'66 dot/bound J tribute

[wraub]

Please, for the love of all that is right and good, please do not paint this beautiful body with that red color. Or, anything similar to that red.

Trans white or natural. Do it. It must happen. Trans white with a bound neck (if you must), natural without.

I'd vote natural, minimal finish, no pickguard. That's just how I roll.

Of course, YMMV, some settling may occur in shipping, sold by weight not volume, please tip your server...

 

[mapleglo]

Please, for the love of all that is right and good, please do not paint this beautiful body with that red color. Or, anything similar to that red.

Trans white or natural. Do it. It must happen. Trans white with a bound neck (if you must), natural without.

I'd vote natural, minimal finish, no pickguard. That's just how I roll.

Of course, YMMV, some settling may occur in shipping, sold by weight not volume, please tip your server...

Yeah, and keep your seat backs and tray tables in the upright and closed positions.

I also vote for a natural, minimal finish with no pickguard. Must be an Arizona thing.

 

[wraub]

Sometimes, it's just too damn hot here to wear a covering...

 

[JIO]

Well ladies and gentlemen... that train has left the station. So as of right now, it is 'on track' to be expertly finished by Mr Pat Wilkins in a stunning (thin poly) trans-Blond with halo'd edges (opaque at the edges) I've been wanting to do a classic Blond finish for a while and the stars have aligned for that to happen. I understand the natural thing and love the wood grain - I've just never been particularly religious about fancy wood. I do love the thought/image of visually striking/pronounced ash grain ghosting through an elegant translucent finish. Something more related to sheer fabric - a sense of mystery/intrigue, a hint of what's underneath, a visual depth of the finish. It's the perfect blend of a natural finish and a painted finish. And for wraubs sake, it's the complete opposite, the antithesis of an opaque Fiesta red finish.

speaking of which and as a reminder of my admiration for natural wood finishes;

hah! I just realized after looking at this pic, I could have (artistically) added the characteristic finishing plug (seen under the neck plate on the exposed wood) to the roasted ash body. Oh well, the hump is good…

 

[wraub]

[QUOTE="JIO, post: 17116827, member: 171973" ] And for wraubs sake, it's the complete opposite, the antithesis of an opaque Fiesta red finish.
[/QUOTE]



I do, most sincerely, appreciate your deference and followthrough in this most important matter. Please continue your efforts towards the completion of this endeavor, with my complete support.

I still vote no pickguard, though.

 

[JIO]

I do, most sincerely, appreciate your deference and followthrough in this most important matter. Please continue your efforts towards the completion of this endeavor, with my complete support.

I still vote no pickguard, though.

And there's a chance your vote may be realized. The more I'm thinking about this, the roasted ash body may just replace the Fiesta red WD body and live with all those parts/neck. If so, no pg will be installed. Part of my logic relates to the weight. If I can get the now red J to 8.something lbs, I'd prefer that over getting the '66 trib J to 9.something lbs.

 

[JIO]

Please, for the love of all that is right and good, please do not paint this beautiful body with that red color. Or, anything similar to that red.

Trans white or natural. Do it. It must happen. Trans white with a bound neck (if you must), natural without.

I'd vote natural, minimal finish, no pickguard. That's just how I roll.

Of course, YMMV, some settling may occur in shipping, sold by weight not volume, please tip your server...

Well wraub, looks like I'll be rolling with you after all. Just got off the phone w/Pat after he sent a pic of a blond finish over the roasted ash sample I sent w/the body. As you can see, it looks very grey, much like teak when it gets weathered. A nice look for cabinetry, but not for my bass. Pat does roasted alder mostly and his wood is lighter in hue than the ash body I sent. So anything transluecent over that dark wood will translate accordingly in darkness and also in colour/hue. I wanted the grain to be seen, and so my options were natural or 2-tone sunburst. (tobacco burst) I chose natural, and since I was going natural - I chose a satin finish. Pat's satin finishes always look so great when people post pics of theirs, and it will feel nice. (my Parker 5'r has a satin finish so I know)

It's funny how this is all panning out. In the interim from it's conceptual inception, I decided to keep my '66 trib J 'as is', and focus for the roasted body use shifted to my Fiesta red J, which originally had the heavy alder body that is now the Glam P/J. (have I lost you yet?) So that heavy alder body was originally 'midnight wine' which I stripped to… satin natural. When the satin natural roasted J gets back, it will be built up using all the same parts/neck etc that was originally on the natural heavy alder body. It will be the same, but different with a lighter ash body, 60's pu spacing, top string-load standard Fender bent-plate bridge and... wait for it wraub (and Rick, Nexy, Laura B, Hues, manupulated et al) no pg! (or more inclusively, no pg and a natural finish!) Satiny natural roasted ash grain goodness for all! The Fiesta red J body is odd-body out in this musical chairs game, so if anyone's interested it will be for sale. wraub?

