Routing out a bass?

laboitenoire · #1 09-19-2006, 08:08 PM

Alright, I wasn't sure which forum to stick this in, but I was wondering if anybody has ever routed out parts of their bass? I'm thinking of sticking some EMG extended series pickups into my bass, as I'm fed up with J-style pickups cracking on me due to the relative ease with which you can over-tighten them. I figure that a soapbar-style with only two screws is pretty hard to over-tighten, but anyway... I have a router, and I'm pretty sure that I have a good selection of bits somewhere, and I have a collar which I can adjust to the proper depth and can probably add some sort of jig to it so I have a bit more accuracy. Also, I have files, so I can always file it out by hand if I have only a little left to take off. Does anybody have experience with this, and if so, do they have any useful tips? I'd take it to a luthier, except I don't know if there are any good ones nearby and I am not taking it to my local guitar shop where I bought the bass. Pretty much the only tools I don't have at my disposal in my workshop are a drill press and either a scroll or band saw. Please don't try to tell me not to do this unless you know of a sure-fire method of making sure a new set of pickups doesn't get over-tightened? My bass is a five string with J-style 5-string pickups. Also, if it matters, my bass is an alder body (I think) with a quilt maple top.

Nick Ioannucci · #2 09-19-2006, 08:32 PM

just put emg 5 string pickups in it. i dont get what you mean by over tightening, you shouldnt be torqing your pickups down anyway, they should be fairly close to the strings. if you mean overtightened like you tightened them too much, a sure-fire method would be to be careful and aware of what youre doing.

Godheads_Lament · #3 09-20-2006, 12:58 AM

Kind of a related question, im thinking of putting a p pickup in the neck pos of an sx 5 string. Is this very difficult and what sort of things will i need to do it?

Note: Want to do it myself to learn more about puting basses together. Figured an sx would be the best bet incase i do something stupid.

Nick Ioannucci · #4 09-20-2006, 05:26 AM

go to www.stewmac.com and get yourself routing templates and the correct bits if youre gonna go through with it.

laboitenoire · #5 09-20-2006, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Ioannucci

just put emg 5 string pickups in it. i dont get what you mean by over tightening, you shouldnt be torqing your pickups down anyway, they should be fairly close to the strings. if you mean overtightened like you tightened them too much, a sure-fire method would be to be careful and aware of what youre doing.

I've been looking for around a month at different pickups, and I have yet to see a 5-string EMG J-style pickup. There are ones that can support the proper string width, but they still use a 4-string housing. Also, they often are a little tricky to get working on a 5-string from what I've read. I'm not tightening the pickups too much - it was the people where I bought the bass who did it, and Peavey presumably did it the first time. Also, I don't think anybody makes a routing template for EMG extended 40 housings. Might have to make my own, but presumably it'll be harder to cut the acrylic than the wood.

laboitenoire · #6 09-20-2006, 05:30 PM

Sorry to bump, but does anybody know if I can find router templates for EMG extended series 40 pickups? I mean, I could probably make my own jig and templates, as it would probably be a one time thing.

Nick Ioannucci · #7 09-20-2006, 06:32 PM

do they have to be emg's? i mean this is a little much, what bass is it, do you ever plan on selling it, because this sort of thing will make the resale value plumet.

laboitenoire · #8 09-20-2006, 08:13 PM

I've tried out several pickup types through people I know and just visiting guitar shops. I've tried Barts, Fenders, EMGs, Duncans, and several other minor-brands (like the ones that do mainly OEM for people like Ibanez). The best sounding ones have always been the EMGs in my experience, followed by the Barts. I mean, I suppose that a pair of Barts could do me just fine, and they'll be cheaper and easier to install. Then I could just get a pre-amp. Actually, the more I think about it, the more that would make sense. Then, I could also do some various wiring mods to it, like active/passive switching and series/parallel wiring mods. The bass in question is my Peavey Millenium-5 BXP. It is my second bass, and it is certainly the nicest bass that I've ever been able to afford. When I bought it, I looked at other basses for the price range (only had $350 total to spend), and this one endeared itself to me. It is almost a perfect bass for how I play. I've never liked Jazz Basses all that much, as the neck is too narrow for my liking. I think that I couldn't find a Precision Bass in my range, and most of the others I looked at (probably three in addition to the ones mentioned) were all "wrong" in some way. I know that routing will ruin the value, but it is an instrument that I will probably keep for most, if not the rest of, my life. Anyway, I think that I'll probably give some Barts a shot in here.

dion mauer · #9 09-21-2006, 10:35 AM

I think the Barts are the way to go. If you dont have any experience with a router or are not accustomed to routing cavities for pickups (or similar), I DO NOT recommend starting your router education by poking holes into your pride and joy.

**WillPlay4Food** · #10 09-21-2006, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dion mauer

I think the Barts are the way to go. If you dont have any experience with a router or are not accustomed to routing cavities for pickups (or similar), I DO NOT recommend starting your router education by poking holes into your pride and joy.

I agree, find some wood somewhere and practice doing the route a few times first before going near your bass with power tools. I too am thinking about routing my SUB5 to put some kind of pickup in the neck spot.