Okay, so I've began to gather parts for a P Bass build.

I've put together a couple of basses (a 5 string frankenbass (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314901), a cheap pbass (http://www.gubna.com/bass/pbass1.jpg) and a nice 62 RI Jazz (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=376641) - a bit customized) and a guitar over the past year and half, but as I did with the last build (the jazz (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=376641&page=6)), I want to make this one nice as possible with the funds I have.

I have a couple CTS pots on the way, a MIM Bridge (which I'll probably replace later), vintage dimarzio model P.

And I've just found a 1972 Neck which looks pretty worn, and is not without it's flaws (or one might say it has plenty of mojo). EDIT: 1972 NECK WAS DAMAGED.

I'll be post pics as I have them.

Nice neck, this calls for a mojo'ed body my friend ;)

Notice how the strings "cut through" the edge of the fretboard (wheres the headstock).
Problems with the nut?

Notice how the strings "cut through" the edge of the fretboard (wheres the headstock).
Problems with the nut?

Yeah....that's an interesting bit of wear. Is that common on vintage Fender necks?

I don't know if it is, but I have seen another 72 with that same type of wear.

I got my CTS pots, and a vintage-style bridge.

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pparts.JPG

Tuning machines will probably be the next purchase. I could go for genuine fender, or schaller, or hipshot HB2 - probably whatever way I go, they will be chrome. I did have thoughts of doing black hardware, but I think I want to make this as "old school" as I can and take my time building it.

Still looking out for the right body. Might be awhile... I gotta save.

I've got a 250 and a 500 CTS pot. Can anyone tell me which is ideal for the tone? (I think I may also have another 500, somewhere).

The 500 will be slightly brighter when turned all the way up, but either will be fine.

I can't wait to see how this turns out. I had a P with that same pickup in it, and was STUNNED with how great it sounded, and I mean STUNNED. Good luck with the build, I'm sure it'll turn out great!

PLEASE........................ DON'T REFINISH THE NECK!!!!

It is SO beautiful with all that MOJO seething out of it! Tell me you are doing a relic body.

Nomad98

Bad news, the neck broke... or so says the guy I bought it from. He was packing it, and dropped it. I've been refunded.

well, I'm still gonna build a P. But I've got to find another neck. I'd still love a 1972.

The search continues...

PLEASE........................ DON'T REFINISH THE NECK!!!!

It is SO beautiful with all that MOJO seething out of it!

then....

Bad news, the neck broke... or so says the guy I bought it from. He was packing it, and dropped it.

+1 Nomad. Sounds fishy to me....

Bad news, the neck broke... or so says the guy I bought it from. He was packing it, and dropped it. I've been refunded.

well, I'm still gonna build a P. But I've got to find another neck. I'd still love a 1972.

The search continues...

He probably found out he could get $500 for it on Ebay :rolleyes:

actually, I thought about that... I won the auction on ebay, and he probably wasn't happy with the amount. When I got the refund, that was the first thing that popped into my head. After all, how often do maple necks, when dropped, just BREAK!

but I don't blame him, times are tough right now.

actually, I thought about that... I won the auction on ebay, and he probably wasn't happy with the amount. When I got the refund, that was the first thing that popped into my head. After all, how often do maple necks, when dropped, just BREAK!

That's what I thought too. It's possible the headstock snapped, but even that seems unlikely for a neck without a heavy body attached.

but I don't blame him, times are tough right now.

Tough times or not, if he's trying to back out of a deal, it's super shady. I'd check eBay and see if he re-lists it.

Asad

I found a MIM body.

How well will an American P neck work with a MIM body?

anyone with experience with this?

how about Allparts, or Mighty Might?

I have never liked the MIM necks that I've played, so I'm staying away from them.

http://www.gubna.com/bass/mimbody1.jpehttp://www.gubna.com/bass/mimbody3.jpe
http://www.gubna.com/bass/mimbody2.jpe

I did a mock up with the jazz neck from other build:
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock.jpg

I just purchased a Mighty Mite Rosewood neck...

now I need to decide on a pickguard

Black?

Tortise?

White Pearl?

Pearl would look real good on that.

