Vintage Modified P to P/J Conversion Finished

[Foamy]

Been thinking about selling this bass or trading it for a J for a while. Until last night when I played my first live gig and recorded it. Wow, what a sound! I don't quite know how to describe it - growly? Attitude??

Anyhow, it is not a very expensive bass, I really do like the EMG Select I have in it now. I've got the tools and the skills to do the woodworking, so let's give it a go!

I started tonight by taking off the bridge and the pickguard. I'll be replacing the single volume control with a stacked dual-control pot and give this a Jazz wiring.

The cavity is nicely painted with shielding paint.

I'll start posting the photos tomorrow as I prepare the body and make the template for the route.

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Soundclip Update: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=702061

Let me know what you think of the tones. Cheers!

 

[mike phillips]

show us some pics.

 

[PauBass]

I'm also thinking of adding a Jazz pickup on the bridge position to my American Fender Precision so would be nice to see some pictures of your work.

Do you know the exact pickup position from the bridge?

Thanks and Good luck!

 

[Foamy]

Before is obvious.
To prepare, I removed basically everything: Neck, neck pickup, pickguard, bridge, bridge grounding wire.
Now I have a nice flat top and bottom to work with.

 

[Foamy]

The first photo shows that I used a straightedge to extend the lines of the edge of the bridge. I temporarily put 2 screws back in the bridge to hold it in place, and then extended the lines.
NOTE: The pickup is on it's face, but, it is still in the proper orientation top to bottom. This is crucial as the holes for the mounting screws are not symetrical - they are slightly offset. I think this is to avoid splitting the wood underneath. If you mess this part up and do it upside down, well...it'd be a mess.
The second photo shows all the lines drawn. I lined everything up visually, and it all looks good to me.

 

[Foamy]

The round parts are 1/2" diameter. I used a Forstner bit for this. Anything else would more than likely cause a problem. The Forstner bit is easy to align, and it cuts a very clean and smooth hole without hopping around. This is crucial. If you don't have one, buy or borrow one.
I used my drill press and set the depth stop so all my holes would be the same.
I used a 1/2" bit because that's what I had. Had I a bit more time, I would've run to the store and bought either the metric size just larger than 1/2" or a 17/32" to give the holes just a bit more room. But the 1/2" worked out fine - you just gotta be dead nuts on.
Then I switched up to a 5/8" Forstner and hogged out the middle of the cut, making sure to leave a bit of material for the router to clean up.

 

[Foamy]

To clean up the edges, I clamped a guide board to the body, parallel to the cut line and did the front edge. Then, I moved the guide board and did the back edge. Notice that I did not go all the way up to the ends. I had a 1/4" diameter bit, and that left me with some round corners that needed to be dressed up.
NOTE: This guide board business is not really simple. It's not brain surgery either. Just take a lot of time and make sure it is in the right place, and firmly clamped.
For the ends, I used a Dremel in a router attachment and did it freehand. I think they came up great. I just took it reeeeal slow.

Editorial: Dremel tools are Satan's tools. They look great from afar, but they can really get you into trouble fast. More later.

 

[Foamy]

Fits like a glove.
I put it all back together, and threw on a new set of DR Black Beauties.
Finished! And it sounds awesome!
To preserve the look, I replaced the stock tone pot with a blend pot to select or blend bridge and neck pickups. I replaced the stock volume pot with a dual pot. The outside ring controls volume, and the inside knob controls the tone.
Keeps it nice and clean, and the blend pot it a good idea, I think.

----------
I screwed up one place that ticked me off. Drilling a hole from the cavity of the new pickup into the control cavity, I got the Dremel in too close, and the chuck hit the edge of the rout 2 times. Drats!!!
I was thinking ahead of time that I should be masking it off, but then told myself 'Nah, no biggie, I won't screw it up'. Anyhow, not a a real big deal. I'll touch it up with some auto paint or maybe even leave it. It's not all that visible anyhow.

OK, that's it. Let me know if you have any questions or tips to pass on. I'm all ears.

 

[Herrlster]

Need better/better pics of the finished bass.

Good job though!

 

[Foamy]

Need better/better pics of the finished bass.

Good job though!

Thanks!
These are the best I can do.
Cheers.

 

[BenderR]

Nice work.

 

[PauBass]

Awesome, It looks great!

What's the exact rear pickup position from the bridge?

 

[Foamy]

Awesome, It looks great!

What's the exact rear pickup position from the bridge?

Thanks!
The back of the pickup is 2-3/16" from the front of the bridge plate.

 

[Jim Carr]

very cool!!!

 

[Foamy]

very cool!!!

Thanks, kindly!

 

[Herrlster]

That is great work man, very clean. Good job again.

 

[PauBass]

Thanks!
The back of the pickup is 2-3/16" from the front of the bridge plate.

Thanks a lot!

Any chance of listening to soundclips?

 

[jsamans]

Thanks for the pictures! You must have nerves of steel. It was all I could do to just drill holes for bridge and pickup covers on my '51 reissue

I had a MIJ P-Bass body routed for a J-Bass pickup back in the early 90's -- I sent it off to a shop, but I was always curious how they did it. Now I know.

 

[Stuggi]

Could you explain how this router buisness works? Do you accually just run the router along the edge of the template, or do you do it freehanded with the template there just to make sure you don't **** up? And what dremelbit did you use?

 

[Foamy]

Thanks a lot!

Any chance of listening to soundclips?

I can record some tonight - what style do you want? I'm not really into tapping or slap. Also....not sure how to post them, so I may just send them to you - PM me an e-mail address if you would. I'll do a bit of digging too to see how others host these.