ASAT-Jazz build

[rust_preacher]

This all started when I decided that I needed a neck for a G & L L-2000 E. The original e-Bay clunker was equipped with a fretless conversion, and I just didn't find the incentive to really try to learn to play in the required "vibe" for fretless, and my band projects always turn pretty raw and rocking anyway. So I was looking at necks on eBay... they just aren't there. There's no "Stratosphere" for G & L.

The first one I found had a painted headstock that dind't match, so I let that one go. The second one was an ASAT bass neck from 1990, all unused. I made an offer that won me the neck. Now, the trouble was that the minty look of the neck did not go very well with the vintage checking on the body... so I kept looking. A few days later there was a parted-out SB-2 on the eBay and I BINed the neck. The "feng shui" on that neck was pretty good! So, what to do with the extra ASAT Bass neck?

I had to make a business trip to California even before either of these neks had arrived, and instead of doing the usual effects-box buying spree, I went to Gelb Music in Redwood CA and bought most of the required hardware for a Jazz project.

I now had the ASAT Bass neck, a Badass bridge, a Fender tortoise pickguard, CTS pots, Allparts control plate, and Seymour Duncan Hot Jazz pickups, alongside the little paraphernalia, see below.

I called my trusty luthier, Matti Nevalainen at the Finnish Guitar Works (FGW) and he assured me he had the perfect body for this project. Below, the burst needing the final coat and polish.

What I needed to do was quickly solder the electronics together.

I took the assembly and the rest of the parts to Matti and he will reshape the heel of the neck to make it fit the pocket (the neck has 21 frets so a lip needs to be made), and I will get the fully assembled bass on Tuesday.

Let's see if I can learn to play a Jazz.

 

[rust_preacher]

Matti put the whole project together and I got it today:

The ASAT part:

The Jazz parts:

The little I have had time to try it out, I can only say that my fear of the headstock looking ungainly on a Jazz-bodied bass was totally unfounded. The bass looks incredibly cool, and the tones are classic Jazz. I need to revisit the electronics to shield the cavities, as I seem to be getting a bit of noise here. Otherwise, I think I can learn to play "Jazz".

 

[f64]

Looks Great !! Have fun with it!

 

[gjbassist]

Great looking bass! Looks a lot like my new SX Jazz that I just did the mods on last week. Classic sunburst and tort is such a great looking combination.

 

[rust_preacher]

Yes! I like maple boards too, this one just happens to be rosewood. I am traveling on business and the next encounter with my precious is in March.

I went to the electronics shops in Akihabara here in Tokyo and bought a whole new set of split-shaft pots for a vol-vol-bass-treble tone stack. I'll see if I will put this setup on this bass, or save it for my next build... G & L necks are hard to come by to make another like this build.

 

[rust_preacher]

OK now. Just one is a one-off... Two might be a statement!

Here's the parts I had, there probably is a bass in there somewhere.

Well, thanks to the wonders of the world-wide web, parts start trickling in. It's a Squier body, quite new.

There's a maple ASAT Bass neck I am buying off the TB Classifieds, but that one is not due to arrive until next month, I think. I bought a SD Hot Jazz neck pickup off eBay, and the matching bridge pickup from an online store.

My trusted luthier Matti is going to make me a special pickguard for this, and he will fit the neck and the body together, like he did for the first project. This is going to be about 100 euros cheaper than the first one.

 

[rust_preacher]

Looks like it's going to be a V-V-T-T, by the parts additions I got today.

 

[parsons]

Looks like it's going to be a V-V-T-T, by the parts additions I got today.

Why two tone knobs? Are you going to wire this like a 62 Jazz? If so you'll lose output due to the resistors needed.

 

[rust_preacher]

Why two tone knobs? Are you going to wire this like a 62 Jazz? If so you'll lose output due to the resistors needed.

No, I think I will add a G & L -style "treble" control.

 

[rust_preacher]

I received the neck pickup and started shielding the Squier body with aluminum tape. This is great stuff, you don't need to solder any overlapping sections, the glued-over joints conduct very well.

Then I noticed that the bridge pickup cavity in the Squier body is routed to fit a shorter (cheaper) pickup. Appointment with the luthier is in order.

While I was at it, I shielded the original Asat-Jazz cavity.

Before (no shielding whatsoever):

After (I did not have time to go through the pickup routs):

 

[rust_preacher]

And the 1992 ASAT Bass neck arrives.

 

[rust_preacher]

So how did it turn out? I have posted the result on other threads.

Summary: Squier body, G & L ASAT Bass neck with tuners, aftermarket bridge, CTS split-shaft pots, SD Hot Jazz pups. Custom python skin PG.

And, here are the ASAT-Jazz sisters side by side:

I don't know what factors contribute to the overall sound, but the sunburst is a bit more open and trebley, with more sustain than the black one. Both sound very nice, and usually I just back off the neck PU a bit to get that weird phase relationship with the balance, and also turn the tone down slightly to reduce the treble, and there we go.

I think these builds were a nice way to get Jazzy, after a long time in P-land.