Backstory: my 16-year-old daughter has picked up the bass while on lockdown. Specifically, she has picked up the Epiphone EB that my 13-year-old son sometimes uses, when forced out of his drummer’s chair. And in no time, she’s gotten pretty good. I lent her my ’73 P for a few days and she actually liked that better, but then there was…an incident…and I had to take my baby back from my baby.
She wants her own bass, and as a musician who is determined to support my kids in their creative pursuits, I aim to deliver—and I want to get her on a full-scale bass before she gets too far in.
She wants, specifically, a hot pink bass. And as a father who is wrapped around her finger, I aim to deliver that, too—but of course, here things get trickier. My options tend to look like $2500 EBMM or $200 Daisy Rock, but not much in between. I could get a Squier and have it refinished, but putting $300 of cosmetics on a cheap instrument doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, I love her, but let’s not be ridiculous.
So here’s the plan: I grabbed an Aerodyne JB at a local pawn shop for cheap. Little crack in the body which may or may not be superficial. (Bass plays fine.) I also ordered this hot pink J body from Guitar Fetish—also super cheap. I’m not a tool-head, but I once installed a Bigsby on an Artcore 335-type and did myself proud, and right now I’m thinking “Cool! I just have to learn to solder, and I’ve got myself (basically) a hot pink MIJ Jazz Bass for about $550.”
Photoshop visualization:
Those of you experienced in this kind of pursuit are probably laughing already.
Of course, I could turn all the pieces over to “my guy” Nick and have him put it all together and deal with whatever issues may arise, but the spirit of lockdown inspires me to try to tackle this myself. So with y’all’s help, I’m leaping into the abyss. I’m aware there’s a decent possibility that this is going to end up a crap bass with a sweet neck; my hope, though, is that I can craft for her a viable instrument that she can learn on and grow with, bond with and play for her whole life if she wants to, without ever having to pick up someone else's bass and think “omg that thing my dad built sucks!"
Here are my questions so far, as my girl goes to work on the Aerodyne as-is and I wait for the body to arrive and contemplate the myriad looming complications and choices…
1) The main question is with the neck pickup. If I take the split P out of the Aerodyne, as planned, I’m going to have to hack away at the body route. And then there’s the whole question of position, which I’m facing as I shop for a pickguard. Do I go Mark Hoppus (non-reversed)? Blacktop? Reggie Hamilton? Or as a lover of the P-bass (and the pure perfection of its natural pickup placement, which a P/J doesn’t easily replicate), do I just get a neck JB pup and make this a full-on Jazz Bass?
2) Should I just keep the Aerodyne body in its loaded state (for possible resale) and load up the pink body with all new stuff? That allows me to trick out the pink thing to my heart’s content—more expense, but more control and less wrestling with the old body. I guess that comes down to whether the pink body is worth the trouble and expense (and the resale value of a cracked Aerodyne body).
3) Am I crazy for wanting a single integrated pickguard, a la the Mark Hoppus? Maybe it’s the P-bassist in me, but I hate the separate control plate, and I almost feel like it’s worth the hassle of a custom pickguard, or even letting an available pickguard template dictate what I do with the neck pup.
That’s all I have for now. It’s a waiting game, I guess, until the body arrives and I try to wrestle the Aero neck onto it. Until then, I’m free to marinate on the possibilities and chew on everyone’s advice. Whaddaya say, TB experts? Any advice both technical and aesthetic is appreciated!
She wants her own bass, and as a musician who is determined to support my kids in their creative pursuits, I aim to deliver—and I want to get her on a full-scale bass before she gets too far in.
She wants, specifically, a hot pink bass. And as a father who is wrapped around her finger, I aim to deliver that, too—but of course, here things get trickier. My options tend to look like $2500 EBMM or $200 Daisy Rock, but not much in between. I could get a Squier and have it refinished, but putting $300 of cosmetics on a cheap instrument doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, I love her, but let’s not be ridiculous.
So here’s the plan: I grabbed an Aerodyne JB at a local pawn shop for cheap. Little crack in the body which may or may not be superficial. (Bass plays fine.) I also ordered this hot pink J body from Guitar Fetish—also super cheap. I’m not a tool-head, but I once installed a Bigsby on an Artcore 335-type and did myself proud, and right now I’m thinking “Cool! I just have to learn to solder, and I’ve got myself (basically) a hot pink MIJ Jazz Bass for about $550.”
Photoshop visualization:
Those of you experienced in this kind of pursuit are probably laughing already.
Of course, I could turn all the pieces over to “my guy” Nick and have him put it all together and deal with whatever issues may arise, but the spirit of lockdown inspires me to try to tackle this myself. So with y’all’s help, I’m leaping into the abyss. I’m aware there’s a decent possibility that this is going to end up a crap bass with a sweet neck; my hope, though, is that I can craft for her a viable instrument that she can learn on and grow with, bond with and play for her whole life if she wants to, without ever having to pick up someone else's bass and think “omg that thing my dad built sucks!"
Here are my questions so far, as my girl goes to work on the Aerodyne as-is and I wait for the body to arrive and contemplate the myriad looming complications and choices…
1) The main question is with the neck pickup. If I take the split P out of the Aerodyne, as planned, I’m going to have to hack away at the body route. And then there’s the whole question of position, which I’m facing as I shop for a pickguard. Do I go Mark Hoppus (non-reversed)? Blacktop? Reggie Hamilton? Or as a lover of the P-bass (and the pure perfection of its natural pickup placement, which a P/J doesn’t easily replicate), do I just get a neck JB pup and make this a full-on Jazz Bass?
2) Should I just keep the Aerodyne body in its loaded state (for possible resale) and load up the pink body with all new stuff? That allows me to trick out the pink thing to my heart’s content—more expense, but more control and less wrestling with the old body. I guess that comes down to whether the pink body is worth the trouble and expense (and the resale value of a cracked Aerodyne body).
3) Am I crazy for wanting a single integrated pickguard, a la the Mark Hoppus? Maybe it’s the P-bassist in me, but I hate the separate control plate, and I almost feel like it’s worth the hassle of a custom pickguard, or even letting an available pickguard template dictate what I do with the neck pup.
That’s all I have for now. It’s a waiting game, I guess, until the body arrives and I try to wrestle the Aero neck onto it. Until then, I’m free to marinate on the possibilities and chew on everyone’s advice. Whaddaya say, TB experts? Any advice both technical and aesthetic is appreciated!
