Double Czech - Jolana DiscoBass & Kolorbass -

[JIO]

Great job, that looks really cool. There's a definite hint of thunderbird in the body shape.

Wow, great job.
That turned out fantastic!

Thanks! Yes, it references the T-bird body-shape and more directly its RD cousin. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I had to really crank the tr to straighten the neck out but now have it at a nice/acceptable medium-height action w/no fret-buzz. The bass sounds great! I have a question for @Retro - on your red Discobass, is the lower knob basically a master volume? I just realized turning it full counter-clockwise is "off" regardless of the top knob being full clock-wise. Kinda' cool actually, as in a sense it doubles as the 'treble' control. (controls the bridge pu V which is more "trebly") First time I've seen this type of set-up. Pretty efficient/simple really.

 

[God's Favorite Bass]

Photo op - still need to do some work on the neck but otherwise it's done. Weighs in at 8lbs/1oz - perfect. I went with the vintage MIJ tuners sans back cover-boxes as they work well and look good. The boxes would need filing on the sides to fit w/o bumping into each other and I don't mind the look w/open gears. I also opted for a Schaller 3D bridge + riser-plate that I had. The arch of the base-plate matched the fb radius and it's fully adjustable having roller saddles. One of my favorite bridges and like the DiscoBass, a product of the '80s. I used the ok strings that came on it for set-up - ordered my favorite D'Addario's EXLBT's for it which should be here soon.

Ended up to be a very cool colour - sorta' has a pearlescent look from a distance. It also feels nice - smoothly grainy. You wouldn't think so until you feel it - very friendly to touch. It's becoming a trademark finish for me, this being my fifth bass using this technique/method. I now have a few 'pastel' finishes - will need to do a group pic of them... very Easter egg. I plugged it in briefly late last night (quietly) and I could tell it's going to be great at volume in the mix. As is my preferred sound/tone, favoring the bridge pu is 'that' sound - the sound I like hearing.

View attachment 4402276 View attachment 4402278 View attachment 4402279 View attachment 4402280 View attachment 4402282 View attachment 4402283
Walls of the cavity sealed with shielding paint and the floor with "slug tape" (copper tape)
View attachment 4402306
re-do by Geo /'21
View attachment 4402307

That's cool. A lot of interesting stuff going on. The maple is really nice, that string retainer, everything. Cool color, just a really nice package. Hope it sounds and plays as good as it looks Have fun with it now!

 

[Dynacord]

Not to mention the cool wandering black binding strips (I can't imagine how that is done!)! Does yours have that detail?

Yes! That's my bass (I have two from him).

That I knew - studying the pic, the periling channel must have been laser cut and the material heated and bent to slot in. It's the only way it could have been done so perfectly.

Correct. Not sure if the channels are laser cut vs CNC (I thought he said CNC but I could be remembering wrong) and the purfling inlayed by hand and heating to round the curves. His detail work is insane. Check the fret work - that's without a Plek machine. Hard to tell but has ebony binding as well. Ebony being the only non Russian indigenous wood on it.

Photo op - still need to do some work on the neck but otherwise it's done. Weighs in at 8lbs/1oz - perfect. I went with the vintage MIJ tuners sans back cover-boxes as they work well and look good. The boxes would need filing on the sides to fit w/o bumping into each other and I don't mind the look w/open gears. I also opted for a Schaller 3D bridge + riser-plate that I had. The arch of the base-plate matched the fb radius and it's fully adjustable having roller saddles. One of my favorite bridges and like the DiscoBass, a product of the '80s. I used the ok strings that came on it for set-up - ordered my favorite D'Addario's EXLBT's for it which should be here soon.

Ended up to be a very cool colour - sorta' has a pearlescent look from a distance. It also feels nice - smoothly grainy. You wouldn't think so until you feel it - very friendly to touch. It's becoming a trademark finish for me, this being my fifth bass using this technique/method. I now have a few 'pastel' finishes - will need to do a group pic of them... very Easter egg. I plugged it in briefly late last night (quietly) and I could tell it's going to be great at volume in the mix. As is my preferred sound/tone, favoring the bridge pu is 'that' sound - the sound I like hearing.

Dang, that looks great! And some fast drying paint in the California sun. Those tuning machines look the part. Going to keep them on or go for the others you posted?

 

[JIO]

Yes! That's my bass (I have two from him).



Correct. Not sure if the channels are laser cut vs CNC (I thought he said CNC but I could be remembering wrong) and the purfling inlayed by hand and heating to round the curves. His detail work is insane. Check the fret work - that's without a Plek machine. Hard to tell but has ebony binding as well. Ebony being the only non Russian indigenous wood on it.

Dang, that looks great! And some fast drying paint in the California sun. Those tuning machines look the part. Going to keep them on or go for the others you posted?

Yah - I really like his work. Very cool all the way around.

