New build: how about a Precision this time?

[joeyl]

I always had Jazzes but recently I saw this on TB and I bought it (from a dude from my home state)



the body has some scars but the white paint has faded to a nice hue, purplish or creamy depending on the light.
Like a lot of Fender bodies that I have seen, the body neck screw holes are too tight and the screws don't slide in. Seems like they just ram the whole screw from the body side into the neck and call it a day. Using my drill press I enlarge the screw holes in the body.





I also bought a Precision neck that was brand spanking new from Black Bart. I was going to use it to replace a bad neck on one of my basses but I could not resist to slap it on that P body and here they are:
I also have a fretless Warmoth neck coming and they may have to compete for that body.



It looks pretty bad ass with the P pickup missing and I may keep it that way Maybe I will get an unrouted P pickguard from Warmoth?

more to come when I get some time to fiddle with it.

[KingRazor]

Interesting.

[joeyl]

so my daughter is born, my wife went back to work and now I am staying home with baby. This means that between diaper changes and playing with baby, project MM Precision is back on

First the body was full of holes, all sorts of holes and it seems like most were not drilled with a bit but rather by driving screws in haphazardly





Holey crap!


So out come the good quality toothpicks



and the proper screw locations are re-drilled with the drill press (I hate wonky pickup screws because if they are really off, they press against the pickup earholes without lowering it)



You can see how far off the screws were



And here is what is going in:

92-03 era MM Stingray
John East MM 2-band preamp

[king_biscuit]

Cool project! I would definitely get a p pickup in there too.

[joeyl]

I may in the future, if I snag a good deal on a P pickup for example

Since it is a replacement MIM pickguard and the neck is MIA, there is no truss rod access hole in the pickguard.

I used tape to mark where the truss access should be



Used the drill press to make 2 holes like such



Dremel to cut off the "points"



Clean up with a flat file and then 220 sandpaper, I am not too concerned for it to be perfect since it is a beat-up body.

[Davo-London]

This looks a fun project. That looks like a pre-amp are you installing it or replacing it, or going passive?

Davo

[2meterbassman]

So - if I see it correctly, it will be a P-bass with MusicMan pickup and electrics, without the P-pickup?

But it's not the MM "sweet spot" for the pickup, isn't it?

[Filthybass]

Cool bass!!

[Filthybass]

Can I ask a question?

[joeyl]

the bass came with passive Duncan designed MM pickup, no preamp. The pickup did not sound bad but not great either. I am putting in the Stingray pickup and the John East preamp.

Yes, the MM pickup is not in the sweet spot, I think it is off by an inch and a half last I measured. So it is probably not going to give a classic MM sound by itself, we will see once I put it together.

Filthybass, it is a public forum so ask away

[2meterbassman]

I like the idea of MM electrics and PU in Fender basses.
I thought about a Jazz Bass made from replacement parts and scrap - and then build a MM PU in the sweet spot plus a Jazz stacked HB in the neck position.
Would be the MM-sound plus the Jazz Bass sound in a very comfortably playable bass.

Please go ahead, I'm curious about the final version of your bass...:-)

Greetz

[bassgod76]

I've always wanted to experiment with a Fender P bass that has a MM pu added in the bridge. Can want to see how it turns out!

[Buskman]

Originally Posted by joeyl

I may in the future, if I snag a good deal on a P pickup for example

FT: Split P pickup

Not mine, just throwing it out there.

The project is coming along nicely - can't wait to see how it turns out!

[joeyl]

ok so the preamp wiring to the output jack is too short if I want to move it further into the massive rout that is underneath the pickguard.



just need to lengthen the green and gray wire. I did not have any more hookup wire, so I went to the local Radioshack. Unfortunately they only have the colored wire in 22 AWG stranded, I like to use 24 or even 26 because it is thinner and more flexible. But I was anxious to get this going so.


Since there is no gray, red will do. Here is the proper way to splice wires together (as I have been taught)
twist the wires together, heat them with the soldering iron and flow solder into the joint. You should still be able to see the individual strands coated in solder, then you know it is not a cold blob of solder.



use your fingers to feel if there are any strands standing up that could poke through the insulation. If there is, flatten them with pliers, then it is ready for insulation.

[Fuzzbass]

Cool project, and thank you for the great pix and explanations.

[joeyl]

Originally Posted by Buskman

FT: Split P pickup

Not mine, just throwing it out there.

The project is coming along nicely - can't wait to see how it turns out!

thanks, it is tempting

[joeyl]

Still needs shielding and proper battery clip but I could not wait to hear it so I put it together.



I may make a cover out of pickguard material and keep the battery in the P cavity

I don't have any recording devices but it sounds great.
With the preamp flat it sounds like a soloed Jazz bridge pickup that is really beefy.
I can tweak the bass and treble and it sounds kinda like a Musicman...

BTW I am really impressed by the East MM preamp. very musical and boosting lows and highs to the max does not produce any weird overtones or high end hiss. I may use the same preamp in my other basses

[2meterbassman]

I think it would look great with a pickguard without any opening for the P-pickup.

[joeyl]

I checked my old transactions on TB and it turns out I have a 92-03 MM Stingray pickup, not a Sterling like I thought Either way it sounds great.

[joeyl]

Made a battery cover from scrap pearloid pickguard...



Need to round the upper corner to follow the curve of the pickguard and drill for another screw opposite the pickguard one to better hold the cover