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Precision '54 bass with balls

Hande

Junior Member
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Hi everybody!

I'm new here and this is my first post.

This forum has been a very important source of endless inspiration when designing the very first Warmoth bass of mine. In fact, this is the first bass building project I've ever made. I'm very grateful for all the active forum members and would like to thank everybody for sharing pics and thoughts.

My Precision/Telecaster Bass project started already over 2 years ago in my head but, as you all very well know, sometimes other things have a higher priority in life. Well, at the end of last year Warmoth's sale campaign helped a lot to push the plans into reality and last November I finally had the time and courage to click the order button. The special custom made neck was already in the showcase, but the body had to be custom made.

A couple of weeks ago I received two little boxes from UPS. Inside one of the boxes there was an Alpine White Precision '54 body. The second box contained a custom made birdseye maple + indian rosewood Telecaster bass neck.

Now, let's have some pic's...

 
Yay! Blocks and binding, very classy!  :laughing7: :icon_thumright:

That's gonna be a sweet project. What are your plans for electronics/pickups?
 
I wanted the mic+amp configuration to be more on a versatile side. And that means custom designs and typically long time for the hardware to be manufactured and delivered. For that reason I ordered everything well ahead (or in-time, one could say).

Pick-ups are quite special and were a very tough thing to decide on. The neck PU is a custom wound split-coil Lindy Fralin with approximately 6.4 kOhms of resistance. The bridge PU is a custom build Carey Nordstrand Fat Stack in an EMG35 housing. It has a resistance of ca. 15 kOhms, and naturally only 50% of that is in use when coil-tapped (upper coil active, lower coil grounded). I was also considering Dual Coils, Big Splits, Big Singles and Delano Hybrid for bridge position, and a plain ordinary single coil P'51 for the neck position.

The pre-amp was an easy one. I've already had absolutely fantastic results with Audere JZ3 turbo-charging Jazz Basses, so why look elsewhere? Audere 3ZB module with stacked Volume/Balance and Treble/Bass pots was my choice. I ordered the active/passive option, too.
 
You have thought this bass out quite thoroughly, and have a specific tone in mind.  What's up for bridge and tuners?  What will probably be your choice in strings to add icing on the cake?  Keep the pics and progress reports coming - you have the makings of a very distinctive instrument  :icon_thumright:
 
I ordered a Schaller 3D4 bridge in chrome finish. This bridge is very sturdy, has a good reputation and is adjustable in all 3 dimensions. Unfortunately I don't have any personal experience so my decision was a blind one...
 
Feelgood said:
I ordered a Schaller 3D4 bridge in chrome finish. This bridge is very sturdy, has a good reputation and is adjustable in all 3 dimensions. Unfortunately I don't have any personal experience so my decision was a blind one...

It's a good bridge - I've had one!  These days *I* prefer the pre-grooved saddle BadAss II and/or A-Style Hipshot bridges......but hey, IF we were all the same it wouldn't be any fun.  Enjoy the Schaller - it will serve you well  :glasses10:
 
Thanks, hope that too!

The tuners had to be light weight versions because the bass was going to be a little bit neck heavy. The body weights only 4.2 lbs and the Warmoth necks are famous for being more massive than their Fender cousins I've used to play with. A massive bridge with a base plate may help a bit but I decided to do a lot of home(net)work on this particular subject.

The outcome? Classy old school looks combined with the latest manufacturing technology: Gotoh Res-O-Lite GBR640 in nickel finish. Gear ratio 1:28, reverse wind, 67 grams per piece.

Bingo!
 
Boxes have carefully been recycled and now it's time to move on.
I will continue this P'54 story in 'A Work in progress'.
 
I really like the neck binding, Tele headstock and pickup configuration.  I will look great when finished,
 
Feelgood said:
I wanted the mic+amp configuration to be more on a versatile side. And that means custom designs and typically long time for the hardware to be manufactured and delivered. For that reason I ordered everything well ahead (or in-time, one could say).

Pick-ups are quite special and were a very tough thing to decide on. The neck PU is a custom wound split-coil Lindy Fralin with approximately 6.4 kOhms of resistance. The bridge PU is a custom build Carey Nordstrand Fat Stack in an EMG35 housing. It has a resistance of ca. 15 kOhms, and naturally only 50% of that is in use when coil-tapped (upper coil active, lower coil grounded). I was also considering Dual Coils, Big Splits, Big Singles and Delano Hybrid for bridge position, and a plain ordinary single coil P'51 for the neck position.

