Custom Strat Bass on Order

[JumboFriendly]

I posted a teaser pic in the Stratobass thread and got a couple of questions, and I didn't want to derail that topic. I figured I'd post my own thread, and hope my builder doesn't shoot me for letting the cat out of the bag too soon (the bass isn't quite finished yet).

Here is the CAD rendering that we started with:



To answer some questions, and provide a few more details, the specs are as follows:

34" scale
Passive (I simply don't care for active instruments)
Body wood: African Mahogany
Neck: Birdseye Maple
Fretboard: Black Walnut

The controls are undecided so far; I'm not sure exactly what I'll end up with. The single-coil pickups are going to be custom wound by the builder, and the MM pickup is the economy model from basspartsresource.com, for now. I may change this later.

I'm not in a huge hurry to get the bass, and don't want to rush the builder at all, who is a great guy to work with. I'm sitting back and enjoying the updates without trying to rush him at all. I've been super pleased throughout the process thus far, and can't wait to hold my new baby!

The builder is FatStrings, and the bass I've ordered is based off of his short scale bass design. You can find that thread in the LC, or simply click here. I'll post more updates as I can, and definitely more pictures when I get the bass!

[walterw]

that's almost a 3-pickup P-bass.

why bother with a "cheap" MM pickup on a custom build?

also, without a preamp, the bridge MM might be kind of barky and annoying; how about making it like a real strat, and going with a 3rd single coil, angled a bit? the M+B sound would be sort of jazz-bassy.

[sloppy_phil]

man, that's awesome! i'm assuming there's going to be a 5 way p'up selector on that? my strat is my favourite guitar... i wonder if the design will lend itself to bass. I wouldn't be too worried about the MM p'up; i've heard a couple of passive ones sound absolutely great placed thereabouts.

can't wait to see how this turns out!

[JumboFriendly]

Originally Posted by walterw

that's almost a 3-pickup P-bass.

why bother with a "cheap" MM pickup on a custom build?

also, without a preamp, the bridge MM might be kind of barky and annoying; how about making it like a real strat, and going with a 3rd single coil, angled a bit? the M+B sound would be sort of jazz-bassy.

I went with the cheaper pickup for several reasons; I've read (don't remember where, or how I found them) good reviews about that particular pickup when wired passive. Pickups are so easily changed that I didn't feel it was necessary to splurge without having a baseline for performance.

If I get the bass and hate its sound (not likely), then I'll start tinkering with how to improve upon it.

Originally Posted by sloppy_phil

man, that's awesome! i'm assuming there's going to be a 5 way p'up selector on that? my strat is my favourite guitar... i wonder if the design will lend itself to bass. I wouldn't be too worried about the MM p'up; i've heard a couple of passive ones sound absolutely great placed thereabouts.

can't wait to see how this turns out!

I'm not sure if that switch will be a pickup selector or something else, yet. Don't want to give away too much in case it doesn't work out like I plan

Thanks for the comments, folks!

[kris pung]

Can't wait to see some build pics.

[JumboFriendly]

Pat has saved all the pictures he's been sending me as updates to create a build thread in the Luthier's Corner at some point. But, he's the type that likes to complete the work and then post most of the pictures at once instead of step-by-step. So, once it's complete I will certainly post pics of the finished bass, and link to the build thread here as well. I got another update this morning and I'm super excited!

[LanOsb133]

Originally Posted by JumboFriendly

I posted a teaser pic in the Stratobass thread and got a couple of questions, and I didn't want to derail that topic. I figured I'd post my own thread, and hope my builder doesn't shoot me for letting the cat out of the bag too soon (the bass isn't quite finished yet).

Here is the CAD rendering that we started with:



To answer some questions, and provide a few more details, the specs are as follows:

34" scale
Passive (I simply don't care for active instruments)
Body wood: African Mahogany
Neck: Birdseye Maple
Fretboard: Black Walnut

The controls are undecided so far; I'm not sure exactly what I'll end up with. The single-coil pickups are going to be custom wound by the builder, and the MM pickup is the economy model from basspartsresource.com, for now. I may change this later.

I'm not in a huge hurry to get the bass, and don't want to rush the builder at all, who is a great guy to work with. I'm sitting back and enjoying the updates without trying to rush him at all. I've been super pleased throughout the process thus far, and can't wait to hold my new baby!

The builder is FatStrings, and the bass I've ordered is based off of his short scale bass design. You can find that thread in the LC, or simply click here. I'll post more updates as I can, and definitely more pictures when I get the bass!

