Short Scale Bass

[TanRu]

Hey all. First time poster, second time builder here. First build was a tele a couple years ago. Now the bug has bitten me again and I'm building a short-scale bass. Neck and body both were in the showcase.

The body is mahogany with a koa top and only 3lbs12oz. It's going to be routed for a P at the neck and a J at the bridge.  Bridge is black Gotoh 201.

Neck is raw rosewood. Fretwire is 6150. Black Tusq bridge. Tuners are black Schaller light tuners.

Outstanding questions:
- pickup brand (considering Fralins but suggestions welcome)
- wiring Vol / Vol / Tone or Vol / Blend / Tone
- whether/how to customize the headstock
- knobs: black? wood?

 

[Cagey]

That's gonna be super sweet!

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

That is beyond shiny!  I'd personally think a cream & chrome combo would stand out great against that wood, but it would be hard to go wrong with anything on such nice woods.

Just my opinion, but I like the look of no pole pieces, so I'd say Carvin SCB + J99 (my personal fav), but there's also Bartolini, EMG PJs (they do make a passive set), and Delano PJs.

Or you could get extreme pole pieces.  :headbang1:

If you're going passive, I'd lean towards VBT, because it's less knob turning to blend the pickups. Playing live, I think a master volume is the way to go, but as in all advice, YMMV.  :icon_thumright:

Congrats on such a beauty!

 

[aarontunes]

Nice! That body was one of my favorites.

FYI, it is featured on the Warmoth website SSBG4 page. It the second one in the main image carousel at the top:

http://www.warmoth.com/Bass/ShortScale/Body/SSBG4/

 

[TanRu]

ihnpts, thanks for the pickup advice. I'll check all of those out.

double A, thanks for pointing that out AND not buying that body! It was on my watch list for a while, and finally I had to pull the trigger because I knew I would be buuuuuuummmed if I looked and saw SOLD!

Just got the tracking number for the body a couple hours ago, should be here in a week, woot!

 

[hannaugh]

That's going to be really nice. 

 

[TanRu]

Body arrived a few days ago, and boy is it purty in person. I don't seem to be able to insert an attachment to my post, so you'll have to take my word for it for now.

Will test fit the neck this weekend.

After some investigation I decided to take all ihnpts' advice! Carvin pickups and VBT wiring. This youtube video sold me on the pickups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iby9Pquebz0  EMG frightened and confused me with their proprietary connectors, haha.

Waiting for pickups to ship and all the pots and stuff to come from Allparts.

For the headstock I sent my "logo" (last name in Gibson-ish font) to Shapeways to print in various media. Not sure it's going to work out though, since it had to be 3mm thick to print in metal. Might be too big. Printed it in 2mm plastic as well but it might look too corny. The other idea is to use Ponoko to laser cut it from sheet metal. Should have the Shapeways stuff in a couple days so we'll see.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

After some investigation I decided to take all ihnpts' advice! Carvin pickups and VBT wiring. This youtube video sold me on the pickups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iby9Pquebz0 

Excellent!  You will not be disappointed - I've been a fan of Carvin for a long time (starting with a bass kit from a over a decade ago), and as you've seen, lots of great tones.  Also, if you're following all my advice: you should play this bass a few days, then decide to give it to me.  :icon_jokercolor:

For the headstock I sent my "logo" (last name in Gibson-ish font) to Shapeways to print in various media. Not sure it's going to work out though, since it had to be 3mm thick to print in metal. Might be too big. Printed it in 2mm plastic as well but it might look too corny. The other idea is to use Ponoko to laser cut it from sheet metal. Should have the Shapeways stuff in a couple days so we'll see.

Neat idea!  Pix a must!  I don't think it will be corny at all if it's well done.  Metal will be a good contrast to that dark neck.

 

[TanRu]

Couple pictures below.

Shapeways stuff came today. The logo is either going to just barely clear the strings or just barely not clear them. As I said to a friend earlier, my enthusiasm overcame my precision! If it doesn't fit I can reprint it 1/2" or 3/4" smaller.

Everything shipped from Carvin and AllParts so I may be done in just a few weeks.

 

[TanRu]

Shielding done (control cavity only), tuners are on, bridge and bridge ground in, and bridge pickup is in. I'm stumped on how to wire the neck pickup though. I already pm-ed ihnpts, but if anybody knows where to find wiring info for Carvin SCPs I'm all ears.

I've got the 2 (half) pickups, one labelled SCP and one labelled SCP-R. There's no "jumper" between the 2 pickups (like on every p-bass wiring diagram I've ever seen) but the wires are all joined together at the end. Does the SCP-R go on the bottom or the top? ???

Anyhow, I'm going to try calling Carvin today, and meanwhile I will get the strap buttons and the jack in.

 

[TanRu]

Carvin sez:

- The SCP-R is the reverse-wound and goes in the middle. The wire from one split to the other is inside the taped up bundle.

- On the J99A, the 3rd (bare) wire goes to the shielding.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Stunning! :headbang:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Huh... seeing the pics on that, it's really weird they have the SCP wired that way.  I've always seen a P wired as 1 humbucker, though it does make sense to have the 2 halves as separate pickups, since that's what they are anyway.  Their wiring for the standard J99 pair is pretty standard.

I wouldn't be surprised if they change that sometime soon, but for now: you have yourself one fine lookin' instrument.  :icon_thumright:

 

[TanRu]

Wiring in progress! I'm trying to take it slow and make sure I get everything right the first time. I plan to finish it this weekend. The blend pot contacts come so close to the shielding that I put a square of electrical tape there to keep it from shorting. Hopefully that does not compromise the shield.

 

[klangster]

that is one sweet looking bass I was oogling that body in the showcase even so much as to matching it with necks and pricing it out. Congrats on a very nice score!

 

[TanRu]

Bass accomplished!

Finished it up this weekend. All that's left is action and intonation. Sounds great (thanks again ihnpts) and feels great. LOVE the Carvin P-Bass pickup. I managed to fit the logo on the headstock, which made me happy.

 

[Cagey]

It's beautiful! Good job! You must be very pleased!

 

[fretless]

Stunning  :glasses9:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

B-E-A-utiful!  (or would that be E-A-D-uitiful?  :icon_jokercolor