Thanks! Yes, I spray very light coats and leave it out in the air/sun. Normally lacquer needs 2 weeks to set, but because of the light coats I don't worry about it not setting. I consider it 'low-tech' which I can do w/o a spray-booth using rattle-cans. But I've got it down so it's a really good version of what it is. (if that makes sense) I'll be leaving these tuners on it and save the others for a future project. Chrome tuners looks better on this bass and they work really well.

 

[God's Favorite Bass]

Yes! That's my bass (I have two from him).



Correct. Not sure if the channels are laser cut vs CNC (I thought he said CNC but I could be remembering wrong) and the purfling inlayed by hand and heating to round the curves. His detail work is insane. Check the fret work - that's without a Plek machine. Hard to tell but has ebony binding as well. Ebony being the only non Russian indigenous wood on it.



Dang, that looks great! And some fast drying paint in the California sun. Those tuning machines look the part. Going to keep them on or go for the others you posted?

That thing is amazing! Can you share a full picture? I'm curious.

 

[Dynacord]

That thing is amazing! Can you share a full picture? I'm curious.

Sure:

(Has Nordstrand pickups with solid covers - no polepiece holes - on it now.)

And my other one:

12th fret inlay is Baltic amber:

 

[God's Favorite Bass]

Sure:

View attachment 4402424

(Has Nordstrand pickups with solid covers - no polepiece holes - on it now.)

And my other one:

View attachment 4402427

View attachment 4402428

12th fret inlay is Baltic amber:

View attachment 4402430

Man, that is some serious craft work there! Thank you for sharing. They are like some interplanetary bass vehicles. Really lovely.

 

[Flamingo21]

Beautiful, JIO! Enjoy that bass.

Incidentally, open tuners are cooler.

 

[Retro]

Photo op - still need to do some work on the neck but otherwise it's done. Weighs in at 8lbs/1oz - perfect. I went with the vintage MIJ tuners sans back cover-boxes as they work well and look good. The boxes would need filing on the sides to fit w/o bumping into each other and I don't mind the look w/open gears. I also opted for a Schaller 3D bridge + riser-plate that I had. The arch of the base-plate matched the fb radius and it's fully adjustable having roller saddles. One of my favorite bridges and like the DiscoBass, a product of the '80s. I used the ok strings that came on it for set-up - ordered my favorite D'Addario's EXLBT's for it which should be here soon.

Ended up to be a very cool colour - sorta' has a pearlescent look from a distance. It also feels nice - smoothly grainy. You wouldn't think so until you feel it - very friendly to touch. It's becoming a trademark finish for me, this being my fifth bass using this technique/method. I now have a few 'pastel' finishes - will need to do a group pic of them... very Easter egg. I plugged it in briefly late last night (quietly) and I could tell it's going to be great at volume in the mix. As is my preferred sound/tone, favoring the bridge pu is 'that' sound - the sound I like hearing.

View attachment 4402276 View attachment 4402278 View attachment 4402279 View attachment 4402280 View attachment 4402282 View attachment 4402283
Walls of the cavity sealed with shielding paint and the floor with "slug tape" (copper tape)
View attachment 4402306
re-do by Geo /'21
View attachment 4402307

Wow, that really turned out great! That colour looks fantastic on it, and those tuners are a perfect fit (visually and physically!). Great bridge choice as well, I put one of those on my first build and have been consistently impressed. (German engineering, I guess!) I remember when this bass popped up in my Reverb feed, thinking "Boy, does that need some TLC...". Couldn't think of a better person to do it. Knocked out of the park!

I have a question for @Retro - on your red Discobass, is the lower knob basically a master volume? I just realized turning it full counter-clockwise is "off" regardless of the top knob being full clock-wise. Kinda' cool actually, as in a sense it doubles as the 'treble' control. (controls the bridge pu V which is more "trebly") First time I've seen this type of set-up. Pretty efficient/simple really.

No, mine is just one independent volume for each pu, with original high/low pass capacitors. Usable definitely, but that function does sound practical. Maybe it was a mod, or possibly, '85 being the first year for the Disco, it was a function that they decided not to keep, like the stack-knob Jazz. That's what I love about weird old basses like this, they're all different and full of surprises!

 

[JIO]

Wow, that really turned out great! That colour looks fantastic on it, and those tuners are a perfect fit (visually and physically!). Great bridge choice as well, I put one of those on my first build and have been consistently impressed. (German engineering, I guess!) I remember when this bass popped up in my Reverb feed, thinking "Boy, does that need some TLC...". Couldn't think of a better person to do it. Knocked out of the park!

No, mine is just one independent volume for each pu, with original high/low pass capacitors. Usable definitely, but that function does sound practical. Maybe it was a mod, or possibly, '85 being the first year for the Disco, it was a function that they decided not to keep, like the stack-knob Jazz. That's what I love about weird old basses like this, they're all different and full of surprises!

Thanks! If you have a pic of your electronic harness, it would be interesting to see how it's different. As much as I've read that '85 was the 1st year for the DiscoBass, I've seen ones on Pinterest that state '81 Jolana DB and I'm guessing that is incorrect. Same thing happens with the Silvertone (Dano) 1443 Hornets - as far as I know they were only made from '66-'68 but I have seen people list them as being made earlier in the '60s.