The pre-amp was an easy one. I've already had absolutely fantastic results with Audere JZ3 turbo-charging Jazz Basses, so why look elsewhere? Audere 3ZB module with stacked Volume/Balance and Treble/Bass pots was my choice. I ordered the active/passive option, too.

Very cool.  I've got a set of Seymour Duncan ASB2-6's in my most recent Gecko build and I'm not satisfied with the sound.  I was thinking about contacting Carey to have a set of FS built in an EMG45 housing.  Carey does great work.
 
SlingBass said:
What will probably be your choice in strings to add icing on the cake?  Keep the pics and progress reports coming - you have the makings of a very distinctive instrument   :icon_thumright:

Sorry, I've been so busy lately that I completely forgot to answer this part of your question.

I prefer Thomastik-Infeld strings. My typical gigging set is plain ordinary Jazz Round Wound (43-51-68-89). I just love the physical response of these strings, they seem to act as an organic part of the instrument they are installed on and I almost feel that they are some kind of mechanical extension to my fingers, too. I have tried several incarnations of LaBella's, d'Addario's, Elixir's, DR's etc. but I always return to the Thomastik's. In Europe, where I live, they are quite affordable, too. They sound like somewhere in-between steel round wounds and nickel flat wounds. I hope you got the point. 

When planning the mic and pre-amp configuration for this particular Warmoth instrument I deliberately wanted to keep in mind the obvious strings and their characteristics. By the way, only a very experienced bass player would ever make a question like that...
 
SlingBass,
honest and deep (= bassic!) thinking is where all of us should aim at. And that journey never ends.
 
Feelgood said:
SlingBass said:
I've gone through almost everything (much like yourself it appears)
Have you ever tried Sunbeams?

I have nothing bad to say about DR Sunbeams or Hi-Beams - they're just not for me.  I don't like the "sizzle" of the Hi-Beams...especially on the D and G strings.  I also prefer a slight bit more tension.  I currently have a set of Hi-Beams on my P-Bass that I'm getting ready to take off today.  It's typical for me to change strings monthly.  I'm going through and mounting a few sets of strings I've had around for awhile, and use them before they go bad (most aren't airtight sealed).  More times than not...I buy 2 sets of the same type string to be fair in my judgement of them.  I'm going to rotate out some of the older ones before installing the new Sadowsky Blue nickels I'm chomping at the bit to use.  IF I don't like those - I'll move on to the Sadowsky Blue steels 
eusa_dance.gif
 
SlingBass said:
Feelgood said:
SlingBass said:
I've gone through almost everything (much like yourself it appears)
Have you ever tried Sunbeams?

I have nothing bad to say about DR Sunbeams or Hi-Beams - they're just not for me.  I don't like the "sizzle" of the Hi-Beams...especially on the D and G strings.  I also prefer a slight bit more tension.  I currently have a set of Hi-Beams on my P-Bass that I'm getting ready to take off today.  It's typical for me to change strings monthly.  I'm going through and mounting a few sets of strings I've had around for awhile, and use them before they go bad (most aren't airtight sealed).  More times than not...I buy 2 sets of the same type string to be fair in my judgement of them.  I'm going to rotate out some of the older ones before installing the new Sadowsky Blue nickels I'm chomping at the bit to use.  IF I don't like those - I'll move on to the Sadowsky Blue steels 
eusa_dance.gif

You might try Lo-Riders if you want higher string tension.

Honestly though, I've played many types of strings and I keep coming back to EB Slinkys. I'm going to try out the coated ones on my P-bass once the rest of it gets here, but in the past Regular Slinkys have been fantastic. Once I have a second Warmoth (next Christmas if the job holds out), I'll likely have EB Flats on my P and try out some Stainless Steel Slinkys on the Jazz I hope to build, .50-.105 in both cases.
 
I've tried d'Addario ESP and Elixir Nanoweb with absolutely zero results. Thomastik-Infeld may wear out sooner and will become muddy sounding more quickly but hey, they manufacture real bass strings!
 
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