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Les Paul bass build

Hawkbone

Hawkbone

Mar 23, 2009
942
251
Newfoundland
#1
So I bought this carved top Gibson LP bass body off ebay.

lespaulbassbody.jpg


Now I just need the other 80%:
- a neck built (USACG if they are interested)
- pups (RS/Fralin bassbuckers most likely)
- bridge (Gotoh 3-point)
- pots (keep it passive 1st, add pre-amp later if I want)
- tuners

Anyone with any advice to share? Neck, pup or bridge options? Part sources?

Here's a pic I found of a LP bass with that body.

p7.jpg



Thanks in advance.

hawk
 
#6
yeah I ordered that neck, someone else had pm'd me about it too. Hoping it's a direct fit, but I have a good buddy who has a reputation of working near magic with guitars, so I have a good safety net if I get into trouble. What a great find! Day 1 and I have what was to be the most expensive and most troublesome part sourced at a great price. Thanks to both of you for flagging it up.
 
#7
Humbucker options - I think the pups for these basses are the same size as a guitar humbucker. The options Ive found so far are:

1.) Rs/Fralin bassbucker
2.) SGD humbucker
3.) Seymour Duncan Hawkbucker (nice name)
4.) Schaller bass humbucker
5.) EMG Select
6.) Bill Lawrence?

Any opinions on any of these, or something to add to the list?

Thanks!
 
#9
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#12
aquateen said:
here's some stock pickups at a good price. they're TB+ pups underneath the covers.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Thunderb...emQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item3ca97e117f
Click to expand...

Man my ebay skills must suck, I looked for these! Thanks dude, they look (and probably are) exactly like the stock LP pups. Bought!

Darkstrike said:
I have two of these, and a Invalid Link Removed in a bass, either would be a great choice, the Gibsons are nice, and very powerful, but the Rio's have coil cutting options, which is cool.
Click to expand...

And thanks to you for the review, which sealed the deal.

This is coming together much faster than anticipated, and with mostly Gibson parts, thanks to the help I'm getting here. And to think I hesitated to post the thread...

Next on the list is an ebony fretboard and ebony headstock veneer, then tuners (Gotoh) and pots. My buddy is making me a moose antler nut for my new jazz neck, so I guess this one will get the same treatment.

Any suggestions on wiring options? Are the TB pups 4-conductor? Probably not is my guess. I'm thinking stock arrangement, which is V/V/T/T?? Or I guess I could go V/T/T/blend?

I'll post pics as it starts to come together.

Gettin pretty stoked about this. If I was the smiley type I'd probably use the little dancing dude right now.

hawk
 
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#15
Damn! Man that's nice! Love these LP basses. I didn't know there was a carved top model until I saw a show a few months ago. When dude hauled his LP out of the case I knew what my next bass was going to be! Hey, I notice your pup rings are fitting the body - do they bend or are they made curved? Starting to wonder if the TB rings will fit.
 
#19
aquateen said:
the pickups I linked are TB+ pups that were only used on LPs. you're gonna be ok. if you need different rings, it shouldn't be a problem because the pups are the standard humbucker size. you're gonna have a great bass!
Click to expand...

Actually, the TB+ pickups are in *every* modern Gibson bass, they just put them in different shells. But yeah, this shell was espcially for the LP Bass.
 
#20
Thanks dudes. Great to hear from someone who knows these LPs. Info has been hard to come by. Anyone know what the stock neck radius was? 12" is what I've found, but I'm not 100% sure. Will a flatter fretboard (maybe 14") combined with the 3-point bridge cause any setup headaches? As for the bridge, anyone have a preference for the 3-point over the two piece (as on Barkless Dog's bass), or vice versa?
 

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