Weezer/Matt Sharp Warmoth Jazz build

[umcoo]

Not sure if it's kosher to put this in here, as only half of this build is from Warmoth!

Anyways...thought I'd let you know about a build I've started - a replica of Matt Sharp's black jazz bass he used in his time with early Weezer and the Rentals.  The bass is made up of a knackered old 70's body, some Schecter Monstertone pickups and a Birdseye Maple/Ebony Warmoth Tele Bass neck.  Karl Koch (Weezer's webmaster and general fifth member) got in touch with Matt for me and passed on the specifics for the build, so I'm really grateful for that.  Here's the bass as it is now. 

I'm not one for relicing basses, so I needed a black Jazz body with 70's spacing.  A used Geddy Lee bass with a few scratches and dings showed up on Ebay so I got that a few weeks back.

The pickups were the hardest thing to source.  They're discontinued now and only available on Schecter custom shop basses (which retail about $3000).  Anyways, I found a guy who bought a bass in 1996, didn't like the pickups and swapped them.  Turns out he had kept the Schecter pickups for the next 14 years and happily sold them to me when I asked.

I put the order in with Warmoth last week for the neck so that should be here in about 12 weeks maximum.  I love waiting, don't you?!  Got a couple of other bits on the way from Warmoth; a tortoiseshell pickguard, Schaller BML tuners so they should be here hopefully very soon.  I'll update this when they get here.

Got a Schaller roller bridge in the mail today from Thomann in Germany to complete it all.  I've assembled a bass before, but I think I'll take this to a pro to do a great job and get it setup just right.

Finally, here's a couple of pics of what I have now.

Cheers for looking.

[/quote]

 

[nexrex]

Loving it so far. The waiting is the hardest part, but it definitely pays off.  :icon_thumright:

 

[taez555]

That's really cool.  Always been a fan of Matt Sharp with Weezer(they've never been the same since he left) and especially his Rentals stuff.      Cool to learn so much about the bass.  Never knew about the pickups.

Can't wait to see, and hopefully hear, this one when it's finished.

 

[Firebird211]

When you finish putting it together you should crank it up and play "only in dreams"

 

[umcoo]

Thanks folks.  I'm waiting on the tort guard and other bits to come in the mail (it's been 2 weeks tomorrow so hopefully some point this next week!) and the neck will follow in a couple of months.  Finalised the jet black ebony board and squared fretboard with Bob at Warmoth this week and he say's they're getting started on the neck now.

 

[JaySwear]

Very nice! Glad to see this thing coming together, I remember you asking about the bass a while back. I really really like the look of those pickups

 

[umcoo]

Jay - you're right.  I went through a phase of being obsessed whether it was rosewood or ebony for the board.  Now I know, we can make progress!

The pickups do look good. I've never heard them so they may sound terrible, but I'm glad I got them so I can keep the replica as close to the original as possible.  You may have noticed they each have 3 wires, so they can be coil tapped.

 

[umcoo]

Had a delivery from Warmoth today...nom nom nom...

Just the neck to go now, then the fun begins...

 

[JaySwear]

Tortoise on black is a classic look. Love it! So what is the 3rd pot? Just a pot without a knob on it or something else?

 

[line6man]

You may have noticed they each have 3 wires, so they can be coil tapped.

From the picture you posted, it would appear that the third lead is the ground for the shielding around the coil.
Very few single coil Js (Actually, no mass produced J pickups that I know of.) are tapped. Are these custom wound?

 

[umcoo]

Jay - Yeah it would seem so.  Just a pot with no knob...Sharp had a backup Jazz Bass which also had 2 strat volume knobs and no knob on the tone pot.  Guess it was just something he did.

Line6 - The Schecter Monstertones came in tapped and non-tapped versions.  When I got these pickups I also got the control plate which had a push pull pot on the tone control (according to the seller, this was to switch between tapped and not).  I also got in touch with Schecter HQ who told me how to wire it as a 'standard' Jazz pickup, and they advised I just keep one of the wires out of the way of the pots and it will work fine.  Not sure if they're custom wounds.  Schecter said they have a reasonably low resistance (I was getting about 5-6 ohms per pickup) but have a magnet stuck on the bottom of the pickup to boost it.  They're apparently very hot pickups once all wired in.   

