Hunt49's TB Build-Off entry: Abbey Normal edition

Okay, here's my entry for the TB Build-o-Rama Spectacle and Medicine Show. I'm a little late to the party, but I didn't see the post until a few days ago.

But I knew right off what had to be done.

A resurrection of sorts – saving from the grave an instrument that had held great promise, a project that had started out with great expectations. It was a thing of beauty, but something wasn't right; something was deeply flawed; Its heart and brain lacked the mojo and soul promised by the pretty face.

Something was amiss. Something was, well, ABNORMAL.


Our story starts with this inspiration from the Fender Custom Shop:



I had to have one.

But first, a hair check:



Of course, for our tale we have to start in black and white.

This is a Xaviere, a GFS/guitarfetish.com special that is a disappointment as soon as you pick it up. I literally threw the stock neck in the garbage- and my trash can was offended. But I pressed on, found a cheap used Squier Affinity neck, and pushed forward with a refinish in an almost-ice-blue-metallic.



The result? So much promise, so much underperformance. It sounds and plays like a Wal-Mart special. It is everything wrong with cheap imports. The electronics were hideously bad. The pickups were pathetic.

But I still loved the blue misshapen thing that never existed in nature.


So I wanted to resurrect it from an early grave – to give it purpose, foundation. Fundamental. It needed something feminine to bring it back to life.



This SX Gypsy Rose lefty is a 32” scale marketed at prepubescent girls with dreams of a Hannah Montana cover band. They're also some of the best basses, IMO, that SX builds.


I've already refinished one and used it, stock, to perform. I'm a big fan of the 32” scale, and with lefty Gypsy Roses blowing out at $49 plus shipping, I decided it looked like a cheap source for a reverse neck and some assorted parts.

So, at $71 with shipping, I got a donor to build a Jazzcaster / Telemaster bass. The neck, bridge, and who knows what else will be grafted to Abbey.




While I took these pictures, "Someday We'll Be Together" played on Pandora. Well said, Supremes.

Look at the quality of the neck pocket on this $50 bass:





And look at the bonus case candy!



It's almost a shame to part this thing out -- it sounded unbelievably good.





The 32" neck has exactly the same size neck plate, but they align differently -- I'll be filling the holes and drilling fresh.



The neck pocket will need to be widened slightly, and the heel has a different radius; all to be addressed.





Here's a glimpse of what lies ahead:





For pickups, I'm leaning toward a set of Gretsch filtertrons.

Question - can anyone tell me if a '51 P pickup fits in the rout for a Tele bridge? It seems that it might.




I also have to address the holes from the existing bridge - I'd like to avoid re-painting if I can.

I thought about a cover:



But it's in the way of playing, and doesn't really fix the problem.

So there's my build - the next step involves working the neck pocket and mounting the bridge. After that, we'll worry about that new brain.




And then Abbey will be whole again and ready for the stage.



But that's as far as I got before the band got here for rehearsal.

SDB Guitars said:

This is pretty cool... I'd definitely consider a Tele rail-style pickup at the bridge if you don't want to fill the hole and refinish, but I'm concerned that it might sound really thin.

Maybe stick a Hofner viola bass style mini humbucker at the neck position, and then a MM style in the bridge position? It could probably be routed over the current tele bridge pickup route position...

Click to expand...

I actually originally was thinking MM at the bridge - that's the missing sound in my stable. I like the dea of a chrome pickup for aesthetics. And the filtertrons sound good... Maybe a filtertron neck and a MM at the bridge? I'll still have to cover the holes somehow. I still have the blue paint, but I'd have to pay to have it put in a spray can, and then I'd have to buy clearcoat - it'd burn $30 of budget. And I'm already going over when I buy pickups.

Truthfully, ill be lucky to have it sound anywhere close to as good as the stock Gypsy Rose sounded through a VT Deluxe.

SDB Guitars said:

If you are willing to use overseas-made pickups, you can find OLP or Wilkinson MM pickups on eBay for under $20, and I found a set of Hofner mini-humbuckers for $25/pair. If the bridge pickup route is large enough, you wouldn't have to fill the old pickup route, you could maybe just route over it, eliminating it altogether. Might be able to avoid refinishing that way.