 

[JIO]

ok peeps - crème pu covers or black? Of course black will work… so maybe I'll have to just wait till it gets here but I think crème would be cool.

 

[Splods]

Cream for mo 70's funk vibe

 

[Splods]

Yumm

 

[JIO]

Pat called - the body's done and may be here as soon as Saturday. I asked him how it looked and he admitted being bias as he does most of his roasted line in natural satan, but said it looks beautiful! Time to disassemble the Fiesta Red J in preperation for it's newest and most likely last configuration.

 

[BassHappy]

Pat called - the body's done and may be here as soon as Saturday. I asked him how it looked and he admitted being bias as he does most of his roasted line in natural satan, but said it looks beautiful! Time to disassemble the Fiesta Red J in preperation for it's newest and most likely last configuration.

Sounds great JIO

Can't wait to see the body - you know I am a HUGE Pat satin fan and natural - well, I am thrilled for you and this bass. It is so funny to me - you know, the best laid plans thing. You really have to be a flexatarian when it comes to this bass-building or remodeling game. There always seems to be a curve ball when you least expect it. I thought your idea for the finish was not only interesting but way cool - but here it comes - grey! Who knew?

Well, this will be a super remodel and I anxiously await the arrival and the next steps!

Not sure about the pickup covers, be easier to see them in order to cast a vote.

I will say this - a little on the expensive side but this baby would look too cool with the Schaller vintage copper hardware:

I heard they even make the pickup covers to match, but I haven't gone out to the Schaller site to verify it.

 

[JIO]

Yes, flexatarian - a good word! I've always felt this line sums it up; "You know, you never know - you know?" When I first heard of 'the chaos theory' I just thought… of course! Usually the unexpected is the ideal opportunity for discovery!

Those Schallers are nice - by 'vintage copper' it appears they do a bit of distressing which reveals the copper/nickel layer under the chrome. Not difficult to do w/a standard set and some 80 grit sandpaper & steal-wool. Never considered doing that to my beloved pops, so the neck as-is (from the red bass) will just move over to the roasted ash body. Maybe if they were on a roasted maple neck...

 

[BassHappy]

Yes, flexatarian - a good word! I've always felt this line sums it up; "You know, you never know - you know?" When I first heard of 'the chaos theory' I just thought… of course! Usually the unexpected is the ideal opportunity for discovery!

Those Schallers are nice - by 'vintage copper' it appears they do a bit of distressing which reveals the copper/nickel layer under the chrome. Not difficult to do w/a standard set and some 80 grit sandpaper & steal-wool. Never considered doing that to my beloved pops, so the neck as-is (from the red bass) will just move over to the roasted ash body. Maybe if they were on a roasted maple neck...

Hey JIO

Yeah, the universe will direct you if you are smart enough to simply surrender and go with it. It still is a big lesson for me. The strength of your vision and the control freak in you can set you back if you aren't careful and paying close attention.

They do make the bridges and the tuners in the vintage copper, but I can't find any pickup covers except conventional humbucker guitar types. I really like the 3D bridges they make - you can adjust the string spacing on the fly which is great for a medium scaler like me.

I am going to have to think hard on one of my upcoming builds....I would really like to use this vintage copper on something - but it has to be a fit and it isn't an easy match for a guy like me who likes pristine.

 

[JIO]

I wasn't aware of this distressed hw finish style - I could see it on your turquoise detailed Native American influenced bass. I too like the Schaller 3D bridge. I have one on my '93 A/S J and one on the Supernova. It's been around forever (or since the 80's anyway) and remains a well designed, adjustable, and reasonably priced bridge. I didn't need them but you can get spacers to adjust the height of the plate as well.

 

[JIO]

I just realized a translucent Antiqua finish over the roasted ash could have possibly worked with the grey/green halo aligning with the grayish center. And a roasted maple neck would top it off visually. I'll need to remember this for the future. (pic of '79 J courtesy of bok007)

 

[JIO]

As it will be the last time my Fiesta Red J will be that, I'll give it a night of playing to keep the body filled with 'good vibrations' (saw The Wrecking Crew" documentary last night - a must see!)

 

[JIO]

...a busy day. The roasted ash J body arrived and I built it up. Pics tomorrow (or I should say, later today!)