Black,mmmmm black :)

I'd say go with black... but then, I just love black and sunburst.

black would be the most inexpensive option at the moment.

black would be the most inexpensive option at the moment.

Go with black then, really all three options will look good, and its an easy change later.

well, on my last build I did a poll, and TBers did help me quite a bit. However I found the one I eventually went with kinda by accident - I didn't know until I saw it on my Jazz - and was like WOW, THAT'S IT.

So I've opened up a poll for this one.

Remember, It's a Rosewood neck, Sunburst body (as shown), Most likely chrome hardware.

right now, I'm torn between black and red tort - but I'm not ruling anything out yet.

well, on my last build I did a poll, and TBers did help me quite a bit. However I found the one I eventually went with kinda by accident - I didn't know until I saw it on my Jazz - and was like WOW, THAT'S IT.

So I've opened up a poll for this one.

Remember, It's a Rosewood neck, Sunburst body (as shown), Most likely chrome hardware.

right now, I'm torn between black and red tort - but I'm not ruling anything out yet.

Here's my Sunburst P-Bass, prolley no help whatsoever. But mabye worth a look.:)

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z279/darkstrikeofbass/Tort.jpg?t=1209681710

do you have a wide shot?

I voted brown tort, but I'm thinking mint

Just this one, but I'll see if my phone will take a decent full body pic.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z279/darkstrikeofbass/Tort2.jpg?t=1209685586

I think black looks really nice on sunburst. The prices places ask for Tort pickguards is ridiculous.

This is all I could take inside,
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z279/darkstrikeofbass/DSC00094.jpg?t=1209686246
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z279/darkstrikeofbass/DSC00095.jpg?t=1209686280

Hope these help.

Thanks for the pics.

here's two more I found...black and the red tort

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmockblack.jpghttp://www.gubna.com/bass/pmockred.jpg

Hmm well, I voted black but that was before seeing the Red Tort on there. I don't think you can go wrong with either, really.

IMO, the brown stands out too much.

I need an example of white pearl on sunburst...

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop_image/product/a91729f07be4efd8282ecf8b20ce477c.jpg

Eww :hiding:

yeah, not white.

I've never liked that combination. White pearl, maybe...
but at this point I'm getting real close to buying black... for now. I can always swap it out for red. Still haven't seen any Brown Tort's for sale.

I don't think you can go wrong if you stay close to the colors that are on the bass, like black or reddish/orangish.

yeah, I suppose I can just buy two of them and sell the one I don't like.

I'm gonna get one of these mini basses too...

http://www.gubna.com/bass/minibass.jpg

Is that pickup above the strings?

that is a toy. it's a P Bass miniature.

Okay, I'm going with black for now, but I'll probably keep looking for a tort.

I've got all the other parts too (en route). Neck is mighty mite rosewood, hipshot chrome tuning machines.

and the best part is that it's all being paid for by money I've made on ebay lately selling my comics. I'll get pics up as I have them.

Hipshot Tuning Machines showed up incredibly fast...

Just need the neck and pickguard and I can build her!

500k pots for the dimarzios

Cool, can't wait to see the finished product! :)

i used a zebrawood pickguard from warmoth, it was cool, but would look wierd w/sunburst, but they have some other very cool wood laminate pg's.

The pickguard fits the screw holes EXACTLY. I've never seen that on a pickguard. I've always had to adjust it slightly. Of course, this is only my fourth bass build (yeah... from parts). AND THANK YOU for the note on the 500K Pots

Here's a quick mock up with some of the hardware I have to show the color set up.
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock2.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock3.JPGhttp://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock4.JPG

NICE! I really like the black and sunburst. Very classy.

well for now...

seems as if there is something wrong with the Dimarzio's that I have. one pick up is reading significantly louder than the other. Hard to tell for sure until I get strings on and play it, but I also just went ahead and jumped the gun and ordered a new Model P.