Click to expand...

Anyone have good experiences with any particular inexpensive MM pickups? I know I liked the passive pup in my SUB - I presume it was alnico, but might have been ceramic. GFS has an Alnico MM, but after the initial quality of Abbey I'm a bit leery of going there.

I thought about going cheap to stay in budget, but I've decided I'd rather go a bit over and get pickups that are worth buying. That said, I'd like to stay as far under $100 as I can. I can get a set of filtertrons for 100 plus shipping.

Okay, I'm contemplating a refinish, since I'm going to have to deal with the neck pocket and the holes from the bridge mounting.

I have to do it on the cheap, so we're talking Krylon spray cans, steel-wooled to a matte finish.

Any color suggestions to go well with the mint guard? I'm leaning toward more classic fender colors.

No time to work on things since breaking things down -- I've been spending all my time with Frau Blucher.

I might work on flipping the nut tonight, and tomorrow spend some time with a dremel and a neck pocket.

okay, there's good news, bad news, and great news.

the good:

The neck is in place, and it's a good fit (but not pretty). It turned out decently for a free-hand Dremel sander job, but there's a gap. I'll air my dirty laundry:



I used a laser level to align the neck, but the whole process borrowed a bit from Chris' damn-the-torpedoes 'punk-luthier' approach.

Fortunately, it turned out well. Without the tuners, there was no neck dive, but with them added she settles. I knew that going in with this body.

I flipped the nut and smoothed its edges.



With the neck in place, on to the bridge! I used the laser again to align the identifiable center points (dots, center of pickups, and that big hole where the old bridge had been. What the @#$% was that for, anyway?).

It all seemed to line up perfectly in the center, and I carefully positioned the bridge.

The bad news is coming. A good pair of eyes can see it coming in this mock-up pic before holes were drilled. I saw it too, but trusted the laser rather than my own eyes. Mistake.



I drilled holes to suit. Note the center hole is aligned with the previous bridge large hole, which aligns the new bridge holes with the old. I also *barely* had a long enough drill bit to run the grounding wire hole. (sounds like a personal issue... )



And the bridge installed. It should be easy to see the problem now, but I chalked it up to badly aligned pickguard cuts.



So I strung it up, and the problem jumped right out and bit me on the ass:





Yep, misaligned the bridge toward the G side.





So that's the bad news. Fortunately, there isn't an unplayable note all the way up the G string, so it's not a sunken ship. I may reseat the bridge at some point, but for now I'm going to press forward. If I decide to refinish I'll certainly fill and redrill.

Moral of the story -- trust your instinct. Measure twice, then eyeball it to be sure it makes sense.

Okay, now for the great news:

This thing has incredible singing sustain. Better than any bass I own. It's unreal how the note jumps out and hangs in the air forever. Whatever it was about this lightweight body that didn't work as a guitar is really great as a bass.

The other major surprise was just how good the guitar pickups sounded. I was completely shocked with the sounds I'm getting. I'm not even sure at this point that the pickups need replacing. The neck pickup gives some major fundamental. It's a bit muddy, as is expected from the position, but it really thrums the low end.

The bridge is the real treat. It's got a J-bass bite and single-coil feel, but it's far enough forward to add some girth to it. It has something of an MM feel to the sound, and there's a bit more treble than one might want, but it has great bite and a really nice alnico roundness to the tone. It is a tiny bit thin on its own -- but through my VT Deluxe it sounds really good.

I really want to hear the two pups blended, but I'm thinking that when I reassembled the guitar from the blue paint job that I miswired something. there's a big volume drop and thin sound in the center position - probably a phase issue.

I'm going to sort the wiring, decide on changing the pickups, and then move forward.

I'm also contemplating some cover options -- give me some votes!

No Covers:


Small Cover at bridge:




Pickup cover:


Stupid-big cover:


Or the '57 Buick Chromegasm Unplayable Special :



If I can get this thing not-pink-headed by next weekend I may drag it to a gig to see how the stock pickups sit in a mix.

So there it is - progress is made, and promise restored.

It's Alive!