 

[line6man]

Jay - Yeah it would seem so.  Just a pot with no knob...Sharp had a backup Jazz Bass which also had 2 strat volume knobs and no knob on the tone pot.  Guess it was just something he did.

Line6 - The Schecter Monstertones came in tapped and non-tapped versions.  When I got these pickups I also got the control plate which had a push pull pot on the tone control (according to the seller, this was to switch between tapped and not).  I also got in touch with Schecter HQ who told me how to wire it as a 'standard' Jazz pickup, and they advised I just keep one of the wires out of the way of the pots and it will work fine.  Not sure if they're custom wounds.  Schecter said they have a reasonably low resistance (I was getting about 5-6 ohms per pickup) but have a magnet stuck on the bottom of the pickup to boost it.  They're apparently very hot pickups once all wired in.   

5-6 Ohms is a ridiculously low resistance, the output impedance would be so low that you would have no output. Do you mean 5K-6K Ohms?

What is the DC resistance at the tap?

 

[umcoo]

:doh:

Haha, yes I do mean K Ohms!!

Here's part of the email I got from Schecter (who may I add, were extremely helpful and quick in their response)..

"Neck Pickup: 5.88k (2.30k tap)
Purple to the hot, isolate yellow and not connecting anywhere, black to the ground.

Bridge Pickup: 6.02k (3.71k tap)
Red to the hot, isolate White and not connecting anywhere, black to the ground.

DC resistance is not so high, but we use ceramic bar magnet at the bottom of the pickup,
that makes the pickup hotter than typical single coil vintage style jazz bass pickups."

Hope that clears things up!

 

[umcoo]

Anyone want to suggest pots and cap values to use?  Probably going to go with CTS and already got Switchcraft jack.  I have no idea about 250k and 500k and audio and linear stuff...

 

[JaySwear]

I would say 500k pots. Everybody has their own preference, but I'd rather have pickups be a little too hot than too muddy and dull. If they're too hot you can roll down the volume or tone a little, but too dull and you're really left adjusting the amp. Like I said, everybody has their own preference, but I have 500k's in my P-bass and love the full open raw sound. Can always dial it back if I want to.

 

[CrackedPepper]

Is that duct tape on MS's bass?  If so, will you be adding some to your build?  Just wonderin'...

 

[umcoo]

It is duct tape, but I doubt I'll be putting any on the build.  I'm sure it serves a purpose for Sharp's bass (looks like it's holding the pickguard on?) but I'll just settle for regular old screws!

Jay - Did you use 500k for both vol and tone?

 

[AutoBat]

Duct tape looks more like a makeshift straplock.

 

[line6man]

Anyone want to suggest pots and cap values to use?  Probably going to go with CTS and already got Switchcraft jack.  I have no idea about 250k and 500k and audio and linear stuff...

500K will be a little hotter/brighter than 250K, as the resonant frequency is higher. Some people like the warmth of 250Ks to tame out a bright bass, but personally, I prefer 500K pots on everything.

0.047uF is the standard tone cap value for most basses, but you can try a higher value if you want a lower frequency cutoff point, or a lower value if you want a higher frequency cutoff point.
Don't be afraid to experiment with various combos of caps to get other values. Series capacitance is CTotal=1/([1/C1]+[1/C2]+...[1/Cn]) and parallel capacitance is simply CTotal=C1+C2+...Cn.

This is a topic of MUCH debate on TalkBass, but personally, I have found the linear taper to work much smoother for volume pots, but only when you play clean.
As far as tone controls, stick with the audio taper, as a linear taper will behave more like a switch- doing nothing until you turn it way down, then suddenly "kicking in."

Pots are dirt cheap, so I say try both and see what tapers work for you.

 

[umcoo]

Auto Bat - Yeah that's tape used as a straplock.  I'm unsure yet if I'll go that far.  Probably not.  It adds to the look and all, but I'm maybe not too comfortable sticking tape all over a bass I've just spent a fair whack of money on!

Line6 - That's helpful, thanks.  I've seen some stuff on TB and listened to some of the sound samples (I think it was that Dan Atkinson?), but I'm not hearing a whole load of difference.  I've got some spare 250 audio pots round here somewhere so I might try them and then get some 500k's and see for myself.

Cheers for all the help so far - much appreciated.