If the neck shows up today, I'll be playing it tonight.

here's some more pics

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock12.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock9.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock8.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock11.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock7.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock10.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock6.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock13.jpg

how are you judging that one pup is louder than the other? are you saying that one coil is louder than the other? how are you judging that one is louder without playing it?

if you are judging by the resistance in the coils, one could have a shorted winding. i'd return it and get a refund as this is a clear manufacturer defect. if this is it, what is the difference?

great looking build by the way.

Lookin' good so far!

how are you judging that one pup is louder than the other? are you saying that one coil is louder than the other? how are you judging that one is louder without playing it?

if you are judging by the resistance in the coils, one could have a shorted winding. i'd return it and get a refund as this is a clear manufacturer defect. if this is it, what is the difference?

great looking build by the way.

well, I got the pick up on ebay sometime ago so I don't think I could return it. the way I judged that it was louder was that I ran something metal against the pickups to check to see if it was working and one was noticibly louder than the other.


EDIT: The neck just arrived. Looks pretty nice.

Here it is. Mighty Mite Rosewood neck.

The heel fits very tight, which is good.
The problem: The ferrules for the Hipshot tuning machines I have are a bit loose. They fit, but they're not snug and don't lock into the wood as they should. I suppose I could glue them in, but perhaps I'm looking for something less permanent. I may try a bit of copper tape which I have left over, but I'm open to suggestions.

Any ideas?

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pneck1.JPG
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pneck3.JPG
http://www.gubna.com/bass/pneck2.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock15.JPG
So, will this help any buzzing?
What else can I do to fix that sort of thing?

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock16.JPG
Fixing the ferrules. I just went ahead and put some of the copper tape I had left over in so the ferrules will sit in there and not fall out.

Man that looks really cool, very vintage looking!

well, I got the pick up on ebay sometime ago so I don't think I could return it. the way I judged that it was louder was that I ran something metal against the pickups to check to see if it was working and one was noticibly louder than the other.


EDIT: The neck just arrived. Looks pretty nice.

like tapping metal against it? you could try putting the pups close to another bass or guitar's strings and judge like that, but your pretty close to putting it together and playing it anyway, so just do that.

I didn't get to it last night, but I'll probably drill the holes for the tuning machines and the neckplate tonight and put the strings on to test it out.

I also have a Fender waterslide en route.

Looking nice.

okay, it's all put together

the lower pick up doesn't work. :( It just has no volume. probably something simple. I'll play around with it later and try to figure out if it's something I can fix, otherwise I'll just install the other pickups.

I also snapped off a screw head when installing the tuning machines, but it's in there. great... it's in there to stay!

The bass is light! The body was 4 lbs 14 oz, and I think that overall this bass has got to be the lightest I've ever played! If I had a scale, I could tell you. Maybe I'll weigh it at a friends house one of these days. It still needs a bit of work, and new pick ups (en route). I'll post more when it's fully done.

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock17.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock18.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock19.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock23.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock20.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock21.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock22.JPG

http://www.gubna.com/bass/pmock24.JPG
Hangin' with Jimi

okay, so if the Red tort wins the poll by May 31st, I'll get one.

Looks really good the way it is.

okay, the pick up isn't dead. I just wired it incorrectly. I wired it just as the diagram I had for Precision showed. this is only the second time I've built a P, so chalk it up to inexperience.

I got it wired correctly now, but it's still buzzing quite a bit.

ANY HELP? I put as much copper tape as possible, and it does have a ground wire.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO GROUND IT BETTER?

Is the grounding wire connected to the bridge and do you have shielding on the Pick Guard?

yes, both of those.

final pics... (for now)

http://www.gubna.com/bass/precision1.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/precision2.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/precision3.jpg
http://www.gubna.com/bass/precision4.jpg

and here I am playing the completed bass

http://www.gubna.com/bass/precision12.jpg

Is it me, or does it look like the E string is pushed over a little too far before it goes into the nut, almost like the tuner is off or something? I know they do a little because the string is bigger.

that's just how it is on this bass. I do notice in that last shot of the headstock that the g string is a bit off.

the only thing that needs work (aside from intonnation being set) is the grounding. it still buzzes a bit.

The G string is off because of the string retainer. Push it a little further under the retainer, maybe?

yeah

weighs 8.8 lbs.

Nice