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Ben Lindsey Hot Rod Jazz Build

Scott McArron

Scott McArron

Jan 7, 2007
2,196
1,389
Hamburg, Germany
linktr.ee
#1
I've determined that I can't find a production jazz bass that fits my specs, so I'm going to have someone build it for me. After doing some research and getting some feedback from a few members I decided to have Ben Lindsey build it.

I've heard nothing but good things about Ben and his work. Additionally, his builds are in the price range I prefer for traditional-style basses. The problem I have with $3k plus basses is that I don't want to gig them. As careful as I am, I always end up finding nicks and dents, and on such expensive pristine instruments that just makes me sad. :( That's why I like slightly relic'd jazzes. If I add another ding it simply won't matter. And I know I will at some point!

Anyways, I've created this thread to follow the bass build, share in my love for bass, and show you guys what Ben Lindsey can do. :smug: I've got several basses in mind for the future, a 60's-era alder/rw sunburst traditional jazz, a mary kaye white with maple board P-bass, and a red 70's jazz. This build is going to be the red bass that I've already named Sweet Caroline. :bassist: Here are the specs so far:

- Alder with Dakota Red nitro finish
- Birdseye maple neck with rosewood board with white binding and pearl block inlays and 10" radius
- White pick guard
- '70's pickup spacing
- Lollar pickups
- Gotoh GB640 light weight '70's-style tuners, with additional Hipshot Drop D Extender
- Passive electronics with treble bleed
- Chrome pickups covers
- Light relic job, about 3ish out of 10. Just enough to give it style and so I don't have to worry about dinging up my new bass! :D
- Under or around 9 lbs

I'm kinda modeling the bass after this:
redwhitestang.jpg


or more like my 'Stang (not my actual car in the pic, mine is just boring silver, but I wished it looked like this!):
Red_Shelby.jpg


I haven't had the opportunity to see a bass with dakota red finish along with binding and block inlays, so I'm looking forward to how this turns out! Let me know what you guys think! I'm really excited about this one!
:hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper:
 
#12
johnk_10 said:
i'd go dakota red (or fiesta, or CAR) since those are 'real' vintage fender colors. IMO, hot rod red makes it look like a child's (beginner) bass.
Click to expand...

Those colors were the ones I've been looking at the most. None are true to the early to mid 70's though, at least not that I could find in my research.

There are sooo many variations of those colors that I had a hard time finding one that really fit what I was looking for. The fiesta reds range from orangey to pink-ish to even a bit more redish. I saw both a Lull and an Alleva Coppolo bass with "fiesta red" that looked almost exactly like the hot rod red above. My eyes couldn't tell them apart no matter how long I compared them. Differences in lighting also make it a bit more difficult. Same went for the Dakota red.

I got so fed up with the hours and hours I've put into looking for a color that I figured I'd just ignore the "true" Fender colors (which aren't even true of the early to mid 70's as far as I know) and go with a themed bass. Since I was looking for a red bass, I though it would be cool to base it off of my favorite car(s), the mustangs above. Now that I think about it, if I got candy apple red (CAR) then it would REALLY be based off of a car. :D:scowl:

I'm thinking about talking to Ben about aging the hot rod red a bit during the relic'ing process, like fading it out some so it's more similar to a cross between hot rod and a more redish fiesta. We'll see. It's fun fine tuning Sweet Caroline. What's the worst that can happen? If I don't like the color I'll just spend the extra dough to get it redone in something else later on down the road.
 
#14
Scott McArron said:
Those colors were the ones I've been looking at the most. None are true to the early to mid 70's though, at least not that I could find in my research.
Click to expand...

i have no idea of what you mean by 'not true to the original colors'. or what basses or painters that you've been looking at.

Scott McArron said:
......... I saw both a Lull and an Alleva Coppolo bass with "fiesta red" that looked almost exactly like the hot rod red above. My eyes couldn't tell them apart no matter how long I compared them. Differences in lighting also make it a bit more difficult. Same went for the Dakota red.
Click to expand...

there's a night and day difference between hot rod red, dakota red and fiesta red. if you saw a bass that you couldn't tell which one it was, it wasn't an accurate reproduction of the color.



Scott McArron said:
I got so fed up with the hours and hours I've put into looking for a color that I figured I'd just ignore the "true" Fender colors (which aren't even true of the early to mid 70's as far as I know)...........
Click to expand...

again. i have no idea of what you mean by that.
 
#16
just about every vintage fender color was derived from dupont automotive colors and they are very well documented for accuracy for car restorations. i don't understand why you'd want a 70's color when all of the cool ones were in the 60's, but alot of the 70's ones were carried over from the 60's.

i've built, restored and repaired so many vintage fenders since '1973 that when i restore/refinish one, i seem to have developed a pretty good sense which vintage color will remain desirabe to it's owner, many years after the build is completed.

Link Removed
 
#17
johnk_10 said:
just about every vintage fender color was derived from dupont automotive colors and they are very well documented for accuracy for car restorations. i don't understand why you'd want a 70's color when all of the cool ones were in the 60's, but alot of the 70's ones were carried over from the 60's.

i've built, restored and repaired so many vintage fenders since '1973 that when i restore/refinish one, i seem to have developed a pretty good sense which vintage color will remain desirabe to it's owner, many years after the build is completed.

Link Removed
Click to expand...

Wow, what a terrific well researched article, thanks!!!
 
#18
johnk_10 said:
just about every vintage fender color was derived from dupont automotive colors and they are very well documented for accuracy for car restorations. i don't understand why you'd want a 70's color when all of the cool ones were in the 60's, but alot of the 70's ones were carried over from the 60's.

i've built, restored and repaired so many vintage fenders since '1973 that when i restore/refinish one, i seem to have developed a pretty good sense which vintage color will remain desirabe to it's owner, many years after the build is completed.

Link Removed
Click to expand...

That was a great article, thanks! I wanted a 70's color because I was making a 70's bass and was trying to get it as true to the time as possible. However, I don't like any of the finishes out of the 70's, so I'm going to scrap the "authenticity" idea and just do what I want with it. Should be talking with Ben soon to finalize a few things...
 
#19
johnk_10 said:
There's a night and day difference between hot rod red, dakota red and fiesta red. if you saw a bass that you couldn't tell which one it was, it wasn't an accurate reproduction of the color.
Click to expand...

Yes! Exactly. That's the problem I've been having in finding the color I want. For example, Mike Lull's "Fiesta Red" on his old gallery page looks like Fender's "Hot Rod Red" on their color chart and not like their fiesta red at all.

johnk_10 said:
again. i have no idea of what you mean by that.
Click to expand...
AFAIK, Fender didn't offer those colors in those years, so they would not be authentic for a 70's bass, but I could be wrong.
 

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