Too many basses and am considering selling a Wilkins PJ4 recently acquired from
www.LowEndBassShop.com :: View topic - Wilkins PJ 4 string
Beautiful bass, mint condition. For those of us who feel wood does matter, this is the real deal. Apparently worth more than what I paid (based on Pat's email) and am looking just to get what I have into it -
$1,800 plus shipping CONUS only. Price is firm and no trades. The G&G case
is not new as was stated in the LowEnd ad, but in excellent condition except for the center latch that was broken and is now removed. (It came that way.)
Quote:
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From Pat Wilkins: This bass was custom built for a customer that saw a YouTube video of one of my basses and wanted a bass just like it except for the neck. All the wood is old and reclaimed. The maple on the neck is 75 yrs old, the Brazilian fingerboard is at least 50 yrs old and the alder body is at least 50 year old Eastern European Alder. This bass is a clone of my '64 J bass I own except for the PJ and pre-amp configuration. The tuners are Hipshot and the bridge is a Japanese made knurled saddle bridge. The retail price of this bass new is $4600.
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I swapped out the original bridge for a Hipshot Vintage and had it setup with a new set of Dunlop nickels.
More details below from Pat Wilkins himself:
Q1 - I'm considering purchasing this used bass. Is there anything you can tell me about it? Is the preamp the original? Thanks in advance.
The pre-amp is definitely original. It's a Demeter 3 band pre, Vol-blend- bass-mid-treb boost and cut. This bass was custom built for a customer that saw a YouTube video of one of my basses and wanted a bass just like it except for the neck. All the wood is old and reclaimed. The maple on the neck is 75 yrs old, the Brazilian fingerboard is at least 50 yrs old and the alder body is at least 50 year old Eastern European Alder. This bass is a clone of my '64 J bass I own except for the PJ and pre-amp configuration. The tuners are Hipshot and the bridge is a Japanese made knurled saddle bridge. The retail price of
this bass new is $4600. Good luck. If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to write back.
Q2 - What can you tell me about the pickups? The listing says they're "Wilkins hand wound". Did you actually make these yourself to emulate a vintage or other tone requested by the original owner?
The pickups are wound on a CNC machine and "scatter wound" programming was done to re-create the tone of the pickups in my '64. We went through a lot of trial and more trial to get the pickups just right. It's of course subjective and wood has a lot to do with it that's why we kept taking the pup's out of my real '64 and switching them out with my pickups. We did recordings and numbered each program and did a blind test at the end with several other bass players and a couple of engineers to determine which ones were the most representative of the original pickups.
Q3 - The back of the neck looks as if it has a satin finish or is unfinished. What kind of finish is on the neck?
The neck is a gloss finish that has been sanded to a satin sheen. The finish is polyester.
Q4 - Neck profile - looks Lakland-ish. Any description you could provide?
The profile is exactly like my '64 Jazz bass. It's "C" shape with just a bit more maple than a '62 Jazz. I hope this helps.
Q5 - What's your opinion of the Demeter preamp?
The Demeter is a very clean pre-amp with super low noise. The sound is very Fender-ish. It's a boost/cut pre so you can adjust for "boomy" rooms or add mids to cut through or scoop the mids for a heavier rock gig. It's very musical. Most people are very happy with it.
Q6 - Fingerboard radius? Does it have rolled edges?
The fingerboard radius is 9 1/4". I definitely roll my edges over so that the basses feel worn in.
Q7 - Is the body chambered?
No, the body is not chambered. I built it JUST like they were done in the early 60's. 2 piece Eastern European Alder. 
