 SS6115 frets and a Warmoth Clear Satin Nitro finish
Bare Knuckle '60 HF Jazz Bass set (not ordered yet) with standard passive T,T,V(EDIT: or is it the other way round... V,V,T oh I will work it out when it comes to that time) wiring.
Gotoh 201 bridge, Shaller BML Chrome Tuners, Chrome Control plate and Wht/Blk/Wht Jazz Pickguard.

If I left out anything give me a shout.

So I leaned it all together and this was the result;

 

[bagman67]

Welcome aboard!  The build looks spiffy.  Kinda understated, which is nice.

Strap button?  Knobs?  Pots/jack/caps?  You may already have these, I'm just saying it because you asked if you were missing anything, and I don't see it here.

 

[Zibob]

I have all of the above except for right size pots the 250's are too small i will just got get some new ones. On the other parts:

Strap button: Schaller Strap Lock dealies
Knobs: Flat Top chrome
Pots: See above (A250k)
Jack: Switchcraft mono
Cap: .22

Fair play for asking. The only pieces I don't have in my possession are the string retainer (because I fudged the order a little), felt dealies for the strap buttons, right sized pots and the pickups.

As for the look. I saw a Fender MIA just like this and instantly thought "This is the one!". Then I saw the price tag and though "I could build better for less." Some GAS later here it is mostly. Like I said I was quit lazy about getting the pieces even though I was freaking out wanting to play it, I know a bit mental. So i finally got off my ass and did it, mostly.

 

[Jusatele]

Zibob, I see a great build coming, keep us informed and post more pics

we are pic whores around here. And welcome to the site, ask anything nomater how stupid it sounds and you will get an answer, we love to help great builds. And some of those best builds have been first timers.

 

[Zibob]

So I have been a bit lazy... well yes and no. I have had quite a lot of help from a friend, in fact he did all the work thus far. But his work got the tuners fitted, the neck on and the bridge fitted. So I have strings on and have been messing around with it. Problems have raised their heads in the form of crazy high action. The bridge was bottomed out and it was still around 7mm high a the 21st fret. So i shimmed the neck and that has helped but it is still a lot higher than I would like. The thing is the string height at the nut is too high, i could either adjust the truss rod (but it is quite a shift) or I could get the nut lowered a bit (but this seems like it should not be necessary). I am just wondering how much of an adjustment can be safely applied to the neck via the truss rod. I will post pictures some time soon and show you the problem.

On the other hand I have put the order in for the pickups. Bare Knuckle '60 HF J Bass set with BKP 280k Pots. I thought I would try them out seeing as they are made specifically for BKP by CTS. So should be amazing when it is done.

i will appease you later with pics.

 

[JimBeed]

Warmoth parts aren't completely finished, so if the nuts a bit high for you, you take it to someone to get it set up right for you,
they usually are darn near perfect, but they arent finished instrument parts in the sense of the problems that arise when assembled.
I would say dont do anything to the neck with the truss rod for this problem, the nut would be a better point.
If anyone else feels im wrong feel free to correct me, this is just what ive heard/ experienced/ been taught.

 

[Zibob]

Thanks that clears that a bit. I thought it was a bit drastic the change that was need in the neck. So you figure bust the nut, so to speak, and drop the height that way. Sounds good to me. I will look into sorting that. Thanks

 

[Zibob]

So pictures I promised and pictures you will get. I don't know if it is really visible but  took a pic of the string heights at nut/fret 1 and fret 21 so you can analyse them. I am getting used to the new heights but the string deflection and the heights of the frets is causing the notes to bend slightly. Another little thing I will find a fix for. So anyway pics away. Oh and I got a case too, fit for a Jazz.

EDIT: Also the Pickups have shipped. Happy Days.

 

[Cagey]

The only fix for sharping notes on tall frets is to calm down. Slow down, and learn to place your fingers accurately behind the fret to sound the note. With a well-set-up fingerboard, you don't need nearly as much pressure to sound the note clearly, as long as you place your fingers accurately. Once you can do that, you can even scallop the 'board and not have problems as you won't be wresting with the thing trying to manhandle clear notes out of it. There's no reason to have a death grip on the neck.

Of course, that takes time. Maybe even a year or more with serious discipline and attention to detail. But, it pays off in the long haul. You'll sound better, be able to play faster, and while bass lines don't normally race along, it's good to be able to grace some notes in here and there between thumps for spice, character and fill, which you'll be able to do without difficulty.

 

[Zibob]

Oh I know that. But the other Bass has lower frets and I have gotten used to that. It will only take a week or so to adjust. Once I get the pickups in and the strap on and get playing it it will all be good.

EDIT: The pickups arrived today from Bare Knuckle and they are packaged so well and come with really nice extras. I was expecting just simple wrapped in  paper and in a nondescript box but they were in a made to size box with Bare Knuckle sticker. When I opened the box a heavy bass Bare Knuckle guitar pick fell out  and I found a custom Bare Knuckle beer mat style piece of card (which I will keep in the pocket of the case) and a sticker to use. It was all packaged with foam blocks securing the pickups. I also got my 3 280k pots as well.

EDIT #2: I finally have all the parts. All of them. So come next week i will have it done. Oh and I am getting along with the string height now just fine. Just needed that week to adjust.

 

[Zibob]

I finally got round to having the Pickups installed and all wired up. It sounds amazing already but needs some serious adjusting (i have a topic in the hardware section about one particular problem). I still to have the pickguard screwed on and the string retainer screwed on as well. but it is looking amazing and sounding even better.

 

[Corey P.]

I love the satin finish on the body and flame on the neck - great stuff!