The Last Bass I’ll Ever Buy (or Build)…?

[TheMechanic]

I already have a couple of Jazz 5 parts basses, both with Squier bodies and Warmoth necks, fretted and fretless. But I wanted to do a full-Warmoth build. Since I discovered the Jazz bass for myself about 10 years ago, it’s no wonder that you can have multiples of one bass and still need more.
But I used to own a Stingray (for 18 years) and immediately regretted selling it when I did. So I decided to do a Stingray-inspired build since I already have a pair of JB’s (and a G&L L2500, which is essentially a JB with more…
I went with Hipshot hardware - Kickass 5 bridge and UltraLite tuners. Duncan SMB5-D pickup with VVT controls (one V per coil) and an Aguilar OBP-1 (boost only) preamp, Series/Parallel switch and Preamp Bypass switch.

I originally planned on using an ObsidianWire Jazz plate with VVT and treble bleed setup, but it would prove to require too much modification to both the plate and the rear cavity of the bass body to warrant useful. So I dug up some old Bourns pot I had laying around, but later found that one of the pots is losing connection in the output terminal. Needless to say, I had to order a couple new Volume pots.
It took me a while to get it together, working on it during downtime at work little by little. I just got the neck screwed onto the body this past Wednesday. The longer it stays together as one piece with strings on it and settles in as one entity, the better it feels and plays. I am actually really starting to love it.

Here are photos from my Media page. I don’t know how to post them as photos in this thread, as uploading is problematic to them being “too large”. I hope the come out here…

Specs are Ash body in TobaccoBurst, Roasted Flame Maple neck…that’s it.

Media added by TheMechanic

unofficialwarmoth.com

 

[TheMechanic]

Oh, and one more thing. I watched a bunch of Aaron’s videos in anticipation of doing this build, and I have to say that one piece of advice with the Roasted Maple neck is worth a million dollars - add a light dab of bees wax to the screws entering the neck, be they neck attachment screws, tuner position screws, or string retainer screws…they just thread in SO much easier…

 

[NedRyerson]

I don’t know how to post them as photos in this thread, as uploading is problematic to them being “too large”.

Cellphone cameras' default settings are typically super high-res, which is the cause. 2000 x 3000 is overkill for viewing images on a computer screen, especially for just posting to an online community. 600 x 800 is adequate for screen. Check your phone's image app, as it likely has an "edit" function that lets you adjust filters, rotation, brightness/contrast, etc. There'll likely be a "resize" option.

 

[Hodgo]

If youre uploading from iPhone, there’s an “options” button on the bottom left of the photo upload screen that has the size settings.

 

[TheMechanic]

If youre uploading from iPhone, there’s an “options” button on the bottom left of the photo upload screen that has the size settings.

Thanks!!

 

[bagman67]

That's a gorgeous axe. Congratulations on your last bass ever... until the next one.

 

[TheMechanic]

If I had to complain about anything, it’s the truss rod channel cut into the body…or it could be the 7/32” Allen wrench for truss rod adjustment.

In the past, with the parts Jazz basses with Warmoth necks I have put together, I bought my own wrenches. The necks were installed onto Squier bodies, so I had to route my own channels as well.

This time, I bought the wrench from Warmoth, so I figured everything would fit. It turns out that the channel in the body is about 1/4” too short for the wrench to fit into in order to engage the wrench into the truss rod nut. So I had to cut 1/4” off the wrench (and of course, bevel the hex edges.

I know it was no big deal, and it took me less than 5 minutes to do, but if someone with less experience happens upon this, they might do some ugly damage to the body to make the wrench fit.

The wrench Warmoth supplies is a standard size, and I guess having a custom-sized wrench made would drive up the cost of the wrench from $1.25 to perhaps $5 each.
Or they can route the channel to be a bit longer…

 

[TheMechanic]

I just remembered one more thing worthy of a complaint….
This was the first thing I worked on, so it got buried in the back of my mind over the course of the build.

The pickup cavity is routed very tightly. I had to remove overspray from inside the pickup cavity with a Dremel. I actually couldn’t get the pickup to fit into the cavity without removing the overspray. I think Warmoth should maybe increase the size of the cavity by about 1/16” all around to make up for the finish.