Terminal Jazz Bass

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

Thought I'd start a thread on my terminal stringed instrument project - a Jazz Bass
Just got all the hardware ordered.  Found a good deal on a Fender pickup set with AlNiCo II magnets, which I've had before and found to be a more rounded tone, less "honk" .  Pretty much all Fender parts for the rest, except for the controls which was a kit w/CTS solid shaft audio pots and Switchcraft jack.
Been working with Warmoth for the bridge route, and we've got that all sorted, so its gonna be a Swamp Ash body in clear, with a BadAss III (string thru) route.  The BadAss III was a replacement "upgrade" for the Fender 3 screw + string thru bridge, which is sort of like a Strat hardtail bridge.  I'm using the Fender bridge (all steel) so the BadAss III holes will be a perfect match.
The neck will be roasted maple.  I'm a big Goncalo Alves fan for guitar, but for bass... maple it is.  Goncalo really quiets the highs on a guitar, and for me is the perfect wood for a Telecaster with normal Tele pickups (which tend to be very bright).  For a bass... I've always thought that when the highs are cut, so is the attack.  Crisp equals punchy in other words.  I'm only a  half-fast bass player, so what do I know?  Nuthin!
I'll get around to ordering the body and neck in a couple of weeks when my Telecaster Thinline neck comes in, and that guitar is all assembled. 

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

First of the parts arrived.  The bridge. 

This is really a superior bridge.  All the "high mass zink" marketing BS aside... There is no zink here.
Its all steel, and heavy steel.  Seven holes.  Three to attach to the body, four for string thru.  Can be used as a top loader too.
Had this on my American Jazz Bass (may it rest in peace).  Zero issues, and a great sounding and great playing bass.

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

Pickups and control plate arrived today!
Tomorrow, I expect the controls, bridge cover, thumbrest, string hold down, and tuning machines to arrive.
Probably... going to order the body next week.  As much as I like all the selections on the Warmoth site, they have no selections for the string thru bridge, so I'll just have 'em build one.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Nice!!
Why terminal instrument?

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

I had these pickups in my old Jazz Bass from... I dunno, 2002 or so.  They were ok!  I bought a Fender "Vintage Reissue" set, and they actually sounded a bit muddy compared to these. 

"Terminal Bass".... I am in the process of building my last guitar, and this bass will be my last instrument, hence "Terminal".

 

[flemmy]

you may find the badass 3 route is too far from the neck to allow correct intonation when using the fender bridge-I had this problem on a precision I made a few years back-had to move the bridge towards the neck by 3/8 inch-I managed to "round over" the string thru holes using a bent tile saw blade so they lined up with the new bridge position-the original holes remained covered by the bridge plate so all was good.
Another way to do it is to use the omega bridge and drill some holes thru the baseplate for the strings to go through-there is so much intonation adjustment on these bridges that they accommodate this

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

Oh that's a little weird because they advertise the badass iii as a drop-in upgrade for that fender bridge.

 

[flemmy]

The badass 3 has more adjustment than the fender bridge so can fit with the holes at 35” or 34 5/8” from the nut-the warmoth bass body I had with the badass 3 rout had the mounting holes at 35”.
I think the Fender 3 hole bridges need the holes at 34 5/8”-it’s not a major problem-hipshot bridges will probably have enough adjustment to work as well-measure it all to avoid disappointment!

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

flemmy sez - had to move the bridge towards the neck by 3/8 inch-I managed to "round over" the string thru holes using a bent tile saw blade so they lined up with the new bridge position-the original holes remained covered by the bridge plate so all was good.I looked up a YouTube video that compares the Badass III to the Fender.  At the end of the vid, it has a side by side comparison.  The forward movement (toward the neck) seems the same, with the Badass III having maybe just a tiny bit more movement away from the neck.
Moving the Fender bridge toward the neck 3/8 inch would definitely uncover the "old holes".  Of course those would be plugged.  But I'm wondering if Warmoth maybe had that slightly off for you?  Also what strings were you using?  I tend to like heavier bass strings 45-105 or 50-110

 

[flemmy]

As long as you can get 34” from the nut to the centre of the G string saddle (with a little bit of “just in case” allowance) you should be OK - hope the tolerances work in your favour - strings were 45 - 105 roundwounds but this doesn’t make much difference

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

That's the screen shot of the two bridges, the bottom picture I edited to kind of line up the mounting holes - which due to curvature in the original image, and things not being square with the camera was a bit of a tricky guesstimate.
I see what you mean though - the BA3 has more forward travel, not because its longer, but because the Fender is limited by the length of the little groove in the plate, by about 1/4 inch.  If need be, I guess I can stack up some cut off wheels for Mr. Dremel, and add a little length to that groove. 

Also that Fender bridge is the DeLuxe version, which has a wider section for the screws and top load retention.  I think those are zinc by the way.  Fender then did the "high mass" which is even beefier.  Mine is the steel stamping, but its pretty solid and heavy.  All of those used the same mounting and string thru holes.