I've already posted this, but here's mine - looks original.

 

[JIO]

Beautiful, JIO! Enjoy that bass.

Incidentally, open tuners are cooler.

Thanks! Especially with brass gears!

 

[Jon Clegg]

Thanks! If you have a pic of your electronic harness, it would be interesting to see how it's different. As much as I've read that '85 was the 1st year for the DiscoBass, I've seen ones on Pinterest that state '81 Jolana DB and I'm guessing that is incorrect. Same thing happens with the Silvertone (Dano) 1443 Hornets - as far as I know they were only made from '66-'68 but I have seen people list them as being made earlier in the '60s.

I've already posted this, but here's mine - looks original.

View attachment 4402855

I don't see either of the caps that are in the schematic, the component on the pot nearest the jack seems to be wired to do nothing.

 

[JIO]

I don't see either of the caps that are in the schematic, the component on the pot nearest the jack seems to be wired to do nothing.

I wondered about that 100000 cap. So according to the schematic, what caps and where should they be?

 

[Jon Clegg]

there should be a 10k resistor between the red lead of the neck pickup and the pot, and a 100 nF (0.1 uF) cap across the outer leads of the neck pickup. There should be a 6.8nF (0.0068 uF) cap between the red lead of the bridge pickup and the pot.

The idea is that the neck pickup has a lowpass filter with that 100 nF cap across the pot; the bridge pickup has a highpass filter with the 6.8 nF cap in series with the pickup. Rickenbacker does something similar with the bridge pickup on the 4001.

 

[funkifiedsoul]

I dig!

Bass looks amazing, great job!

That colour and finish look quite cool and unique to me. The whole bass does actually, in spite of it having a T-Bird vibe. I wondered about what that finish would be like to the touch, and you've said it's friendly to touch.
I hadn't previously noticed the figuring on the back of the neck, very nice.

I really enjoyed watching you proceed through this creation. Thank you for sharing it with us all!

Will you be posting a demo later so we can hear how cool it sounds?

 

[b/o 402]

there should be a 10k resistor between the red lead of the neck pickup and the pot, and a 100 nF (0.1 uF) cap across the outer leads of the neck pickup. There should be a 6.8nF (0.0068 uF) cap between the red lead of the bridge pickup and the pot.

View attachment 4402984
The idea is that the neck pickup has a lowpass filter with that 100 nF cap across the pot; the bridge pickup has a highpass filter with the 6.8 nF cap in series with the pickup. Rickenbacker does something similar with the bridge pickup on the 4001.

According to that diagram, the Pickups are supposed to be in series, but I’m wondering if when someone modded the wiring by removing the caps, they managed to miswire one of the pots? That would explain why the second pot is acting as a master volume.
Geo, you could wire as shown in the diagram without the caps or resistor and it should still work as VV, no tone control.
However, no one would blame you (or even know!) if you wired it to suit yourself.

 

[Jon Clegg]

According to that diagram, the Pickups are supposed to be in series, but I’m wondering if when someone modded the wiring by removing the caps, they managed to miswire one of the pots? That would explain why the second pot is acting as a master volume.
Geo, you could wire as shown in the diagram without the caps or resistor and it should still work as VV, no tone control.
However, no one would blame you (or even know!) if you wired it to suit yourself.

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm thinking that a previous owner rewired it and tried to do a straight parallel V-V, which if done wrong will cause one of pots to act like a master volume (I've done it myself once)

 

[Febs]

If I had photo-shop skills - I would marry those two images!

 

[JIO]

I dig!

Bass looks amazing, great job!

That colour and finish look quite cool and unique to me. The whole bass does actually, in spite of it having a T-Bird vibe. I wondered about what that finish would be like to the touch, and you've said it's friendly to touch.
I hadn't previously noticed the figuring on the back of the neck, very nice.

I really enjoyed watching you proceed through this creation. Thank you for sharing it with us all!

Will you be posting a demo later so we can hear how cool it sounds?

Thanks, and thanks for following! Now that I know I have some sorting to do on the harness, I'll fix that and try to get something recorded once that's done. The finish is not the usual shiny or matte but smooth surface most all guitars incorporate. It's definitely tactile, doesn't show fingerprints and there's no reason to polish it. Not sure what to compare it with.

It would be more aligned with this vinyl-covered Egmund bass where you could feel the striations.

 

[JIO]

View attachment 4403127

nice!

According to that diagram, the Pickups are supposed to be in series, but I’m wondering if when someone modded the wiring by removing the caps, they managed to miswire one of the pots? That would explain why the second pot is acting as a master volume.
Geo, you could wire as shown in the diagram without the caps or resistor and it should still work as VV, no tone control.
However, no one would blame you (or even know!) if you wired it to suit yourself.

I always like to get a DIY'd bass back to as close as original as I can, so I'll see about returning it as the schematic shows w/caps and a resistor. It may sound pretty much the same but will work as it was meant to.