Sexy beast ;D Reminds me of the Big al :P Hey if you dont mind me asking, how much is it costing to get all this done? Im thinking about getting a P bass body and converting it into a Deluxe Tele bass (with the deluxe tele body style) Sorta curious how much somehting like that would run

[JumboFriendly]

I would prefer not to say, but I will say that it's surprisingly affordable. Pat (FatStrings) is working with me and he's actually sort of building this in 'kit' form, similar to what I'd get from Warmoth, in order to save me money, him time finishing, and allow me to get some experience finishing and assembling. Contact him, give him an idea of what you want, and let him get you a quote. You'll be pleasantly surprised, I promise!

[LanOsb133]

Originally Posted by JumboFriendly

I would prefer not to say, but I will say that it's surprisingly affordable. Pat (FatStrings) is working with me and he's actually sort of building this in 'kit' form, similar to what I'd get from Warmoth, in order to save me money, him time finishing, and allow me to get some experience finishing and assembling. Contact him, give him an idea of what you want, and let him get you a quote. You'll be pleasantly surprised, I promise!

Alright sweet Kit form is always better ;D Also when you get it and its all assembled post some pictures! I REALLY wanna see this puppy!

[craig.p]

My guess is that it'll be neck-heavy. You might be able to get around it in part by bulbing out the sides (on either side of the bridge) the way Carvin does with the Brunel series.

[Bassplayer222]

My dream bass would be one of these in a short scale with 22 or 24 frets.

[N.F.A.]

I'm having Jimmy from Landing Bass build me a medium scale bass with Moses graphite neck, MM/Jazz pup configuration and 2 band Stingrayish EQ. Should be done in the next month or two I guess...

[msb3671]

I really dig this. Been dreaming of a similar bass for a bit; same awesome strat body and lay out, but with a telebass single at the neck, a standard P in as close to regulation position as possible(the 'middle' pup), and a standard jazz single in as close to regulation position by the bridge. All passive. 3 V/T concentric stacks, no 5-way. Not as pretty as your design.

Awesome. Can't wait for pics!

[sonic assassin]

Originally Posted by walterw

that's almost a 3-pickup P-bass.

why bother with a "cheap" MM pickup on a custom build?

also, without a preamp, the bridge MM might be kind of barky and annoying; how about making it like a real strat, and going with a 3rd single coil, angled a bit? the M+B sound would be sort of jazz-bassy.

even cheap pickups sound good in the right places. its more of a fat strat in this setup, which sounds cool to me.

as far as controls, how about volume, tone, 5 way rotary switch. put pull pots on the volume and tone for a coil tap and/or series parallel.

my only concern would be the jack on the front. those just drive me insane.

[JumboFriendly]

Okay, the bass is getting ever closer to being done, and it's time to decide on the control layout. There are no holes drilled in the pickguard yet, so ignore the picture for now. I'm after maximum flexibility with the fewest number of doodads. I'm staying passive, but need to figure out how I'm going to handle the volume, tone, and pickup switching options. Anything from stacked volume/tone for each pickup to a master volume, master tone, and 5-way switch is on the table.

What I need from TB is suggestions for how to lay the controls out, and maybe some ideas that I haven't thought of yet. The more tonal options the better, so have at it. If this were your bass, how would you set up the controls? Thanks in advance for the help... and I'll post some more build pictures once we get the controls figured out!

[JumboFriendly]

Bumpy bump! Need some ideas for these controls, folks! Anybody?

[ehque]

3 way selector for Neck and Mid pickup - into first volume knob
Bridge into second volume knob
Master Tone

At least, that's how I'd do it - retain the strat aesthetic and jazz bass wiring functionality.

[tbassist4]

Originally Posted by ehque

3 way selector for Neck and Mid pickup - into first volume knob
Bridge into second volume knob
Master Tone

At least, that's how I'd do it - retain the strat aesthetic and jazz bass wiring functionality.

+1. This sounds like the best idea to me so far. I wouldn't recommend wiring it like a normal 5 way switch - position 4 (middle and bridge) will leave the middle pickup like a 3rd wheel with the humbucker . If you do it the way Ehque recommended, the bridge can be dialed in no matter what position is selected, even if you just want neck and bridge with no middle, or if you want all three rolling at the same time.

BTW this is something that I've wanted myself since I started bass, I'm subbed and look forward to seeing how this turns out!

[ehque]

Originally Posted by ehque

3 way selector for Neck and Mid pickup - into first volume knob
Bridge into second volume knob
Master Tone

At least, that's how I'd do it - retain the strat aesthetic and jazz bass wiring functionality.

If you want even more options, push-pull under the first volume knob for controlling series-parallel for the N+M. And if your humbucker is a 4 wire version, you can do the same with the second volume for the humbucker.

And maybe one last one under the tone knob for a series parallel for the 2 groups. That's probably way more wiring options than you'll ever use.