 

[JIO]

Sooo, I opened the box from Pat and was a bit surprised as I wasn't expecting a body that dark! Once my eyes adjusted, I began to appreciate it for what it is. Which as you can see is a very nice 'roasted' sort of rich, warm chocolate-ie hue - and satiny smooth. The balance of the colour value to grain distinction is perfect - just the right blend of both for my eyes. I went with creme pu covers and it does look good with a blk/wht/blk pg - very 70's, but I won't even post a pic w/it because it ain't gunna happen! I based this body on my own J's but as it is 'hand made' (no CNC involved) the neck pocket left the angle slightly tilted. This necessitated raking the bridge stilts pretty high, along with the pu's. Still within reason, but I threw together a bridge from parts to get it operational. (standard Fender bridge maxed out) So I'm going to replace it with a Schaller 3D bridge ($57) w/additional 'vintage copper' brass spacer for extra height ($15.60 from Germany) The 'vintage copper' brass 3D bridge was much more ($$) and I wanted to stay 'silver' anyway. The distressed brass spacer will be a nice transition from wood to bridge.

So, good news is the weight - 8lbs/15oz which is only 1oz heavier than my '66 P (my gold standard!) and lighter than the last Fiesta Red alder body version.(9.6lbs) I positioned the lower strap peg like I did on my Glam P/J which is about 3-1/4" off center. This way, with strap engaged it can stand upright against an amp during a break. (a real plus for a J body) I have a strap shortened specifically for these basses. And finally, I did individual neck collars/screws as I prefer not using a plate unless it is part of a vintage slant. The thinner body (1-1/2") is also really comfy.

Sound-wise; there's no day/night change - this bass has sounded great through all of it's manifestations. So it's more that I will determine its individual flavor after playing it a while. Initially, chords sound really good - very rich and distinct. Diaddario nickel rounds would really work well here and I may eventually install a set. (GHS Progressive flats have always been on it from day 1) It further confirms for me where a basses sound comes from, which is rooted in 2 main areas; the neck and the pu's preamp/electronics (and strings of course). Type of wood(s), solid or laminated, shape of body, weight - all will have some influence. But other than chambering- not as much as is endlessly debated.

So in summery, a warm woody J with a visual 70's "stripped finish/stained/pg removed" vibe, user friendly weight, ergonomics/feel and a big rich tone. What's not to like?

 

[BassHappy]

Sooo, I opened the box from Pat and was a bit surprised as I wasn't expecting a body that dark! Once my eyes adjusted, I began to appreciate it for what it is. Which as you can see is a very nice 'roasted' sort of rich, warm chocolate-ie hue - and satiny smooth. The balance of the colour value to grain distinction is perfect - just the right blend of both for my eyes. I went with creme pu covers and it does look good with a blk/wht/blk pg - very 70's, but I won't even post a pic w/it because it ain't gunna happen! I based this body on my own J's but as it is 'hand made' (no CNC involved) the neck pocket left the angle slightly tilted. This necessitated raking the bridge stilts pretty high, along with the pu's. Still within reason, but I threw together a bridge from parts to get it operational. (standard Fender bridge maxed out) So I'm going to replace it with a Schaller 3D bridge ($57) w/additional 'vintage copper' brass spacer for extra height ($15.60 from Germany) The 'vintage copper' brass 3D bridge was much more ($$) and I wanted to stay 'silver' anyway. The distressed brass spacer will be a nice transition from wood to bridge.

So, good news is the weight - 8lbs/15oz which is only 1oz heavier than my '66 P. (my gold standard!) I positioned the lower strap peg like I did on my Glam P/J which is about 3-1/4" off center. This way, with strap engaged it can stand upright against an amp during a break. (a real plus for a J body) I have a strap shortened specifically for these basses. And finally, I did individual neck collars/screws as I prefer not using a plate unless it is part of a vintage slant. The thinner body (1-1/2") is also really comfy.

Sound-wise; there's no day/night change - this bass has sounded great through all of it's manifestations. So it's more that I will determine its individual flavor after playing it a while. Initially, chords sound really good - very rich and distinct. Diaddario nickel rounds would really work well here and I may eventually install a set. (GHS Progressive flats have always been on it from day 1) It further confirms for me where a basses sound comes from, which is rooted in 2 main areas; the neck and the pu's preamp/electronics (and strings of course). Type of wood(s), solid or laminated, shape of body, weight - all will have some influence. But other than chambering- not as much as is endlessly debated.

So in summery, a warm woody J with a visual 70's "stripped finish/stained/pg removed" vibe, user friendly weight, ergonomics/feel and a big rich tone. What's not to like?

Effing gorgeous man - just gorgeous.....

Wow, hard to believe that is ash - so much richer than what a dark stain would give you....

The cream pickups are puuurrrrrfect!

I love it....